The Venezuelan government announcement of a January 8 violation of Venezuelan airspace by a US plane is the latest in a series of US military provocations against the oil-rich South American nation.
On December 20, US-Venezuelan lawyer Eva Golinger wrote in a Chavezcode.com post: "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez revealed today … that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have illegally entered Venezuela's airspace during the past several days …
"President Chavez gave the order today to shoot down any drones detected in Venezuelan territory. Chavez also directly implicated Washington in this latest threat against regional stability ..."
Golinger also said Colombia planned to build a new military base "right near the border with Venezuela, with funding and equipment from the United States". Colombia's Defense Minister Gabriel Silva also announced the activation of two air battalions at other border areas near Venezuela.
Golinger said the base "would have up to 1,000 troops and would also allow the presence of US armed forces and private military contractors".
Venezuelanalysis.com reported on December 29 that Chavez said his government had discovered plans by the Colombian regime of Alvaro Uribe, which has the worst human rights record on the continent, to provoke a war with Venezuela. Chavez said the plan involved faking evidence that a Colombian guerrilla camp was inside Venezuelan territory as the excuse to launch an invasion.
The Russian Information Agency said on January 10 that Chavez had announced plans to deploy new Russian-made tanks and helicopters on Venezuela's border with Colombia.
Lisa Macdonald, a national coordinator of the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN), told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly: "These provocations should be seen in the context of the coup last June in Honduras by US-trained military officers and the US government recognition of fraudulent elections by the coup regime in November.
"The latest provocations are part of a medium-term strategy by the US to reverse the gains of popular movements across the continent.
"Popular governments, backed by mass movements, have implemented policies in a number of Latin American countries that often favour the poor at the expense of US corporate interests. The US is determined to stop these 'good examples' from spreading.
"The US thinks it can do this through war, history shows that is what it will do. The task of people around the world who believe in democracy and social justice is to seek to stop the US from overthrowing any more governments and to let the Latin American people decide their own fate in peace."
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