Last night CNN en Español aired the above image, which captions at the

bottom "Who Killed him?" by "accident". The image of President Chavez

with the caption about killing him below, which some could say

subliminally incites to assassination, was a "production error"

mistakenly made in the CNN en Español newsroom. The news anchor had

been narrarating a story about the situation between Colombia and

Venezuela and then switched to a story about an unsolved homicide but -

oops - someone forgot to change the screen image and President Chavez

was left with the killing statement below. Today they apologized and

admitted it was a rather "unfortunate" and "regrettable" mistake. Yes,

it was.

On a scarier note, an internal CIA memorandum has been

obtained by Venezuelan counterintelligence from the US Embassy in

Caracas that reveals a very sinister - almost fantastical, were it not

true - plan to destabilize Venezuela during the coming days. The plan,

titled "OPERATION PLIERS" was authored by CIA Officer Michael Middleton

Steere and was addressed to CIA Director General Michael Hayden in

Washington. Steere is stationed at the US Embassy in Caracas under the

guise of a Regional Affairs Officer. The internal memorandum, dated

November 20, 2007, references the "Advances of the Final Stage of

Operation Pliers", and confirms that the operation is coordinated by

the team of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) in Venezuela. The memo

summarizes the different scenarios that the CIA has been working on in

Venezuela for the upcoming referendum vote on December 2nd. The

Electoral Scenario, as it's phrased, confirms that the voting

tendencies will not change substantially before Sunday, December 2nd,

and that the SI (YES) vote in favor of the constitutional reform has an

advantage of about 10-13 points over the NO vote. The CIA estimates

abstention around 60% and states in the memo that this voting tendency

is irreversible before the elections.

Officer Steere emphasizes

the importance and success of the public relations and propaganda

campaign that the CIA has been funding with more than $8 million during

the past month - funds that the CIA confirms are transfered through the

USAID contracted company, Development Alternatives, Inc., which set up

operations in June 2002 to run the USAID Office for Transition

Initiatives that funds and advises opposition NGOs and political

parties in Venezuela. The CIA memo specifically refers to these

propaganda initiatives as "psychological operations" (PSYOPS), that

include contracting polling companies to create fraudulent polls that

show the NO vote with an advantage over the SI vote, which is false.

The CIA also confirms in the memo that it is working with international

press agencies to distort the data and information about the

referendum, and that it coordinates in Venezuela with a team of

journalists and media organized and directed by the President of

Globovision, Alberto Federico Ravell.

CIA Officer Michael

Steere recommends to General Michael Hayden two different strategies to

work simultaneously: Impede the referendum and refuse to recognize the

results once the SI vote wins. Though these strategies appear

contradictory, Steere claims that they must be implemented together

precisely to encourage activities that aim toward impeding the

referendum and at the same time prepare the conditions for a rejection

of the results.

How is this to be done?

In the memo, the CIA proposes the following tactics and actions:

Take the streets and protest with violent, disruptive actions across the nation

Generate a climate of ungovernability

Provoke a general uprising in a substantial part of the population

Engage

in a "plan to implode" the voting centers on election day by

encouraging opposition voters to "VOTE and REMAIN" in their centers to

agitate others

in a "plan to implode" the voting centers on election day by encouraging opposition voters to "VOTE and REMAIN" in their centers to agitate others Start to release data during the early hours of the

afternoon on Sunday that favor the NO vote (in clear violation of

election regulations)

afternoon on Sunday that favor the NO vote (in clear violation of election regulations) Coordinate these activities with Ravell & Globovision and international press agencies

Coordinate

with ex-militar officers and coupsters Pena Esclusa and Guyon Cellis -

this will be done by the Military Attache for Defense and Army at the

US Embassy in Caracas, Office of Defense, Attack and Operations (DAO)

To encourage rejection of the results, the CIA proposes:

Creating an acceptance in the public opinion that the NO vote will win for sure

Using polling companies contracted by the CIA

Criticize and discredit the National Elections Council

Generate a sensation of fraud

Use

a team of experts from the universities that will talk about how the

data from the Electoral Registry has been manipulated and will build

distrust in the voting system

The CIA memo also talks about:

Isolating Chavez in the international community

Trying to achieve unity amongst the opposition

Seek an aliance between those abstentionists and those who will vote "NO"

Sustain firmly the propaganda against Chavez

Execute military actions to support the opposition mobilizations and propagandistic occupations

Finalize the operative preparations on the US military bases in Curacao and Colombia to provide support to actions in Venezuela

Control a part of the country during the next 72-120 hours

Encourage a military rebellion inside the National Guard forces and other components

Those involved in these actions as detailed in the CIA memo are:

The CIA Office in Venezuela - Office of Regional Affairs, and Officer Michael Steere

US Embassy in Venezuela, Ambassador Patrick Duddy

Office of Defense, Attack and Operations (DAO) at the US Embassy in Caracas and Military Attache Richard Nazario

Venezuelan Political Parties:

Comando Nacional de la Resistencia

Accion Democratica

Primero Justicia

Bandera Roja

Media:

Alberto Federico Ravell & Globovision

Interamerican Press Society (IAPA) or SIP in Spanish

International Press Agencies

Venezuelans:

Pena Esclusa

Guyon Cellis

Dean of the Simon Bolivar University, Rudolph Benjamin Podolski

Dean of the Andres Bello Catholic University, Ugalde

Students: Yon Goicochea, Juan Mejias, Ronel Gaglio, Gabriel Gallo, Ricardo Sanchez

Operation

Tenaza has the objective of encouraging an armed insurrection in

Venezuela against the government of President Chavez that will justify

an intervention of US forces, stationed on the military bases nearby in

Curacao and Colombia. The Operation mentions two countries in code: as

Blue and Green. These refer to Curacao and Colombia, where the US has

operative, active and equipped bases that have been reinforced over the

past year and a half in anticipation of a conflict with Venezuela.

The

document confirms that psychological operations are the CIA's best and

most effective weapon to date against Venezuela, and it will continue

its efforts to influence international public opinion regarding

President Chavez and the situation in the country.

Operation

Tenaza is a very alarming plan that aims to destabilize Venezuela and

overthrow (again) its legitimate and democratic (and very popularly

support) president. The plan will fail, primarily because it has been

discovered, but it must be denounced around the world as an

unacceptable violation of Venezuela's sovereignty.

The original

document in English will be available in the public sphere soon for

viewing and authenticating purposes. And it also contains more

information than has been revealed here.