English translation of Bolivia Plot involving CIA-backed US group

Hot off the translation press! Machetera did the translation.
magbana


Interesting that the telephone company is also involved...

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May 1, 2009 – Granma (Habana)

Armando Valladares’s CIA Group Linked to Plot Against Evo Morales

Jean-Guy Allard
English translation: Machetera

On Thursday, April 30, the Bolivian Public Prosecutor identified Hugo Achá Megar, identified by AFP as the Bolivian representative of the U.S. NGO, Human Rights Foundation (HRF), as the main funder of the terrorist gang taken apart on April 16 in Santa Cruz, while it was hatching the plan to assassinate President Evo Morales.

The HRF is a New York organization known for its interventionist activities and its links with the CIA, and whose Secretary General is the terrorist of Cuban origin, Armando Valladares.

Prosecutor Sosa, who is directing the investigations in this case, identified Achá, a.k.a. “Superman,” along with Alejandro Melgar, a.k.a. “El Lucas” as members and financiers of the plot.

From the United States, where he is presently, in statements to a La Paz television station, Achá rejected the claims against him but admitted that he had met “four or five times” with the leader of the murderous gang, the Hungarian-Bolivian Eduardo Rózsa-Flores.

Rózsa-Flores’s terrorist gang was taken apart two weeks ago in an operation mounted by the Bolivian police. Three of the mercenaries, among them, the supposed leader of the group, Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, died in the shootout, while two others were arrested and are presently incarcerated in La Paz. Authorities later captured another two conspirators, both members of the fascist Union of Santa Cruz Youth, which provided weapons to the group.

A Recirculating Hungarian Neo-Nazi

Born in Bolivia, Eduardo Rózsa-Flores, of Hungarian origin, the leader of the conspiracy to assassinate Evo belonged to extreme rightwing circles in Hungary, close to the neo-Nazi Jobbik party, that maintains an illegal paramilitary organization, the Hungarian Guard.

According to the website Hungarian Spectrum, he entered the Croatian army at the beginning of the ‘90’s, participated in various battles, and was wounded three times. Suspected of drug trafficking, he left Croat territory and returned to Hungary in 1994 where he associated with neo-Nazi circles.

Two of his accomplices also have a history that ends up in extreme rightwing circles. Árpád Magyarosi, killed in the assault, and Elõd Tóásó, under arrest, are part of the Székely Légió (Legión Siculus), a paramilitary organization that planned commando attacks against Romanian territory. The Irish Michael Martin Dwyer was a mercenary in the Balkans and from there it’s possible that he came to know the leader of the Croatian group. In Bolivia, Rózsa was in contact with Jorge Mones Ruiz, godfather of UnoAmérica, a fascist foundation associated with the CIA. According to EFE, one of those arrested in the Santa Cruz plot, Juan Carlos Gueder, already confessed that he’d met with Rózsa-Flores and denounced Achá, who he said, also ought to “show his face.”

Achá’s accomplice, Alejandro “Lucas” Melgar, is presently in Uruguay where, according to his family, he traveled in order to “participate in a shooting tournament.”

According to the Prosecutor, Melgar was the person who made an arrangement with the owner of the vehicle in which Rózsa, in his first attempt at provocative action, dynamited the entry to the house of Cardinal Julio Terrazas, April 14.

Workers in the four luxury hotels where the mercenaries stayed, and employees of the Santa Cruz Telephone Cooperative will be indicted by the Prosecutor.

Yesterday someone the Prosecutor described as a key witness, appeared at the Eighth Criminal Court with a cellphone video in which Rózsa-Flores talks of his assassination plans against President Evo Morales.

Valladares: “Poet,” “Paraplegic,” and CIA Agent

Arrested in Havana at the end of 1960 while placing explosives in public places on behalf of the CIA, Armando Valladares became famous for his mocking exit from prison, requested from abroad, disguised as a “paraplegic poet.” An informant for Batista’s police, he later dedicated himself to sabotage until he was arrested.

The only book that Valladares “wrote,” ironically titled “From My Wheelchair,” was written by his associate and accomplice, Carlos Alberto Montaner.

On his arrival in the United States, Valladares put himself at the disposal of U.S. intelligence in an extremely servile manner, to the point of being named ambassador to Geneva by the ultra-rightwinger, Ronald Reagan. Valladares, through his “Human Rights Foundation,” published a “Report on the Human Rights Situation in Bolivia,” in October, in which he denounced the “political violence” in the country.

According to the attorney and Venezuelan-American researcher Eva Golinger, author of La Teleraña Imperial (The Imperial Web), the Human Rights Foundation was created by Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, in 2005, in order to attack and discredit the governments of Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Son of one of Venezuela’s richest families, Halvorssen worked with the CIA in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

A year ago, on May 4, CIA agent Valladares officiated in the name of his organization, as an “observer” in the illegal referendum in Santa Cruz.
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Amazing story. I wonder what they have in the way of a money trail.

Was wondering what would be done with "desarticular" and all I could come up with is "busted" because the sense seems to be "dismantled" as much as "discovered" but "busted" is a little too informal. Things translators obsess over. :)

You know, I actually had to think that one through a bit. I also considered "take down" but decided against it because it seemed too slangy.

The English translators down in Havana translated that word as "disarticulate" in a different article the other day, when in that context, it would have been better to say "dismember." I couldn't believe it. It was incredibly lazy. But as you know, I think their translators could use some help.

I sent this translation on to Granma, or at least, to the email addresses I could find for Granma. We'll see if they actually use it.

"the terrorist cell which was broken up last week" but these light bulbs always come on AFTER we hand in the translation. :)

Thor Halvorssen Hellum
For Halvorssen's son, see Thor Halvorssen Mendoza.

Thor Halvorssen Hellum (born May 16, 1943)<1>—commonly known as Thor Halvorssen—is a Venezuelan-Norwegian businessman who served as CEO and President of the Venezuelan state-owned telephone company, CANTV and later as Special Commissioner for International Narcotic Affairs in the administration of President Carlos Andrés Pérez. In this post he held the rank of Ambassador.<2> While investigating links to money laundering and drug trafficking, he was arrested and jailed on charges of terrorism; he was beaten and mistreated in prison, but later found innocent of all charges.<3> Halvorssen's tenure as Venezuela's "drug czar" has been controversial to the point that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) during the government of George H. W. Bush refused to work with him<4> while the New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau praised his efforts as someone who provided assistance to his office in the fight against the international narcotics business, as well as to federal law enforcement officials of the United States.<5>

Early career
Halvorssen, of Norwegian origin, is one of the four sons of a Norwegian war hero, Østein Halvarsson. His father became the president of General Motors Acceptance Corporation in Venezuela before he began his own business operations. He was also the former Norwegian Ambassador in Venezuela. According to the journalist Gaeton Fonzi, who wrote a investigative story about Halvorssen's life, he led the "jet-setting life style" of a "happy-go-lucky" son of a wealthy businessman. With his twin brother Olaf, he befriended Jerry Wolman, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. The three became partners in real estate transactions and night clubs. Halvorssen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN) in 1966 and completed a Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania MBA in 1969.<6>

After graduating, Halvorssen returned to Caracas to help run the family businesses. The businesses required little attention; Halvorssen became involved in community service, working at Venezuela's largest charity, the Dividendo Voluntario Para La Comunidad for six years<6> and serving as its President from 1976–1979.<7> He started a program to build sports facilities in the poorest barrios and eventually met future President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Pérez was elected in 1974 and in 1977 appointed Halvorssen acting president of the Venezuelan state-owned telephone company CANTV; Halvorssen then served as president of CANTV from 1978 until Pérez completed his term.<6><8> As president of CANTV, he was given a military-intelligence identification card, and worked with Venezuela's secret police and intelligence force. When Pérez was elected President again in 1989, he named Halvorssen Venezuela's Special Commissioner for anti-Narcotic Affairs with the rank of Ambassador.<6>

In the ten years between the two Presidential terms of Carlos Andrés Pérez, Halvorssen traveled extensively, spending time in the Middle East, El Salvador and Nicaragua during the US counter-insurgency in Central America; he would later be defended by Nicaraguan Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo and by former Contra leader and Nicaraguan Senator Adolfo Calero.<6> He admitted to have been closely associated with Duane Clarridge, the former head of the CIA's Latin American division. Clarridge was indicted for perjury in the Iran-Contra scandal and reputedly planned clandestine mining operations in Nicaragua's harbors during the 1980s.<6><9> He developed contacts with anti-narcotics police in Japan, the UK, and the US; friends commented that he seemed to have developed "a bit of a James Bond complex"<10> during these years, and was "bitten by the James Bond bug".<6>

Drug czar
According to profiles of Halvorssen in magazines who covered his imprisonment, Halvorssen's years of socializing and partying caught up to him, and he developed a drinking problem.<6> When Pérez offered him the position of "drug czar", Halvorssen accepted because, "I went to a detoxification clinic in the US and I was so appalled by what I saw there that I resolved that I would do anything I could to fight drug trafficking."<10> According to Isabel Hilton, writing in the British edition of Gentleman's Quarterly (GQ), observers say that Pérez may have offered Halvorssen the job as a necessary matching gesture when US president George H. W. Bush appointed William Bennett as his Director of National Drug Control Policy, thinking that Halvorssen was still drinking and wouldn't cause problems.<6><10> Halvorssen performed his duties well, deciding to use his worldwide contacts and intelligence connections to detail the extent of Venezuela's role in the drug world.<6><10> Halvorssen believed that Pérez wasn't responding to his reports on drug trafficking and money laundering and approached his ally, Venezuelan Senator Cristobal Fernandez Daló.<6> In 1992, he was appointed special overseas investigator of an Anti-Money-Laundering Commission by the Venezuelan Senate. He was a liaison between law enforcement agencies around the world, working on drug and money-laundering cases.<5>

Hilton reveals that Halvorssen was behind the extradition to Italy of the Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan members Pasquale, Paolo and Gaspare Cuntrera. Gaeton Fonzi, former U.S. Senate investigator, wrote that "the remaining Mafia in Venezuela do not remember Halvorssen fondly for that".<6> Halvorssen worked closely with Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau investigating the financial affairs of Venezuelan government officials. Halvorssen discovered the secret bank accounts of Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez, the man who had appointed Halvorssen. The evidence revealed $19 million that Perez and his mistress, Cecilia Matos, had deposited into numbered accounts. This discovery and the airing of the evidence in Venezuela led to the impeachment of President Perez in May of 1993.<6>

Halvorssen worked with Annabelle Grimm, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Venezuela. According to Colombia's Dinero magazine, Grimm became involved with controversial controlled deliveries of cocaine shipments from Venezuela to the US.<11> A DEA investigation uncovered a scandal in which a fellow US agency, the CIA, helped Venezuelan General Ramón Guillén Davila of the National Guard antidrug unit to run a profitable cocaine-trafficking operation.<12> Grimm said she refused to cooperate with the CIA,<12> but was removed from Caracas. Halvorssen became a persona non grata for the new DEA group that took over.<11> Halvorssen appeared to be both a DEA informant and CIA source.<4><13><14> Halvorssen denies being a CIA agent, but admits having "cooperated" with the agency.<6><15><16>

When Halvorssen was imprisoned on charges (later dismissed) of terrorism, officials in Miami distanced the DEA from Halvorssen and stated that his drug information was considered unreliable.<5> He was reported to have "unusual ties to and knowledge of drug traffickers"; the DEA said it "refused to deal with him, citing as reasons 'duplicity and manipulation.'"<4> Halvorssen denied working with Florida agencies, and human rights advocates who knew him said that, considering his involvement in the fight against narcotrafficking, the accusations were not unexpected.<5>

Arrest and imprisonment
In 1993, while Halvorssen claimed he was investigating the now defunct Banco Latino,<17> he was arrested and imprisoned for 74 days on charges of terrorism<13> that a Venezuelan congressman described at the time as a "set up because he was investigating Medellín Cartel finances and links to Venezuelan businessmen and officials."<5> Halvorssen was one of 12 people charged in a series of six bomb attacks in Caracas in July and August 1993. Police claimed the motive was profit—to capitalize on stock market fluctuations caused by the bombs. Halvorssen denied the charges and claimed he had made no stock or bond transactions in the Venzuelan stock market for two decades.<5><11>

One of the alleged members of the group of bombers, Ramiro Helmeyer, told police that Halvorssen was the leader. Helmeyer, initially recanted his confession claiming that the police "tortured me so that I would accuse Thor Halvorssen."<5> However, in February 1998, Helmeyer said the bombing campaign was financed by the Banco Latino by way of its president Gustavo Gómez López and that Halvorssen was the key organizer.<18> Helmeyer was a relative of the family that founded the Banco Latino.<11> Halvorssen says he was arrested after a Banco Latino official asked him to come to Venezuela from New York for a meeting with the bank’s chairman, but after arriving in Caracas that meeting was cancelled, implying that he was set up.<17><16>

Halvorssen was held without being charged for eight days.<10> By the time he was released he had still not been charged with a crime—the only thing that kept him in prison was an order of arrest signed eight days after his actual detention. He was beaten while he was in police prison and suffered from mistreatment while in the notorious Retén de Catia prison, ranked among the most desolate prisons in the world by human-rights organisations.<6> International organizations, including Amnesty International, a Nicaraguan cardinal, and members of the British Parliament, protested Halvorssen case. He was found innocent of all charges. After his release, the United Nations-affiliated International Society for Human Rights appointed him director of their Pan-American Committee.<5><3><17>

Hilton also covers Halvorssen's investigation of Orlando Castro Llanes, a Venezuelan businessman of Cuban descent.<19> She suggests that Castro arranged for the false charges against Halvorssen and a media campaign to destroy his reputation. According to Hilton, Castro was linked as a money laundering partner to drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in a letter written by Escobar to his attorney;<10> the authenticity of the letter is questioned.<6> Castro had visited Halvorssen in prison with his son who beat Halvorssen while he was handcuffed to a chair. Wire reports and newspaper articles written during his time in prison portrayed Halvorssen as guilty and corrupt. A framework of opinion was created to destroy any credibility Halvorssen could have when testifying in a court of law in the United States. Regarding the charges of terrorism she writes: "In reality, the police case against Halvorssen was non-existent…He was completely exonerated."<10>

Investigative journalist Manuel Malaver in his book La DEA contra la Guardia Nacional de Venezuela claims that Halvorssen was part of parallel underworld of rogue police officers that became involved in a conspiracy to destabilize the government of Ramon Velasquez in association with a group of powerful adversaries against the possible presidency of Rafael Caldera or Velásquez.<14><18> Presidential elections were scheduled in December 1993 after the impeachment of President Perez in May 1993. Halvorssen publicly responded to Malaver in a 3,500 word point-by-point rebuttal. Halvorssen referred to Malaver as acting in bad faith, malicious, and violating journalistic ethics: "Lamentable, shameful, and cowardly."<16>


Intrigue and mutual accusations
Three weeks after Halvorssen's release, Banco Latino folded and its directors were charged with numerous crimes.<20> They are still fugitives. Depositors lost billions of dollars. Orlando Castro Llanes fled Venezuela and was ultimately extradited from Miami to New York to face charges of grand larceny and theft.<21>

Castro's own banks also collapsed leaving depositors unable to recuperate their savings. On April 4, 1996, Castro Llanes was indicted in New York by District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. Castro's son and grandson were also arrested on charges of a scheme to defraud in the first degree. They were also under investigation by the US Federal Reserve for laundering more than US$3 billion. The three Castros were convicted on grand larceny charges on February 19, 1997, and in April of that year sentenced to various prison terms.<21> The larceny involved defrauding depositors of the Banco Progreso International de Puerto Rico of as much as US$55 million. His crime also cost the government of Venezuela more than US$8 million.<22>

His adversaries claim that Thor Halvorssen was used to prevent Castro Llanes from buying the prestigious Banco de Venezuela in 1990. While working as Venezuela's government drug czar, Halvorssen was hired by the board of the Banco de Venezuela for US$1.2 million (other sources mention US$ 7 million<14>) to investigate whether Castro Llanes was using drug money, to thwart Castro Llanes' bitterly contested hostile takeover for control of the bank.<23> Castro Llanes was never accepted in exclusive political and economic circles and was considered unfit by the Venezuelan elite to lead the country’s most important banking institution.<14><24>

A small group of shareholders, all members of the elitist Country Club in Caracas joined with the Banco Provincial, the powerful industrial group Grupo Polar and Finalven opposing the Banco Consolidado of José Alvarez Stelling, the Grupo Progreso Latinoamericano of Orlando Castro and the Grupo del Banco Unión. According to a member of the board of the Banco de Venezuela, Halvorssen was contracted to prevent at all cost that Castro would become the major shareholder and would control the bank. Halvorssen concluded that Castro Llanes was laundering drug money and was involved in other financial irregularities and handed over the material to allies in the Congress who had parliamentary immunity. Castro’s adversaries started a media campaign to discredit him.<11>

According to Malaver, Halvorssen allegedly received US$ 7 million from the bank to demonstrate that Orlando Castro was a drug trafficker. According to Malaver the accusation of drug trafficking against Orlando Castro was false.<14>

Charles Intriago—a Miami lawyer and former federal prosecutor, as well as editor of Money Laundering Alert and the well-known host of a biennial national money-laundering conference that attracts justice and law enforcement authorities, came to Castro Llanes’ defense and countered that Halvorssen ran a "smear campaign" and fed lies to US officials.<23> It was later disclosed that Money Laundering Alert had received its seed money from Castro. Intriago's activities came under investigation of the House Government Reform Committee where he repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment when asked about his involvement with Castro and his own illegal campaign contributions to the re-election campaign of President Bill Clinton.<23> Despite Malaver and Intriago's claims that Castro was an honest businessman being smeared by Halvorssen, Castro was convicted and sentenced to prison in 1997. After completing his sentence Castro was extradited to Venezuela to stand trial for bank fraud.<25> He was convicted and sent to El Junquito prison.

Halvorssen became entangled in a turf war between the CIA and DEA and lost backing of both the agencies when he said Guillen was innocent. According to a the former head of an intelligence unit who worked with both the DEA and the CIA: "what happened to Halvorsson was the result of a collision of some mighty forces. He thought he was enough of a fancy dancer to play games with the big boys and get away with it. Nobody is wearing white hats in this one. I would bet the DEA put some pressure on Orlando Castro to get himself an inside track into Banco de Venezuela. For some reason – most likely it had used the bank in the past or was still using it for some covert funny business – the CIA didn’t want that to happen. So both agencies were trying to squeeze each other out, but Halvorssen was in the middle and got his testicles caught in the wringer."<6>


Movie rights
New York film producer Marla Shelton purchased the rights to Halvorssen’s life story while workiing for Academy-Award nominated director James Ivory of Merchant Ivory Productions. The script titled "Smoke and Mirrors" was written for the screen by Venezuelan architect and author Alex Ceppi (writer). Bestselling British investigative author David Yallop wrote a novel, Unholy Alliance, that included the story of his own involvement in Halvorssen’s case.

Personal
According to The New York Times, Halvorssen married into one of Venezuela’s first families, descendants of the country’s first two presidents, Cristobal Mendoza and Simon Bolivar.<26>

Halvorssen's older brother, Erik, also graduated from the UPENN (in 1963) and his younger brother, Stein, attended Columbia University.<6> His twin brother, Olaf, graduated from UPENN in 1966 and is a recipient of Norway's Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. Østein and Stein were knighted by King Olav V.<27>

Halvorssen Hellum's son is film producer and human rights activist Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, founder of the Human Rights Foundation,<28> and his wife is Nelly.<[br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Halvorssen_Hellum



Elder Thor with Tony Blair
~~~~~~~~~~

Here's his creepy son:
Thor Halvorssen Mendoza

Thor Leonardo Halvorssen Mendoza (born 1976<1>)—commonly known as Thor Halvorssen—is a human rights advocate and film producer with contributions in the field of public policy, public interest advocacy, individual rights and civil liberties, and pro-democracy advocacy in Latin America. The New York Times described Halvorssen in an August 2007 profile as a maverick "who champions the underdog and the powerless."

Halvorssen is president of the Human Rights Foundation, an organization devoted to protecting liberty in the Americas. He is a First Amendment Scholar at the Commonwealth Foundation of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Armando Valladares Foundation and the Advisory Board of the Charter School Advocacy Program. He is also founder of the Moving Picture Institute.<2> He is a contributing author, responsible for the sections on the history of freedom of speech, of Bringing Justice to the People (2004).<3>

Halvorssen's opinions have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, Time magazine, The Nation and National Journal, and he has appeared on television outlets such as Fox News Channel’s The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, CNN, and HBO.

Halvorssen attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, with concurrent undergraduate and graduate degrees in Political Science and History. He lives in New York.<4>

Film
Halvorssen co-produced the film Freedom's Fury which was executive produced by Lucy Liu, Quentin Tarantino, and Andrew Vajna. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.<1><5> The film relates the story of the popular uprising against dictatorship that occurred in Hungary in 1956.

Halvorssen executive produced Hammer & Tickle, a film about the power of humor, ridicule, and satire as the language of truth under Soviet tyranny—jokes as a code to navigate the disconnect between propaganda and reality and as a means of resisting the system despite the absence of free speech. This film premiered at Tribeca in 2006 and featured Lech Wałęsa, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev and Roy Medvedev.<1> The film won Best New Documentary Film at the Zurich Film Festival.<6>

Halvorssen is producer of the film The Singing Revolution, a film about Estonia's peaceful struggle for political independence from Soviet occupation.<7> The film premiered at the Black Nights Film Festival in December 2006 where it received a 15-minute standing ovation.<8> Since then, it has become the most successful documentary film in Estonian box-office history.

Halvorssen produced The Sugar Babies,<7> a film about human trafficking in the Dominican Republic and the plight of its migrant farmworkers. The targets of the documentary are wealthy and politically connected sugar barons who live in West Palm Beach: The Fanjul Family.<9> The film previewed at Florida International University where a heated exchange with the Dominican diplomatic envoy resulted in police presence. It received numerous negative reviews claiming the film's portrayal of big business and its relationship with the Dominican government was part of a campaign against the country's reputation. Death threats against the film's director and a bribery scandal involving the Dominican embassy have made the film a subject of intense media interest.

Democracy, civil liberties, and human rights advocacy

Lucent Technologies
In 1999, Halvorssen spearheaded a campaign on the floor of the Lucent Technologies annual shareholder meeting appealing for the creation of an anti-slave labor policy whereby Lucent would require China to certify that Lucent's products were not fabricated using slave labor. China's Laogai camps allegedly imprison eight million men, women, and children in 1100 factories, farms, and other facilities producing a wide range of consumer products.<13>


Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
In 1999, Halvorssen became the first executive director and chief executive officer of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the national campus-focused civil liberties organization.<14> According to The Dartmouth Review, FIRE was conceived as an "equal opportunity" antidote to the influential American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) considered to be overly partisan.<15>

Halvorssen has worked on civil liberties matters with public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum. As head of FIRE, he formed coalitions that brought together the conservative and libertarian advocacy organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, Feminists for Free Expression, the Eagle Forum, with more traditional free speech defenders such as the ACLU. He has a track record of defending individuals both on the right<16> and on the left of the political spectrum.<17>

In 2001, Halvorssen stated that, "Liberty of opinion, speech, and expression is indispensable to a free and, in the deepest sense, progressive society. Deny it to one, and you deny it effectively to all. These truths long have been ignored and betrayed on our campuses, to the peril of a free society."<18> In a 2003 moderated chat, he said, "History has taught us that a society that does not respect individual rights, freedom of conscience, and freedom of speech will not long survive as a free society in any form."<19>

U.S. News and World Report described FIRE in February, 2004 as "a major player in the campus wars", helping force "censorship-minded administrators into a defensive crouch".<20>


Human Rights Foundation and Venezuela
Halvorssen stepped down as head of FIRE in March, 2004, to join its Board of Advisors, saying he wanted to move in a different direction.<14> According to Halvorssen, "In my birthplace, Venezuela, the government constantly tramples its constitution; due process, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, and economic liberty are all under assault. I know first-hand how readily innocent civilians may be arrested and even tortured for disagreeing with the government."<14> He is no longer listed as a member of FIRE's Board of Advisors.<21>

As someone who "personally understands the importance of protecting human rights" because of his family experiences, Halvorssen founded the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) in the spring of 2005.<2> Like FIRE, the HRF was conceived as an alternative to other human rights organizations considered inconsistent. "'Progressive' organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are charged by critics as having redefined human rights in such a way as to weaken the concept and make it unworkable," Halvorssen said the group will instead "champion the definition of human rights that originally animated the human rights movement, centered on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny.".<15> The foundation was incorporated in 2005, opening its headquarters in New York City in August of 2006. Its International Council includes several well-known prisoners of conscience such as Armando Valladares, Elie Wiesel, Harry Wu, and Vladimir Bukovsky. It also includes democracy activists such as Mart Laar, and Garry Kasparov.

Halvorssen's father, Thor Halvorssen Hellum, served as a Venezuelan Ambassador in the administration of Carlos Andrés Pérez in charge of anti-Narcotic Affairs and as special overseas investigator of a Venezuelan Senate Commission. While he was investigating Medellin cartel money laundering and bank fraud and in Venezuela, he was arrested and spent 74 days in jail in Caracas on trumped-up charges of terrorism.<22><23><24> He was tortured, beaten, and almost murdered while he was in prison. International organizations, including Amnesty International protested Halvorssen's case. He was found innocent of all charges. After his release, the United Nations-affiliated International Society for Human Rights appointed him director of their Pan-American Committee.<25><26><27> At the time a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, Halvorssen Jr. led the campaign for his father’s release, enlisting the help of Amnesty International.<2>

While attending a peaceful protest of the Venezuelan recall referendum of 2004, Halvorssen's mother, Hilda Mendoza Denham, a British subject, was shot and wounded.<28> According to the Human Rights Foundation, Halvorssen’s mother was "brutally gunned down and wounded by members of the Venezuelan government security apparatus while attending a peaceful public gathering. The gunmen’s actions were broadcast on live television as they shot into the crowd, leaving twelve wounded and one (woman) dead."<2> Images of government supporters firing upon the demonstrators were captured by a live television broadcast.<29><30> Gunmen were later apprehended<31> and identified as government supporters, including a policeman.<29><32><33> Three shooters were convicted, but in April, 2006, their sentences were revoked; they remained imprisoned, awaiting a new trial.<34> The Wall Street Journal published an article about the shooting of Halvorssen's mother written by Halvorssen himself.<35>

Halvorssen is a critic of Hugo Chávez,<36> and has written on anti-Semitism and the assault on democracy and individual rights in Latin America.<37> Halvorssen's criticisms have also been directed at Republicans such as Jack Kemp<38> as well as Democrats including John Conyers and Jose Serrano.<39>


Awards and recognition
University of Pennsylvania president Judith Rodin honored Halvorssen's achievements by awarding him the Sol Feinstone Award for protecting student speech.<40> Halvorssen is a supporter and fellow of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and belongs to the leadership board.<41>

Personal
According to the The New York Times Halvorssen was born in Venezuela into privilege and is a descendant of Venezuela's first two presidents Cristobal Mendoza and Simon Bolivar through his maternal lineage: Mendoza. On his father's side he is the grandson of Oestein Halvorssen, the Norwegian king’s consul who "built a family dynasty as the Venezuelan representative for corporations including Dunlop and Ericsson."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Halvorssen_Mendoza

http://www.borev.net.nyud.net:8090/thor.jpg

BoRev's take on the kid:

My Name is Thor. Please Kick My Ass.

Ahhh, the New York Times. Protector of the downtrodden. Champion of the little guy. For years, I’ve been longing for a “day in the life” piece of a typical Venezuelan, and today, finally, they come through. The profile manages to capture the essence of life, the triumph of the human spirit, the noble ordinariness in the life of your average Venezuelan boy.

His name is “Thor.”

His is a heartwarming immigrant story. Our protagonist’s grandfather leaves everything behind for a new life, traveling to Venezuela as “the Norwegian king’s consul,” scrimping and saving for the day that his sons, Thor’s uncle and beloved papi, could date Candice Bergen and seduce the ladies with “his pet lion, Petunia,” respectively. And then fly to Paris on the weekends to fuck French chicks.

Still after all that adversity, our hero manages to make it to the States, where he can live out his dream: a film studio that produces documentaries about the evils of Communism, Women’s Studies classes, and ultimately, “the world’s first anti-environmentalist documentary.”

“What ‘Sideways’ did for pinot noir,” says young Thor, “I want to do for freedom.”

Tags:
Crazy Opposition
Hugo Chavez
Norway
Pretentious Bastards
Thor Halvorssen
Venezuela

http://www.borev.net/2007/08/my_name_is_thor_please_kick_my.html

Thor Sr. with Jr. Here's Eva Golinger's original:

Thor Halvorssen Mendoza: Hijo de Thor Halvorssen Hellum, el venezolano-noruego expresidente de la CANTV durante la administración de Carlos Andrés Pérez en los años setenta. Luego, fue el Czar anti-droga venezolano y se desempeñó como un agente de la DEA de EEUU y la CIA. De hecho, Halvorssen ha admitido publicamente que ha “trabajado” con la CIA, aunque niega de ser su “agente”. Lo que no entiende Halvorssen, es que un “agente” de la CIA es precisamente alguien que “trabaja” con la CIA. De hecho, Halvorssen trabajó con la CIA en El Salvador y Nicaragua durante la guerra sucia de los años ochenta y fue un cercano colaborador del líder de los Contra, Adolfo Calero. En el año 1993, Halvorssen fue arrestado e incarcelado por 74 días bajo una acusación de haber participado en un acto de terrorismo (una seria de ataques con bombas en Caracas para causar cambios en la bolsa y el ámbiente económico). Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, hijo también de uno de las familias más ricas de Venezuela, los Mendoza, ha participado como comentarista de Fox News, incluyendo una vez junto al Reverendo Pat Robertson cuando declaró que era necesario asesinar al Presidente Chávez. Es Presidente del HRF.

http://www.aporrea.org/tiburon/a57594.html

Trans (mine):

THM: son of Thor Halvorssen Hellum, the Venezuelan-Norweigean ex-president of CANTV during the administration of Carlos Andres Perez in the 1970s. Then, he served as the Venezuelan drug czar and worked as an agento of the DEA and CIA. In fact, Halvorssen has admitted "working with" the CiA although he denies being an "agent". What Halvorssen may not understand is that an "agent" is precisely someone who "works with" the CIA. In fact, Halvorssen worked with the CIA in El Salvador and in Nicaragua during the dirty wars of the 80s, and was a close collaborator of the Contra leader, Adolfo Calero. In 1993, Halvorssen was arrested and jailed for 74 days, charged with having participated in an act of terrorism (a series of bombing attacks in Caracas meant to influence the stock market and the economic climate). THM, also the son of one of the wealthiest families in Venezuela, the Mendozas, has participated as a commentator on Fox News, including one appearance with Rev. Pat Robertson when Robertson declared that it was necessary to assasinate President Hugo Chavez. Halvorssen is president of the HRF.

* * *

As I read it, only the last sentence here is about Sr. And that makes sense insofar as Jr. is too young to have been CIA in Central America during the dirty wars. Not that it makes too much difference. He's obviously a good son of the family. But, imho, it's important to be accurate in order to be effective.

in right-wing politics in their own ways.

Apparently the dad became an alcoholic at some point. I can see these guys' consciences have to be kept heavily sedated!
You may remember the photo of the CIA hit team with Porter Goss at a nightclub in Mexico City, with Felix Rodriguez the CIA Che Guevara hit squad member leaning on the stage by their table, completely bagged.

When you really consider how much stuff the father's been mixed up with, there really isn't NEARLY enough information on the internetS which is very mysterious. Looks as if there's been a real effort to control what has been allowed out about him.

As for the kid, there's precious little, and it looks as if most of it has been created by wingers, also. Reminds me of the stories we heard from the officer in the Texas Air National Guard who actually saw g-men going through the section where _{George W. Bush} had been, removing material from files. They were able to distract the whole country on that story by claiming the report wasn't actually typed the way he said it was, as you remember. Pure distraction from the actual CONTENT which was true.

I'll bet it will be possible at some time to stumble across more on the father, perhaps almost accidently. He was the one who molded his creepy little son. He's the one who worked for Carlos Andres Perez, who had his military fire directly into crowds of unarmed protesters in Caracas, and was later impeached for his massive corruption, who also moved, with his mistress to MIAMI.

I shouldn't be posting so late, sorry Judi Lynn.

In a way, it doesn't matter because the kid is obviously a chip off the old felon.

to be assassinated is up on youtube. And maybe there is footage of the Thor the Younger Nazi there with Robertson.

I finally feel like we know what HRF is. We have them nailed. That it was necessary to set it up at all raises a question in my mind about our friend Vivanco at Human Rights Watch. Was he getting uncomfortable in his role as disruptor? Was he not doing enough to satisfy the fascists? So many puzzles here but that thread may be worth pulling on . . .

http://www.patrianueva.bo/noticias/noticia.php?id=2806

Beyond his ties to separatists, he seems to be one of Jorge Melgar Quette's lawyers

Jorge Melgar Quette .. is still in jail ... At the time we first wrote about Melgar we were not .. fully aware .. of the statements he made ... To begin with, he has said that President Morales and various ministers of his government “should be shot” for their actions in arming and inciting to violence the campesinos involved in the so-called “Pando Massacre” ... Beyond that, Melgar’s daily 15-minute broadcasts have often been laced with racist remarks against Indians, often mixed with profanity. A former editor of the editorial page at a leading Bolivian newspaper said, “I was appalled at the detention until I saw a recording of Mr. Melgar's hatemongering” ... Next there is the question of whether Melgar is .. a journalist. One leading Bolivian journalist wrote to an international body that seeks to protect journalists saying of Melgar, “This person is NOT a journalist. He is a political activist who buys time on a channel in his region. The channel is the property of a leader of the opposition <to President Morales>, He is not affiliated with any organization of journalists” ... http://santacruzperspective.blogspot.com/

Unsurprisingly, Jorge Melgar Quette is a cause célèbre of HRF:

... On October 8, 2008, Jorge Melgar Quette, host of a Bolivian television program, was arbitrarily detained by masked men following his release of a video showing a cabinet minister inciting criminal violence. Melgar is in prison on charges of terrorism and sedition ... http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/media/InsulzaThirdLetter.html

Here in the US, of course, anyone who bought airtime to spew hate and then advocated shooting the President would also be facing charges, but perhaps it is unreasonable to expect a rightwing front group like HRF to show much moral or intellectual integrity in discussing such matters

the claim is that he is a political prisoner.

That Santa Cruz blog is really a piece of work: "The newest government appointee to the embattled national oil company board is an indigenous activist who cheerfully admits he doesn’t know nothin’ about pumpin´ no gas." But, it's a great find because it's fascism is so artless! :wow:

and it reveals something I've not encountered too much before: a heavy presence of the oil companies in the Santa Cruz area determines much of their policy. You may remember reading about the heavy presence of US-educated Croat Branko Marinkovic and his connection to Shell oil.

Please take a look at the italicized portion of this link:

Tuesday, October 07, 2008
ESTADOS UNIDOS Y EMPRESAS MULTINACIONALES FINANCIAN A GRUPOS PARAMILITARES EN BOLIVIA

Los sucesos de las últimas semanas en Bolivia encendieron las alarmas. Durante días, grupos paramilitares se hicieron con el poder en las calles de las principales ciudades orientales sin apenas oposición de la policía, desbordada por la organización de estos grupos. Los saqueos de numerosos edificios y las cuantiosas agresiones y palizas recibidas por la población civil a manos de estas fuerzas de choque tuvieron como colofón la matanza producida en el municipio El Porvenir, en la región de Pando, con un saldo de 18 campesinos asesinados con armas automáticas, 30 heridos y un centenar de desaparecidos.
El principal grupo de choque, y causante de la violencia, son las Uniones Juveniles. La más organizada y violenta de ellas es la Unión Juvenil Cruceña (UJC), una organización compuesta por jóvenes del entorno del Comité Cívico de Santa Cruz. Según uno de sus dirigentes, cuenta con 85.000 militantes, más del doble de los efectivos de la Policía Nacional boliviana. El discurso de la UJC defiende las “causas autonomistas” : negación de la nueva Constitución, reivindicación de la autonomía regional y gestión total del impuesto de hidrocarburos (IDH). Sus miembros se preparan para convertirse en una auténtica fuerza armada ante una posible secesión de las regiones orientales del país. Los últimos sucesos parecen demostrarlo. Durante el referéndum de autonomía del pasado 4 de mayo, sacaron a la calle unos 5.000 miembros sólo en la ciudad de Santa Cruz, con el fin de “defender” la libre votación.
“En cada mesa de sufragio estarán 20 chicos”, dijo el vicepresidente del grupo. En Santa Cruz, llevan varios años convirtiéndose en el poder fáctico en las calles, obligando a una mayoritaria población indígena a acatar los paros decretados por las autoridades regionales y derrotando muchas veces a la policía. En los últimos incidentes tomaron simultáneamente instituciones públicas y las defendieron durante horas. Las denuncias de las víctimas de su violencia, mayormente de origen indígena, quedan impunes judicialmente. Incluso se regocijan negando la evidencia de las pruebas gráficas de sus ataques. “El Gobierno copió la indumentaria de la Unión Juvenil y pagó a gente para que pegaran con nuestra indumentaria”, explica el presidente de la UJC, David Sejas. Apenas días después de la toma de instituciones públicas, de nuevo Sejas declaraba : “Tenemos una lista de instituciones que serán tomadas en los siguientes días, no tenemos miedo de enfrentarnos a la policía”. En junio del año pasado, uno de los líderes de la UJC, Wilberto Zurita, había propuesto crear un “ejército democrático”. El ex comandante de la Policía regional, Wilfredo Torrico, afirmó a la prensa local estar preparándoles para ello : “Nos vamos a reunir por las noches en las canchas para entrenarnos para las movilizaciones y la propia vigilia de los recintos electorales”. Zurita añadió que “será un ejército democrático, sin propósitos sediciosos, en defensa de la autonomía, del Estado de derecho y la democracia”, pero “si el Gobierno quiere enfrentamiento lo tendrá, si se rompe el Estado de derecho tendremos que salir al frente”.

Estos grupos de choque están íntimamente ligados a los Comités Cívicos. Según la investigadora Carmen Sandoval, “la UJC fue creada por miembros del Comité Cívico de Santa Cruz”, con el que comparte no sólo el mismo discurso ideológico, sino también sede en el mismo edificio. El propio presidente de la UJC, David Sejas, lo reconoce : “Somos el brazo gestor del Comité Cívico en todas las decisiones que toma”. Su financiación proviene de aportaciones de empresarios, prefecturas y miembros de los comités. Los Comités Cívicos son asociaciones de entidades agropecuarias, ganaderas, empresariales y cofradías religiosas, unidas para canalizar los mensajes políticos que defienden sus intereses corporativos. Branco Marinkovic, presidente del autonomista Comité Cívico de Santa Cruz (CCSC), además de ser un importante empresario agroexportador, director del Banco Económico y alto cargo de varias patronales empresariales, es también accionista de la compañía petrolera Transredes, filial de la Shell. Aunque Marinkovic no ha sido elegido en ninguna elección democrática, su incidencia y presencia en la vida política del país supera incluso a la del propio prefecto regional.

Comités Cívicos y patronales
Los sectores empresariales y los Comités Cívicos se retroalimentan mutuamente. Los primeros financian las movilizaciones políticas de los segundos, y los segundos difunden y exigen al Gobierno central las demandas favorables para los intereses económicos de los primeros.

El nexo de unión entre los Comités y las multinacionales petroleras es evidente. Éstas últimas contratan como ejecutivos a profesionales cruceños vinculados a las patronales (muchos de ellos ex cargos políticos del antiguo régimen), de tal modo que las petroleras están presentes en los directorios de varias patronales empresariales, las cuales están integradas en los Comités Cívicos. Según un informe elaborado por la ONG Acsur-Las Segovias, la Cámara Boliviana de Hidrocarburos (CBH), patronal petrolera dirigida por Repsol YPF y Petrobrás, “es miembro activo del Comité Cívico Pro Santa Cruz”. Luis García, vicepresidente de Andina, la filial de Repsol YPF en Bolivia, es también director de la CBH, la cual resalta en su web que uno de sus objetivos es “representar a la industria petrolera en los diferentes ámbitos de acción política”. El analista Fernando Garcés insiste en ese nexo entre multinacionales y las prefecturas pues éstas “han asumido la representación de la oligarquía y buscan un desplazamiento del eje político desde lo nacional a lo regional, siempre en estrecha relación con las trasnacionales”. Luis Gómez, de la revista Brecha, afirma respecto a los Cívicos cruceños y miembros de la Prefectura que “son una treintena las familias de la oligarquía que se reparten Santa Cruz. Los apellidos se repiten entre la CBH, los directivos de las petroleras y los miembros del Comité Cívico”.
LA USAID Y LA NED FINANCIAN A LA OPOSICIÓN. EE UU apuesta por la desestabilización
Siguiendo la conexión entre los grupos de choque y otros actores del conflicto, el Gobierno boliviano e innumerables analistas acusan a Washington de estar detrás de los intentos de secesión de la mitad oriental. La injerencia norteamericana se realiza a través de la agencia USAID. El propio administrador de la agencia en 2003, Andrew Natsios, reconoció que “los contratistas privados financiados por la USAID son un brazo del Gobierno de EE UU”. En 2004, un año antes de la llegada de Evo, la USAID abrió en Bolivia la Oficina de Iniciativas de Transición para, supuestamente, ayudar a “reducir las tensiones en zonas de conflicto social y apoyar al país con la preparación de los eventos electorales”. Según la abogada Eva Golinger, se concertó con Casals & Associates, una de las empresas estadounidenses con más contratos con el Ejército estadounidense, la ejecución de proyectos por 13,3 millones de dólares para “reforzar los gobiernos regionales”. La USAID indica en su web que su objetivo es armar en Bolivia proyectos que “fortalezcan las capacidades de los Gobiernos regionales para generar ingresos”. Presume de haber logrado “diagnósticos de desconcentración de la gestión para algunas prefecturas”. Esto demuestra que se está apoyando abiertamente un proceso de descentralización que el Parlamento boliviano ni siquiera ha aprobado. Su proyecto de “Fortalecimiento de Instituciones Democráticas”, tiene una subvención de más de 2,6 millones de dólares y lo está implementando Chemonics International, una contratista que fomenta la “gobernabilidad económica” en Iraq con proyectos de 60 millones de dólares.

El ministro de la Presidencia, Juan Ramón Quintana, denunció que en 2007 81 millones de dólares portados por USAID escaparon del control de las instituciones bolivianas y estimó que el 70% de ese dinero fue para sueldos de altos cargos de las organizaciones ejecutantes, casualmente todos ellos miembros de anteriores gobiernos bolivianos. Asimismo, denunció que los fondos de los proyectos desarrollados en Santa Cruz por USAID llegan, sin ningún control gubernativo, a las manos de Juan Carlos Urenda, el principal ideólogo de la propuesta autonomista del Comité Cívico de Santa Cruz, además de ser asesor y delegado de la Prefectura cruceña durante la Asamblea Constituyente.

EE UU también financia a entidades en Bolivia a través de la Fundación Nacional para la Democracia (NED). Creada a comienzos de los años ‘80, la NED pretende “apoyar organizaciones favorables a la democracia alrededor del mundo”. Sin embargo, históricamente, su agenda ha coincidido con la de la política exterior de Washington. En Bolivia, según Eva Golinger, la NED subvencionó con más de 110.000 dólares a proyectos que analizan los “efectos económicos de las reformas propuestas en la Asamblea Constituyente”, con 40.500 dólares para “financiar a diferentes representantes de la sociedad civil durante la Asamblea Constituyente” y con 200.000 dólares para promover el “diálogo entre ciudadanos y funcionarios sobre la Asamblea Constituyente”.

Según Mark Weisbrot, codirector del Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas del Reino Unido “al proveer ayuda clandestina a grupos que casi seguro están en la oposición, da la impresión de que Washington está contribuyendo a desestabilizar al Gobierno boliviano”. Ya en 1991, Allen Weinstein, uno de los fundadores del NED, confesó en un artículo publicado en The Washington Post que “mucho de lo que hoy hacemos lo hizo secretamente la CIA durante 25 años”. La Comunidad de España (www.lacomunidad.elpais.com)


http://4.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_LvP4mWx84Tk/SOtYA9DfEOI/AAAAAAAALEA/0d1UMzhjajA/s400/84786_detail.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_LvP4mWx84Tk/SOtVa66LEZI/AAAAAAAALCw/F1vgA5L8wvk/s400/0001wq.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_LvP4mWx84Tk/SOtWZlAitGI/AAAAAAAALDQ/R4SiQazEZuQ/s400/paaro.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_LvP4mWx84Tk/SOtXD-F8ZPI/AAAAAAAALDo/LDM7Ff2jNfU/s400/20080911elpepiint_3.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_LvP4mWx84Tk/SOtZglsS42I/AAAAAAAALEY/lSHCSDjLQgc/s320/notitularfotoLL.gif

Here's a google translation of some of the material:

These groups are closely linked to shock the civic committees. According to the researcher Carmen Sandoval, "the UJC was created by members of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz", which not only shares the same ideological discourse, but also based in the same building. The president of the UJC, David Sejas, acknowledging: "We are the arm of the Civic Committee in managing all the decisions you make." Its funding comes from contributions from employers and members of prefectural committees. The civic committees are agricultural associations, farming, business and religious brotherhoods, coupled to channel political messages that defend their corporate interests. Branco Marinkovic, president of the autonomist Santa Cruz Civic Committee (CCCS), besides being an important agro-export businessman, director of the Bank Economic and several senior corporate employer, is also a shareholder of the oil company Transredes, a subsidiary of Shell. Although Marinkovic has not been elected in any democratic election, their impact and presence in the country's political life exceeds even the prefect of the region.

Civic committees and employers
The business and civic committees feed each other. The first fund mobilization policies of seconds, and the second spread and stretch the central government claims to favor the economic interests of the former.

The link between the Committees and the multinational oil companies is clear. The latter hired as executive professionals Cruz connected with employers (many of them former political office of the former regime), so that oil companies are active on the boards of several corporate employers, which are integrated into the civic committees. According to a report by the NGO-ACSUR Las Segovias, the Bolivian Chamber of Hydrocarbons (CBH), employer-led oil Petrobras and Repsol YPF, is an active member of the Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee. " Luis Garcia, Vice President of Andina, Repsol YPF's subsidiary in Bolivia, is also a director of CBH, which emphasizes on its website that it aims "to represent the oil industry in different policy areas." The analyst insists that Fernando Garcés nexus between multinationals and the prefectural because they "have assumed the representation of the oligarchy and seek a shift in policy focus from national to regional, always in close connection with the transnationals." Luis Gomez of the journal Gap says about the Cívicos Cruz and members of the prefecture that are about thirty families of the oligarchy that share Santa Cruz. The names are repeated from the CBH, the directors of oil companies and members of the Civic Committee. "

USAID and the NED financing the opposition. U.S. bid to destabilize
Following the connection between the crash and other actors in the conflict, the Bolivian government and many analysts accuse Washington of being behind the attempted secession of the eastern half. U.S. interference is through the agency USAID. The manager of the agency in 2003, Andrew Natsios, acknowledged that "private contractors funded by USAID is an arm of the U.S. Government." In 2004, a year before the arrival of Evo, USAID Bolivia opened in the Office of Transition Initiatives, supposedly to help "reduce tensions in areas of social conflict and support the country with the preparation of the elections" . According to Eva Golinger lawyer, was with Casals & Associates, one of U.S. companies with contracts with the U.S. Army, the implementation of projects by $ 13.3 million for "strengthening regional governments." USAID states on its website that its aim is to build projects in Bolivia to "strengthen the capacities of regional governments to generate revenue." Claims to have achieved "diagnoses devolution of management for some prefectures. This shows that is openly supporting a decentralization process that the Bolivian Parliament has not even approved. His project "Strengthening Democratic Institutions", is a grant of over $ 2.6 million and is implementing Chemonics International, a contractor who promotes "economic governance" in Iraq with projects of $ 60 million.

Presidency Minister Juan Ramon Quintana, who in 2007 reported $ 81 million USAID-ported escaped the control of Bolivian institutions and found that 70% of that money was for salaries of senior officials of the organizations performing every chance members of previous Bolivian governments. Also reported that the funds for projects in Santa Cruz by USAID arrive, without any government control in the hands of Juan Carlos Urenda, the main ideologue of the autonomy proposal of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz, as well as being an advisor and delegate Prefecture of Santa Cruz during the Constituent Assembly.

USA also supports organizations in Bolivia through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Founded in the early'80s, the NED is intended "to support pro-democracy organizations around the world." However, historically, has coincided with the agenda of the foreign policy of Washington. In Bolivia, according to Eva Golinger, the NED funded more than $ 110,000 to projects that analyze the effects of economic reforms proposed in the Constituent Assembly ", with $ 40,500 for" finance to various representatives of civil society during the Constituent Assembly "and $ 200,000 for promoting dialogue between citizens and officials about the Constituent Assembly."

According to Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic Research and Policy of the United Kingdom "by providing clandestine aid to groups that are almost certainly in the opposition, giving the impression that Washington is helping to destabilize the Bolivian government." In 1991, Allen Weinstein, one of the founders of NED, confessed in an article published in The Washington Post that "much of what today we did the CIA secretly for 25 years."

http://boliviateamo.blogspot.com/2008/10/estados-unidos-y-empresas.html

thugs, the article under "Tuesday, October 07, 2008
ESTADOS UNIDOS Y EMPRESAS MULTINACIONALES FINANCIAN A GRUPOS PARAMILITARES EN BOLIVIA" and extend to right above the very last photo on the page, roughly 1/4th of the way down the page.

Here's the link:
http://boliviateamo.blogspot.com/2008/10/estados-unidos-y-empresas.html

Monday, May 4, 2009
Martin rules out Garda role in Dwyer death investigation
By Scott Millar, Jimmy Woulfe and Gerard Couzens

Saturday, May 02, 2009

FOREIGN Minister Micheál Martin has ruled out Garda involvement in the inquiry into the death of Michael Dwyer in Bolivia as more evidence emerges of the young Irishman’s links to extreme right-wing paramilitaries.

Mr Dwyer, 24, was buried on Thursday in his native Tipperary following his shooting by security forces in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on April 16.

Bolivian police investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr Dwyer’s death have linked him to a plot to destabilise the South American country by murdering prominent political figures.

An alleged accomplice, Juan Carlos Gueder Bruno, who heads a far-right Bolivian organisation – the Santa Cruz Youth Council or UJC – is reported to have turned state witness. According to Bolivian media reports, Mr Gueder Bruno said he attended meetings along with Mr Dwyer during which the killing of local politicians was discussed.

Mr Gueder Bruno was meant to locate weapons for Mr Dwyer’s group.

Mr Gueder Bruno is reported as stating: "I am accused of terrorism, and my only crime was to sell a homemade weapon, an old Bren model, for $1,000."

He added that he "withdrew from the project" when the gang’s leader, Bolivian-Hungarian Eduardo Rozsa Flores, 48, said that he intended to assassinate two right-wing politicians allied to Mr Gueder Bruno’s organisation. He hoped this so-called "Black Flag" operation would be blamed on left-wing activists, so increasing tensions in Bolivia.

More:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/martin-rules-out-garda-role-in-dwyer-death-investigation-90818.html