The US Ambassador to Venezuela has 72 hours to leave the country

By Roberto Jorquera

It has been a tumultuous past 48 hours in Bolivia and Venezuela with both governments asking the U.S Ambassadors to leave. The Morales government in Bolivia is facing increasing protest and destabilisation plans backed by the United States. In Venezuela a plot for a coup and the potential assassination of President Hugo Chavez was discovered with 8 currently serving and retired military officials being formally investigated and another 6 under suspicion.

At a mass rally in Carabobo on September 11, the President of the Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chavez gave instructions to the Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro to organise for the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Álvare, to return to the country immediately so as not to allow the US government the opportunity to expel him as was done with the Bolivian Ambassador. Chavez expressed solidarity with the government of Evo Morales , who on the previous day had formalised the expulsion of Philip Goldberg from Bolivian soil.
``From this moment the Ambassador of the US (Patrick Duddy) has 72 hours to leave Venezuela, in solidarity with the government and the people of Bolivia'', affirmed President Hugo Chavez during a mass rally in the State of Carabobo in support of PSUV candidate, Mario Silva.

``When there is a new government in the United States which respects the people of Latin America we will send an Ambassador'', expressed the Chief of State. ``We are determined to be free and I hold the government of the United States responsible for all the conspiracies against our people'', said Chavez. Furthermore Chavez. made it clear that if there is any aggression against Venezuela, there will be no oil sent to the United States.

In a show of support reminiscent of when people rallied outside of Miraflores on April 11-13, 2002 in support of President Chavez after his forced removal from office yet again thousands rallied outside the Presidential Palace on September 11. Chanting the people united will never be defeated the crowd condemned the coup plot.
At the rally Venezolana de Television (VTV) spoke to Aristobulo Isturiz, PSUV candidate for Major of Caracas, `` What is happening in Venezuela is part of a larger plan by imperialism. The aggression in Bolivia is the same aggression against Venezuela''.

Jorge Rodriquez candidate for the municipality Libertador in Caracas said, ``We defend democracy, the constitution of Venezuela. We will win at the ballot box but we will also take to the streets to defend our democracy.''. They should not try to destabilise Venezuelan democracy or the constitution''.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan Foreign Minister, made it clear that the government will ask that the destabalising plans be ``investigated to the full so that the rest of the world is made aware of what the opposition together with the US government are planning for Venezuela''.

VTV also reported that the Venezuelan National Assembly will meet to investigate the coup plot and the plot to assassinate the President of the Republic Hugo Chavez. The President of the National Assembly Cilia Flores said, ``that the private media was also involved in the plots''.

Jose Vicente Rangel said that the plots where ``part of a larger plan to destabilise Venezuela in the lead up to he November 23 elections.