Armando has always felt that Hugo Chavez was destined to become, if he already wasn't, a "thug". Now radical leftists are raising that very issue over the
Rodrigo Granda Affair.
But is Chavez simply moving from left-wing thuggery to right-wing thuggery? And if Chavez is implicated in the kidnapping/arrest, then does that mean he is becoming less of a thug in Armando's view, because he is leaving his leftist radicalism for a pragmatic accomodation with democratic norms? Is it wrong to hand over a violent revolutionary/terrorist to a torturous U.S. client state oligarchy?
Cases don't get more complicated than this. Did Granda enter Venezula illegally? Was he granted Venezuelan citizenship prior to the arrest/kidnapping? Can a member of FARC ever be ...
considered a legitimate person?
www.counterpunch.com :
The kidnapping of Granda and the response to that act raises a number of fundamental issues for revolutionaries, progressives and democrats throughout the world. First and foremost is the question of who was responsible, materially and intellectually for the deed and what was its purpose. Equally important is the question of what rights do revolutionary spokespeople have in the contemporary world. Thirdly, what was the response to the kidnapping from the left, self-described supporters of the Chavista revolution especially from US, European and Latin American intellectuals. Fourthly how should intellectuals express solidarity with progressive or revolutionary movements and regimes? Should they cover up internal differences, shortcomings and even egregious mistakes within the movements and regimes or should they provide constructive but pointed criticism which will help the revolutionary process to continue.
What was the purpose of the kidnapping and incarceration of the FARC leader? The perpetrators of the crime, the Uribe regime in Colombia, has long claimed its central goal is to capture, kill or jail the leaders and militants of the FARC and destroy the popularly based rural guerrilla army. This has been the regime's highest political and economic priority, as it has been the top US priority in its Latin American strategy. The purpose in kidnapping Grando was to weaken the FARC's capacity to interact with governments, movements, political parties and to present its views on a negotiated settlement of the 40 year-old civil war. In capturing Granda the Uribe regime hoped through pressures, torture and interrogation to break Granda and secure information in the location of the FARC leaders and their internal movements.
news.bbc.co.uk :
But he said it coincided with a forum organised by left-leaning groups, although it was not clear whether Mr Granda, dubbed Farc's "foreign minister", attended.
"There was a large number of people who participated in this forum who were not invited, both Venezuelans and those from other Latin American countries," he said.
blogs.salon.com :
Jan. 8th. Former President of Congress says Granda was given the Venezuelan nationality last summer by the identification office. (The same one that told the Minister he had never been in Venezuela three days earlier)
www.alia2.net :
The investigations carried out so far enable us to emphatically assure that:
1. The national government has not invited Mr. Rodrigo Granda to any activity, either in Venezuela or abroad. Therefore, holding this government accountable for an invitation that was not made, and for the protection of a citizen who entered the country in secrecy, is irresponsible and completely absurd.
2. The investigations carried out so far, reveal that this citizen had attended some of the activities of the II Bolivarian Congress of the Peoples. This is an event that has been held in several countries, and that on this occasion was summoned by the Foundation of the Congress under the same name. The information available to this moment indicates that Rodrigo Granda's presence took place under no invitation, as can be seen in the lists of guests and attendants. Nevertheless, the investigations continue in order to determine, among other things, the channels that facilitated his attendance and the accountabilities to be held in this case.
3. The revision of both the granting of visas by the corresponding consulates, and the immigration records leads to only one conclusion: citizen Rodrigo Granda's entry into Venezuela was in secrecy, and totally unknown by Venezuelan authorities, with no registration of his name in the mentioned records.
4. There are serious indications that citizen Rodrigo Granda was kidnapped in Caracas in the surroundings between the Bellas Artes subway station and Clínica Razzetti. The new data gathered during the investigations could involve current and/or former Venezuelan police officers. Therefore, once the legal requirements are met, we will proceed according to the law.
I await NarcoNews and Al Giordano's take on this.
