Former paramilitary chief, head of the nefarious Autodefensas Unidad de Colombia (AUC), Salvatore Mancuso, upon his arrival to Colombia after being deported by the US government on February 27, 2024. Photo: X/@contrapuntovzla/file photo.
Former paramilitary leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), Salvatore Mancuso, revealed the names of some of those who sought support a terrorist operation in 2002 against Venezuela’s president at the time, Hugo Chávez, including a coup d’état and his assassination.
In an interview released this Monday, July 8, by the news outlet Venezuela News, Mancuso said that there was great interest from “Venezuelan politicians and businessmen who came to Colombia seeking the support of the self-defense forces to overthrow President Hugo Chávez, and even with the support of some Venezuelan military personnel.”
“I met directly with politicians, businessmen, and some Venezuelan military personnel at that time; that was in 2002,” he said.
Mancuso said that the planned operation involved Venezuelan authorities at that time such as Enrique Catalán, mayor of El Hatillo; Enrique Capriles Radonski, mayor of Baruta and leader of the Justice First political party (PJ); and the late Enrique Mendoza, then governor of Miranda state.
“The operation included assassinating President Hugo Chávez with an elite group during a dinner with bankers at La Casona, the presidential residence [then],” said Mancuso. “Other commandos would assault Miraflores Palace. Other commandos would take over an air base near Miraflores, from where they would fly planes to prevent air support for the military that could support the defense of Miraflores, capture Air Force aircraft with the intention of bombing the presidential palace of Miraflores,” and also seize weapons.
The plan included provoking clashes between the Army and the National Guard to create chaos within the Armed Forces and taking over oil, electrical, and communication infrastructure.
Mancuso also spoke about the commandos who were arrested while training at the Daktari Farm in El Hatillo, near Caracas, back in 2004, providing the names of those involved, such as Ovidio Poggioli, Jesús Farías Rodríguez, Rafael Farías Villasmil, Gustavo Zingg Machado, and Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, among others.
In 2002, following the arrests, mainstream media, local media, and far-right operators discredited the allegations of a terrorist plot, although dozens of Colombian paramilitaries were captured by Venezuelan law enforcement agencies. Wikipedia continues to describe the planned assassination as a “hypothesis.”
Peace process in Colombia
Mancuso spoke about his commitment to peace in Colombia and his willingness to continue to contribute to ensuring that acts of violence, which have left millions of victims due to the armed conflict, do not continue to occur in the country, despite the infamous savagery of the paramilitary forces he commanded that represented the armed faction of the Colombian oligarchy.
He also spoke about Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying that he is an “honest person, committed to the country’s peace, and has wanted to move forward with all these processes that have to do with peace and reconciliation and non-repetition.”
“It is not correct to settle political differences through arms. There is dialogue, there are other different ways,” Mancuso added.
Regarding former President Álvaro Uribe, Mancuso indicated that Uribe had relations with the self-defense forces. “We had relations through emissaries and people who served as our liasons… and we carried out many war actions.”
He recalled that an emissary of Uribe contacted the self-defense forces to organize actions such as the Aro massacre, in which at least 10 people were killed.
Mancuso also stated that former President Uribe “betrayed us; he did not comply with the agreements, he even did not want us to sign the agreements when we asked him to sign the agreements we reached in Ralito; he extradited us.”
Colombia and Venezuela to Search for Remains of Colombian Paramilitary Victims (+Mancuso)
The Zionist hand
Mancuso also addressed the advice provided by Israeli mercenary Yair Klein, stating that he was legally in Colombia and that, through institutions such as the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), he took counter-guerrilla courses.
“They were trained in irregular warfare tactics, including how to obtain information from captured enemies,” said Mancuso. “They were taught to use different methods that are actually related to torture: bags, water, all these things; how to deal with these attacks from the same guerrillas.”
(Últimas Noticias) by Maria Eugenia Rodriguez with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
