A sizable Chavista march took the streets of Caracas on Saturday, August 3, 2024. Photo: X@partidoPSUV.
By Germán Van de Velde – Aug 26, 2024
The presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela left countless experiences that must be systematized to study and predict future attacks by fascism against democracy, freedom and the human rights of our peoples. In this sense, here we will explain the strategy of the “comanditos,” a terrorist network organized by the US government and the ultra-right.
[Note that this attempted coup operation was similar to the successful one against Evo Morales in Bolivia’s 2019 election, and very similar to the tranques in Nicaragua in 2018].
The “comanditos” were part of an organizational strategy promoted by the Venezuelan far-right opposition leader, María Corina Machado. The fundamental purpose was to organize society into small groups that would serve as hotbeds of violence in different parts of the country.
The organizational strategy revealed different stages. The first was the dissemination of the strategy using hegemonic media. These were in charge of disseminating manipulated information, explaining in detail the masked meaning of the strategy. According to the Diario Nacional, the “comanditos” were defined as a “crucial force for the success of the opposition’s strategy of motivating citizen participation in adverse conditions.” (1)
From these media outlets, the website http://www.comanditosexterior.com was promoted, where Venezuelan migrants living abroad and Venezuelan nationals were invited to register, leaving a personal database on the platform. This website also promoted “protest” sites on the day of the presidential elections.
Once the “comanditos” were formed at the national and international level, the second stage of the plan began. The leaders of each “comandito” were introduced into communication groups where they received detailed guidelines and instructions sent by María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, leaders of Venezuelan terrorism. In this way, the leaders would handle important information before, during and after the elections.
The third stage of the plan was activated after the presidential elections of July 28 when the CNE announced the results of the elections, where President Nicolás Maduro Moros was reelected.
Once the results of the elections were announced, the terrorists activated the cyberattack suffered by the CNE, from which they began to delegitimize the presidential elections. Through the website https://resultadosconvzla.com/, the Venezuelan opposition politicians María Corina Machado and Edmundo González manipulated the results and called for violence.
At that very moment, Venezuela was plunged into a wave of violence, where the “comanditos” were the main responsible for the riots and murders that occurred in the [two] days following the elections (2). These criminal groups were activated to function as small destabilizing bombs in the country, causing damage to infrastructure and crimes that caused 25 people to be killed and 192 to be injured. After 48 hours, the Venezuelan security forces reestablished order throughout the country.
The actions of these terrorist cells were coordinated by the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD) that ignored the official results, which declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner, and presented parallel (false) results, proclaiming, outside of any institutionality, Edmundo González as the winner. This attitude ignited the streets and unleashed a series of protests that quickly turned violent.
The president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, stated that the comanditos were financed entirely under the guise of supposed non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Rodríguez pointed out that “almost 100% of the financing for violence came from a legal loophole in Venezuela.”
“When the actions and financing of these groups were investigated, it was discovered that they were financed by organizations of dubious origin from Europe or by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).” (3) (Jorge Rodríguez)
USAID officially depends on the United States Department of State, with a budget of $850 million annually, and has agents in 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where it carries out apparently legitimate actions, in addition to numerous strategic operations in different parts of the world.
In Venezuela, the members of the comanditos received around $30 per day per person. In addition, they would receive a sum of $500 if they injured or killed members of the Venezuelan Armed Forces (4). Almost all members of the “comanditos” who committed criminal acts had criminal records (5).
The final strategy was never to organize the civilian population to defend the vote, it was simply to organize criminals to create hatred and violence after the electoral process, held on July 28 in Venezuela.
The experience of the “comanditos” in Venezuela is a new expression of one of the phases of destabilization proposed in Gene Sharp’s Manual, which involves the promotion of an active street fight that directly confronts the legitimate government. This strategy must continue to be studied, since it has different ingredients than those already studied in other coup attempts promoted in countries such as Nicaragua, Bolivia and Cuba.
The final purpose of this study must be centered on the creation of a National Plan for Early Response to Attempts of Destabilization. The People, the security forces and the laws must be constantly updated and prepared to prevent and avoid future attacks on our People.
Notes:
1. https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/comanditos-por-venezuela-claves-para-entender-para-que-son-y-como-Functionan/
2. https://www.telesurtv.net/grupos-delincuenciales-y-comanditos-la-realidad-detras-de-los-asesinatos-postelectorales-en-venezuela/
3. https://ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/politica/rodriguez-comanditos-fueron-finados-bajo-fachada-de-supuestas-ong/
4. https://twitter.com/VNVenezuelanews/status/1818436577695076490?s=19
5. https://www.telesurtv.net/fiscal-general-vincula-a-comanditos-de-la-extrema-derecha-venezolana-a-asesinatos/
Translation: Chicago ALBA Solidarity
