Gordon Robinson | Afghanistan and Venezuela: parallel lessons

Russia’s interest in Afghanistan started in 1885 with its expansionist seizure of an Afghan border fort at Pandjeh.

During the Soviet era, Russia intensified fiscal interventions. From 1955-1978, billions in economic/military aid was sent to Afghanistan. In 1978, an Afghanistan communist party coup installed Nur Mohammad Taraki as president. Taraki instituted deeply unpopular Soviet-style ‘modernisation reforms’ that incensed Afghan elite and more traditional rural folk alike. Taraki’s regime suppressed opposition, executed political prisoners and ordered massacres against unarmed civilians. By April 1979, much of Afghanistan was in armed rebellion.

In September 1979, Taraki was murdered under orders of Foreign Affairs Minister Hafizullah Amin. The Soviets weren’t amused. After two keystone-cops-style attempts to poison Amin, troops were ‘deployed’ to Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. President Amin was promptly killed and replaced with Soviet loyalist Babrak Karmal.

USA immediately sprang into action; denounced the troop deployment as an “invasion” and lobbied UN General Assembly to pass a resolution protesting Soviet intervention. In January 1980, foreign ministers from 34 nations of the Islamic Conference also adopted a resolution, demanding “the immediate, urgent and unconditional withdrawal of Soviet troops” from Afghanistan. Afghan insurgents began receiving massive aid and military training in Pakistan and China, paid for primarily by USA who, under Jimmy Carter, had begun to repair relations with Pakistan from January 1979. The relationship was previously strained after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s execution.

Soon, USA began funding Aghan Muslim insurgents known as mujahideen. CIA’s ‘Operation Cyclone’ heavily supported militant Islamic groups favoured by Pakistani President Zia-Ul-Haq rather than other, less ideological resistance groups.

Operation Cyclone was one of the longest and most expensive covert CIA operations. It began by costing just over US$500,000 in 1979. By 1987, it was costing American taxpayers US$630 million per year.

USA won’t admit it but this facilitated the birth of Al-Qaeda and prominence of Osama bin Laden. Funding, mainly channelled through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), went to Zia’s Afghanistan point man Gulbuddin Hekmatyar – a warlord, heroin smuggler and general ne’er-do-well, who managed to worm his way into a direct relationship with CIA despite Benazhir Bhutto’s warning to President George H.W. Bush (late 1980s) “You’re creating a Frankenstein”.

CIA also funded Jalaluddin Haqqani, famous Afghan ‘Freedom Fighter’ and one of Osama’s closest associates. Haqqani received direct cash payments from CIA agents who circumvented ISI’s back channels and thereby allowed Haqqani to fund Al-Qaeda’s training and infrastructure requirements. It didn’t take Osama long to bite the hand that fed him and earn USA wrath.

CIA covert and not-so-covert (for example, Bay of Pigs invasion) operations in Cuba for decades are well documented.

Even before Afghanistan bubbled to the boil, Jamaica’s PNP government, in 1974, declared itself Democratic Socialist and implemented quantum shifts in social policy that seemed to favour a more Soviet/Cuban style of government. Prime Minister Michael Manley and Cuban revolutionary hero, Fidel Castro, became fast friends.

DESTABILISING JAMAICA

CIA immediately began a programme of destabilisation of the Jamaican government. It’s long been alleged (with some credibility) that CIA is the father of gun smuggling into Jamaica and facilitated the Jamaica-to-USA cocaine trade to pay for guns. The aim was destabilisation by political violence with the objective of regime change. A major beneficiary of weapons and funding was Lester Lloyd ‘Jim Brown’ Coke. This led to the conception, birth and nurturing of the notorious ‘Shower Posse’.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Gary Webb’s controversial book (or series of articles) ‘The Dark Alliance’ alleged CIA implemented a deliberate destabilisation strategy in Jamaica that included assassinations, money for opposition parties and fomenting unrest. Trinidadian author and social researcher, Darius Figueira, in his book Cocaine and Heroin Trafficking in the Caribbean, wrote “it meant illicit drug runners linked to JLP were integrated into a CIA linked illicit drugs, guns and criminal trafficking pipeline”.

Speculation that ‘Jim Brown’ was working with CIA is also made by Timothy White, author of definitive Bob Marley Biography Catch a Fire, in which he suggests Bob’s attempted assassination was a CIA operation. Authors Laurie Gunst and Vivien Goldman also make the same assertions in their books, Born Fi Dead and The Book of Exodus. It was a tumultuous time which began with PNP’s declaration of Democratic Socialism; continued through an election in a state of emergency with key JLP candidates/activists as political prisoners; and ended with 1980’s JLP landslide win.

Newsone.com, an American online news service created to investigate and unearth truth about the urban experience for African-American audiences, is operated by Urban One, a media conglomerate started 35 years ago by then recently divorced single mother Cathy Hughes,. In a June 3, 2010 post by cganemccalla headlined ‘How the CIA created the Jamaican Shower Posse’, newsone.com claims:

“In its efforts to destabilize the Jamaican government in the 1970s, CIA created a group of drug dealing, gun running political criminals. Through the cocaine trade, these criminals would eventually become more powerful than the politicians they were connected to. The CIA destabilization program didn’t only destabilize Jamaica in the ’70s, it destabilized Jamaica for the next 40 years.”

True? You tell me. CIA surely won’t. Those of us over 50 know what we know.

What we do know is former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, after splitting with JLP, famously admitted he’d associated with gunmen. Many years later, CIA-created Frankenstein Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, Jim Brown’s son and current Shower Posse leader, was extradited to USA, despite stern resistance from a Bruce Golding-led Jamaican government, and convicted of murder, drug and gun-running charges.

… AND NOW VENEZUELA

Now we can look at Venezuela, OPEC’s sixth-largest member by oil production and the location of the world’s largest oil reserves.

After 10 years of economic downturn due to falling oil prices, socialist President Maduro has been clinging to power, using oppressive tactics and political trickery but was re-elected in legally held elections boycotted by major opposition parties claiming manipulation of election dates. A USA proposed resolution declaring Maduro’s government illegitimate was passed in the Organization of American States (OAS) by 19 votes (including Jamaica) to six (eight abstentions).

The resolution calls for “new presidential elections with all necessary guarantees of a free, fair, transparent, and legitimate process to be held at an early date…”

Instead, a young opposition leader, Juan Guaido, apparently gets inspiration (from Washington?) and swears himself in as ‘Interim President’ at a political rally in what has all the earmarks of an attempted coup. Within hours, the same USA that asked for “new presidential elections” formally recognises Guaido as Venezuelan president. Several allies worldwide follow suit. But Venezuelan government institutions remain loyal to Maduro, the elected president.

Suddenly, unrest in Venezuela explodes. Debilitating power cuts, water and food shortages and general economic chaos are the new normal. USA sends ‘humanitarian aid’ but is refused entry, as Maduro suspects a covert CIA operation. China and Russia openly back Maduro’s socialist government.

USA imposes sanctions. Jamaica passes legislation to compulsorily acquire Venezuela’s Petrojam shares, saying they’re urgently needed to avoid USA sanctions (but Petrojam is NOT a company sanctioned by USA) and for long-needed refinery upgrade (for continued viability) that Venezuela won’t approve. But Petrojam has been unprofitable for decades, with no change (or upgrade) in sight.

POTUS’s pronouncements on Venezuela sound like regime change strategies. Jamaica and a select few CARICOM countries (who voted for the OAS Resolution) are invited to meet POTUS, not at any official Government centre but at his Florida resort. On the eve of the meeting, Jamaica closes its Venezuelan embassy.

On Saturday, March 23, it gets curiouser and curiouser. Two Russian air force planes, believed to be carrying nearly 100 Russian Special Forces and cybersecurity personnel, arrive in Caracas.

On Wednesday, March 27, Trump meets Guaido’s wife, Fabiano Rosales, in the Oval Office (not at Mar-a-Lago where he summoned Caribbean leaders like indentured servants from “shithole countries”). With Fabiano beside him, he holds an official press briefing and tells reporters “Russia has to get out!”

When asked how he plans to make Russia leave, Trump replies “All options are open.”

Reuters:

“Rosales is slated to meet US First Lady Melania Trump in Palm Beach on Thursday on a swing through South Florida … .

Rosales also plans to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill…

Mike Pence praised Rosales for being ‘courageous.’”

26 year-old Fabiano gets an Oval Office meeting and press Conference; a tour with first lady; a meeting with Congress; and vice-presidential empathy. Jamaica got stale chocolate cake and instructions.

Will we jump on Juan Guaido’s bandwagon? Will JDF troops fight along US Marines in Venezuela as they did in Grenada? Is Guaido the next USA-created Frankenstein? Is Venezuela’s ‘humanitarian crisis’ self-inflicted or the result of another successful CIA destabilisation operation?

If it quacks like a duck…………

Peace and Love!

- Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.