Speaking at the Catholic University in Quito (Ecuador), US professor and researcher James Petras says the United States is prioritizing a Plan Venezuela and Plan Ecuador in parallel with its already launched Plan Colombia in an aggressive geopolitical strategy to unilaterally impose Washington's will on developing nations south of the Rio Grande.

Despite the fact that Presidente Hugo Chavez Frias has fairly won more elections than any President today or in the past, Petras says a conjunction of primary targets of North American interference in the government in Venezuela lies in a defamatory media campaign that intensifies with each day with the active incitement of US Ambassador to Venezuela, Charles S. Shapiro, who had had a leading role in the April 2002 coup d'etat which saw the imposition of USA-backed dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga, albeit for only two days.

"The United States lost the first round but continued to support action taken in the December-January 2003 national stoppage and now in the opposition's petition for a revocatory referendum against Presidente Chavez.  In view of their failed attempts to overthrow the legitimate government of Venezuela, the next following step is USA-inspired terrorism, an unending war where the coup d'etat against (Haiti's) Aristide is just preparing the way."

"We entered an interesting scenario that calls on forces within Colombia itself ... because the United States is not going to invade Venezuela alone ... since it is not in condition to accumulate large scale losses ... Venezuela will not be such a walk-over as Haiti.  Colombia provides the military excuse and capability to open up a second front ... an mistaken adventure since the Pentagon has mad such bad calculations that they think they can simply occupy a country (Venezuela), colonize it and 'ciao'."

"In my judgment the United States has been preparing Chavez' violent overthrow for some considerable time ... with a combination of internal violent uprisings, a frontier invasion via Colombia and then directly from the United States mainland."

Petras, however, considers that the main obstacle for Colombia's involvement in Washington's invasion plans for Venezuela would be left-wing guerrilla fighters along Venezuela's extensive border with Colombia where, right now, a greater force of fighters than could be amassed against Venezuela, are preparing to open a direct assault on Bogota when the Army and right-wing paramilitaries required to consummate the Bush 2 administrations covert plans are concentrated on Venezuelan frontier zones.