According to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the US government provided over a million dollars in funding to the Venezuelan opponents of President Hugo Chavez in 2002. The funds were channeled through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a non-profit agency with a congressional mandate to "encourage democracy".
Among the groups receiving funding are those collecting signatures for a referendum on Hugo Chavez's presidency, and the people who unseated the president in a short-lived coup two years ago.
The NED also provided funds to opposition groups in Haiti opposed to the recently-deposed president Aristide. Critics have claimed that the funding, along with a major aid embargo, was part of a successful attempt to systematically destabilize the country.
» Independent: US revealed to be secretly funding opponents of Chavez
» William Blum: Trojan Horse: The National Endowment for Democracy
» National Endowment for Democracy: official web site
» Media Transparency: National Endowment for Democracy Funded Venezuelan Coup Perpetrators: Someone should tell the NED that a coup is the opposite of democracy
The Dominion is a monthly paper published by an incipient network of independent journalists in Canada. It aims to provide accurate, critical coverage that is accountable to its readers and the subjects it tackles. Taking its name from Canada's official status as both a colony and a colonial force, the Dominion examines politics, culture and daily life with a view to understanding the exercise of power.