[NYTr] Argentina's New President Blasts US "Garbage" Propaganda and Political Meddling Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:59:50 -0600 (CST) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Remember the case last August of the cash-stuffed suitcase? The US has decided to use it against Venezuela and Argentina, arresting four who they say were acting as agent of a foreign government -- Venezuela -- and claiming it was an "illegal contribution" to be used in the Argentine elections. (Pot, kettle, black.) If so, why did the Argentine authorities arrest the dude who was carrying the suitcase-- one of the Venezuelan gusanos in Miami who holds dual US-Venezuelan citizenship who lives in Miami? And why does the US care enough to arrest 3 Venezuelans and a Uruguayan and charge them with being agents of a foreign power? Argentina asked for his extradition last August when he was first accused of breaking Argentine law. Naturally, he wasn't extradited. He was needed for the "investigation" by the US. Your tax dollars at work, yanquis. It all sounds like an elaborate covert op, a honey-trap of sorts that is only now being sprung. The US, IMF and World Bank were not at all pleased to have lost Argentina (along with most of the rest of Latin America), along with Argentina's last debt. At first when the story broke, the bagman was called a "Venezuelan businessman," but that cover story didn't last for more than a day before it was discovered that he is actually a "Miami man," part of the vast crowd of pro-US mafia types who use, and are used by, the US government in Florida. In this case, the "businessman" who deals in oil and arms (naturally) hasn't been charged at all by the US. It's obvious the whole "scandal" was a set-up by the US, especially since Kirchner also sought an apology from Venezuela at the time. It's now clear why. Venezuela was never involved. SEE Previous coverage here: http://tinyurl.com/25qc8o Now the US has enlisted the aid of Michael Shifter, a notorious anti-Cuba, anti-Venezuela propagandist with the "Inter-American Dialogue" to call the US charges a "smoking gun" that Hugo Chavez has secretly been manipulating elections all over Latin America. If so, one wonders why he didn't use a little of that kind of cash to manipulate his own referendum on December 2, which he lost by a hair and could have won handily if there had been a heavier voter turnout. Both Argentina and Venezuela have blasted the US for this latest bit of drama and "dirty trickery," conducted for months and only brought to fruition two days after Cristina FernC!ndez de Kirchner's inauguration. The Venezuelans have called it "propagandistic trash," and Argentina's President pronounced it "garbage." Looks like the Bush regime has finally met a dynasty it doesn't like (the new president is the wife of the outgoing president, NC)stor Kirchner). - NY Transfer] *** "Dirty Trick Aimed at Smearing Fernandez" Reuters via The National Post (Canada) - Dec 14, 2007 http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=1ee783d2-caf1-44c0-b888-3b51718dbe16&k=45196 Argentina's Fernandez calls U.S. cash probe "garbage" by Cesar Illiano, Reuters BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's new President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner attacked U.S. foreign policy on Thursday and said American claims that Venezuela smuggled $800,000 into Argentina to fund her election campaign were "garbage." Three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan were arrested in Miami earlier this week on charges of covering up a scandal that began in August when a Venezuelan-American businessman tried to enter Argentina with a suitcase full of undeclared cash. U.S. prosecutors say the suspects represented the anti-U.S. government of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and the money was to help finance Fernandez's campaign for the October 28 presidential election. Fernandez, who easily won the vote, quickly hit back. "This president may be a woman, but we're not going to allow them to pressure us," Fernandez said on Thursday in a thinly veiled reference to the United States. "This shows how others view international politics and the type of relationship they want to have with other countries. More than friends, they want countries that work for them." Fernandez, a leftist former senator and first lady, took office as president on Monday, replacing her husband Nestor Kirchner in a rare transfer of power between spouses. Argentine customs agents seized the suitcase of undeclared cash in August by but they let the businessman carrying it, Guido Antonini, leave the country without charging him. An FBI affidavit said Venezuelan agents met Antonini, a U.S. and Venezuelan citizen, when he returned home to Florida and pressured him to conceal Caracas's role in the scandal. 'DIRTY TRICK' Argentina's justice ministry earlier on Thursday called the allegations a "dirty trick" aimed at "smearing" Fernandez. Chavez's government also denounced the arrests as a U.S. conspiracy to damage Venezuela's relations with Argentina. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the arrests in Miami were not politically motivated. "This is not an issue of U.S.-Argentine relations. This is a matter of U.S. law enforcement enforcing U.S. laws on U.S. soil," he said. Venezuela and Argentina have cultivated close ties in recent years with Chavez's oil-rich government investing heavily in Argentine government bonds, and Fernandez is widely expected to keep Argentina in the bloc of left-wing governments suspicious of U.S. policies in Latin America. The men arrested in Miami were charged with acting as agents of Venezuela's government and failing to register themselves as such. They denied the charges in federal court on Wednesday but could face 10 years in prison if found guilty. A fifth person was also charged but remained at large. Antonini was not charged in the case. He carried the money on a jet chartered by Argentina's government to take Argentine and Venezuelan officials from Caracas to Buenos Aires. Argentina has sought an international arrest warrant for Antonini. U.S. officials are still processing the request. When the scandal broke, Argentine officials called on Chavez to apologize for the incident, but he never did. (Writing by Hilary Burke; Editing by Kevin Gray and Kieran Murray) *** The New York Times - Dec 14, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/world/americas/14argentina.html Argentine Leader Faults U.S. on Inquiry By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO BUENOS AIRES b Argentinabs new president, Cristina FernC!ndez de Kirchner, lashed out at the United States on Thursday for meddling in Latin American affairs after American prosecutors in Miami alleged that a suitcase stuffed with $800,000 was intended to be a secret contribution to her campaign. bThere is some garbage in international politics that holds back development and seriousness in international relationships,b Mrs. Kirchner said from the presidential palace here. On Wednesday, just two days after Mrs. Kirchner was sworn in as Argentinabs first elected female president, American officials arrested three Venezuelans and one Uruguayan on charges of acting and conspiring to act as agents of a foreign government within the United States, without prior notification to the attorney general. According to the American criminal complaint, the four individuals, and a fifth who is still being sought, were acting on behalf of high-ranking officials in the government of President Hugo ChC!vez of Venezuela, which an assistant United States attorney says was seeking to deliver the money to Mrs. Kirchnerbs campaign in August, two months before the Oct. 28 election. The complaint, which was filed in federal court in Miami, also said the men had plotted to cover up the intent behind the delivery of the cash. Mrs. Kirchner criticized the complaint while stressing the importance of the relationship between Argentina and Mr. ChC!vezbs government. bThis president may be a woman, but shebs not going to allow herself to be pressured,b Mrs. Kirchner said in a televised speech. She said she would bcontinue affirming our friendship with all Latin American countries and also with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.b The charges brought by American prosecutors alleging Venezuelabs involvement have buttressed suspicions among some in Latin America that Mr. ChC!vez has been trying to use his countrybs oil wealth to influence presidential campaigns in the region clandestinely. In Argentina, the case has raised concerns about the tightening bond between the Kirchner government and Mr. ChC!vez, who has pushed for energy accords with Argentina and to refinance billions of dollars of Argentinabs debt. The case first came to light on Aug. 4, when Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, who holds American and Venezuelan citizenship and lives in south Florida, was stopped by Argentine officials after arriving in Buenos Aires with a cash-stuffed suitcase via a chartered flight from Caracas, Venezuela. Mr. Antonini has not been charged in the case. Alicia Valle, special counsel to the United States attorney in Miami, would not comment on whether Mr. Antonini was cooperating with investigators. Since prosecutors filed their criminal complaint on Wednesday, the case has exploded in the Argentine and Venezuelan press. The Buenos Aires daily La NaciC3n devoted seven pages of articles to the case. In Venezuela, bAntoninigateb drew cries for more investigations. On Thursday, aides to Mrs. Kirchner sought to redirect the focus from charges that foreigners were seeking to finance her campaign secretly, to possible motivations for the American investigation. Justice Minister Anibal FernC!ndez called the American case ban enormous dirty trickb and a breprisalb for the countrybs ties with Mr. ChC!vez. The Venezuelan information minister, William Lara, denied any link between the money and his government, saying the four men who were arrested were not its agents and calling the charges bU.S. propagandistic trash,b The Associated Press reported. It is not against Argentine law for foreigners to contribute to a presidential campaign, but it is illegal to do so secretly, Argentine officials said. It also is illegal to bring undeclared cash into the country, the officials said. The American complaint alleges that on Aug. 23, less than three weeks after the aborted delivery in Buenos Aires, Mr. Antonini met with three of the charged suspects in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It was there that Franklin DurC!n, one of the suspects, told him that the intended recipient of the $800,000 was Mrs. Kirchnerbs campaign. According to prosecutors, Carlos Kauffmann, another suspect, warned Mr. Antonini that bhis future actionsb might put the life of his children bat risk.b According to the complaint, MoisC)s Maionica, another suspect, sought to reassure Mr. Antonini at that meeting that Venezuelabs national oil company, PetrC3leos de Venezuela, would cover any costs he incurred from the seizure of the suitcase in Buenos Aires. At another meeting four days later in Fort Lauderdale, Mr. DurC!n told Mr. Antonini bin substanceb that the disclosure of the intended recipient of the cash could result in the loss of the election by the recipient. The money seizure in August led NC)stor Kirchner, the president at the time, to fire an Argentine official for allowing Mr. Antonini to carry the cash aboard the flight, which had been chartered by the Argentine national oil company. On board were three Argentine officials and four employees of PetrC3leos de Venezuela. The companybs top manager in Argentina also stepped down. [Daniel Cancel contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela.] Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company *** "Ham-Handed Effort" to Damage Argentine-Venezuelan relations The Washington Post via SF Chronicle - Dec 14, 2007 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/14/MNU9TU58P.DTL Argentine president denies charges U.S. officials say Venezuela's Chavez funneled cash to her campaign to gain influence by Monte Reel and Juan Forero, Washington Post (12-14) 04:00 PST Lima, Peru --Argentina's new president berated the United States Thursday for alleging that the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had tried to illegally funnel cash to her recent presidential campaign, labeling the accusations garbage. U.S. officials, though, said four men who were charged in Miami in connection with the case - and who allegedly conspired to cover up the truth - had close ties to the Venezuelan administration. U.S. prosecutors Wednesday said they had evidence that a suitcase containing nearly $800,000 seized by Argentine customs officials in August came from the Chavez administration and was destined for the campaign of Cristina Fernandez, who was sworn in Monday as Argentina's president. Fernandez, elected by a wide margin in October, responded Thursday with some accusations of her own: The United States manufactured the scandal, she said, to punish her for maintaining friendly relations with the vocally anti-American Chavez. Venezuela's influence in Latin America has long troubled U.S. officials, who have accused Chavez of using oil profits to finance allies throughout the region. This week's allegations marked the first time the United States has tried to prove it. A senior U.S. official knowledgeable about the investigation said the case has shed light on how the Venezuelan government has relied on businessmen close to Chavez's government to channel money without being detected. Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, an affluent businessman in the oil industry and in arms sales, sectors in which the Venezuelan government spends handsomely, was detained Aug. 4 after landing at a Buenos Aires airport with the money-packed suitcase. "The modus operandi is the Venezuelan government reaches out to individuals like Antonini Wilson, allowing him to make a lot of money with contracts," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the subject. "And the cost is, when they want him to move money, he moves it, and he moves it to whoever they ask him to deliver it to." Less than two weeks after the money was seized - sparking rumors of a government scandal - a group of Venezuelans traveled to Miami to pressure Antonini to conceal the truth about the cash, according to the criminal complaint filed in Miami. The men told Antonini that Argentine and Venezuelan authorities would pursue him if he denied the funds were his, and that his children could be harmed. Antonini, who cooperated in the investigation leading to the arrests, holds U.S. and Venezuelan passports and lives in the Miami area. Among those who prosecutors say pressured Antonini were Carlos Kauffmann and Franklin Duran. Duran is the owner of the arms importer Rubial y Duran, which has provided weapons for police agencies in Venezuela. Duran and Kauffmann are also executives in Industrias Venoco, a petrochemical and oil services company with close ties to the Venezuelan state oil behemoth, Petroleos de Venezuela. An attorney for the men told the Associated Press that his clients were innocent. According to U.S. officials, the Venezuelans told Antonini that Fernandez could lose the election if the truth came out. And they tried to soothe him by explaining that Petroleos de Venezuela would pay for any expenses he might incur for the seizure of the cash. U.S. officials said it has been a priority for Venezuela's government to ensure that the source of cash sent to other countries never be discovered. "The Venezuelans decided that they would need to create offline capabilities to move money to people they support, and it had to be done in ways that could not be traced to the government," the senior official said. More than perhaps any other country in the region, Argentina has tried to balance friendly ties with both the United States and Venezuela, which has helped the country recover from its 2001 financial crisis by buying billions of dollars worth of Argentine bonds. During her campaign, Fernandez emphasized the importance of strengthening the country's foreign relations, including those with the United States. On Thursday, discussing the burgeoning controversy, she sided squarely with Venezuela. "This president might be a woman, but she won't let herself be pressured," she said, drawing cheers from a crowd gathered for an event at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. "I'm going to continue to strengthen relations with all friendly Latin American nations, including the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." In a thinly veiled reference to the United States, Fernandez also complained that some countries wanted others subordinated to them. It was an anti-imperialist note that resonates in many corners of Latin America, not just Venezuela. Riordan Roett, an expert on Argentina at Johns Hopkins University, said the case would worsen already cool relations between the Bush administration and Argentina. Though he is critical of some of the Argentine government's economic policies, Roett said the United States could have handled the case more delicately. "It was ham-handed," he said. "We have to learn how to deal with Latin America with these kinds of incidents. Someone should have been sensitive to the fact that there's a new administration in Argentina and you want to build new bridges." *** BBC - Dec 14, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7143043.stm Kirchner firmly denies illegal funding Argentina's new president has firmly denied allegations by US prosecutors that Venezuela tried to illegally influence her election campaign. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the charges were a "trashing operation" and she would let no-one pressure her. Her comments came hours after four South Americans were charged in Miami with trying to cover up the scandal. It began with the confiscation in Argentina in August of a briefcase containing $800,000 (B#392,000). The US authorities said their investigation demonstrated that the money was intended for Ms Fernandez's presidential campaign. Venezuela has also rejected the accusations as a "fabricated scandal". Correspondents say the affair is a political test for Ms Fernandez, who was sworn in as president on Monday. 'Undeclared agents' In a speech in the capital Buenos Aires, President Fernandez said she remained undeterred in her desire to deepen relations with other Latin American countries and Venezuela in particular. "This way of trying to operate in regional politics will not be successful," she said. "They will not achieve results. This president may be a woman, but she will not allow anyone to pressure her." Though she did not mention the US by name, correspondents say she was clearly referring to Washington. The criminal complaint against the four men - three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan - said that "neither the true source nor the intended recipient of those cash funds had been disclosed". But Assistant US Attorney Thomas Mulvihill said on Wednesday that an FBI recording showed that the money was destined for Ms Fernandez's campaign. She was elected in October to take over the presidency from her husband Nestor. Prosecutors say the defendants were undeclared agents and held meetings in Florida with a Venezuelan-American businessman, Guido Antonini Wilson, in an attempt to pressure him to hide the source of the money and its destination. Mr Antonini Wilson was part of a delegation flown in to Buenos Aires by the Argentine government on a private jet in August. Customs officials discovered the cash in his suitcase, and issued an extradition warrant when he fled to the US. The businessman is not accused of any crime by the American prosecutors. *** The New York Times - Dec 13, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/world/americas/13argentina.html U.S. Links Smuggled Cash to Venezuela By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO BUENOS AIRES - A Miami man who brought $800,000 in a suitcase into Argentina was trying to deliver a campaign contribution from the Venezuelan government to the Argentine presidential candidate Cristina FernC!ndez de Kirchner, American prosecutors said Wednesday. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas J. Mulvihill said in court Wednesday that conversations recorded by the F.B.I. indicate that Mrs. Kirchner, who won the election and was sworn in on Monday here as Argentinabs president, was the intended recipient of the money, said Alicia Valle, special counsel to the U.S. Attorney in Miami. The United States attorneybs office in Miami charged five men with acting and conspiring to act as agents of the Venezuelan government within the United States, without having notified the attorney general, in a scheme it said involved the highest levels of President Hugo ChC!vezbs government. According to prosecutors, Venezuelan agents tried to cover up the purpose of the cash and intimidated a witness in the case. "The complaint filed today outlines an alleged plot by agents of the Venezuelan government to manipulate an American citizen in Miami in an effort to keep the lid on a burgeoning international scandal," Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. The Miami man, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, was stopped in Buenos Aires on Aug. 4 with the cash-stuffed suitcase. The complaint charges that three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan, acting on behalf of Venezuelan officials, then sought his help in covering up the source of the cash, its destination and the role of the Venezuelan government. "This could be the smoking gun that ChC!vez has been actively financing campaigns in Latin America," said Michael Shifter, vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue, a political consultancy in Washington. During these meetings the defendants told Mr. Antonini, who is an American citizen, that various high-ranking Venezuelan government officials, including members of the office of the vice-president, members of the intelligence services and a high-ranking official from the Justice ministry, were aware of the matter. The defendants told Mr. Antonini that the funds had been destined for the campaign of a candidate in the Argentine presidential election of Oct. 28. Charged were MoisC)s Maionica, 36; Antonio JosC) Canchica GC3mez, 37; Rodolfo Edgardo Wanseele Paciello, 40; Franklin DurC!n, 40; and Carlos Kauffmann, 35. All have been arrested, except for Mr. Canchica GC3mez, who remains at large, the U.S. attorney's office said. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Venezuelan officials in Caracas had no comment on the charges. Marcos LohlC), a spokesman for the Argentine Foreign Ministry, also declined to comment. The case began on Aug. 4, when Mr. Antonini, 46, was stopped in Buenos Aires with the cash-stuffed suitcase by an airport customs official after arriving from Caracas on a private plane chartered by the Argentine governmentbs national energy company. Seven others were on board, including four executives of Venezuelabs state oil company and three Argentina officials. The discovery of the suitcase briefly chilled relations between Argentina and Venezuela, which had grown closer through a series of energy accords and through Mr. ChC!vezbs refinancing of billions in Argentine debt. The Argentine president at the time, Nestor Kirchner, demanded answers from the Venezuelan government. Within days, he accepted the resignation of Claudio Uberti, the Argentine official who had offered Mr. Antonini a seat on the plane. [Which doesn't fit at all with the tale that the Kirchners were plotting to accept secret cash from Hugo Chavez, but never mind.] MarC-a Luz Rivas Diez, the Argentine attorney general, said at the time that Mr. Antonini had made 12 trips to Argentina in the past year, some for less than a day. The Argentine government said it had started its own probe, and Venezuelabs national oil company, PetrC3leos de Venezuela, said it would also investigate the mysterious trip. No results of either probe have been announced. Pedro CarreC1o, Venezuelanbs justice minister, said in August that the cash found on Mr. Antonini was a personal matter. "If there exists a personal object," Mr. Carreno said, "it is a suitcase." Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================