Chavez preps 'ragtag armies' in case US invades Venezuela
RAW STORY
Published:
Saturday June 10, 2006
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 President Hugo Chavez is prepping his "ragtag armies" just in case the United States invades Venezuela, according to an article set for Sunday's New York Times, RAW STORY has found.
Excerpts from the article written by Simon Romero:
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As dawn broke in this gritty city adorned with revolutionary graffiti and murals one day recently, about 300 residents practiced military-style marching, strutting under the hot sun and clicking their heels in a salute to their commander. This ragtag army of nurses, students and other citizens is one of many being formed throughout Venezuela, part of President Hugo Chavez's attempt to create Latin America's largest civilian reserve force.
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The drills here and in other towns are part of Chavez's rising military profile, which includes arms purchases and what he contends will be the training of as many as 2 million citizens to fight a guerrilla war, in preparation for what Chavez claims is the threat of invasion by the United States.
Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas insist that no such plans exist. But their denials do not appear to convince Chavez, who was briefly ousted in a 2002 coup tacitly supported by Bush administration officials.
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While military analysts say Venezuela's upgrading of its arsenal is not unusual compared with arms purchases by neighboring countries, the United States has responded warily. It moved to block Venezuela's acquisition of military aircraft from Spain and Brazil by denying export licenses for the transfer of U.S.-made components for the planes.
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FULL TIMES ARTICLE AT THIS LINK
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