Criticizing
statements by CIA's director, Mike Pompeo, concerning Venezuela, the
former Chief of Staff for Secretary of State, Lawrence Wilkerson,
appeared furious about the amateurism and audacity that characterizes
many US officials under Trump administration.
Pompeo had
stated:
If, any
time you have a country as large and with the economic capacity of a
country like Venezuela, America has a deep interest in making sure it
is stable and as democratic as possible. So we're working hard to do
that. I'm always careful when we talk about South and Central America
and the CIA. There's a lot of stories. I want to be careful what I
say, but suffice it to say, we are very hopeful that there can be a
transition in Venezuela. We, the CIA is doing its best to understand
the dynamic there so that we can communicate to our State Department
and to others. The Colombians, I was just down in Mexico City and in
Bogota, week before last, talking about this very issue, trying to
help them understand the things they might do, so that they can get a
better outcome for their part of the world, and our part of the
world.
Speaking to
Aaron Mate and The Real News, Wilkerson responded:
First
thing Mr. Pompeo needs to know is it's Bogota, accent on the last
syllable, not Bogota. The second thing he needs to know is CIA
directors need to keep their traps shut, their mouths shut. They
don't talk about policy. They don't even intimate about policy. They
should not even be on camera. He needs to shut up and go back to his
hole at Langley.
The
third thing is that the last thing we need is somebody from the
Central Intelligence Agency talking about Venezuelan policy period,
or any Latin American policy. This is a region where the United
States ought to issue apologies, not threats. We have done so much to
damage Latin America. If we're talking about a relationship, as Mr.
Pompeo was just doing, the relationship has always been, and I would
submit we want it to be again, a relationship between American
business and American leaders and oligarchs.
Oligarchs
is whom we have liked and loved from Brazil to Santiago. From
Argentina to Peru. That's whom we like and love because they're
conducive to American commercial interests and ultimately conducive
to American security interests. It's time we fell out of love with
oligarchs and started liking others who represent the people and true
and real democracy. That's what Mr. Pompeo ought to know, but of
course like most of the Trump administration, he's ignorant as hell.
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