US Embassy Asked Peace Corps and Fulbright Scholars to Spy in Bolivia
ABC News went public today with a story that has been circulating privately in Bolivia for several months – at least one U.S. Embassy official in La Paz has been asking U.S. Fulbright scholars and Peace Corps volunteers to provide the Embassy with intelligence on Cubans and Venezuelans in Bolivia. The story, written by reporter Jean Friedman, centers on the testimony of John Alexander van Schaick, a Fulbright scholar who spoke in detail about the request from an Embassy official during a required "security briefing" in November 2007. Here is a link to the story.According to van Schaick, Assistant Regional Security Officer Vincent Cooper asked him during the interview to provide the Embassy with any information he stumbled across, during his time in Bolivia, about Cuban or Venezuelan nationals doing work in the country. ABC News was able to corroborate similar requests from the Embassy with testimony from managers and volunteers in the U.S. Peace Corps.
Such requests are in direct violation of U.S. policy prohibiting the use of Fulbright scholars and Peace Corps members for any such intelligence gathering. ABC quotes an unnamed State Department spokesperson affirming that the request was not a part of any State Department policy.
The story, justifiably, is likely to gather significant attention in Bolivia, with Morales administration officials already publicly pledging to investigate. The "Spy for U.S." story follows months of charges by the Morales administration (and denials by the U.S.) that the Bush administration has been using USAID funding and other financing to back Morales opponents. It also has echoes of another incident last year when a relative of the senior U.S. military advisor at the Embassy was detained at the La Paz airport bringing in 500 rounds of 45 caliber ammunition for the Embassy official. This latest incident, as did that one, raises serious questions about whether U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia has directed the Spy requests, suffers from serious lapses in political judgment, or just has no control over his staff.
Either way, Goldberg's string of political headaches is likely to turn into a phenomenal migraine over this one.
A serious concern here is whether the fallout from the "Spy for U.S." story will have repercussions for Fulbright Scholars and the Peace Corps program. At an individual level, these young visitors to Bolivia rely significantly on the goodwill of the communities and people with whom they operate. If the Bolivian government and press label them as spies, that goodwill and their ability to work in Bolivia will be in jeopardy. The Peace Corps was already kicked out of Bolivia by the government there in 1971, following allegations that the program gave sterilization treatment to indigenous women without their knowledge. The Corps returned to Bolivia in 1990 after a nearly 20-year absence.
The object of anger over this incident should not be directed at either Fulbright scholars or Peace Corps volunteers. Bolivian anger over the Spy request ought to be directed at the incompetent U.S. officials who have put playing James Bond over the interest and safety of the hundreds of young people from the U.S. serving in these programs. This time public apologies alone will not resolve anything.
It is clear that Mr. Cooper should be dismissed from his post and the State Department immediately. It also seems that the time has come for Mr. Goldberg, his supervisor, to leave Bolivia as well.
posted by The Democracy Center at 3:33 PM
93 Comments:
"any information he stumbled across, during his time in Bolivia, about Cuban or Venezuelan nationals..."
So who is spying on BOLIVIANS? This type of 3rd country intel gathering is engaged in by almost every country in the world.
As usual, hypocrits as embassadors, using good will Peace Corp volunteers as spooks. Shame on Golberg. Shame.
He should resign from the diplomatic corps.
This is worse than saying "don't vote for Evo."
it would be far easier to eavesdrop at the Ritz, Hotel Europa, San Alberto, Katana's, you know the places where there Cubans and Venezuelans with loose tounges.
If they didn't offer them cash, it's not spying. Amateurs don't know this. I bet they casually asked for info on seeing Venezuelan and Cuban troops and little clowns like the Fulbright fool thought he was being asked to spy and it made him feel all daring and romantic. Color him a fool or a chavista who in any case shouldn't be taking government money. The only good thing that could happpen is that every radical crazy leftist should be hereon suspicious of him for as long as he lives. Freak.
Maybe the US embassy wanted these little leftist turds kicked out and this was the best back door way of doing it. Doesn't matter that some embassy guy is to blame about the spy thing, the peace corpers and fulbrighters will be blamed. Even if the ones who tattled to the media think they are pure, everyone else is going to wonder which ones said yes and didn't go to the media. So, that taints them all no matter how simon pure they think they are. The little media tattler needs to learn to think things through, but don't count on that from cossetted academic leftist like a fulbrighter. Whining is so much funner and more natural for him. The whole thing might have been an intentional way of tainting them all so as to cut off the US aid which I think the US would like to do. That's the real reason I think the state dept might have smeared them as spies. Congress will never cut off bolivia's aid but some incident like this might and a lot of us want every single penny of aid pulled from this little marxist dope haven in the andes. I hope it was intentional.
Jim: State doesn't use spies. CIA does. If you're sure a State guy was involved in this, it wasn't spying.
Only crazed leftist antiamerican castroite regimes are worried about spies in their country. Normal countries are not. Is Mexico? Is Honduras? That Bolivia is paranoid of spies says something about its intentions.
Check out the guys che geuvara hat. How cute.
the kid is a rat
Normal countries like Mexico and Honduras?
Normal? Those countries are run by puppets of the drug cartels, the corrupted officials, the multinationals who care nothing about the mexican people. Why is that millions of "illegals" Mexican and other central americans have filled the USA? Because they are normal?
Ignorance is "normal "of the right wing neonzis comments.
Darn it! I've had a Fulbright grant for two years (sequential) and I haven't been asked. I study health policy, too. I feel left out!
Maybe this van Schaick has a Fulbright Hayes grant, but he does not appear on the roster of Fulbright grantees awarded by IIE in New York (which usually awards grants to recent College grads).
OK. He's part of this year's Fulbriht class. Just arrived in October.
Don't tell El Gridiota and his invisible friends, but I was in La Paz on two occasions in the past three weeks.
How's that for a conspiracy?
The US government is dumping millions of dollars into Bolivia right now to empower the right wing and weaken leftist social movements and the Morales administration.
“116 grants for $4,451,249 to help departmental governments operate more strategically,”
After the revolts in 2003, “USAID strengthened its presence in El Alto, and focused their funding and programs on developing youth leadership."
"A foundation received $155,738 from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) through the Center for International Private Enterprise, a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."
Got the numbers from this recent article --- http://progressive.org/mag_dangl0208
Ignorance is "normal "of the right wing neonzis comments.
Nazi is short for 'National SOCIALIST.' All Nazis are leftists, same as you are. Nazis are your familiars, not mine.
All I can say is that if the US embassy asked me to provide information about Cuban spies and military tinpots slinking around undocumented in Bolivia, I'd gladly do it. Glad to hear they're looking. By the way, what are Cuban spies and Venezuelan military men doing in Bolivia anyway? Anything funny about that? Anything at all? Or is it 'nothing to see here, move along'?
Love the little fulbright turd's che cap. Bet it's real special to him.
Why does the embassy need peace corp volunteers? With all the bolivian trash like Tuto and Goni cronies, there is plenty of "intelligencia" to be pass around to the idiots above them.
Yeah, you'd think there's be no lack of 'volunteers.' In fact, there probably aren't. More proof the little turd wasn't asked to 'spy' as his romantic fevered imagination had supposed.
Mr.Philip Goldberg has a mission to fulfill in Bolivia ....( DIVIDE THE COUNTRY) ..they will try by all the means to create the conditions
Phase 1 : support Autonomus governments with full control of Natural resources .
Second Phase have independent countries ..if the people decide for it.....same script as the one made for KOSOVO
see this interview with this expert in dividing countries ...EVO should request to change this embasador
Monday, September 26, 2005
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Kosovo: U.S. Mission Head Talks To RFE/RL About Province Status Issue
Philip Goldberg
(U.S. Office Pristina)
RFE/RL's Kosovo subunit recently spoke to Philip Goldberg, the chief of mission at the U.S. Office Pristina, about the issue of Kosovo's status. The province's majority ethnic Albanians want independence from Serbia, while Belgrade supports a position of "more than autonomy, but less than independence." According to a recent Reuters report, Kai Eide, who is UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for Kosovo, said that his planned report on the province's readiness for final status talks will be delayed by "several more weeks" in order to put pressure on Prishtina and Belgrade to better implement the international community's standards for Kosovo.
RFE/RL: Mr. Goldberg, Kosova seems to be just ahead of the international process of status definition. Exactly when do you think this process will begin?
Philip Goldberg: I can't say with absolute certainty, but I would expect that Ambassador Eide is in the process of wrapping up his report. That, if it is positive, will be the trigger from moving on to the final status process, first naming an envoy, a special envoy of the secretary-general of the UN. The United States has said that it is very much interested in providing a deputy for that team. So I hope that this process will begin during the fall.
RFE/RL: How do you see this process, this way of defining the status? Through a conference similar to Dayton or Rambouillet? Through "shuttle diplomacy," or through some other ways?
Goldberg: A lot of this will have to do with decisions taken by the envoy; what is his and his team's view of how best to structure these talks. And I think it is impossible at the moment to say exactly what structure it will take. What I know is, that at the beginning it will involve some sort of discussion with the parties involved to help set that framework.
RFE/RL: In your latest [public] appearances you have raised the need for political leaders to prepare for status talks. Until now, how much have they done this?
Goldberg: I would say very little. There have been a lot of discussions and some skirmishing in the forum, about how to organize. But it has really been just that, just talk. It hasn't really been a serious preparation for final status. You are quite right, that I have been quite strongly advising that people prepare for this moment. It is going to be one of the most important moments in Kosovo's history and the people here need to be well represented. You know there are people who are saying this isn't going to be a negotiation. Well, it is. Even if you take as your premise a certain position in the final status, which we all know on this side [Kosovo] means independence, on the other side [Belgrade] means something else. There are still a whole lot of issues that flow from that issue. For example, what are the rights and obligations of certain communities here; decentralization and how that will have an effect on the future of Kosovo; the north of Kosovo and what will happen there, because we all know that there has been a different reality there than in the rest of Kosovo in the last six years; issues having to do with debts and privatization, all of the technical issues that are involved. These are hugely complicated issues, including that of the role of the international community here, after final status is determined. It will be a lot better if the people on this side showed the maturity and the political will to make those decisions themselves and try to engage the international community and Belgrade when necessary, on issues of vital importance for the people here.
RFE/RL: One of the main issues that will follow the process of status definition is the issue of interethnic relations and minorities. On one side, [ethnic] Albanian leaders claim that the Serbian community is not ready to integrate and is not accepting the new reality in Kosova. On the other side, the Serbian representatives say Kosova's institutions are not offering enough to be integrated. What would your comment be?
"Compromise is important and will be necessary on both sides, on all sides I should say. Compromise basically means that you are not going to get everything that you want."
Goldberg: My comment would be that both sides need to do more to try to create a future that will allow minorities to have a safe and secure life in Kosovo. The majority needs to accept that there are minorities here, who have every right to live in safety, security, with their own language, with their own culture. That, in many ways, is part of the decentralization effort to assure that by putting a policy behind the rhetoric. I think that the institutions need to be more welcoming of minorities and more willing to offer opportunities to people. I think safety and security is not yet what we would like. Part of it is a problem of perception, in Serbian areas especially, that they are not welcome.... Part of it is psychological, but still more needs to be done by the majority to reach out to the Serbian community.
For example, when [Kosovo's] Prime Minister [Bajram Kosumi] a few months ago started to go to some Serbian areas and speak to communities and assure them that their future was secure and that the majority, the [ethnic] Albanian population, really wanted to make a gesture and actually live in harmony, that was a very good step. We would like to see a lot more of that. I haven't seen much of it in the most recent weeks, so I would like to see much more of it. On the Serbian side, there has been a feeling that somehow everything will be presented to them, a state of perfection, and then maybe they will consider being involved in the institutions. Well that's not right either. We have argued and we will continue to argue that the path to reconciliation, the path to living together, means working together. And it doesn't mean boycotting the institutions, it doesn't mean "you give us freedom of movement, you give us all of the things we are demanding and then maybe we will come into [these] institutions." You have to work together, you have to work for those things. So I think both sides need to do more.
RFE/RL: Lately, the issue of compromise has been raised by different circles, but the Kosovar Albanian leaders claim that independence is a compromise. Belgrade, though, insists on the formula "more than autonomy, less than independence." What do you think about it?
Goldberg: Compromise is important and will be necessary on both sides, on all sides I should say. Compromise basically means that you are not going to get everything that you want. I think that is readily apparent here on this side, and I think it will be apparent in Belgrade as well. We are going to face many difficult issues. Not the least being the one that you mentioned about the divergence in views in Belgrade and Prishtina about the final status issue.
RFE/RL: You mentioned earlier the role of the international community after status is defined. How do you see that role?
Goldberg: I see it as having to be determined quite frankly, but what I do know and what we all agree on, is that the path for the Balkans generally and Kosovo specifically, is towards Europe. And we would like to see and I think the Europeans would like to see a very heavily weighted international presence towards Europe, meaning the European Union. The United States of course will be involved, and what the actual arrangements are remain to be determined. It also has to be done in a way that has locals buy in...but also that protects the rights of minorities and the whole construct that comes from the final status process. So it is going to be complicated as I say and it is not something you can say in a vacuum. But I think what we do know is, in areas like judiciary and in areas that require a continued international presence, after the final status decision, that we will do it in a way that is not top-down necessarily, [as] the international community, as has been the case in the last six years, is running Kosovo, but rather more of a partnership, one that leads Kosovo towards those European institutions and integration with the rest of the region.
RFE/RL: Let's change the topic of our conversation a little and talk about the everyday problems Kosova's citizens face, such as the poor economy. What do you think needs to be done for the economy to be developed to a satisfying level for everybody?
Goldberg: There are few areas, few sectors, where the economy could very quickly improve. Everybody knows, for example, that a new electrical facility is going to be needed here. That is going to require international lending, international participation...to help that process become a reality. And that probably can't be achieved until the final status issue is resolved and there is more definition about Kosovo's future. But almost immediately jobs can be created from that, but more importantly electricity, if generated in a few years from a new plant, will also result in increasing revenues for the treasury of Kosovo....
[Also] property claims have to be resolved in a way and quickly, so that the agricultural output here is increased, so you're not importing only so many of your foodstuffs from outside of Kosovo. There is no reason for it when there is good land here. Those are two areas where things can start fairly quickly. From the privatization of the mines, jobs can be created. We know that, for example, in the privatization of Ferronikel [mining-metallurgical giant], 1700 jobs can be created fairly quickly in a period of about three years. And yet there is nothing but political objections raised to do that and all kinds of obstacles that Kosovars put in the way of this, not the internationals. So Kosovars need to get out of the way and see that there are good things out there too and not just to object to everything on political grounds, because if that is the case, people will be disappointed. And I think finally people should realize that the status issue is not some sort of miracle for the economy. It is going to take hard work. For example, a university that functions well and produces graduates who are capable and come into the workforce well trained, it means competing against other places and producing things here, that can be done more efficiently and more cost effectively than in other places. The international economy is as it is. Kosovo is going to have to adjust to it, it isn't going to adjust to Kosovo.
RFE/RL: The poor [state of the] economy is usually cited by experts as one of the reasons behind corruption and organized crime. Does Kosova have that problem?
Goldberg: We all are concerned about the problems of corruption and crime here.... Kosovo's, and quite frankly the region's, most recent history -- in Serbia there were sanctions, here there was war and other dislocations -- has caused all kinds of criminal enterprises to take advantage of the poor economic situation. So yes, we are concerned about that and people need to be aware of it. And as time goes by and as the economy develops, we hope and we expect, and as laws are observed more, that those enterprises will be pushed aside.
(Interview by Arbana Vidishiqi)
==================================
US wants democracy only if it works to their idelogical and geopolitical interest. CIA and Bolivian puppets(oposition and Comites civicos the instruments) are working hard in Bolivia ,they do not wan at all the influence of CUBA and Venezuela ..do you guys think they are happy ..they will try evething ..no democracy matters if US national security or interest is at stake .Bolivia is a is not the democracy they want that is why they are funelling money to the oppositon( puppets)
Please see this documentary for free
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=58646
Rebelion.org is a known FARC front group. Guess we know whose interests are being served by that little anti-US film. Surprise.
BTW,
I read all of your email. I even know what you do online. You can't hide, I know what you did last summer, and I know what you are writing about.
Dandelion tickles,
Jack Tish
"juan said...
Mr.Philip Goldberg has a mission to fulfill in Bolivia ....( DIVIDE THE COUNTRY) ..they will try by all the means to create the conditions"
don't worry, Evo is taking Goldberg's job then...
TO anon 7;24:
The Neo nazis clearly come from the residuals that came from Europe after and before WW II to Santa Cruz, and the media luna.
Any idiot can tell that they are not leftist neither nationalist.
Just talk to the croats, slavics and germans in Camba landia.
Naturally their number are increased by the spanish facists like Costas, antelos, and other italian fascists. If you are blind just ask for help to that reality.
Nazism developed several theories concerning races. They claimed to scientifically measure a strict hierarchy among "human races"; at the top was the "Nordic race", followed by lesser races. At the bottom of this hierarchy were "parasitic" races, or "Untermenschen" ("sub-humans"), which were perceived to be dangerous to society. Lowest of all in the Nazi racial policy were Africans, Gypsies and Jews. Gypsies and Jews were eventually deemed to be "Lebensunwertes Leben" ("Life unworthy of life"). Jews, and later Gypsies, became second-class citizens, expelled from Nazi Germany before being interned in concentration camps, then exterminated during the Holocaust (see Raul Hilberg's description of the various phases of the Holocaust).
Goldberg: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Goldberg: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Goldberg: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.
Jesus, Jim, your blog sure brings the whackjobs out of the woodwork. Must mean you're hitting close to home.
Keep up the good work.
I don't think Fulbright scholars have a legal agreement against intelligence activities, unless he's both. Interviews are normal. Asking for intelligence is normal during exit interviews from a country is normal. It's usually done when they get to the US.
The opponenets of the administration might not be the Cubans and Venezualans, which is why he was aksed about them. They may be active in land issues and interest to the US government regarding land purchases by Americans and legal rights to the properties and court cases where the land owndership is claimed again by a Bolivian national after having been purchased. The claim may actually be by a foreign national from Cuba or Venezula involving land claim issues by a group rather than an individual.
Asking about Cubans and Venezualans may not be asking about opponenets, but members of a political group that are members of the administration.
The Walter Poirier murder was invstigated again by Congress last year at the request of RPCVs. The original investigation was done by a retired Secret Service officer hired by Congress and never made public. The ivestigation before this was done by Peace Corps and the Office of Safety and Security was created by Congress at Peace Corps. The last investigation upset embassy staff. Apparently investigating Walter is a problem, but RPCVs won't stop asking until we know what happened. He did meet with a Bolivian government official before he disappeared. It is possible he was involved in the land issues that the US embassy is concerned and this caused friction in relations. RPCVs will still be asking questions when the disappearnace is solved.
The reports that are required for employment at Peace Corps involve everyone they meet. It is needed to justify their pay. The reports are usually written by the PCV and collected in site by the Program manager, usually a host country national. The question would be the loyalty of the host country national who is receiving the report. Is he a member of the host country intelligence service? Is he a member of a foreign intelligence service? Why would a PCV file reports of individuals to someone like this? It's needed to justify pay.
The reporting issue was solved in training by a training group refusing to file any reports on people. They were told they could be fired. They were hired and put in sites. The Peace Corps continued to ask for reports and the group continued to not file. No Peace Corps Volunteers were fired, but the threat of being fired for not producing the reports is always there. This, apparently, was not addressed in Bolivia's training and should be immediately.
If a PCV is working with field workers it is a known threat situation. For example, the field workers may be 'squatters' working with Cubans or Venezulans on a land claim that has been purchased by an American. This would be solved in court. A PCV, by working with the field workers would be in a threat situation regarding the foreign intlligence, the movement and the relationship with the foreign or local movement with the politicians in country. There is also the courts. The relationship may be friendly and not adversarial until another party is involved. A Peace Corps worker was 'accidentally' shot in this type of situation. Another may have been beaten to death based on a similar situation before she was relocated and murdered.
I think the Peace Corps owes everyone an apology for not refusing to file reports on host country nationals. The Americans who had exit interviews have dealt with the State Department in a normal fashion. It is not abnormal to ask PCVs for exit interviews after they are done serving. PCVs are not spies and I would check the legislation again on the intelligence ban and the five year law. As far as the Walter Poirier murder, RPCVs will continue to ask what happened until we have an answer. Everyone will have to put up with us until we're done.
Obviously it was a sloppy comment from a low-level embassy official, and at least they didn't ask them to spy on Bolivians.
But I wonder if there some sort of ulterior motives involved. Sure, we all laughed at the "che" baseball camp by the Fulbright Scholar, and I wish he would have asked US Embassy officials to clarify what they wanted him to do. Instead he contributed to an environment where Bolivian government loves to blow things out of proportion, but instead he wanted his 15 minutes of fame and appear to be defender of freedom. You think getting a US visa is hard now, it will get considerably harder.
But, I wonder if the author of the story Jean Friedman-Rudovsky wanted to help out the Bolivian government by making the story bigger than it was. I thought reporters were supposed to be objective, but looking at past writings of Ms. Friedman, we know that she is a huge admirer of the Evo Morales government and constantly misrepresents things in the media.
Just google "Jean Friedman-Rudovsky" and you'll see that she has other motives to make the Morales government look better than it is.
Yes, I would like the US Embassy official to get canned, but I also want to know what Venezuelan and Cubans are doing in my country. Yes, there are some good things being done with the eye clinics, but we also know that this "literacy" campaign is nothing more than propaganda for this government. What I mean is that we have heard from campesino leader Alejo Veliz, who reported that the Cubans and Venezuelans go out into the rural communities and teach with texts saying that Evo=God. We also know that this 'carnetization' is also sketchy.
Too bad that this government won't let us know what else these groups are doing in the country. Are they behind the other 'real' spying not 'basically' spying on journalists, opposition politicians and rogue MAS politicians? That's real spying and not "basically" spying
Way to go sh*t for brains...hope you finish your dissertation quickly because Fulbrights and PCVs will soon be personae non grata in Bolivia. But you got your name in the paper and stuck your thumb in Dubya's eye didn't you?
The Croats are Morales' Jews.
Hi Jim:
A lotta of crazies out there...
The only thing that struck me is the really BAD human resources that the CIA has to work with nowadays.
I mean, a young Fulbright Scholar?
really?
Is the Intel that BAD???
And to all the wacko and chauvinistic Bolivians (e.g Anonymous et al) out there, START counting all the chileans that own extensive land in the better part of the country...
At least the Venezolanos and Cubans and whatnot, will leave...
Cheers to you Jim-
Jim is throwing a smoke-screen. The real spy story in Bolivia is the government spying on opponents and even wayward MASistas. That went on before, but when there were at least 3 political parties competing for power, the military/police had to hedge their bets and not get too close to one government, less they not get promoted.
---THE REAL ISSUE IS:
WTF are Cubans and Venezuelans doing in Bolivia, many times off the books?
Venezuelan intel officers caught with nearly 900K in Bolivia's boonies, midnight flights, Squad-sized Venezuelan units caught randomly at airports, while Bolivia claims only 3 soldiers are there. Venezuela's intelligence services, the same ones who (now its known) , support the murderous FARC. Who represent one of the worlds most corrupt countries (transparency international) whose leader has an ideological vendetta against anyone who does not believe in socialist stupidity, who talks about creating an anti-US MILITARY allaince, and who openly threatens Bolivian opposition figures.
Not to mention Cuba, a totalitarian holdout, whose intelligence services were trained by the Stasi. Cuban citizens - as that Cuban student said last week - cannot travel to Bolivia to see "where Che died". The ones who travel are carefully picked - must be party members and ideologically "correct These Cuban "missions" always have a high ratio of political officers to normal workers, to look over their charges, and help the party in "any way" needed. And following the Soviet-East Block model, there is a high number of active intelligence officers in these foreign missions, either
And to all the wacko and chauvinistic Bolivians (e.g Anonymous et al) out there, START counting all the chileans that own extensive land in the better part of the country...
At least the Venezolanos and Cubans and whatnot, will leave...
U for real?
Calling Bolivians "chauvinistic" because they object to hacks from the incompetent petro-kleptocracy popping in at will in Bolivia, not to mention functionaries from the downright creepy neo-Stalinist regime in Havana.
I assume, you saw nothing "paranoid" or "chauvinistic" about that part of the Bolivian collective that had a meltdown, because some foreign companies wanted to spend billions of dollars on a LNG project to move gas through Chile.
Chileans owning land in Bolivia...if they invest, employ workers, pay even the most modest of taxes, good for them. Good for Bolivia - even if the "rapacious capitalists" repatriate all their earnings, there is enough indirect benefits to the economy to call it a plus.
That beats having Chavista or Castroite farming
"advisors" --- great help from a country that can't feed itself - with all the money in the world, and another one that destroyed its agriculture - went from a world-leading sugar exporter to importing it.
The Cubans and the Venezuelans may "go" but the damage their "advice" can cause can stay for years.
Boli-Nica is obviously unaware that Bolivia ia a free country that allows entry of Venezuelans & Cubans, as well as other nationals. Much as you don't like this Boli it would be best for your mental health you get to grips with this small reality. It's not you who picks who can come in & out, you geddit?
He also doesn't appear to realise that the idiot at the US Embassy directly contravened his own country's instructions by trying to engage spies for his own personal undercover mission. But that's OK for Boli-Nica, 'cause he's just that same type of whacko himself.
Most Cubans & Venezuelans in Bolivia are actually working on humanitarian & public health projects for the poor. Opticians, doctors, engineers & the like. Like many Americans actually. Nothing wrong with that & actually desperately needed in this small impoverished country.
But that don't stop Boli-Nica from having his usual psychotic nightmares. Where all the strings are pulled by the FARC & the Stasi, the Soviets & the ghost of Che Guevara. A devilish world made of sinister midnight manouvres by invisible armies & squad-sized units hiding in ambush at airports. And yet the guy has the nerve to ask who is for real?!
File under laughable. In the L, M, N cabinet, the same one with La-la-Loopy, Mad & Nuts.
Nica not boli:
I wonder how much the cuban in miami pay you to serve them. stop lying semi boli.
Bolivia is a sovereign nation? That's the biggest joke of the year! Evo Morales, who proclaims "dignity" (yawn) and "sovereignty"(double yawn) is the most servile of Bolivian leaders ever!
Morales says he loves soccer. I say he should turn to volleyball in order to get the kneepads. It will help his aging when he kneels in front of Chavez and Castro et al to do who knows what.
Brrrr!
Morales has Venezuelan and Cuban bodyguards, security systems, airplanes, helicopters, and petrodollars. A small example is the scandal of the suitcase stuffed with dollars from a Venezuelan in Argentina going to Fernandez's campaign.
No one can say that the US selfless cooperation for decades is similar to the Venezuelan and Cuban spies-disguised-as-doctors.
The only thing I can agree is that the US Embassy employee was as dumb as a doorknow, while the offended US kid is naive, to say the least.
The Croats are Morales' Jews.
TRIVIA: Last country to send military forces to overthrow an elected government in Bolivia....
ANSWER: Cuba....
Most Cubans & Venezuelans in Bolivia are actually working on humanitarian & public health projects for the poor. Opticians, doctors, engineers & the like.
But that don't stop Boli-Nica from having his usual psychotic nightmares.
Lemming, get an effin clue.....
Deny that a full Captain of Venezuelan intelligence was caught on that C-130 with nearly 900,000 dollars, and GOB said he was a "bank official"...yeah right.....bribes for the military...secret cash for hidden operations?...
As for Cuba what part of ONE-PARTY-RULE TOTALITARIAN STATE LED BY SAME MAN FOR 50 YEARS WITH A HUGE INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS THAT HAS INTERVENED ALL OVER LATIN AMERICA......don't you get? the only crimes in Cuba you probably care about are the ones in Guantanamo that pale absolutely next to 50 years of State murder, absolutist rule, and scorched earth economic policies.
And just how good is Cuban intelligence? ..THE TOP CUBAN ANALYST in the Pentagon was a Cuban spy, and two professors at the local University spied on Castro opponents on the faculty.
.. Cubans have done intel work in Bolivia for 40 years....how the hell did you think the diaries ended up in Havana 40 years ago???
.. While the doctors help is no doubt welcome....and as a group they are probably the most disafected profession in the Island - and the ones the regime can get Chavez $$ for pimping out ) there is 0 doubt based on previous behavior patterns of East Block nations going back to the 20's, that a not insignificant amount of Cuban intelligence/special ops people are hidden among ALL types of Cuban advisors in Bolivia....
Morales is already having the military and police spy on opponents. Having the totalitarian-minded Cubans advise him, assist in operations, and train Bolivians is scary. Much like the 70's Argentinian and Chilean militaries they bring an ideological certainty and fervor with them....
And there is a total lack of transparency by Morales government...about Venezuelan and Cuban personnel (civilian and military) in the country.
The embassy admits spying using peace corp volunteers and fullbright students. the embassay admits using a police detachment for their own business.
However the recalcitrant comments of Nica and other Tutos malinches are out of order, as usual.
As A Bolivian, I thank John Alexander van Schaick for coming out with this info the way he did, I'm not pro Evo by any means, but I dislike the hipocritic way foreign countries try to influence things, that dont go their way.
TRIVIA: Last country to send military forces to overthrow an elected government in Bolivia....
ANSWER: Cuba....
Guess you’re referring to Che & his gargantuan army of 30 hiding in the jungle? Something that happened over forty years ago? You really still got the shits about this Boli-Nica? Che’s long dead man, it’s safe to leave home now (but be careful with them reds under your bed hey.) Tiptoe out then, tiptoe out…
Cubans have done intel work in Bolivia for 40 years....
Oh, so we are a bit stuck in the 1960’s aren’t we? Well, for over 40 years of intel work, they seem to have been remarkably unsuccessful in actually achieving anything in Bolivia. How many governments have the mighty Cubans with their “HUGE INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS” toppled Boli-Nica in Bolivia over that time? Or anywhere else for that matter? How many wars have they started, how many countries have they invaded? Man, get real & more fresh air (it really is safe out now you know.) Tiptoes though, you never know…
there is 0 doubt based on previous behavior patterns of East Block nations going back to the 20's, that a not insignificant amount of Cuban intelligence/special ops people are hidden among ALL types of Cuban advisors in Bolivia...
Boy, the trek back through history goes on unrelentlessly. Slightly concerned you need to go back to the 20’s to get such evidently irrefutable evidence (“based on previous behaviour patterns of East Block nations” jeeez how can one argue with that!?) that for every three Cuban doctors now in Bolivia at least two of them must actually be Kommie Killers waiting for the call to arms & babies to eat.
And there is a total lack of transparency by Morales government...about Venezuelan and Cuban personnel (civilian and military) in the country
More like a total lack of transparency from people like you who meal-mouth this bullshit. Evo’s government have said on many occasions what (few) personnel are there & what for, whilst liars like you haven’t provided a shred of evidence to back up your wild claims. It’s probably news to you seeing you’re obviously stuck in your own twisted personal time-warp, but there’s things like movie cameras, pc’s, thousands of news websites, & youtubes now. Post the strangely elusive evidence (& make a million with the scoop) or shut the f**k up, even if I do say so politely.
"I never give 'em hell, I just tell the truth and they think it's hell." -- Harry S. Truman
Good job, boli-nica!
The Croats are Morales Jews.
It’s sad to see there are still seriously deluded nutcases out there who think that every Cuban must in fact be at best a spy if not also a terrorist. Apart from their doctors – some of the very best in Latin America & who are amongst other things working on an extensive eye clinic programme in Bolivia – Cuban teachers have been helping the educate the many illiterate all over the world.
Over 3 million formerly illiterate in 27 countries can now read & write thanks to their educational programmes. Teachers that come from a country with no illiteracy, & an educational system with 1 teacher for every 30 inhabitants, a level achieved only in such modern open democracies as Sweden, Finland & Canada.
http://abi.bo/index.php?i=noticias_texto_paleta&j=20080212172007
Cuban doctors some of the best available? Not really. There have been dozens of negligence cases. Recently a Cuban "doctor" removed the kidney of one of its patients in Chapare without realizing he had only one! Now this unfortunate "kidney-less" chap is in coma. Yay for Cuban "doctors!"
http://www.eldeber.com.bo/2008/2008-01-29/vernotanacional.php?id=080129003511
The only merit that the Cuban government deserves for forming its "doctors" is that it gave them enough education to realize how messed up things are under the longest lasting dictator in the world.
Only the top government officials and tourists are able to afford the relatively modern Cuban health care. The rest of the population has to tolerate hospitals that are falling apart and purchase their own medicine, when they can afford and find it.
Oh, yeah. No wonder so many are deserting in droves, including some in Bolivia. No wonder so many risk their lives to escape such a paradise.
PS Indoctrinating people to be able to read "Das Kapital" or "History Will Absolve Me" doesn't really solve the problem of literacy, no?
Nica keeps talking BS, the cronies of the Tutos, Gonis, Mangreds of Bolivia keep barking without any facts.
What have they ever accomplished in 200 years of their rule?
Oh, I forgot, they built mansions in Miami, filled bank accounts in Europe, ignored the poverty, illiteracy, and lack of health care of most people, but now they claim "democracy?. Only idiots like them can be so stupid.
Dumbass...at least know the most basic facts before you blabber pompously.
Well, for over 40 years of intel work, they seem to have been remarkably unsuccessful in actually achieving anything in Bolivia. How many governments have the mighty Cubans with their “HUGE INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS” toppled Boli-Nica in Bolivia over that time? Or anywhere else for that matter? How many wars have they started, how many countries have they invaded?
You dumb, ignorant, POS, don't you know a damn thing?
LMAO ...here is what the Cuban government actually says....
In numbers greater than 300,000, Cuban combatants voluntarily went to the aid of other peoples in many parts of the world. Among these missions the most outstanding were those that took place at the time of the foreign military aggression against the newly set-up People's Republic of Angola in 1975 and Ethiopia two years later.
Thats right d$%head....ever hear of Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia? Out of a relatively small population 300,000 served abroad militarily....Castro sent entire divisions of infantry, armor, and squadrons of MIGS to support Soviet policy in Africa.
That is direct intervention in anyone's book.
invading, subverting other countries?
How about training, arming, and helping to infiltrate guerillas in several Latin American countries? Even sending top military men on support missions, including Arnaldo Ochoa who was with the guerillas in Venezuela - later becoming a general leading troops in Angola and pretty much commanding the Nicaraguan Sandinista army before being executed by Castro..
Training literally thousands of guerillas and some hardcore terrorists in the island, including Carlos the Jackal, Basque separatists,
various Middle Eastern nuts, Colombia's M-19 and FARC, Montonero's, Tupumaru's, Chile's MIR, etc., etc.)in special camps.
Intelligence???? Cuba's "aggresive" intelligence services (words of the Miami Herald) were trained , patterned after, and collaborated extensively with the dreaded Stasi learning how to better repress its people and do nasty things abroad:
Furthermore, the Stasi trained Cuban guerrillas who were being sent abroad to subvert other governments, teaching observation, espionage and interrogation techniques that considerably expanded Cuba's impact on conflicts ranging from Central America to Africa, according to the documents Vázquez has gathered.
How do you put that training to use....Just in the last 10 years....one intelligence officer acting under cover as a diplomat in Mexico had 150 informants alone?.............How about the TOP US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ANALYST ON CUBA...being a Cuban spy??? Thats the top person responsible for advising the ENTIRE US MILITARY (and the White House) on Cuba......Or for that matter, A VERY SENIOR IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL responsible for Cuban asylum petitions???
The contrast is almost funny.. A US embassy official (no doubt from the CIA) is reduced to asking stupid kids to get ANY human intelligence. I seriously doubt the Cuban intel people - who in the past have infiltrated the top echelons of the US intelligence community, have such restrictions in Bolivia.
If they can have 150 informants in Mexico alone, to just deal with the US, wonder how many they have in Bolivia - a regime they are allied with....
You are the one stuck in the 60's ignorant hypocrite. The only reason we are having a discussion on this topic is because of the retread with the bad haircut and the troglodytes around him, whom you hero worship. Places like China, Hungary, and Vietnam gave up the stupid talk long ago; its fools running Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela (and their groupies) who carry on about "fighting capitalism" and how they are building "socialism".
Durge Boli-Nica. Just durge.
Seeing you didn’t get the questions last time, here goes again, split into easy bits with the right answers suggested just to help you get your stuck-in-the-60’s-hallucinating dope head around…
1. How many governments have the mighty Cubans with their “HUGE INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS” toppled Boli-Nica in Bolivia over that time?
Zero, yup?
2. Or anywhere else for that matter?
None, yup?
3. How many wars have they started?
Not even one, yup?
4. how many countries have they invaded?
Zilcho, yup? (You’ll allow me the margin on this one that sending troops as aid, as opposed to actually being the initiating invading force, doesn’t count. Otherwise you see, such stalwarts of freedom & peacekeeping such as Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand just to name a few would by this same account have 10 or 20 wars to answer for.)
Case closed. If you’re still scared so shitless about the Cubans - & in particular their Teacher & Doctor Infantry Divisions stationed in Bolivia (geee!) – that you won’t take a walk outside then…
call a doctor in…
(they’re always interested in examining unique cases)
je je je!
But check the doc's not a Cuban Boli-Nica-Baby-Boy
not content with overturning governments who knows he may want your kidneys too je je !!
goddam crazy paranoid fool
wow goldseo
seo対策
good to see the US Embassy sent Vincent Cooper the private spy recruiter back to the US on a one way ticket.
good riddance dumbass, shame on you for the bad name you bring to the US.
Something perplexing about your statement (besides the grammar, that is):
"good to see the US Embassy sent Vincent Cooper the private spy recruiter back to the US on a one way ticket."(sic)>>
Mr. Cooper worked for the US Embassy, which makes him a public servant. How can he be a "private" spy recruiter?
Ah, the naiveté!
;-)
The Croats are Morales' Jews.
good news i agree. the US embassy took the right decision (that they should have taken last time Cooper was caught sniffing about.) let's hope they're more careful with the screenings for the new vacancy.
there's a whole line of screwballs ready to fill in for Mr. Cooper judging from the comments made.
To Anon 2:17
Cooper was indeed a public servant. His hiring of spies, in flagrant contravention of his public duties, took him into an unauthorized private sideline of work. Which is why the ***hole's been sent home.
Clear now for you I hope.
So what... Cooper asked tyhis snot nose to look out for the Cubans and venzuelens....\That is not spying on Bolivians. That is not spying period
Morales IS using Cuban and Venezuelan intellegence to spy on Bolivians... That is the BIG crime.
And for the @$$wipe who thinks Cuba is not a threat... Go choke on Castro's @$$. A tyranical dictator.
Oh BTW most of the so called Cuban doctors are barelly paramedics... They are in Bolivia to spy on Bolivians for Chavez's chogie boy
Twenty five years ago when I was Cuerpo de Paz volunteer in Latin Armerica many of us would not even give the Embassy accurate maps of the towns we lived in (for evac plans) fearing they would be used for intel.
Shame on US
Anon 9:35:
OK, so according to you, many Peace Core dudes didn't provide the US Embassy with accurate maps of towns they were staying at, even if they were simply only for evacuation plans.
So what would happen if a grave emergency (coup d'etat, natural disasters) occurred and rescue groups (most likely US personnel as they have the most advanced search and rescue equipment...simply ask those in Beni) couldn't find the American citizens thanks to the courtesy of the purposefully inaccurate maps?
Way to go, geniuses! Not only you risk your lives and of other US citizens in the area, but also of your rescuers, who work for the government you hate.
The Croats are Morales' Jews.
Shame on YOU, Anonymous 9:35 p.m., for your stupid paranoia which only inconvenienced the Peace Corps - and yourself, had you needed to evacuate suddenly.
You inflate your own importance if you think that you guys were the only means through which up-to-date maps of a given region could be obtained.
Frankie boy (or girl), you gotta chill out, dog (or bitch).
First of all, who do you refer as "you guys?"
Second, you assume that would be rescuers have up to date maps and information about evacuation drills. It's not my paranoia, dog (or bitch)! It's from the "Cuerpo de Paz volunteer" who admits he wouldn't even hand out maps in case of evacuation! Sort of like telling a doctor another blood type. The aforementioned dude risks the lives of US rescuers, who normally are the first ones to rescue US citizens during these types of emergencies.
By the way, what assistance arrived first to Beni during the floods? Not Bolivian, not Venezuelan, not Cuban, not Martian. From the US! I'll be dog (or bitch) gonned.
Akin to Nero playing his fiddle while Rome burned, Morales preferred to play "I am tough nationalist against bad empire" instead of declaring the flooded regions "national disasters." No, while he fiddled people stayed hungry and stranded, while others died. Such incompetence, by the Ekeko!
That reminds me. Another motto for Evo Morales.
Beni is Morales' Katrina.
Sounds good, dog (or bitch).
;-)
The Croats are Morales' Jews.
Please read more carefully - you will note that in the very first sentence of my previous comment I very clearly directed my comment at "Anonymous 9:35 p.m.", which was the comment immediately above your previous comment.
The funny thing is the kid was never told to spy or even to gather info on Cuban and Venezuelan nationals. The young genius was told during a routine security briefing that Cuban and Venezuelan have been following U.S.citizens and in some cases trying to provoke incidents. And that he should be careful and if he ran across any for his own safety he should report it. After all he is in Bolivia under U.S. State Department sponsorship, how do you think that looks to the current government which is becoming know for spying on journalists as well as members of it's own party.
Something the 9-11 commission said about US spy agencies relying too much on technology and too little on human Intelligence. Kinda worrying that several years after the report..an intelligence officers gets his cover blown for being too obvious by some 23 yr old kid, and a couple of lefty expats.... Seems there are much more subtle ways an intel officer could get that information. "Lack of imagination" I believe the report said.
b-sides...Old School CIA...the kid would have been plied with some really bad acid, given up anything he knew, and photographs of him cavorting nude with a large Alpaca would have guaranteed he kept quiet.
Shame on that huevon PCV Fulbrighter Whistleblower, no account, back stabbing, glory hound van shaick who would where a Che guevara hat. Man I hate posers like him...fucking loser! Typical pseudo revolutionary. Doesn't he have anything better to do than to make our country look worse in the eyes of the world. Sure what the embassy did was wrong, but seriously do you think a PCV or Fulbrighter woud go spy on people. Seriously they should fire the security officer, but thats an internal issue, not a media story. All I gotta say is that van shit should just go buy himself some more che guevara gear, smoke a joint and shut the fuck up.
Peace Corps Volunteer, Guatemala, 2terms
anyone else think those last 3 comments were all posted by boli - i have nothing else to do -nica?
^ lived in Guatemala age 11 to 12, too young to do Peace Corps thang.
Nicaragua from 12 on....not too young to have seen Cuban/East Block advisors doing their "thing". Including the early afternoon this tall blond guy, with a tan,"Mikhail" showed up completely out of the blue at my house. In perfect Spanish, and in a very relaxed manner, said he heard my dad was a Bolivian national and had just taken a tour of the USSR. And by coincidence my new Soviet friend had actually "spent some time" in Bolivia during the Torres years. Being in the neighborhood, he wanted to be friendly, and dropped in to see if my dad had a good time in the USSR.
Told him my dad wasn't home..(its work hours...duh!)..and chatted a little more - he liked Santa Cruz.-"its like Nicaragua"....and he went on his merry way to chase after Moose and Squirrel
BN, you know you've made it on the Internet when you have your very own pet troll. ;)
The van Schaik dirtbag in his Che Guevara hat refuses to give the US government which issues him his passport any information about Marxist Cuban and Venezuelan spies in the country (who aren't really in the country according to Evo Morales) but at the same time expects full royal treatment when he gets in trouble abroad despite not doing anything to earn it. What a lowdown sack of sheet, I can't stand hypocrites like these. I hope the little dirtbag gets set upon by one of the Morales mobs, gets tortured by Cuban agents and then goes whining when the US embassy says 'there's nothing we can do to help.' It would be the only way to teach him that freedom isn't free. Ooops, forgot, he's a fulbright scholar - dirtbags like him never learn. I hope he rots in a Cuban dungeon forever.
I should have been more careful.
Apologies on in order, Frank_IBC. I do so humbly. (But you can't deny you enjoyed it) ;-)
The Croats are Morales' Jews.
Beni is Morales' Katrina.
Everyone knows spies run out of embassies ... all embassies. Everyone should know it is stupid as hell to get peace corps et al involved in intel gathering because you put the volunteers at risk of being killed.
Only a stupid idiot would ask someone untrained to spy. Not just a stupid idiot but an old apathetic stupid idiot f--k.
As for Venezuelans and Cubans being in Bolivia, I guess if you stupid half-breeds had done something over the past couple hundred years for your fellow Bolivians, you wouldn't have this problem now would you?
All I have to say for a couple of posters here, from the US with love: Please keep your third world arses in the third world you made, its where you belong.
And please keep your American arses where they belong, in America. Focus on getting a democrat elected instead of posting comments about third world countries you so much dislike. With love, the half breed
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