Media invents Russian military

"CHAVEZ offers Russia site for military base in Venezuela," read the headline of Venezuela’s El Nacional daily. And inside the paper, a report confirmed:

"Russia has sufficient potential to guarantee its presence in different parts of the world. If the Russian Armed Forces want to be in Venezuela, they will be warmly received."

"Chávez: it is possible that a Russian military base will be installed in Venezuela," also affirmed El Universal from Caracas. The text of the article continued by quoting directly from the mouth of Hugo Chávez:

"Russia has many opportunities to position itself throughout the world. If the Russian armed forces want to construct bases in Venezuela, they are welcome to."

With respect to the international agencies: "Chávez offers Russia the opportunity to install a military base in Venezuela," affirmed Reuters. It continued by reporting:

"Chávez stated that, hypothetically, Russia would be welcome to deploy a military base in his country."

For its part, the DPA headline was: "Hugo Chávez offers Russia the chance to build military bases on Venezuelan territory," and also quoted Chávez as saying the following:

"If the Russian Armed Forces want to be in Venezuela, they will be warmly received."

All of these media outlets based their information on statements Chávez made during a press conference from a Moscow hotel after a meeting with Putin.

But in his session with the press, the Venezuelan president did not mention the words "military bases", or use the verb "to be" in reference to the Russian Armed Forces in Venezuela. These were Hugo Chávez’ words verbatim:

I believe that Russia has sufficient capacity for mobilization, aircraft and boats to appear in any part of the world; if they appeared in Venezuela, that wouldn’t be a strange thing. Let them visit the seas of Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, if they go to Venezuela they will be welcome, because we’re not talking about the Fourth Fleet here. The Fourth Fleet is a threat to us, and not just to Venezuela, to all of Latin America. If some day, a Russian fleet should arrive in the Caribbean, we’ll hoist the flags, play drums and put on the Venezuelan and Russian national anthems, because it would be the arrival of a friend, arriving to hold out her hand; it would be the arrival of our ally. Today, Russia has become one of our greatest allies in the world. We would welcome her.

It is obvious that being welcome somewhere does not imply that you would stay there, an important and delicate detail if we are referring to a military presence. So that no doubt remains, the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication and Information categorically denied the possibility of Russian bases on Venezuelan soil via the following communiqué:

A new piece of "information" has been circulated by the world media system, according to which President Chávez offered Russia the opportunity to install a military base in our country. Just as any journalist who has seen the President’s press conference – transmitted in its entirety by Telesur and Venezolana de Televisíon, among other stations –this is completely false. At no time did the head of state make any such offer.

Deputy Rafael Gil, president of the National Assembly Commission for Security and Defense, noted that it makes no sense to believe that foreign military bases will be installed on Venezuelan territory because that is prohibited in Article 13 of the Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela, promoted by Chávez himself.

The idea of Russian bases in Venezuela fits in perfectly with the desire to present Hugo Chávez as a danger to regional stability and the security of the United States. Thus, the media – both international and Venezuelan – invented the story last July 23 of a permanent Russian military base in Venezuela, ignoring the transcript and recording of the press conference that was, evidently, available to them. But the most serious issue is not this, but that, quite probably, none of them will rectify their error, something that would confirm premeditated or malicious forethought. In other words, a crime.