Context of 'December 28, 2001: San Francisco Examiner Suggests US May Be Planning Coup in Venezuela'

Hugo Chavez is elected president, beating Henrique Salas Romer, a Yale-educated former governor of Carabobo state. [CNN, 12/6/1998; CNN, 12/7/1998; New York Times, 12/9/1998]

The San Francisco Examiner publishes an article speculating that the US may be planning a coup in Venezuela. The article also notes that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has reduced inflation from 40 percent to 12 percent, generated economic growth of 4 percent, and increased primary school enrollment by 1 million students. [San Francisco Examiner, 12/28/2001; Foreign Policy in Focus, 4/17/2002]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claims to have foiled another coup plot to remove him from office. [BBC, 10/6/2002]

For the two-month duration of a strike in Venezuela (see February 3, 2003), the only commercials on Venezuelan TV are pieces by the opposition attacking President Hugo Chavez. [Adage, 2/10/2003]