mintpressnews--2020-10-16--David Price Takes on the CIA Over Its Secret Torture Program, But Is He Asking the Right Questions?

Democratic Congressman David Price wants the CIA to come clean about its Rendition , Detention , and Interrogation ( RDI ) program which detained , interrogated , disappeared , and tortured potentially thousands of Muslims at CIA “ black sites ” around the world from the fall of 2001 until 2009 when its discovery led to its notorious end .
In a letter addressed to CIA director Gina Haspel last week , the North Carolina representative and chairman of the Transportation and HUD appropriations subcommittee asked for more details about his state ’ s role in the covert operation , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pertaining to the use of North Carolina facilities and residents in the rendition process .
Price raises important questions that remain unanswered despite several years of research and pressure by activist organizations and journalists into the still elusive truth about the systematic policy of kidnapping and torture instituted via a secret memorandum signed by George W. Bush only six days after the events of September 11 , 2001 .
Congressman Price frames his letter to Haspel in terms of concern for the people of his home state of North Carolina , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of justice .
But , given the unspeakable suffering and horrors visited upon the unknown number of innocent victims of the RDI program , Price ’ s late and limited election-time appeal smacks of political showmanship .
Laudable as the Congressman ’ s efforts may be , they still fall short of probing the darkest truths behind the RDI program , which threaten to expose the American war machine and the interests that motivate it .
Khaled El-Masri was about to ring in 2004 in one of the oldest parts of the old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a crew of seven or eight armed men and held in a hotel for 23 days .
It would mark the beginning of a heart-wrenching ordeal for El-Masri , a German-Lebanese citizen who never imagined his vacation in Macedonia would include a nearly five-month layover in a CIA torture facility .
According to investigators with the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) , which filed a lawsuit on his behalf in 2007 , El-Masri was chained , hooded , drugged and flown to the American-occupied city of Kabul in Afghanistan via Baghdad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number registered in North Carolina .
He was held in a small concrete cell inside a former brick factory outside of Kabul with no bed for the following five months , where he was beaten , tortured , and interrogated by Arabic-speaking men about his supposed and never-proven links to the September 11 hijackers .
In May of 2004 , El-Masri was flown to Albania and unceremoniously dumped in the foreign country to fend for himself .
His story was repeated hundreds , if not thousands of times with baselessly targeted Muslims , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were abducted by CIA-backed mercenaries under the auspices of the RDI program .
The official number of victims acknowledged by the U.S. government sits at just over 100 people , but the full scope of the covert torture operation has yet to be revealed since the government ’ s own Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency ’ s Detention and Interrogation Program remains classified .
Nevertheless , independent studies of the RDI program have unearthed enough evidence to conclude that the scale of the illegal CIA-run operation far exceeds the tally so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ El-Masri was one of two aircraft owned by a CIA front company and operated out of North Carolina in a highly-protected corner of the state ’ s Global TransPark – a multi-modal center that houses major aerospace manufacturing facilities , like Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing and military facilities .
The airplane in question , tail number N313P , is linked back to a small company called Aero Contractors , Ltd. , which is cited in the Congressman ’ s letter and is at the center of many of the independent inquiries into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s role – while significant – is much more narrow than that of the company to which the aircraft was sold to before the renditions began .
The shell in the shell Founded in 1979 by a former pilot with the CIA ’ s Air America , Aero Contractors works through several shell companies .
One of these companies , Premier Executive Transport Services , purchased the N313P aircraft within weeks of the RDI program ’ s start and performed a number of technical upgrades to the plane , including the installation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from short runways or rough weather conditions , as well as boosting fuel efficiency , among other tweaks to improve the airplane ’ s overall range .
Investigative reporter and expert in clandestine military installations , Trevor Paglen , together with ProPublica staff reporter A.C. Thompson , manage to pull the curtain back somewhat in their book , Torture Taxi : On the Trail of the Cia ’ s Rendition Flights , disclosing that after the modifications were made , the plane was sold to another shady outfit registered in Reno , Nevada @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which they traced back to one of the most powerful lobbying firms in DC , the Paul Laxalt Group , and run by its now-deceased founder , Paul Laxalt and his brother Peter .
While Aero Contractor pilots and mechanics continued to take care of the technical operation of the aircraft , it was the CIA-front Nevada company , Keeler and Tate Management , that was in charge of the renditions and other more germane aspects of the RDI .
The lack of attention to this particular detail speaks volumes , considering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor of Nevada and one of the biggest names in the state ’ s politics , was also a liaison between the Senate and the White House during the Iran-Contra scandal .
In addition to being a close confidant to Ronald Reagan and thrice running his election campaigns , Laxalt was also late CIA director William Casey ’ s good friend .
Laxalt ’ s lobbying firm , now run by his daughter Michelle Laxalt , has an extensive clientele and was representing many defense industry stalwarts like Lockheed Martin , Boeing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His relationship to the company that owned N313P and N379P – the two aircraft used to carry out over 77 illegal rendition flights , that are still unaccounted for – has been ignored by most investigations into the RDI program .
The North Carolina Congressman ’ s letter to Gina Haspel focuses on Aero Contractors and never mentions Laxalt or Keeler and Tate , the front company he ran for the CIA .
Stopping the inquiry about one of the most egregious and coordinated abuses of human rights in modern times at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disservice to the truth and to the possibly thousands of illegally detained and tortured men , women , and children of Muslim persuasion .
According to annex B included in Congressman David Price ’ s letter to the CIA director , the mission of 77 “ suspicious circuits flown ” by the two aforementioned aircraft operated by Aero Contractors “ remains to be determined.
” It is a form of political sophistry to give Aero Contractors the benefit of the doubt , considering that all the evidence points towards the obvious .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disclosed , 49 prisoners were transported to multiple locations throughout the Middle East , Asia , and Eastern Europe .
Like El-Masri , many abductees were dropped in countries they knew nothing about .
Afghanistan , Egypt , Pakistan , Jordan , Iraq , and , of course , Guantanamo Bay , Cuba are among the destinations several of these victims of naked U.S. imperialism were shuttled to and tortured .
The fate of the majority of these victims is unknown and is one of the questions Price poses to Haspel .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transpired in the world since 9/11 and the proliferation of ISIS and other terrorist groups , it behooves us to not fall into our own sophistries and pretend that we really don ’ t know .
Feature photo | This photo depicting two people , appearing to be bound , was released the by Department of Defense as part of a long-running ACLU lawsuit relating to CIA torture on February 5 , 2015 .

Democratic Congressman David Price wants the CIA to come clean about its Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation (RDI) program which detained, interrogated, disappeared, and tortured potentially thousands of Muslims at CIA “black sites” around the world from the fall of 2001 until 2009 when its discovery led to its notorious end.
In a letter addressed to CIA director Gina Haspel last week, the North Carolina representative and chairman of the Transportation and HUD appropriations subcommittee asked for more details about his state’s role in the covert operation, requesting the release of certain classified materials pertaining to the use of North Carolina facilities and residents in the rendition process.
Price raises important questions that remain unanswered despite several years of research and pressure by activist organizations and journalists into the still elusive truth about the systematic policy of kidnapping and torture instituted via a secret memorandum signed by George W. Bush only six days after the events of September 11, 2001.
Congressman Price frames his letter to Haspel in terms of concern for the people of his home state of North Carolina, which is enough to embody at least the pretense of justice. But, given the unspeakable suffering and horrors visited upon the unknown number of innocent victims of the RDI program, Price’s late and limited election-time appeal smacks of political showmanship.
Laudable as the Congressman’s efforts may be, they still fall short of probing the darkest truths behind the RDI program, which threaten to expose the American war machine and the interests that motivate it.
Vacation in Macedonia
Khaled El-Masri was about to ring in 2004 in one of the oldest parts of the old world when he was forcibly abducted by a crew of seven or eight armed men and held in a hotel for 23 days. It would mark the beginning of a heart-wrenching ordeal for El-Masri, a German-Lebanese citizen who never imagined his vacation in Macedonia would include a nearly five-month layover in a CIA torture facility.
According to investigators with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed a lawsuit on his behalf in 2007, El-Masri was chained, hooded, drugged and flown to the American-occupied city of Kabul in Afghanistan via Baghdad aboard a Boeing aircraft with a tail number registered in North Carolina. He was held in a small concrete cell inside a former brick factory outside of Kabul with no bed for the following five months, where he was beaten, tortured, and interrogated by Arabic-speaking men about his supposed and never-proven links to the September 11 hijackers. In May of 2004, El-Masri was flown to Albania and unceremoniously dumped in the foreign country to fend for himself.
His story was repeated hundreds, if not thousands of times with baselessly targeted Muslims, including children and pregnant women, who were abducted by CIA-backed mercenaries under the auspices of the RDI program. The official number of victims acknowledged by the U.S. government sits at just over 100 people, but the full scope of the covert torture operation has yet to be revealed since the government’s own Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program remains classified.
Nevertheless, independent studies of the RDI program have unearthed enough evidence to conclude that the scale of the illegal CIA-run operation far exceeds the tally so far. The plane used to fly El-Masri was one of two aircraft owned by a CIA front company and operated out of North Carolina in a highly-protected corner of the state’s Global TransPark – a multi-modal center that houses major aerospace manufacturing facilities, like Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing and military facilities.
The airplane in question, tail number N313P, is linked back to a small company called Aero Contractors, Ltd., which is cited in the Congressman’s letter and is at the center of many of the independent inquiries into the matter. However, Aero Contractor’s role – while significant – is much more narrow than that of the company to which the aircraft was sold to before the renditions began.
The shell in the shell
Founded in 1979 by a former pilot with the CIA’s Air America, Aero Contractors works through several shell companies. One of these companies, Premier Executive Transport Services, purchased the N313P aircraft within weeks of the RDI program’s start and performed a number of technical upgrades to the plane, including the installation of vertical fins to help it take off from short runways or rough weather conditions, as well as boosting fuel efficiency, among other tweaks to improve the airplane’s overall range.
Investigative reporter and expert in clandestine military installations, Trevor Paglen, together with ProPublica staff reporter A.C. Thompson, manage to pull the curtain back somewhat in their book, Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the Cia’s Rendition Flights, disclosing that after the modifications were made, the plane was sold to another shady outfit registered in Reno, Nevada called Keeler and Tate Management Group LLC., which they traced back to one of the most powerful lobbying firms in DC, the Paul Laxalt Group, and run by its now-deceased founder, Paul Laxalt and his brother Peter.
While Aero Contractor pilots and mechanics continued to take care of the technical operation of the aircraft, it was the CIA-front Nevada company, Keeler and Tate Management, that was in charge of the renditions and other more germane aspects of the RDI.
The lack of attention to this particular detail speaks volumes, considering that Paul Laxalt, a former Republican governor of Nevada and one of the biggest names in the state’s politics, was also a liaison between the Senate and the White House during the Iran-Contra scandal. In addition to being a close confidant to Ronald Reagan and thrice running his election campaigns, Laxalt was also late CIA director William Casey’s good friend.
Laxalt’s lobbying firm, now run by his daughter Michelle Laxalt, has an extensive clientele and was representing many defense industry stalwarts like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Honeywell, and many others in 2001. His relationship to the company that owned N313P and N379P – the two aircraft used to carry out over 77 illegal rendition flights, that are still unaccounted for – has been ignored by most investigations into the RDI program.
The North Carolina Congressman’s letter to Gina Haspel focuses on Aero Contractors and never mentions Laxalt or Keeler and Tate, the front company he ran for the CIA. Stopping the inquiry about one of the most egregious and coordinated abuses of human rights in modern times at the feet of a contractor seems a disservice to the truth and to the possibly thousands of illegally detained and tortured men, women, and children of Muslim persuasion.
The unaccounted for
According to annex B included in Congressman David Price’s letter to the CIA director, the mission of 77 “suspicious circuits flown” by the two aforementioned aircraft operated by Aero Contractors “remains to be determined.” It is a form of political sophistry to give Aero Contractors the benefit of the doubt, considering that all the evidence points towards the obvious.
In the rendition flight logs that have been disclosed, 49 prisoners were transported to multiple locations throughout the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Like El-Masri, many abductees were dropped in countries they knew nothing about. Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Iraq, and, of course, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are among the destinations several of these victims of naked U.S. imperialism were shuttled to and tortured.
The fate of the majority of these victims is unknown and is one of the questions Price poses to Haspel. But, in light of events that have transpired in the world since 9/11 and the proliferation of ISIS and other terrorist groups, it behooves us to not fall into our own sophistries and pretend that we really don’t know.
Feature photo | This photo depicting two people, appearing to be bound, was released the by Department of Defense as part of a long-running ACLU lawsuit relating to CIA torture on February 5, 2015.
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-10-19--With an Eye on Nearby Iran, Israeli Weapons Fuel the Violence in Azerbaijan

The latest iteration of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict , which has already claimed the lives of dozens of people , had been largely forgotten by the world before hostilities reignited in September .
Only the collapse of the Soviet Union was able to bring about the end of the last war between these entrenched enemies in the 1980s and 1990s .
Now , almost a quarter of a century later , the still contested region claimed under international law by Azerbaijan and de facto controlled by its ethnic Armenian majority has fallen under a new spell of violence thanks in large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ larger war with another neighboring country : Iran .
Three weeks ago , a dispute over a piece of territory in the Caucasus Mountains erupted into a hot war between the two former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia , sending civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh to seek cover in their basements from the aerial drone strikes raining death and destruction from above .
In a video analyzed by Franceinfo , a 1K Orbiter “ kamikaze ” drone was found intact on the streets of the ethnically-Armenian enclave near the Azeri-Armenian border .
As its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aerial vehicles ( UAVs ) is so named because once its operators lock onto a target on the ground the UAV dives into them with an explosive charge .
The drone was developed by leading Israeli unmanned aerial systems ( UAS ) company Aeronautics Defense Systems , which has a manufacturing plant in Azerbaijan since 2011 .
The discovery of the drone ’ s use by Azeri forces in the disputed border region has highlighted the pivotal , yet largely underreported , role that Israel is playing in this conflict , giving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overmatched Armenians .
In addition , Turkey ’ s clear support of the Azerbaijani state leaves the majority Christian nation of Armenia up against the two biggest regional powers aside from Russia , which five days ago called on both parties in the conflict to respect a second cease-fire agreement brokered on October 10 , 2020 , in Moscow .
The truce was supposed to come into force on Saturday , but heavy artillery fire , missiles , and drones continued to fall in the conflict zone on Sunday , with both sides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ armistice .
The religious nature of the conflict ’ s origins helps to disguise the active participation of outside interests that are intent on stoking it for their own geopolitical purposes .
Control over natural resources underpins virtually every single military conflagration in the twentieth century and many of raging across the world at the start of the twenty-first .
The escalating conflict in the Caucasus is no exception , despite the ostensibly religious motives some would like to ascribe to the parties involved .
While Muslim-majority Azerbaijan might seem like a natural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its core , the conflict unfolding in northern Eurasia is one that harkens to the very first oil well that was discovered in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku .
Baku was the center of the black gold universe on the eve of World War I before Israel even existed as a state and just as Lord Balfour was on the verge of penning the infamous Balfour Declaration , which would eventually lead to its creation .
Today , the apartheid state obtains 40 percent of its oil from Baku , leaving little to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regional conflict .
In order to protect those interests , Israel has become one of Azerbaijan ’ s largest arms suppliers in recent years , providing up to 61 percent of all Azeri arms imports this past year , according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute .
Claims made last week by an aide to the Azerbaijani president belittled Armenian condemnations of Israel ’ s role as “ exaggerated ” after the Armenian foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to Israel over the weapons sales .
As if to underscore the Azeri official @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high court dismissed a call by human rights activist Elie Joseph to halt arms sales to Azerbaijan two days later , citing a lack of evidence .
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh could easily devolve into a wider war between far more powerful actors , like Turkey and Russia .
The latter has a defense treaty with Armenia , while the former ’ s relationship to the oldest Christian country in the world is beset by its historic refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide – the systematic mass murder and expulsion of Armenians from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Empire during and after World War I .
Signs that the conflict is heading in the wrong direction are becoming more noticeable .
On Friday , October 16 , Russia announced that its navy was beginning military exercises in the Caspian Sea to the north of Baku .
Meanwhile , Armenian President Armen Sarkissian said on Saturday that he is ready to travel to European headquarters in Brussels to confront NATO over Ankara ’ s actions , which include funneling mercenaries from Syria to Azerbaijan .
More importantly , Iran could also be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold the key to unraveling Israel ’ s geopolitical motivation for their significant involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict .
Iran shares a common cultural heritage with Armenia , despite religious differences , and counts the Christian nation as a strategic partner .
One day before the second cease-fire was supposed to take effect , the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry accused Armenian forces of launching rocket attacks into Iranian territory as a provocation , which led the Iranian Foreign Ministry to issue a statement clarifying that “ aggression against our country ’ s territories by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be tolerated .
Feature photo | A man fences off a tail of a multiple rocket after shelling by Azerbaijan ’ s artillery during a military conflict in Shushi , outside Stepanakert , the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh , Oct. 18 , 2020 .
Photo | AP

The latest iteration of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has already claimed the lives of dozens of people, had been largely forgotten by the world before hostilities reignited in September. Only the collapse of the Soviet Union was able to bring about the end of the last war between these entrenched enemies in the 1980s and 1990s. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, the still contested region claimed under international law by Azerbaijan and de facto controlled by its ethnic Armenian majority has fallen under a new spell of violence thanks in large part to external actors vying for a larger war with another neighboring country: Iran.
Three weeks ago, a dispute over a piece of territory in the Caucasus Mountains erupted into a hot war between the two former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia, sending civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh to seek cover in their basements from the aerial drone strikes raining death and destruction from above.
In a video analyzed by Franceinfo, a 1K Orbiter “kamikaze” drone was found intact on the streets of the ethnically-Armenian enclave near the Azeri-Armenian border. As its moniker implies, this class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is so named because once its operators lock onto a target on the ground the UAV dives into them with an explosive charge.
The drone was developed by leading Israeli unmanned aerial systems (UAS) company Aeronautics Defense Systems, which has a manufacturing plant in Azerbaijan since 2011. The discovery of the drone’s use by Azeri forces in the disputed border region has highlighted the pivotal, yet largely underreported, role that Israel is playing in this conflict, giving the Azeri army a decided advantage against the overmatched Armenians.
In addition, Turkey’s clear support of the Azerbaijani state leaves the majority Christian nation of Armenia up against the two biggest regional powers aside from Russia, which five days ago called on both parties in the conflict to respect a second cease-fire agreement brokered on October 10, 2020, in Moscow. The truce was supposed to come into force on Saturday, but heavy artillery fire, missiles, and drones continued to fall in the conflict zone on Sunday, with both sides blaming the other for violating the tentative armistice. The religious nature of the conflict’s origins helps to disguise the active participation of outside interests that are intent on stoking it for their own geopolitical purposes.
Black gold in Baku
Control over natural resources underpins virtually every single military conflagration in the twentieth century and many of raging across the world at the start of the twenty-first. The escalating conflict in the Caucasus is no exception, despite the ostensibly religious motives some would like to ascribe to the parties involved.
While Muslim-majority Azerbaijan might seem like a natural enemy of majority Christian Armenia, at its core, the conflict unfolding in northern Eurasia is one that harkens to the very first oil well that was discovered in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Baku was the center of the black gold universe on the eve of World War I before Israel even existed as a state and just as Lord Balfour was on the verge of penning the infamous Balfour Declaration, which would eventually lead to its creation.
Today, the apartheid state obtains 40 percent of its oil from Baku, leaving little to the imagination about its interest in the regional conflict. In order to protect those interests, Israel has become one of Azerbaijan’s largest arms suppliers in recent years, providing up to 61 percent of all Azeri arms imports this past year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Claims made last week by an aide to the Azerbaijani president belittled Armenian condemnations of Israel’s role as “exaggerated” after the Armenian foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to Israel over the weapons sales. As if to underscore the Azeri official’s disingenuous statement, an Israeli high court dismissed a call by human rights activist Elie Joseph to halt arms sales to Azerbaijan two days later, citing a lack of evidence.
A powder keg
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh could easily devolve into a wider war between far more powerful actors, like Turkey and Russia. The latter has a defense treaty with Armenia, while the former’s relationship to the oldest Christian country in the world is beset by its historic refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide – the systematic mass murder and expulsion of Armenians from what was still the capital of Ottoman Empire during and after World War I.
Signs that the conflict is heading in the wrong direction are becoming more noticeable. On Friday, October 16, Russia announced that its navy was beginning military exercises in the Caspian Sea to the north of Baku. Meanwhile, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian said on Saturday that he is ready to travel to European headquarters in Brussels to confront NATO over Ankara’s actions, which include funneling mercenaries from Syria to Azerbaijan.
More importantly, Iran could also be dragged into a larger war and could hold the key to unraveling Israel’s geopolitical motivation for their significant involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Iran shares a common cultural heritage with Armenia, despite religious differences, and counts the Christian nation as a strategic partner.
One day before the second cease-fire was supposed to take effect, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry accused Armenian forces of launching rocket attacks into Iranian territory as a provocation, which led the Iranian Foreign Ministry to issue a statement clarifying that “aggression against our country’s territories by any party” in the conflict would not be tolerated.
Feature photo | A man fences off a tail of a multiple rocket after shelling by Azerbaijan’s artillery during a military conflict in Shushi, outside Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Oct. 18, 2020. Photo | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-10-19--Media Responds With Apathy, Disappointment as US-Backed Coup Gov’t Concedes Defeat in Bolivia

Bolivia ’ s Movement to Socialism ( MAS ) party is celebrating what appears to be a crushing , landslide victory in Sunday ’ s elections .
Although official vote counting is far from over , exit polls show an overwhelming triumph for the socialists , and a repudiation of the right-wing military government of Jeanine Añez , who has ruled since the coup last November .
At the same time , the corporate press appears less than pleased about the return to democracy for the Andean country .
In order to win outright in the first round , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the popular vote and a lead of 10 points over their nearest rival , and multiple polls have indicated that the MAS ticket of Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca has won more than 50 percent , and have achieved a lead of over 20 points on their nearest challenger , Carlos Mesa ( president between 2003 and 2005 ) — quite a feat in a five-way election .
The MAS is also expected to have won a large majority in the senate .
Añez , who came to power in a coup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and whose government has constantly postponed the election throughout the year , knew the game was up and lauded the MAS on their remarkable achievement .
“ We do not yet have an official count , but from the data we have , Mr. Arce and Mr. Choquehuanca have won the election .
I congratulate the winners and ask them to govern with Bolivia and democracy in mind , ” she wrote .
Añez decided to drop out of the election herself last month in an attempt to boost Mesa ’ s chances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mesa accepted defeat as well .
“ The result is overwhelming and clear .
The difference is wide , ” he lamented .
Across the spectrum , corporate media endorsed the events of November , refusing to label them a coup .
The New York Times editorial board claimed that the “ increasingly autocratic ” tyrant Morales had actually “ resigned , ” after “ protests ” over a “ highly fishy vote.
” The Washington Post did the same .
“ There can be little doubt who was responsible for the chaos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” their editorial board wrote , as they expressed their relief that Bolivia was finally in the hands of “ more responsible leaders ” like Añez , ( who , at the time , was giving security forces orders to shoot her opponents in the streets ) .
Despite this , The Wall Street Journal ’ s board decided the events of November constituted “ a democratic outbreak in Bolivia.
” Today , therefore , the corporate press is in a very tough spot , as they have to explain to their readers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an overwhelming , landslide victory to a party they have been presenting as an authoritarian dictatorship who were overthrown by popular protests last year .
A number of outlets solved this by simply fastidiously avoiding reporting on the events of November or using the word “ coup ” to describe them .
NPR ’ s Philip Reeves , for example , claimed Morales “ resigned ” amid an annulled election after “ allegations of fraud , ” leading to an “ interim government ” ( Añez ’ s own public relations-minded phrase for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coup ” only appears in the mouth of Morales , someone whose credibility the outlet has spent months undermining .
Other organizations like Deutsche Welt and Bloomberg failed to use the word at all in their reporting .
The Associated Press , meanwhile , referenced the coup , but did not use the word , instead describing it as when “ police and military leaders suggested he [ Morales ] leave.
” It takes great linguistic skill to refrain from using by far the most appropriate word to describe events in Bolivia for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indeed , the linguistic gymnastics necessary to avoid using the word would be genuinely impressive were not an exercise in deceit and manufacturing consent for regime change .
CNN at least included the phrase “ claims of a coup , ” but presents it beside apparently equally justified “ allegations of fraud among contested national elections.
” But these two things are nothing like the same .
One is a statement of fact while another is a debunked , discredited talking point used to overthrow a legitimate government .
Meanwhile , the BBC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an entire section called “ why is the country so divided ” which did not mention the massacres , the firesale of the country ’ s economy , the repression of media or activists , the persecution of the MAS or the U.S. role in overthrowing the elected government .
Instead , it presented Morales himself as the prime agent of polarization , a common tactic among media discussing enemy states .
The New York Times also published a long , in-depth article on the election , yet it appeared that the only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to quote were ones who constantly badmouthed Morales , the article also suggesting that MAS ’ figures might be inflated , despite the fact they have now been accepted by Añez and Mesa as essentially accurate .
As such the corporate press refused to cover the incredible story of nationwide nonviolent resistance to authoritarian rule , forcing a government into accepting its own defeat , reminiscent of Gandhi ’ s campaign against the British in India .
Last October , Morales won an unprecedented and not uncontentious fourth term .
Yet the U.S.-backed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claiming that they had been rigged .
The Organization of American States immediately backed them up , producing a flawed report on election meddling , something that was almost immediately disproven .
Nevertheless , the right-wing mobilized and began a widespread campaign of terror , targeting , attacking , and kidnapping MAS politicians .
On November 10 , police and military commanders joined the coup , demanding Morales resign or else they would take matters into their own hands .
Morales decided to flee to Mexico but made clear he was only leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ picked Añez , a little known senator from a party who gained only four percent of the public vote , to become president .
She immediately granted security forces total pre-immunity for all crimes committed during the “ re-establishment of order.
” Her new interior minister , Arturo Murillo , oversaw the creation of masked , black-clad paramilitary units specifically aimed at political subversives , foreigners , and human rights groups .
Journalists were attacked and , in one case , beaten to death , while foreign and alternative media were shut down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down ” his opponents like dogs .
Morales himself was charged with crimes against humanity and faces spending the rest of his life in prison if he returns to his home country .
Other MAS leaders on yesterday ’ s ballot also face long prison terms on dubious charges .
Añez pushed through the privatization of natural resources and state-owned businesses while in office , accepting loans from predatory organizations like the International Monetary Fund .
She also reorientated her country ’ s foreign policy away from an independent path towards one completely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pulling out of multiple regional alliances and entering new ones .
Under Morales , for example , Bolivia had declared Israel a ‘ terrorist state.
” Yet less than a month after the coup , Añez and Murillo were inviting IDF troops to the country to train their police forces in dealing with “ leftist terrorism.
” The government ’ s response to the coronavirus pandemic has also taken on a decidedly right-wing tone .
Cuts to health provisions and the expulsion of hundreds of Cuban doctors ( whom the government labeled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health system to crash just before the pandemic became worldwide news .
As a result , Bolivia has the third-highest COVID-19 death per capita rate in the world , comfortably surpassing the United States in severity .
Añez herself contracted the virus in July .
Añez used the intensity of the pandemic as justification to continually suspend the elections she claimed she would hold , calling herself merely an “ interim president.
” Yet many inside the country felt the coronavirus was being used as an excuse to keep herself in power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was engulfed in near continual protests , shutting the country down .
As a result , the summer was marked by the rise of the virus and by a weeks-long peaceful general strike calling for elections .
Fearing a potential revolution , Añez conceded and agreed to hold them in October .
After months of organized popular struggle in the face of a coup government that had been massacring them , Sunday ’ s result has been widely interpreted as a repudiation of the coup and a vote for socialism .
MintPress ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a secret of his political persuasions , said in the wake of the results : Morales celebrated the ascension of his former minister of finance to Bolivia ’ s top job .
“ We ’ ve received our democracy ” he declared .
“ Sisters and brothers : the will of the people has been imposed .
There has been a resounding victory for the MAS .
Our political movement will have a majority in both houses .
We have returned millions , now we are going to restore dignity and freedom to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter .
Arce himself was in an equally joyous mood , telling Vargas last night that , “ It seems that a great part of the Bolivian people have recovered their soul.
” “ I think the Bolivian people want to retake the path we were on , ” he added .
MAS supporters took to the streets to celebrate their victory , made all the more unlikely given the repression they have been subject to under Añez ’ s military regime .
Fears of violence and vote rigging against the MAS were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blocked foreign election observers from overseeing events , threatening to jail them .
On Saturday , Argentinian congressman Federico Fagioli , an official observer representing his government , was arrested by police at El Alto airport .
Video of the incident shows Fagioli shouting “ I am being kidnapped ” as multiple officers pick him up and forcefully carry him away .
If Añez ’ s government does indeed step down , it will represent only the second time in Latin American history that a U.S.-backed coup against a progressive administration has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2002 , the countercoup took less than 48 hours .
In Bolivia , people have organized for nearly a year to achieve the same ends , giving the government far more time to embed and establish itself .
The Bolivian people have a long history of organized struggle bringing down governments .
In the early 2000s , nationwide protests against gas and water privatizations rocked the country , toppling unrepresentative regimes ( including that of Mesa ’ s in 2005 ) , setting the stage for Morales to become the most influential figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years .
The first indigenous president in the majority indigenous country ’ s history , Morales ran on the idea of 21st-century socialism , using his country ’ s considerable mineral wealth to fund social programs that cut poverty by half and extreme poverty by three-quarters , halving unemployment and increasing the country ’ s GDP by 50 percent .
Yet his nationalization program and his outspoken criticism of capitalism and American imperialism on the world stage made him a prime target for regime change in Washington , who strongly supported the events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Añez ’ s legitimacy .
Despite the fact that the MAS ’ electoral victory looks certain , it is far from clear what sort of resistance they will face from other sources of power .
“ The next few days will be key for consolidating democracy in Bolivia .
The MAS will need to embrace the patriotic elements within the police and military , to ensure the U.S./Murillo don ’ t launch a second coup against the majority of Bolivians , ” Vargas warned .
And how will the MAS deal with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serious human rights abuses .
Are they really in any position to exert authority over the situation ?
Of late , wherever there are governments critical of U.S. power ( Cuba , Nicaragua , Venezuela , Iran , etc . )
they are met with crushing sanctions in an attempt to destroy their ability to oppose Washington .
Bolivia under Morales had already been labeled by some in the U.S. as a “ narco-dictatorship.
” If Arce does indeed come to rule his country , will he receive the Nicolas Maduro treatment ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ are questions for a different day .
Today , they are celebrating a stunning and historic victory cheered by progressives the world over but angering Washington and corporate journalists in equal measure .
Feature photo | Former Bolivian President Evo Morales attends a press conference in Buenos Aires , Argentina , after general elections in his home country , Oct. 19 .
2020 .
Marcos Brindicci | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Bolivia’s Movement to Socialism (MAS) party is celebrating what appears to be a crushing, landslide victory in Sunday’s elections. Although official vote counting is far from over, exit polls show an overwhelming triumph for the socialists, and a repudiation of the right-wing military government of Jeanine Añez, who has ruled since the coup last November. At the same time, the corporate press appears less than pleased about the return to democracy for the Andean country.
In order to win outright in the first round, the top candidate needs at least 40 percent of the popular vote and a lead of 10 points over their nearest rival, and multiple polls have indicated that the MAS ticket of Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca has won more than 50 percent, and have achieved a lead of over 20 points on their nearest challenger, Carlos Mesa (president between 2003 and 2005) — quite a feat in a five-way election. The MAS is also expected to have won a large majority in the senate.
BREAKING: Exit polls show that Bolivia's Movement Towards Socialism have won the presidency in the 1st round with 52.4% of the vote. This is an even higher score than when Evo Morales won in 2019. pic.twitter.com/ZyoweE0U14 — Ollie Vargas (@OVargas52) October 19, 2020
Añez, who came to power in a coup overthrowing President Evo Morales last November, and whose government has constantly postponed the election throughout the year, knew the game was up and lauded the MAS on their remarkable achievement. “We do not yet have an official count, but from the data we have, Mr. Arce and Mr. Choquehuanca have won the election. I congratulate the winners and ask them to govern with Bolivia and democracy in mind,” she wrote. Añez decided to drop out of the election herself last month in an attempt to boost Mesa’s chances of stopping Arce. However, today Mesa accepted defeat as well. “The result is overwhelming and clear. The difference is wide,” he lamented.
Media disappointment at return of democracy
Across the spectrum, corporate media endorsed the events of November, refusing to label them a coup. The New York Times editorial board claimed that the “increasingly autocratic” tyrant Morales had actually “resigned,” after “protests” over a “highly fishy vote.” The Washington Post did the same. “There can be little doubt who was responsible for the chaos: newly resigned president Evo Morales,” their editorial board wrote, as they expressed their relief that Bolivia was finally in the hands of “more responsible leaders” like Añez, (who, at the time, was giving security forces orders to shoot her opponents in the streets). Despite this, The Wall Street Journal’s board decided the events of November constituted “a democratic outbreak in Bolivia.”
Today, therefore, the corporate press is in a very tough spot, as they have to explain to their readers why the Bolivian people have just handed an overwhelming, landslide victory to a party they have been presenting as an authoritarian dictatorship who were overthrown by popular protests last year.
A number of outlets solved this by simply fastidiously avoiding reporting on the events of November or using the word “coup” to describe them. NPR’s Philip Reeves, for example, claimed Morales “resigned” amid an annulled election after “allegations of fraud,” leading to an “interim government” (Añez’s own public relations-minded phrase for her administration). The word “coup” only appears in the mouth of Morales, someone whose credibility the outlet has spent months undermining. Other organizations like Deutsche Welt and Bloomberg failed to use the word at all in their reporting.
The Associated Press, meanwhile, referenced the coup, but did not use the word, instead describing it as when “police and military leaders suggested he [Morales] leave.” It takes great linguistic skill to refrain from using by far the most appropriate word to describe events in Bolivia for what they are: a coup. Indeed, the linguistic gymnastics necessary to avoid using the word would be genuinely impressive were not an exercise in deceit and manufacturing consent for regime change.
CNN at least included the phrase “claims of a coup,” but presents it beside apparently equally justified “allegations of fraud among contested national elections.” But these two things are nothing like the same. One is a statement of fact while another is a debunked, discredited talking point used to overthrow a legitimate government.
Meanwhile, the BBC’s article on the election had an entire section called “why is the country so divided” which did not mention the massacres, the firesale of the country’s economy, the repression of media or activists, the persecution of the MAS or the U.S. role in overthrowing the elected government. Instead, it presented Morales himself as the prime agent of polarization, a common tactic among media discussing enemy states.
The New York Times also published a long, in-depth article on the election, yet it appeared that the only MAS “supporters” it was willing to quote were ones who constantly badmouthed Morales, the article also suggesting that MAS’ figures might be inflated, despite the fact they have now been accepted by Añez and Mesa as essentially accurate.
As such the corporate press refused to cover the incredible story of nationwide nonviolent resistance to authoritarian rule, forcing a government into accepting its own defeat, reminiscent of Gandhi’s campaign against the British in India.
Congrats to Bolivia in returning to a government for the people. Condolences to all the journalists working for billionaires in the USA who have to try to spin democracy as "authoritarianism" in the next few years. — Existential Comics (@existentialcoms) October 19, 2020
A year of political turbulence
Last October, Morales won an unprecedented and not uncontentious fourth term. Yet the U.S.-backed opposition refused to accept the results, claiming that they had been rigged. The Organization of American States immediately backed them up, producing a flawed report on election meddling, something that was almost immediately disproven. Nevertheless, the right-wing mobilized and began a widespread campaign of terror, targeting, attacking, and kidnapping MAS politicians. On November 10, police and military commanders joined the coup, demanding Morales resign or else they would take matters into their own hands. Morales decided to flee to Mexico but made clear he was only leaving to prevent a bloodbath.
The military picked Añez, a little known senator from a party who gained only four percent of the public vote, to become president. She immediately granted security forces total pre-immunity for all crimes committed during the “re-establishment of order.” Her new interior minister, Arturo Murillo, oversaw the creation of masked, black-clad paramilitary units specifically aimed at political subversives, foreigners, and human rights groups. Journalists were attacked and, in one case, beaten to death, while foreign and alternative media were shut down completely. Murillo promised to “hunt down” his opponents like dogs. Morales himself was charged with crimes against humanity and faces spending the rest of his life in prison if he returns to his home country. Other MAS leaders on yesterday’s ballot also face long prison terms on dubious charges.
https://twitter.com/AliMortell/status/1318221632306089985
Añez pushed through the privatization of natural resources and state-owned businesses while in office, accepting loans from predatory organizations like the International Monetary Fund. She also reorientated her country’s foreign policy away from an independent path towards one completely in line with U.S. foreign policy aims, pulling out of multiple regional alliances and entering new ones. Under Morales, for example, Bolivia had declared Israel a ‘terrorist state.” Yet less than a month after the coup, Añez and Murillo were inviting IDF troops to the country to train their police forces in dealing with “leftist terrorism.”
The government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has also taken on a decidedly right-wing tone. Cuts to health provisions and the expulsion of hundreds of Cuban doctors (whom the government labeled as “terrorists”) caused the public health system to crash just before the pandemic became worldwide news. As a result, Bolivia has the third-highest COVID-19 death per capita rate in the world, comfortably surpassing the United States in severity. Añez herself contracted the virus in July.
Añez used the intensity of the pandemic as justification to continually suspend the elections she claimed she would hold, calling herself merely an “interim president.” Yet many inside the country felt the coronavirus was being used as an excuse to keep herself in power indefinitely. Throughout the year, Bolivia was engulfed in near continual protests, shutting the country down. As a result, the summer was marked by the rise of the virus and by a weeks-long peaceful general strike calling for elections. Fearing a potential revolution, Añez conceded and agreed to hold them in October.
After months of organized popular struggle in the face of a coup government that had been massacring them, Sunday’s result has been widely interpreted as a repudiation of the coup and a vote for socialism. MintPress’ Ollie Vargas, who has never made a secret of his political persuasions, said in the wake of the results:
On a personal level, I can’t believe this is finally happening, but it’s what we’ve always known. Despite the massacres, despite the persecution, despite U.S. intervention, the MAS is back and even more powerful. They can’t put a lid on the majority of the people.”
Morales celebrated the ascension of his former minister of finance to Bolivia’s top job. “We’ve received our democracy” he declared. “Sisters and brothers: the will of the people has been imposed. There has been a resounding victory for the MAS. Our political movement will have a majority in both houses. We have returned millions, now we are going to restore dignity and freedom to the people,” he added on Twitter.
Arce himself was in an equally joyous mood, telling Vargas last night that, “It seems that a great part of the Bolivian people have recovered their soul.” “I think the Bolivian people want to retake the path we were on,” he added. MAS supporters took to the streets to celebrate their victory, made all the more unlikely given the repression they have been subject to under Añez’s military regime.
Fears of violence and vote rigging against the MAS were rife, especially as the government had blocked foreign election observers from overseeing events, threatening to jail them. On Saturday, Argentinian congressman Federico Fagioli, an official observer representing his government, was arrested by police at El Alto airport. Video of the incident shows Fagioli shouting “I am being kidnapped” as multiple officers pick him up and forcefully carry him away.
What’s Next?
If Añez’s government does indeed step down, it will represent only the second time in Latin American history that a U.S.-backed coup against a progressive administration has been overturned. However, in Venezuela in 2002, the countercoup took less than 48 hours. In Bolivia, people have organized for nearly a year to achieve the same ends, giving the government far more time to embed and establish itself. The Bolivian people have a long history of organized struggle bringing down governments. In the early 2000s, nationwide protests against gas and water privatizations rocked the country, toppling unrepresentative regimes (including that of Mesa’s in 2005), setting the stage for Morales to become the most influential figure in Bolivian politics of the last 15 years.
The first indigenous president in the majority indigenous country’s history, Morales ran on the idea of 21st-century socialism, using his country’s considerable mineral wealth to fund social programs that cut poverty by half and extreme poverty by three-quarters, halving unemployment and increasing the country’s GDP by 50 percent. Yet his nationalization program and his outspoken criticism of capitalism and American imperialism on the world stage made him a prime target for regime change in Washington, who strongly supported the events of November, immediately recognizing and supporting Añez’s legitimacy.
Despite the fact that the MAS’ electoral victory looks certain, it is far from clear what sort of resistance they will face from other sources of power. “The next few days will be key for consolidating democracy in Bolivia. The MAS will need to embrace the patriotic elements within the police and military, to ensure the U.S./Murillo don’t launch a second coup against the majority of Bolivians,” Vargas warned. And how will the MAS deal with the coup plotters themselves, clearly guilty of serious human rights abuses. Are they really in any position to exert authority over the situation?
Local residents have turned up at MAS HQ in La Paz, to celebrate the victory of the people against the coup. pic.twitter.com/8vzWljceJ5 — Ollie Vargas (@OVargas52) October 19, 2020
Of late, wherever there are governments critical of U.S. power (Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Iran, etc.) they are met with crushing sanctions in an attempt to destroy their ability to oppose Washington. Bolivia under Morales had already been labeled by some in the U.S. as a “narco-dictatorship.” If Arce does indeed come to rule his country, will he receive the Nicolas Maduro treatment?
For MAS supporters, however, those are questions for a different day. Today, they are celebrating a stunning and historic victory cheered by progressives the world over but angering Washington and corporate journalists in equal measure.
Feature photo | Former Bolivian President Evo Morales attends a press conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after general elections in his home country, Oct. 19. 2020. Marcos Brindicci | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.