Bolivian coca leader rails against U.S

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La Paz, Nov 18 (EFE).- The leader of Bolivia's powerful organization of coca leaf growers accused the United States on Tuesday of seeking to foment upheaval in the Andean nation by reporting that acreage dedicated to the plant - cocaine's raw material - has increased.

Evo Morales, the head of the country's coca growers and of its main opposition party, said a report by the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia that pointed to a 17 percent increase in the land area devoted to coca cultivation was "a conspiracy." The leader of the Movement Toward Socialism party, known by its Spanish initials MAS, told a press conference that Washington was seeking "to spark social upheaval in the country from abroad." According to the study, which was based on satellite imaging, the number of acres dedicated to coca cultivation rose compared to the previous year by 4,000 hectares (9,876 acres), or 17 percent, to 28,450 hectares (70,247 acres).

A 1996 law allows coca leaf to be grown on a maximum of 12,000 hectares (29,629 acres) of Bolivian territory. The government has, therefore, carried out an eradication program for years.

Legally produced coca supposedly is destined for the traditional market, which supplies Andean Indians who, like their ancestors, chew the unprocessed leaf as a mild stimulant similar to coffee.

http://www.efenews.com/includesasp/noticias.asp?opcion=0&id=5665831

internal affairs

statistics about the US intervening in LatAm countries.

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... I would humbly suggest that one should not so quickly dismiss the suggestion that the CIA, or some other U.S. intelligence operation, is or has been appropriately involved in Venezuelan internal affairs. Frankly, the track record for the U.S. in Latin America has not been a pretty one. Rather it has been one that has witnessed a continuous pattern of U.S. interference, invasions, coups, blockades and assassinations going back to the initial reaction of the U.S. to the independence of revolutionary Haiti in 1804.

The list of such actions is as overwhelming as it is telling. The invasion and seizure of one half of Mexico in 1846; the seizure of Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Western hemisphere through the Spanish-American War; invasions of Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua in the early 20th Century; the Guatemala coup of 1954; assassination of Dominican dictator Trujillo in 1961; continuous assassination attempts, invasions, covert operations and a blockade against Cuba; coup in Brazil in 1964; coup in the then British Guiana in 1964; invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965; coup in Chile in 1973; arming of death squads in various Latin American countries; organizing and arming the terrorist Contras in their war with the Sandinista government in Nicaragua in the 1980s; invasion of Panama in 1989… And this is not the entire list.

http://www.sacobserver.com/news/commentary/111703/venezuela_us.shtml

was repudiated, officially, even though the _Bush admin. still maintains the propaganda:

Interestingly and ironically enough, shortly after its publication, U.S. military officials debunked the entire notion of Venezuela as such a hotbed. The story, however, has not been retracted. Then came Venezuelan allegations of CIA involvement in efforts to overthrow the government of President Chavez. The response on the part of the Bush administration has not only been to deny the report, but to ridicule it. This ridicule has been echoed by various U.S. media outlets.(snip)

Once you're aware they do it, spotting the language in articles becomes automatic, doesn't it?

(snip) In each case, laying the foundation for some form of hostile interference by the U.S. has involved demonizing either the government or significant popular movements in the specific target country. (snip)