The day the far right really tried to assassinate the Venezuelan president
It’s easy to forget – and weird to think about – but there was a time when the foreign-backed fascists really did try to murder a massively popular, elected, progressive Venezuelan leader. It happened on June 24th, 1960. The car-bomb Trujillo’s thugs planted in Rómulo Betancourt’s motorcade’s path killed four and left the president’s face literally on fire.
Rómulo’s speech, made from his hospital bed the next day, is oddly thrilling:
As we absorb the shocking Wikileaks revelation that secret gringo diplomacy towards Venezuela is pretty much indistinguishable from the public kind, I can’t help but wonder: what wouldn’t Chávez give to start a speech saying,
“I’ll have to be brief because the injuries I suffered in yesterday’s assassination attempt make it hard for me to talk”?!?
Hat tip: GTAvex
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