Disinfo: Washington stages coups attempts against leftist leaders of Latin America

Summary

The two main [Bolivian] opposition figures Mesa and Camacho are a sort of marriage of business and fascism to pursue pure capitalistic interest, simply because the Morales government was left-wing and rather socialist. This is typical for the entire region, as attempts against the Nicolas Maduro government in Venezuela are still on-going, for 9 months straight, but with limited, if any, success. On the photograph are all democratically elected South American leaders against whom there were coup attempts simply because they weren’t politically aligned with the Washington-led establishment and were left wing.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory. No evidence is provided to support the claim. This is part of a recurrent disinformation narrative about US-led regime change operations against left wing governments in Latin America. You can see other examples of this, such as the alleged presence of a US marine in the Venezuelan barricades and the promotion of a Ukraine-style 'colour revolution', the training of Venezuelan exiles in Guyana for military operations inside the country, preparations for a military intervention after forcing Brazil to join NATO, deliberate blackouts in South America caused by the US, or the existence of plans for the secession of oil-rich regions in both Venezuela and Mexico. Also falls within the broader pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative attempting to deny the existence of genuine grass-root protests, portraying them as foreign-led efforts and fake colour revolutions. Read the statement by the EU High Representative/Vice President Federica Mogherini on the situation in Bolivia here

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 172
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12/11/2019
  • Outlet language(s) English
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Bolivia, Venezuela, US
  • Keywords: Protest, Colour revolutions, Conspiracy theory
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Disinfo: What is happening in Ukraine is a Western project

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Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative painting the 2013-14 protests in Kyiv as a coup orchestrated by the West, and alleging that Russia's armed aggression in east Ukraine is a civil war. It's also a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative undermining the statehood of Ukraine. The message also repeats disinformation narratives about EU and US relations with Ukraine. Ukraine is recognised in international law as a sovereign nation-state, with its own flag, nationality, language and with a democratically-elected president and parliament. The EU and the US support the democratic development of Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter’s principles of non-interference into internal affairs and respect towards territorial integrity and political independence. There was no coup d'état in Ukraine. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was an organic reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013. The war in eastern Ukraine is not a civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014.

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Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the history of Ukraine and Ukrainian statehood. The history of Ukraine dates back to the times of the Kyivan Rus’ in the IX-XIII centuries. As a nation-state, Ukraine was formed during the XVI-XIX centuries when it was divided by major European states: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita) and the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires. However, in the middle of the XVII century, parts of Ukraine's territories received independence from Poland and created an independent Cossacks Hetmanate. Later, it signed a military and political cooperation deal with Moscow, which was then used by Russian rulers to deprive Hetmanate of its sovereign rights. In the early XX century, after the collapse of the Russian empire, the Ukrainian People’s Republic was proclaimed. In Western Ukraine, which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Western Ukrainian National Republic was created. On 22 January 1919, the two states signed a Unification Act creating a unified state. Other territories wanted to join the new Ukrainian state, such as Northern Bukovyna and Crimea and appealed to the government of a unified Ukrainian People’s Republic.