[lbo-talk] Fidel's phone call to Hugo Chávez on 4/12/2002, etc.

[Julio Huato]

Somebody here wondered whether my claim, that Fidel saved Chávez's
life during the coup, could be substantiated.  I was relying on what
Fidel disclosed in one of his old "reflections."  But now the then
Cuban ambassador in Caracas, Germán Sánchez Otero, is publishing a
book in which he details these conversations and all the maneuvering
involved:

http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2012/04/11/la-llamada-de-fidel-a-chavez-el-12-de-abril-de-2002/

And this is from Randy Alonso Falcón, a Cuban journalist, caught in
the middle of those events, helping Chávez's daughter to counter the
propaganda coup, while Fidel threw his weight in all directions trying
to help organize the counter-coup in Venezuela:

http://www.cubadebate.cu/opinion/2012/04/11/una-llamada-crucial/

Of course, the main factor was the existence of popular support (and
significant support in the armed forces) in Venezuela, but in volatile
moments like those, the role of a figure like Fidel cannot be
discounted, as small things turn out to have extreme consequences.

PS: Use Google Language Tools if you cannot read Spanish.