# The Stratfor cables on Venezuela

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The Stratfor cables on Venezuela," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-stratfor-cables-on-venezuela/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*Material John Kiriakou says WikiLeaks exposed on American operations against Venezuela, the training of opposition figures including Juan Guaidó and Leopoldo López, and plotting to sabotage dams inside the country to help bring down Hugo Chávez. He offers it as an example of detail so obscure that few journalists know it, and as the real reason for the pursuit of Julian Assange.*

- **Source:** The Stratfor cables published by WikiLeaks
- **Opposition figures named:** Juan Guaidó and his mentor Leopoldo López
- **The plot alleged:** Sabotage of dams inside Venezuela
- **Purpose:** To help overthrow Hugo Chávez
- **Kiriakou's conclusion:** This is why they are after Assange

**The Stratfor cables on Venezuela** are among the disclosures [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) cites when asked to say what [Julian Assange](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/julian-assange) actually revealed, in an interview given while Assange remained in British custody.

## The claim

Kiriakou lists the disclosures in ascending order of obscurity. After the case of a German citizen seized by a [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) snatch team and abused in a black site in a case of mistaken identity, *"if it weren't for julian assange and wikileaks we wouldn't even know about this case"*, he turns to the diplomatic material.[1]

*"you also have cablegate where we saw the state department engaging in illegal activity in sovereign countries to topple their government training opposition figures uh that we saw through the stratfor cables exposed on wikileaks training opposition figures like juan guido and his mentor leopoldo lopez to overthrow the venezuelan government plotting to uh sabotage dams inside venezuela to help overthrow hugo chavez."*[1][2]

## The inference

What Kiriakou draws from the list is a motive for the prosecution. *"the list goes on and on and on these are details few journalists even know and that's why i think they're after assange and are seeking to kill him in slow motion by prolonging his imprisonment for as long as possible."*[2]

His position on the offence itself is stated in the same interview and separately at [the sources and methods red herring](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-sources-and-methods-red-herring): that Assange revealed no sources or methods, and that his actual crime was *"embarrassing the powers that be in washington."*[3]

The [Guaidó](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/juan-guaido) claim connects the disclosure directly to the operational sequence Kiriakou describes at [the Caracas checklist](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-caracas-checklist), where the co-option of opposition figures precedes the physical seizure of a capital.

## See also

- [Julian Assange](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/julian-assange)
- [Juan Guaidó](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/juan-guaido)
- [The Caracas checklist](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-caracas-checklist)
- [The Sources And Methods Red Herring](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-sources-and-methods-red-herring)
- [Khalid El-Masri](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/khalid-el-masri)

## Sources

1. Assange: political prisoner or criminal? (2022-07-29), at 01:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYjq-aDLKA&t=62s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2022-07-29-cgtn-america-assange-political-prisoner-or-criminal/
2. Assange: political prisoner or criminal? (2022-07-29), at 01:32. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYjq-aDLKA&t=92s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2022-07-29-cgtn-america-assange-political-prisoner-or-criminal/
3. Assange: political prisoner or criminal? (2022-07-29), at 00:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYjq-aDLKA&t=0s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2022-07-29-cgtn-america-assange-political-prisoner-or-criminal/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-stratfor-cables-on-venezuela/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt