Letter to the Editor: A Historical Perspective on Venezuela

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Rightly, the United States has refrained from marching troops into the maelstrom that is contemporary Venezuela. But six decades ago, amid completely different circumstances, America came within minutes of just such an attack.

In May 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Patricia, embarked on a foreign goodwill tour at the behest of President Eisenhower. On the itinerary were eight South American capital cities, the final stop being Caracas, Venezuela.

Earlier in 1958, a military coup had ousted the unpopular Venezuelan tyrant Perez Jiminez, who was then granted asylum in the United States. Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal now ruled the country with active Communist Party support. America was largely reviled and revolution had a romantic allure.

The visit was a disaster from the beginning. Security at the airport was paltry, and the  Nixons, with a small Secret Service detachment, literally had to fight their way through a shrieking mob — which showered them with chewing tobacco and spittle.

The Nixons finally found refuge in their car, a Cadillac Fleetwood limousine, which was probably the heaviest and strongest automobile then in production. In almost any other car, they almost certainly would have been killed.

Fearful of offending his leftist base, Larrazabal had refused to provide adequate protection for the American motorcade. All hell now broke loose.

The motorcade soon became stuck in heavy traffic, whereupon a vicious throng assaulted the vehicles. Fenders were dented and the reinforced glass finally shattered.

The mob now rocked Nixon’s car back and forth, back and forth, attempting to overturn it. The car would have been completely immobilized and hopelessly vulnerable.

But the great heft of the Cadillac proved its worth. While the body rocked, the chassis remained rock-solid. The car simply refused to flip.

A squad of Venezuelan infantry finally showed up and, with fixed bayonets, shoved back the mob. Battered but unbowed, the Cadillac tore off to the relative safety of the American embassy.



Discovered in the immediate vicinity of the riot was a cache of Molotov cocktails. Had these gasoline bombs been hurled at the limousine, the Nixons would have been  killed in the explosion.

While correct in public, Eisenhower was furious in private. A naval task force of 12 warships, led by the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa, immediately set sail for the Caribbean. Only then did Larrazabal promise to protect his American guests, and the crisis ebbed.

Nixon was now a hero. For months thereafter, everywhere he went was a standing ovation.

Moreover, Nixon was now the shoo-in for the 1960 GOP presidential nomination. Even the very formidable and ambitious Republican governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller, concluded that the vice president was unbeatable and stayed out of the race.

Richard Nixon had exhibited courage and restraint in Caracas, as did his wife. For this, they were suitably honored.

But Nixon also had gaped at death through the shattered glass of his limousine, a horror that could only have intensified his insecurities. Sometimes, people really are out to get you.

 

Joseph Tipler

Centralia