Venezuela Information Office: 2005 mid-year FARA fillings
By Aleksander Boyd
London 01.11.05 | Got the Venezuela Information Office (VIO) mid year fillings to the Foreign Agent Registration Unit (FARA) this morning. As usual it is packed with interesting stuff about the activities of the paid propagandists of Hugo Chavez in Washington DC. The first thing that caught my eye was the discrepancy between the amount Segundo Mercado Llorens reported to the Clerk of the House of Representatives ($60,000) and the one disclosed by the VIO fillings ($70,000). Of course, it could well be the case that since Mercado Llorens filed his report on August 3 and Isaura Gilmond -director of the VIO sent her's on August 31- the monthly salary of the former was reflected in the latter's report.
Hugo Chavez recently kicked out of Venezuela the New Tribes. However Maryknoll lay missioners still count with his favours for Elisabeth Sullivan Rodriguez (a.k.a. Lisa Sullivan) has been appointed as "delegations coordinator". Deborah James and Michael Shellenberger's Lumina Strategies have reportedly left the joint and Isaura Gilmond continues to head the VIO.
There are different amounts reported. Section 14(a) on page 5 shows $405,000 as monies received. But the sum provided in the attachment related to section 15(a) reports disbourments for $451,780.60.
Then there is the outreach campaign that contains the names and positions of the very many people who are constantly pestered with political propaganda by the VIO staff. They are/have been: Jo Ellen Chernow, Andres Mateo Jarrin Cuvi, Isaura Gilmond, Stacy Elizabeth McDougall, Eric S. Wingerter, Jeb Harrison Sprague, Robert Naiman and Elisabeth Sullivan Rodriguez.
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