纽约时报 美政府曾和委内瑞拉叛变分子密谋推翻马杜罗(1)

US met Rebles from Venezuelan about Coup¹ Plot

美方就政变问题会见委内瑞拉叛乱分子

By ERNESTO LONDONO and NICHOLAS CASEY

文/欧内斯托·隆多尼奥，尼古拉斯· 凯西

The Trump² administration held secret meetings with rebellious³ military officers from Venezuela over the last year

据参加会谈的美国官员和前委内瑞拉军事指挥官透露，

to discuss their plans to overthrow⁴ President Nicolás Maduro,

去年，特朗普政府与委内瑞拉反叛军军官举行了秘密会谈，

according to American officials and a former Venezuelan military commander who participated in the talks.

讨论推翻尼古拉斯·马杜罗总统的计划。

Establishing a clandestine⁵ channel with coup plotters in Venezuela was a big gamble for Washington, given its long history of covert⁶ intervention⁷ across Latin America.

鉴于华盛顿在拉丁美洲有着长久的秘密干政历史，对华盛顿而言，设立与委内瑞拉政变策划者秘密沟通的渠道是一场非常重要的赌博。

Many in the region still deeply resent the United States for backing previous rebellions, coups⁸ and plots in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil and Chile, and for turning a blind eye to the abuses military regimes committed during the Cold War.

对美国曾经支持古巴、尼加拉瓜、巴西，智利等国的叛乱、政变和阴谋，以及对冷战期间军事政权的诸多暴行视而不见的行为，当地很多人至今仍深恶痛绝。

The White House, which declined to answer detailed⁹ questions about the talks, said in a statement

白宫拒绝回答有关会谈的详细问题，还在一份声明中表示，

that it was important to engage in “dialogue with all Venezuelans who demonstrate a desire for democracy” in order to “bring positive change to a country that has suffered so much under Maduro.”

要“给深受马杜罗连累的国家带来积极的变化”，与所有表现出民主愿望的委内瑞拉人展开“对话”非常重要。

But one of the Venezuelan military commanders involved in the secret talks was hardly an ideal figure to help restore democracy:

然而，参与秘密会谈的某委内瑞拉军事指挥官很难称得上是能够帮助恢复民主的理想人选：

He is on the American government’s own sanctions list of corrupt¹⁰ officials in Venezuela.

因为美国政府自己拟定的委内瑞拉腐败官员制裁名单上就有他。

He and other members of the Venezuelan security apparatus¹¹ have been accused by Washington of a wide range of serious crimes,

包括他在内的委内瑞拉安全机构官员被华盛顿指控犯有多种严重罪行，

including torturing critics, jailing hundreds of political prisoners, wounding thousands of civilians¹², trafficking drugs

包括折磨批判人士，监禁数百名政治犯，伤害数千名平民，贩运毒品

and collaborating¹³ with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.

以及与被美国视为恐怖组织，简称“FARC”的哥伦比亚革命武装力量合作。

American officials eventually decided¹⁴ not to help the plotters, and the coup plans stalled.

美国官员最终决定不对委内瑞拉政变策划者施以援手，政变计划陷入僵局。

But the Trump administration’s willingness to meet several times with mutinous¹⁵ officers intent on toppling a president in the hemisphere could backfire politically.

然而，特朗普政府与决意推翻其总统的叛乱分子多次会面的政治意愿可能会产生适得其反的政治效果。

Most Latin American leaders agree that Venezuela’s president, Mr. Maduro, is an increasingly authoritarian¹⁶ ruler

大多数拉美领导人都一致认为，委内瑞拉总统马杜罗先生是一位日益专横的统治者，

who has effectively ruined his country’s economy, leading to extreme shortages of food and medicine.

他给国家的经济造成了严重的破坏，致使食品和药品极为短缺。

The collapse¹⁷ has set off an exodus¹⁸ of desperate Venezuelans who are spilling over borders, overwhelming their neighbors.

国家经济崩溃，绝望的委内瑞拉人大量外流，而他们正越过边界，涌向邻国。

Even so, Mr. Maduro has long justified¹⁹ his grip on Venezuela by claiming that Washington imperialists are actively²⁰ trying to depose²¹ him, and the secret talks could provide him with ammunition²² to chip away at the region’s nearly united stance against him.

即便如此，马杜罗先生还是以美帝国主义者正积极谋划废除他，而秘密会谈能够帮他弄到弹药，挫一挫周围齐声反对他的人的锐气为由，长期把持着委内瑞拉的总统席位。

“This is going to land like a bomb” in the region, said Mari Carmen Aponte, who served as the top diplomat²³ overseeing Latin American affairs in the final months of the Obama administration.

曾在奥巴马执政最后几个月担任监督拉丁美洲事务最高外交官的马里·卡门·阿庞特说：“对该地区而言这无异于一枚炸弹。”

Beyond the coup plot, Mr. Maduro’s government has already fended²⁴ off several small-scale attacks, including salvos from a helicopter last year and exploding drones as he gave a speech in August.

除了政变阴谋，马杜罗先生的政府还避开了几次小规模袭击，包括去年八月他发表演讲时直升飞机以及无人机爆炸发动的袭击。

The attacks have added to the sense that the president is vulnerable.

这些袭击更加强了总统软弱可欺的感觉。

Venezuelan military officials sought direct access to the American government during Barack Obama’s presidency²⁵, only to be rebuffed, officials said.

官员表示，奥巴马总统任期内委内瑞拉军方官员就曾寻求过与美国政府正面沟通的途径，但遭到了拒绝。

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

4 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

5 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

6 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

13 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 mutinous   

adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变

参考例句：

• The mutinous sailors took control of the ship.反叛的水手们接管了那艘船。
• His own army,stung by defeats,is mutinous.经历失败的痛楚后，他所率军队出现反叛情绪。

16 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

17 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

18 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

19 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

20 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

21 depose   

vt.免职；宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The witness is going to depose.证人即将宣誓做证。
• The emperor attempted to depose the Pope.皇帝企图废黜教皇。

22 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

23 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

24 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。