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The Venezuela Information Office (VIO) is a Washington, D. C.-based lobbying agency whose goal is to improve the perception of Venezuela in the United States; its stated mission is "to prevent US intervention in Venezuela". Founded in 2004 by the government of Venezuela, VIO is funded by the Venezuelan government and therefore registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

In 2004 VIO was reported to employ nine people; its budget for the first six months of 2004 was $500,000, rising to over $800,000 for the first half of 2008. A sister organisation to VIO, the Latin American Information Office, is co-funded by a Bolivian foundation and the Venezuelan government.

Work

A key part of VIO's function is responding to negative coverage of Venezuela in the US media. In addition to maintaining a public website and a blog, VIO promotes its views in the media in a number of ways, including issuing press releases, contributing articles, and being available for interviews. It has contacted "most of the journalists writing about Venezuela for major newspapers and wire services, editorial boards, and members of Congress and their staff". It also writes publishable "letters to the editor" responses, and encourages others to write in. It has also placed a series of advertisements in major magazines and newspapers promoting Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution; one ad used the slogan "In the past, Venezuela's oil wealth benefited a few. Today, it benefits a few million."

It has established some links with left groups in the US, notably Global Exchange; the first director of the VIO (after it was re-founded in February 2004; a previous VIO had been founded in July 2003) was Deborah James, a former director of Global Exchange. The Center for Public Integrity reported in September 2004 "VIO tapped into a major U.S. activist network by contacting Global Exchange in early September 2003," and that "t protests, conferences, and college campuses, VIO employees handed out literature and played The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, a documentary of Venezuela's 2002 aborted military coup."

Olivia Goumbri is VIO's current Executive Director. Past employees of VIO include Robert Naiman, of Just Foreign Policy, and Eric Wingerter.

According to public records the VIO spent $379,000 on lobbying the US Congress in the years 2004 to 2007. In May 2004, Lumina Strategies disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) that the Venezuela Information Office had contracted it to lobby for the Venezuelan government and improve Hugo Chávez's image in the United States. Michael Shellenberger would speak on behalf of the Venezuelan government in that role.

References

1. Forero, Juan (2004-09-30). "Venezuela's government seeks to show that its oil riches are well spent". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
2. "FARA US Department of Justice" (PDF). US Department of Justice. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
3. ^ Melia, Michael (2006-01-30). "Venezuelan oil marks Chavez's latest bid to win over U.S." Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
4. VIO About Us
5. ^ Foreign Agents Registration Act - Venezuela Information Office - FARA fillings 29.08.04 Cite error: The named reference "FARA04" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
6. ^ Collier, Robert (2004-08-21). "Venezuelan politics suit Bay Area activists' talents". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
7. Venezuela Information Office - FARA fillings 31.08.08
8. LAIO About Us, accessed 8 March 2009
9. VIO official website - rethinkvenezuela.com
10. VIO News
11. "Letter to Editor". Center for Pubic Integrity. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
12. Miller, John J (27 December 2004). "Friends of Hugo: Venezuela's Castroite boss has all the usual U.S. supporters". National Review. findarticles.com. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
13. ^ "Venezuela Head Polishes Image With Oil Dollars". Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
14. Goumbri, Olivia (24 January 2009). "Letter to Editor: Improving conditions". Washington Times. Retrieved 2009-02-20. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
15. Naiman, Robert (26 July 2004). "Chavez Gets Strong Support From Brazil" (PDF). Venezuela Information Office. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
16. Harman, Danna (25 August 2005). "Chávez seeks influence with oil diplomacy: In just one month, Venezuela has cut deals with five countries". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
17. Wingerter, Eric (10 November 2005). "Progress in Venezuela". The Washington Post. p. A28. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
18. opensecrets.org, Venezuela Information Office entry
19. "Schellenberger's filing to US DoJ Foreign Agent Registration Unit" (PDF). US Department of Justice. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
20. Williams, Carol J (2004-08-16). "Venezuelans Flock to the Polls to Vote on a Divisive President". Los Angeles Times. pp. A-4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links

• Venezuela Information Office

• Venezuela stubs
• Government of Venezuela
• Lobbying organizations