What does it mean to study Venezuela - or did someone say "Patriot Act?"

It has been an interesting week to be a scholar studying Venezuela. First I received this forwarded email:

Estimado/as Colegas,

I write to inform you that yesterday during my office hours (Tuesday 2:30 -4:30) I was visited by two agents of the LA County Sherrifs/FBI Joint Task Force on Terrorism (JTFT). The arrived at about 2:40-2:45 pm sat out side my office while attended to a students, and then asked to see me. They had with them a copy of my profile from the Pomona Web page, and other materials I could not see.
After identifying themselves, they proceeded to ask about my relation to Venezuela, the government, the community, my scholarship, my politics. They were especially interested in whether or not I had been approached by anyone in the Venezuelan government or embassy to speak up on Venezuelan related matters. In addition, they raised a whole host of other troubling questions, too long to summarize here.
They also indicated that the visit to my office was part of a larger effort to interview academics in the area. I do not know if this is happening at other schools.
After they departed, the three or four students who were outside my office informed me that these individuals had asked them about my background, my classes, what I taught, my politics and they even wrote down the cartoons that are on my door.
I consider this to be an attempt at intimidation and cast a pall on matters of academic freedom.
I am planning a response, and I am open to your comments.

Saludos

Miguel

The professor who wrote this is at Ponoma College and is a US citizen even though he was born in Venezuela. His web site is here.

Then I received a copy of this email from the president of Ponoma College:

To the Pomona College community:

On Tuesday, March 7, Miguel Tinker Salas, Arango Professor of Latin American History and Chicano Studies, was visited in his Pearsons Hall office by two men from the Los Angeles County Sheriff/FBI Joint Task Force on Terrorism. To avoid rumors, I wanted the Pomona College community to be aware of the facts.

The agents asked Professor Tinker Salas a number of personal questions as well as questions about the Venezuelan government and the Venezuelan community in the U.S. During the meeting, they told him that he was not a subject of investigation. The tone and content of the questioning, however, troubled him deeply. He was also troubled by the fact that the agents reportedly questioned some of the students outside his office while waiting to see him.

Miguel, as all of you know, is a superb Wig Award winning teacher and a fine scholar on Latin American history, politics, and culture who is sometimes asked by the news media to comment on topics related to his research, including Venezuelan politics. The College supports him and his scholarly work without reservation.

I am extremely concerned about the chilling effect this kind of intrusive government interest could have on free scholarly and political discourse.
I am also concerned about the negative message it sends to students who are considering the pursuit of important areas of international study, in which they may now feel exposed to unwarranted official scrutiny.

The College is currently consulting with legal advisors about the most effective way to register a strong official protest about this intrusion into our scholarly and educational activities, and we will take appropriate action as soon as their advice is received. We are also asking for their help in assuring that all members of the College community are fully informed about their rights and their options in such situations.

David Oxtoby
President Pomona College

Evidently the FBI has since issued a statement that it was a misunderstanding and that they certainly didn't mean to create such an uproar. There are a number of news sources that have written about this, though most of them are in Spanish. Reuters had an article.


Gives one pause. It's beginning to feel like Joe McCarthy has risen from the dead.

Saludos de Venezuela.