According to well-informed insiders, a phalanx of U.S. private military contractors (PMCs) that are active in Colombia under various contract unbrellas, including counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency, are also fomenting yet another coup d'etat attempt against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The PMCs have conducted several cross-border excursions in an effort to link up with disatsified officers in the Venezuelan military. The Pentagon has authorized the operation as part of a plan to make it appear that Chavez is militarily assisting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The PMCs have also established close links with right-wing Colombian paramilitaries and their associated drug cartels to smuggle weapons into Venezuela. Yesterday, a uniformed Colombian general, wearing the badge of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, was spotted on the Washington Metro on his way to the Pentagon. The exchange program is part of the Defense Department's Foreign Military Interaction program, which places foreign military "experts" on the U.S. Joint staff for purposes of "scenario simulation" and "force development."