"She is my mother"

That line in an op-ed by Thor Halvorssen in today's WSJ (free) leaped off the page. I've known Thor for years and was glad to see his name under the title "The Price of Dissent in Venezuela" when I opened the Journal early this morning. I didn't pay much attention to the picture of the lady at the center of the story and began reading about a peaceful protest that was broken up by gunfire from pro-Chavez thugs. Then I read the sentence, "Hilda Mendoza Denham, a British subject visiting Caracas for her mother's 80th birthday, was shot at close range with hollow-point bullets from a high-caliber pistol. She now lies sedated in a hospital bed after a long and complicated operation. She is my mother."

I thought I recognized the name, and I knew his mother (whom I've met) lived in London. Then I read that awful line. It's a horrible tale, and it is being repeated across Venezuela as Hugo Chavez consolidates his rule after throwing the recall referendum to his favor this past Sunday. Thor watched the shooting on television, as he was preparing a complaint "regarding the fact that I had been mysteriously erased from the voter rolls and was prevented from casting a vote on Sunday." He says he watched events unfold with "indescribable agony."

Thor also says that some of the shooters were "wearing red T-shirts with the insignia of the government-funded 'Bolivarian Circle,'" and his claim is backed up by the photo in this story (in Spanish, which I found via Jefferson Morely's piece in the Wash Post). Stromata Blog is also following the situation there.

He goes on to report that the companies hired to supply the voting machines and software are tainted by Chavez's scheming:

"Many in the opposition are baffled by the inverse relationship between the projected numbers and those reported by the Chávez regime. One possible clue to this remarkable phenomenon lies with the companies hired to supply the voting machines and the software. Smartmatic Corp., a Florida company that has never before supplied election machinery, is owned by two Venezuelans. The software came from Bizta Software, owned by the same two people. The Miami Herald recently revealed that the Chávez regime spent $200,000 last year to purchase 28% of Bizta and put a government official and longtime Chávez ally on the board. After the story broke, Bizta bought back the government-held shares and the official resigned from the board. But not until after the two companies were granted a significant part of the $91 million contract for the referendum. Executives at both Smartmatic and Bizta have denied any political allegiance to the Chávez regime and have issued public statements saying the contract was awarded purely on the merits."

The news section of today's WSJ ($) also reports on this matter, but doesn't take it too seriously. I'll take Thor's word on this one, but credit the reporters at the Journal for reporting on the conflict: The NYT omits that element of the story altogether.

About Jimmy Carter, about whom I commented yesterday, Thor has this to say:

"Later that morning the most important observer, former President Jimmy Carter, declared that he was shown the computer tally by government supporters and that everything seemed in order. Mr. Carter then left Venezuela, and the opposition groups that had put their faith in him to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Mr. Carter, who was vociferous and insistent about patience, transparency and hand-tallies during the Florida recount, left Venezuela to attend Mrs. Carter's birthday party."

Our prayers are with Thor's mother and the rest of his family.

Update: James Taranto of Best of the Web Today has some choice words for Gail Collins, editorial page editor of the Times, and Jimmy Carter.