* Funded and sponsored Venezuelan NGOs that participated in the 2002 attempted Coup d’état against Venezuela’s democratically elected President Hugo Chavez;

* In 2004, funded the defeated recall referendum against President Chavez and directly contributed to the destabilizing political opposition in Venezuela;

* Funded, convened, and founded the organizations behind the coup against the democratically-elected government of Aristide in Haiti;

* Funded political parties, acted to buy elections, and financed the overthrow of democratically-elected governments in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Bulgaria, and numerous other countries around the world;

* In 2004, the NED doubled its operating budget to finance projects aimed at maintaining the occupation of Iraq.

If a foreign agency were to fund electoral campaigns in the United States, it would be considered an act of aggression, and those receiving the money would be considered guilty of treason. Yet, this is the standard operating procedure for the NED and USAID. And when that fails to work, the NED and USAID are known to fund and help coordinate coup plotters, even against hugely popular elected officials.

The National Endowment for Democracy was created by an act of Congress in 1983. Its primary source of funding is U.S. taxes. Nevertheless, the NED is officially designated as a private institution. As such, it is not subject to meaningful public oversight or review. This situation seems to be intentional and against public interest. Allen Weinstein, the NED’s theoretical planner, noted in a 1991 Washington Post interview, “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”