Following the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Golinger grew concerned about the United States' knowledge that a coup was possible and gave information to pro-Chávez organizations with research taking much of her time. In early 2004, going into the 2004 Venezuela recall elections, Golinger found what she said was evidence that the US was funding opposition groups. She traveled to Venezuela to show Chávez her work and became a naturalized Venezuelan citizen shortly thereafter. She wrote that the US was opposed to Chávez because it wanted oil and because he was "an ideological challenger".