Sentence:  It <WSD>was</WSD> a sort of poetic justice that at the time of his own demise a new plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government , reportedly involving the use of Dominican arms by former Venezuelan Dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez , has been uncovered and quashed . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)