The Latest from Venezuela

August 9th, 2005 at 22:06 Björn Hallberg

I wouldn’t want US agents of any sort, drug enforcement or otherwise, in my back yard. By following US policy it is quite apparent that they don’t hesitate to use even their own good name and civilian / humanitarian assistance as a trojan approach towards subverting troublesome foreign powers. For the casual observer, Chavez may appear paranoid, but the dire truth is that the US stoops so low as to infiltrate their own agencies if they have to. Any US foreign involvement, no matter how seemingly benign, needs to be taken with a ton of salt.

U.S. mulls sanctions on Venezuela over drug move - The United States is considering punishing Venezuela with sanctions for breaking off work with U.S. anti-drug agents in the world’s top cocaine-exporting region, the State Department said on Monday.

In a new blow to fraying ties between the United States and a key oil supplier, President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he had suspended cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration because it was unnecessary and accused the U.S. agency of spying on his government.

Venezuela’s Chavez Confirms Suspension of Cooperation with DEA - President Chavez confirmed earlier reports that Venezuela will suspend its cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the United States. Chavez accused the DEA of being engaged in espionage and drug trafficking. He made the comments during a press conference shortly after he cast his ballot for city council members.

Chavez then goes a little over the top even though the logic is sound.

Chavez: U.S. will ‘bite the dust’ if it invades - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told thousands of visiting students that if U.S. forces were to invade the South American country, they would be soundly defeated.

Chavez called the United States the “most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world.”

Chavez expressed his support Monday for Iran’s new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying he expects to continue strengthening relations. Chavez said like Venezuela, Iran is a country that has been “attacked” for many years by “the hand of imperialism.”

And another interesting article for the critics of Chavez’s policies.

The buck stops… not with Venezuela’s opposition - Sunday, Chavez did yet again something virtually no-one else in a leadership position in Venezuela ever does – he took responsibility for some things not going well. For the past couple of years the government has not met its targets for the number of houses it wishes to build for the poor. So this year Chavez set a very high target, 120,000 houses, and has been constantly pushing his government to meet that target. Yet they are still coming up short. Seven months into the year they have only built 43,000.

So on this past Sunday’s “Alo Presidente” Chavez stepped up to the plate . Not only did he admit this performance was unacceptable, saying “This will not do, with all due respect, this is not the way. …but at this speed we will not even reach the corner” but he took responsibility for himself saying: “I am supremely disappointed with myself and my government on this subject and the first responsibility is mine.” In no small part it is this candor and his willingness to stand up and take responsibility that endears him to Venezuelan’s for they are accustomed to leaders always pointing fingers at others.

Entry 200 filed under: South America. This entry was posted 3 years, 5 months ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.