Tag Archives: Ecuador

The Chavez-Kirchner alliance

While President George W. Bush was touring Latin America to discuss energy, education, trade exchanges, economic investments and immigration, across the border in Argentina a sad show began as Hugo Chávez lead a massive anti-Bush protest. Analysis of the organizers of the protest and their connections to President Kirchner who allowed his territory to be used by a foreign President to carry out a rally against another head of state with which his country had cordial relations.  

 The Ambiguities of the Kichner government

Nestor Kirchner has chosen a path that connects him to the most radical elements of the political left, namely, the Piqueteros who are enthusiastic followers of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. An analysis of Kirchner’s close ties the picketers and Hugo Chávez.

NEWS:

  • President Bush ends visit to Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Guatemala).
  • Iran expanding presence in Latin America. Iran Air launches weekly flights to Venezuela through Syria.
  • Brazil says triple border area between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina is under constant vigilance for terror activities, especially Hezbollah. Bush and Lula: bio-fuel partners. Chavez urges Lula to review ethanol accord.
  • Al Qaeda financier’s cousin kidnapped in tri-border region.
  • Ecuador : Election Tribunal votes to fire 57 congressmen. Police Barricade Congress, Ecuador Leader Claims Triumph. Political crisis deepens.
  • Venezuela invites Hamas to Caracas. Venezuelan opposition leaders consolidate to fight Chavez. Coca-Cola subsidiary in Venezuela shut down. Chavez warns of US assassination plot against him; accuses Negroponte. Arrests have been made. Chavez will pay U$250 million to BP and Total for seizure of oil field. Iran-Venezuela agreements total U$8 billion. Venezuelans, alarmed by socialism, head to Florida.
  • Popularity of Colombia’s Uribe up to 72% despite "paragate" scandal.

 

 

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Castaeda’s raw deal








Almost a good idea – Jorge Castaneda’s political warfare/illegal immigration deal should be a non-starter.
By Dr. J. Michael Waller


Mexico’s most prominent former foreign minister has issued a call to “undertake the necessary ideological struggle to check” Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and the transitioning regime in Cuba.


It’s a near-surprise call from a onetime Marxist who, as his country’s top diplomat from 2000 to 2003, had aggressively challenged the United States and worked to dismantle the inter-American security system.


Commenting on President Bush’s “too little, too late” trip to Latin America, Jorge G. Castaeda writes in the Washington Post that momentum in the region has shifted away from the United States and toward America’s adversaries, and that it’s time to take action.


“The balance of forces in the region has shifted. Not only has the leftward tilt persisted – with electoral victories in Nicaragua and Ecuador, unprecedented near-misses in Mexico and Peru, unexpected advances in Colombia – but the Venezuelan president’s influence has expanded,” Castaeda writes. “Hugo Chavez has found his sea legs and assembled an impressive array of tools to seduce the region.”


[More]


Castaeda (pictured) outlines concerns about the rise of the hard Left, adding that it’s one thing if Chavez wrecks his own country, “but if he seeks to extend his concentration of power in Venezuela or elsewhere, that is everyone’s business. It is time for others to say so and to undertake the necessary ideological and political struggle to check Chavez and Havana, both rebutting their populist fallacies and failures and vaunting the merits of the democratic alternative, a globalized market economy, imperfect as it may be.”


The former diplomat argues that US leadership against the Caracas-Havana axis would be counterproductive, and that Latin American leaders should mount the counteroffensive: “Mexico’s [President] Felipe Calderon is ideally suited to engage Chavez and the Castro brothers in the inevitable ideological fisticuffs.”


A wonderful suggestion! This author made a similar point two years ago, before Calderon’s election, in a Center for Security Policy Occasional Paper arguing that Latin American leaders must take the lead against Chavez.   


However, Jorge Castaeda doesn’t expect Mexico to challenge Chavez for free. He doesn’t think his country can stand on its own without crucial (if resented) support from Uncle Sam.


In his Washington Post article, the former foreign minister explains why he thinks Mexican President Felipe Calderon is the only Latin American leader suitable or able to take the lead. And here’s where he drops a poison pill: The Mexican president can’t be expected to assume his proper role against Chavez and the Castros unless the United States gives in on “comprehensive immigration reform.”


“Comprehensive immigration reform” is Castaedaspeak for uncontrolled Mexican emigration into the United States – his main agenda as foreign minister.


What Castaeda is really saying is that not a single democratic leader in Latin America is willing to stand up to Chavez on his own, or even capable of doing so, and that not even the president of Mexico will try unless he squeezes huge concessions from the United States first. And here is where Castaeda’s otherwise excellent ideological and political warfare idea flops.


Castaeda then hints at Mexican extortion to get its way: Calderon, he says, might cut a separate peace with Chavez. No surprise there. That’s how Castaeda has always operated.


He is reinforcing the stereotype of Mexican leaders: they might do the right thing – if you bribe them.


Back when he was foreign minister, Castaeda was more interested in dismantling the hemispheric security system, using the United Nations as a platform against the US, and running covert political operations inside the US to accommodate Mexican emigration. (For its part, Mexico has very tough immigration laws.)


This when President George W. Bush brought then-President Vicente Fox to the White House and proclaimed his goal of a “special relationship” with Mexico – a term we had only reserved for the United Kingdom. Then, after 9/11 hit, Foreign Minister Castaeda made sure that Mexico was one of the last countries in the world to issue condolences to the United States after the 9/11 attacks.


All this when Chavez was on the rise, Venezuela still had a viable opposition, and Mexico could have taken the lead.


Latin American democrats will have to push back Chavez on their own. They won’t do a thing if Washington takes the lead, and most would snipe at the US if it did. So Castaeda is floating his idea to extort bribes from the United States. He still seems more intent on intervening in the internal affairs of this country (where he lives) than helping his own country step out of its shell and solve bigger problems in the hemisphere.


A few years from now, he will probably say that Chavez’s campaign of hemispheric chaos was directly due to Washington’s failure to appease Mexican demands that the US change its immigration laws.

Scandal in Colombia – is Chavez behind it?








Colombia’s Foreign Minister, Maria Consuelo Araujo, has resigned because of her brother’s alleged connections to paramilitary groups. 


By Nicole Ferrand


Colombia’s Foreign Minister resigned on Monday February 19, after her brother, Alvaro Araujo Castro, a Senator, was accused of conspiring with paramilitary groups in a political scandal that could hurt President Alvaro Uribe, a key ally of the United States in its fight against drugs and the terrorist group known as the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). “I am leaving,” Maria Consuelo Araujo said…I see clearly that the judicial process must be free of any interference”… “The certainty of the innocence of my father and brother forces me to leave, so I can be free to be by their side and help them as a daughter and a sister.” [1]




President Alvaro Uribe gave his total support to Maria Consuelo Arajo and urged her to continue with her duties, but since in addition to her brother, her cousin, governor of the state of Cesar, Hernando Molina Araujo, was also under investigation for the same case, authorities were concerned that the nation’s international image could be damaged by the family’s alleged ties with paramilitaries, so she stepped down. Mrs. Arajo’s husband is an Associated Press photographer.



Uribe has already named former development minister Fernando Arajo Perdomo, 51, as his new foreign minister. Arajo, who is not related to his predecessor, escaped six weeks ago from leftist rebels who kidnapped him in 2000. Arajo Perdomo is a civil engineer from the city of Cartagena who on December 4 of 2000 was kidnapped by the FARC while jogging. Although his family paid the ransom, he managed to escape during a military attack with helicopters on the site he was held captive at the end of 2006. He is one of the 59 politicians, soldiers and policemen that have been held by FARC during the last nine years with hopes of exchanging them for 500 imprisoned guerrillas. After he was liberated, Arajo promised to keep working for the liberation of all hostages and political prisoners and several political groups proposed his name to President Uribe as Colombia’s Peace Counselor. 


[More]


Alvaro Arajo, the brother of Maria Consuelo Arajo, was arrested with four other pro-Uribe lawmakers last week on charges of meeting with the AUC (United Self-defense forces of Colombia) paramilitary leaders. AUC is a right-wing paramilitary group involved in Colombia’s forty-year civil war with the FARC. Prosecutors allege Araujo helped finance the AUC and that he was involved in the kidnapping of a political rival. Colombia’s Supreme Court has recommended that prosecutors also investigate his father, former minister of Agriculture, lvaro Arajo Noguera. Eight pro-Uribe lawmakers have been jailed since the scandal broke in November, another is on the run and an active army colonel has been suspended. [2]


The scandal


The Para-political scandal began in June 2005 after the leader of the opposition, Clara Lopes Obregn from the Alternative Democratic Pole party claimed the existence of links between paramilitaries and some congressmen. Soon after, Paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso publicly declared that 35% of the elected Congress in 2006 were “friendly towards his former group.” The police confiscated a computer whose owner was former AUC leader Rodrigo Tovar Pupo a.k.a. ” Jorge 40″ which contained documents with information that implicated many politicians. On November 9, 2006 the Supreme Court ordered the detention of three implicated congressmen. [3]


Days later, members of Uribes group met in the Palacio de Nario to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to arrest the three congressmen. In that meeting Senator Alvaro Arajo Castro said, ” If they come for me, it means that they are also coming for the minister (his sister), the Inspector General ( Edgardo Maya Villazon) and the President (Uribe).” After this, Arajo temporarily resigned from his post. He was called to testify to the Supreme Court and on February 15, 2007 was arrested for the crimes of kidnapping and extortion in association with the paramilitaries. [4]


In 2006 several right-leaning congressmen were charged with colluding with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). The group has been accused of infiltrating Colombian politics and even the people in the government. According to El Tiempo, paramilitary leader Rodrigo Tovar Pupo wanted to attain total power in Colombia, and to achieve this, he claims, he bought influential politicians during the AUC demobilization in Santa Fe de Ralito, offering money to 40 members of congress to support the groups fight to achieve power. [5]


The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia began negotiations with the Uribe government in July 2003, and demobilized some 31,000 paramilitaries. The AUC, which is on both the U.S. and EU list of terrorist organizations, consist of militias formed in the 1980s to combat thousands of leftist guerrillas in Colombia. [6]


On November 21, 2006, Rafael Garca Torres, former Information Technologies Chief of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad) was interrogated by the Supreme Court after being accused of accepting bribes from paramilitaries and narcotraffickers in exchange for erasing their criminal past from the state intelligence database. Garca claimed to have knowledge of Jorge 40s plans to bribe several congressmen. [7]


Mr. Garca Torres also said that the former head of DAS, Jorge Noguera   had close ties to “Jorge 40” and that they met many times to talk about local politics, including support for candidates in the 2003 municipal and presidential elections. He claims that during those meetings they discussed the situation of Hernando Molina Araujo, cousin of Mrs. Araujo and governor of the Department of Cesar. President Uribe publicly asked Noguera to appear before the Attorney General’s office, but Noguera refused alleging security reasons. Noguera was, at the time, consul in Milan. [8]


The scandal continues to grow and more than 60 federal and regional politicians are being questioned, almost all of them supporters of the President and it appears that the crisis could implicate the President himself. The opposition is calling for early congressional elections, claiming that the infiltration by the paramilitaries is so profound that the legislature has lost credibility. Colombian Interior Minister Carlos Holguin on Monday rejected a proposal by opposition senator, Gustavo Petro, to recall the nation’s legislature. [9]

It is important to acknowledge that the history of the paramilitaries in Colombia goes back to the 1960s, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy promoted regional security initiatives such as Plan LASO (Latin American Security Operation), to counter the possible expansion of Soviet influence in the region by guerrilla insurgents and local Communist Parties. Small groups of civilians throughout Latin America were armed and trained as informants and security personnel by military officers, to give aid in counterinsurgency operations and to establish a permanent citizen militia and intelligence network. [10]


Although many people in Colombia believe that the paramilitaries are criminals, others support AUC arguing that they are greatly responsible for fighting the terrorists and that if it wasn’t for the Self-defense forces (they refuse to call them paramilitaries), the country would be in the hands of the FARC. (Alvaro Uribe’s father was gunned down by the FARC in 1983 on the family ranch in the city of Antioquia).


It is estimated that AUC has between 10,000 and 20,000 men. It underwent gradual demobilization in 2003 during the process of negotiations with the administration of President Alvaro Uribe Velez. One of the most disputed issues between the paramilitaries and the Colombian government was the extradition of some of their top leaders to the United States for drug trafficking charges, which halted the demobilizations. In November, 2005 the demobilizations restarted and were expected to conclude by February 15, 2006. The AUC fully demobilized after the process, but remnants from these groups are still operating in small groups under new names, as the case of the guilas Negras (Black Eagles) in the Department of Norte de Santander or as common criminals. [11]


Analysis


Mara Consuelo Arajo Castro has had an impeccable career, and has achieved excellent results in the Ministry of Culture before and as Colombia ‘s foreign minister. It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court’s decision to accuse her brother and father forced her to resign. But it is necessary to acknowledge the fact that this scandal was provoked by the revelations of links between some political leaders and paramilitary groups, who for years have been imposing their criminal power in many regions of the country.


It is curious that the scandal came just weeks before the visit of President George W. Bush who is scheduled to arrive in Colombia in March. President Bush is a big supporter of Alvaro Uribe because of his achievements in combating the FARC and drug trafficking and and considers him one of Washington’s staunchest allies in South America, capable of countering the regional influence of Hugo Chvez of Venezuela.


It is also peculiar that the Uribe administration was about to secure funds for the second stage of Plan Colombia. Plan Colombia is a U.S. strategy aimed at curbing drug smuggling by supporting different Drug War activities in Colombia. Its goals are aimed at social and economic revitalization. In addition it seeks to end the armed conflict and create an anti-narcotic strategy. It also includes aerial fumigation to eradicate coca. [12]


The United States Congress is also studying the approval of a free trade agreement (FTA) and a request from President Bush to provide Colombia with U$3.9 billion in military and antinarcotics assistance. Since 2000, Colombia has received more than U$4 billion in military funding to fight the cocaine trade and the FARC who use drug trafficking to finance the country’s internal conflict.


Political analysts are already speculating that the paramilitary crisis could damage Uribe’s efforts. The Democrats control the U.S. Congress and since they are against the ratification of the Free Trade Agreements with Peru and Colombia, they could use “human rights” as an excuse to block the initiative.  


Senator Patrick Leahy , Democrat of Vermont, the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees aid to Colombia, said in a statement on Monday that the resignation and recent arrests were “positive” but left questions unanswered. He said assurances were needed that Colombia’s government had “severed links to these terrorist groups.” [13]


Some analysts have begun to speculate that the FARC and Hugo Chavez are behind this scandal to try to topple Alvaro Uribe. First, it is no secret that Chavez finances the FARC to assist him in spreading his Bolivarian Revolution. President Uribe has accused Senator Piedad Cordoba, who is in the opposition party, of having ties to the ELN and FARC terrorists. It is not difficult to imagine that others like Piedad Cordoba could have ties to these two groups and the paramilitaries and are trying to implicate people close to the President to reduce his popularity, which still remains at 70%.


Evo Morales from Bolivia has already joined Chavez in his plans to “unify the region” and create a new socialism, and together with his Venezuelan counterpart, constantly attack the neo-liberal model and consider the United States an enemy. Since Colombia has been successful in diminishing the group’s power, the existence of Uribe in the Presidency is an obstacle to accomplishing the Morales- Chavez plan.


In addition, Plan Colombia has been extremely successful. U.S. government statistics would show that a significant reduction in leftover coca (total cultivation minus eradicated coca) has been observed from peak 2001 levels of 1,698 square kilometers to an estimated 1,140 square kilometers in 2004. A record high aerial herbicide fumigation campaign of 1,366 square kilometers in 2004 has reduced the total area of surviving coca, even as newer areas are planted. [14] This is why the FARC, Chavez and their allies are desperate to stop the program and it is no surprise that the crisis comes at the verge of obtaining the resources needed to complete the program. The scandal gives ammunition to the critics who want to eliminate Plan Colombia.   


Another factor of importance is that that Quito and Bogot are in the middle of a diplomatic mess over the fumigations of coca in the border by Colombia. Both countries had agreed to stop the spraying for a while because Ecuador said that it was damaging the environment. The FARC took advantage of this situation and planted coca crops in the area and when the Uribe administration re-started the fumigations, Ecuador immediately threatened to destroy the planes that were being used for that purpose and complained to the international court of The Hague. It is no coincidence that Hugo Chavez immediately sided with Rafael Correa.


Mr. Uribe and the people of Colombia are trying to put an end to a 40 year old civil war that has claimed the lives of thousands. They need the U$ 3.9 billion to continue disbanding the FARC to live in peace and they also need the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States to achieve economic prosperity. This scandal created by people linked to the FARC has emerged when the country needed it least. The US Congress dominated by the Democratic Party will possibly try to use this crisis to stop US aid and block the FTA, which could be catastrophic.


It is important to remember that the people that have been arrested are innocent until proven guilty. The investigations will hopefully clarify the situation, and the media and politicians should not jump to conclusions with an electoral agenda in mind. Colombia has demonstrated that their institutions still work independently and democratically.


If Colombia’s economic, politic and social situation deteriorates, Uribe could be toppled and that would mean a victory for the FARC and Chavez. With this scandal that is exactly what they are trying to achieve and the international community must understand this.






[1] Colombia: cay la ministra de Relaciones Exteriores. Feb. 19, 2007. Infobae, Argentina.


[2] La ministra colombiana de Exteriores dimite por el caso que vincula a ‘paras’ y polticos. Feb. 19, 2007. IBLNEWS, AGENCIAS.


[3] Renuncia canciller de Colombia. February 20, 2007. El Universal, Venezuela.


[4] La dimisin de la ministra Araujo, primer efecto del escndalo de la ‘parapoltica.’  Hispanidad, Espaa. Feb. 20, 2007.


[5] Ex Congresista dice que ninguno fue obligado a firmar , RCN TV , January 20 , 2007 . February 18, 2007.


[6] Renuncia la canciller de Colombia presionada por la narcoparapoltica . Feb. 20, 2007. La Jornada, Mexico.


[7] Detenidos otros cinco Congresistas por caso de la parapoltica . La Republica, Feb. 16, 2007.


[8] Colombia President Attacks the Press. Fox News, April 16, 2006.


[9] Ex Congresista dice que ninguno fue obligado a firmar. RCN TV. Jan. 20, 2007.


[10] Why the End of the Cold War Doesn’t Matter? Bristol University Politics Department. Feb. 27, 2006.


[11] Colombia’s Killer Networks: the Military-Paramilitary Partnership and the United States. Human Rights Watch. April 1, 2006.


[12] Helping Colombia Fix Its Plan to Curb Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Insurgency. The Heritage Foundation (April 26, 2001).


[13] Colombia names former hostage Foreign Affairs minister. February 20, 2007. MercoPress, Uruguay.


[14] The State Department’s new coca data. The Center for International Policy. March 30, 2005.

Colombia’s ‘Paragate’ scandal

The Foreign Minister of Colombia, Maria Consuela Araujo, has resigned after her brother was accused of conspiring with paramilitary groups, among them the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).  This political scandal could hurt the Uribe Administration.  Top members of the adminstration worry that the ongoing imbroglio could damage the international standing of Uribe’s government, and thus accepted Aruajo’s resignation.

Disturbingly, some analysts worry that the FARC guerrillas and the Chavez government in Venezuela are supporting these events as a way to undermine the U.S.-friendly Uribe regime.

NEWS:

  • El Salvador envoys slain in Guatamala.  Menchu to run for President in Guatamala.
  • Venezuela, Argentina fully collaborate.
  • Ortega to visit Venezuela.
  • Ecuador to rejoin OPEC.
  • Russia to industrialize Bolivia gas.  Bolivia, U.S. negotiating "Fair Trade."
  • London and Venezuela sign oil deal.  Chavez sends Brazil sulfer after "devil" Bush visit.  Venezuela wants sub fleet for conflict with U.S.
  • Colombia: ex-secret police chief arrested for alleged ties with paramilitaries.
  • Mexico sends troops to U.S. border to fight drugs.

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Evo and Peru: Conflict over a terrorist

Relations between Bolivia and Peru have sunk to a low point after Lima’s demand that Bolivia extradite Walter Chavez Sanchez, and close friend and advisor to Evo Morales.  Sanchez allegedly has ties to terrorism, which makes one wonder, "why is Bolivia supporting him?"

Evo Morales Names Friend as President of YFPB

Bolivian leader Morales has appointed a longtime crony to be head the country’s state-run oil and natural gas company.  This posting has aroused cries of nepotism and corruption from Bolivia’s opposition, which fears that the country is headed down the wrong path.

NEWS:

  • President Bush is scheduled to travel to Brazil, Uruguay, Columbia, Guatamala, and Mexico in an effort to highlight a "common agenda" of freedom, democracy, and prosperity.
  • Al-Qaeda threatens to attack Mexico, Venezuela, and Canada as part of its plan to hit those countries that supply the U.S. with oil.
  • President Bush has begun lobbying for the formation of a free trade area (FTA) between Columbia and Peru.  China and Peru are exploring possibilities for an FTA.  Peru and Chile seek to settle border issue,
  • Ecuador’s Congress has consented to hold a plebiscite on the formation of a national Constituent Assembly.  Ecuador delays payment of debt interests.  Ecuador boosts security at Columbian border.
  • Hugo Chavez moves to take control onf Venezuela’s largest communications company, CANTV. Chavez invites Peruvian leader to energy summit in Caracas.  Chavez TV show to be broadcast daily.  Chavez threatens to nationalize supermarkets.
  • Bolivia to consolidate customs service with neighboors.  Glencore seeks compensation from Bolivia.  Bolivia suspends 14 foreign oil firms’ contracts.
  • Nicaragua joins LatAm electricity plan.
  • Brazil to pay more for gas from Bolivia.
  • Calderon vows no yield in war on drug cartels.

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The contradictions of the Forum of Sao Paolo

On January 15, 2007, El Salvador hosted the XIII Encounter of the Forum of Sao Paolo (FSP), an organization that was created by Fidel Castro and Lula da Silva in 1990 to regroup the leftist forces in the region after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent failure of Communism.The occasion prompted the publication of a document, written by, among others, the Brazilian Workers Party (PT) and the Fifth Republic Movement (Movimiento Quinta República or MVR) from Venezuela.

The text is full of contradictions and lies. The most blatant consists of trying to represent the Forum as an organization of opposition to the system, when in reality its members have been in power for many, many years in a majority of Latin American countries.

NEWS:

  • Editor’s Comment: Chavez to rule by decree.
  • U.S.-Mexico border tunnels raise concerns.  Blair praises Mexican model.
  • Corruption scandals taint Chile’s image.
  • Columbia’s Uribe advocates for military rescue of Americans.
  • Venezuela’s Chaves warns against U.S. military offensive against Iran.  Chavez is a threat to democracy in Latin America.  Venezuela bad for Mercosur, Zoellick says.  Venezuela builds unmanned planes with Iranian help.  Venezuela, Iran sign join venture agreement on cement plant.  Chavez to raise gasoline price in Venezuela.  Venezuela to buy anti-aircraft missiles.  Chavez is urged in Brazil to keep democracy.
  • Spanish mediator seeks solution in pulp mill feud.
  • Bolivia: Opposition walks out of Morales’ speech.  Uneasy peace as division in Bolivia deepen.  Close advisor of Morales sought for terrorism in Peru.  Bolivia to nationalize phone company.  Bolivia names Manuel Morales to head state-run oil company. 
  • Correa’s supporters storm Ecuador’s Congress.  Protests in Ecuador shut down Congress.  Ecuador names second female defense minister.  Ecuador reinforces fears of default.
  • Cuban TV shows Castro images.
  • Russia pledges military cooperation with Nicaragua.
  • Cartel of Tijuana members captured in Peru.
  • Brazil raid target drug gangs.

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Chavez and the Iranian connection

In the aftermath of the Chavez electoral victory on December 3, 2006 , the Venezuelan President proceeded to deepen the Bolivarian revolution he initiated in 1998. Most recently, he announced the nationalization of the phone and the electric companies as well as deciding not to renew broadcasting rights to a TV station critical of his regime.

Moreover, Chavez has turned himself into the regional leader of "revolutionary populism". As such he has formed coalitions with newly elected populist leaders including Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador . Both have looked to Chavez as a source of inspiration and as an ally regarding specific policies. Nothing epitomizes more this spirit than the speech delivered by Rafael Correa in his inauguration ceremony. In a well written, somewhat academic speech Correa lays out these policies including the reformulation of the state constitution and the creation of a Constituent assembly. While rejecting traditional parties and institutions, President Correa supports the development of regional alliances and South American integration, which include the development of an economy independent of foreign investment. It is also clear he wishes to form a political alliance against US influence.

While these countries face numerous social problems, it is also very important to stress the fact that these new regimes include dimensions that go well beyond the legitimate desire to solve the problems of poverty and social integration. Their leaders, particularly Hugo Chavez, have made the United States the target of an obsessive and hostile ideology that is often translated in real attempts to undermine American power not only in the region but in other parts of the world as well. Chavez has an ambitious international agenda that goes well beyond a socialist revolution.

One of the most common mistakes made by analysts of Chavez is to see him as a young version of Fidel Castro. Some have even asserted that Chavez is nothing but a Castro stooge. The reality is that Castro, even before his recent illness, was already a weak leader. Cuba has been in very poor shape since the Soviet Union ceased to "subsidize" the country. In addition, the ongoing US boycott and the insufficiency of natural resources, made Cuba into a feeble entity. In recent years, Castro has been busy trying to survive and most likely has been comforted by the rise of Chavez who he sees as a partner in supporting Marxist guerilla movements across Latin America . Even though Castro has provided help to Chavez in education and medicine and provided proscriptions for indoctrination and political control, the Cuban leader remained primarily a symbol of anti-imperialism and an inspiration for Chavez.

Since Venezuela has been a member of OPEC for a long time, Chavez knows perfectly well the value of oil as a means of increasing his power inside the country and abroad. Hence, nothing served as a better "role model", in Chavez’s own words, than the Arab and Middle Eastern tyrannies whose multi-billion dollar revenue enabled them to create welfare dictatorships on the one hand, and, on the other hand conferred them tremendous international leverage. Thus, Chavez chose to strengthen relations with Middle Eastern countries. He reinforced his ties with Iran and with its arch-enemy, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq . Lybia’s Gaddafi was another one. Chavez was fascinated from the outset by these petro-tyrannies, their tightly controlled populations, and the fact that the world’s dependence on oil enabled them "to get away with murder".

However, there was also an ideological dimension. Anti-Americanism generates solidarity with other regions of the world that share the same antipathy towards America and their sense that they are victims of western arrogance.   The Arab world and Iran seemed to be natural allies for Chavez and his partners of the Latin American radical left. The group that gathers this radical left is the "Foro de Sao Paulo". "Foro", as it is commonly known, is an inter-American organization founded in 1990 by the then leader of the Brazilian Workers party and now President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva. "Foro" was founded with the aid of Cuban leader, Fidel Castro and promised to provide an alternative against the Washington consensus and The Organization of American States as well as to the Third Way policies of the European left. "Foro" was built as a Latin American network of solidarity between socialist, communists, and groups, including some guerillas, to strengthen themselves in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet empire. "Foro", originally included Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader and current President of Nicaragua,   as well as leaders from guerilla movements such as the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and others. The "Foro" holds an ardent anti-globalization and anti-American posture and also speaks for the rights of indigenous populations and promotes Indian separatism from the (Latin American) national states. Anti-Americanism is a fervently used slogan by the indigenous rebellious movements in Bolivia and Ecuador . These groups have never been properly represented before and now have been politically mobilized and radicalized by these new regimes.

Even though Latin American leaders in power today have been rather pragmatic, most notably Brazilian President Lula Da Silva, there is no question that the "Foro" has helped consolidate an anti-American sentiment and solidarity that greatly benefits Chavez in the international arena. For example, the declaration of the XI annual conference of the "Foro" condemns not only the war in Iraq but also the economic boycott carried in the twelve previous years. It accuses the United States of going to war only to secure control over energy resources. The declaration also attacks American allies, notably Israel , which is accused of carrying out genocide in Palestine . The "Foro" spirit seeks international allies in its revolution. The Middle Eastern countries are almost a natural choice for them.   

Most Middle Eastern leaders, like the "Foro" which defines oppression in a one-sided way, views democracy as being secondary, and ignore the rule of law. The Middle Easterners reject western colonialism and western influence, making the State of Israel their main scapegoat. They tend to ignore their own oppression of human beings (e.g. the Sudanese-sponsored genocide in Darfur ) and define justice in terms of de-colonization only.  The Latin American radical left, on the other hand, values socialist dictatorship over capitalistic democracies and social justice above the rule of law. Both groups share a relativistic concept of terrorism, as the US and Israeli military operations are considered to be on equal grounds with Islamic terrorism. Both groups also share the colonialist legacy of resentment that tends to overstate the culpability of the developed world for their own miseries. Identity based on resentment sets the ideological tone that strengthens the ties of solidarity between the two groups. The influence of the spirit of "Foro" will dramatically increase in Latin America as leaders such as Morales and Correa continue to win elections.

In practical terms Chavez has been the leader in forging an alliance with Middle Eastern rogue states and with Iran , in particular, and is now trying to draw new populist leaders into such an alliance. The visit of Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador as well as his meeting with Evo Morales reflects not just a mere Iranian initiative to break its international isolation. It is very much encouraged by Hugo Chavez’s affinity with the Islamic Republic’s tyranny.

 

In March 2005, Venezuela and Iran signed an agreement of commercial and technological cooperation during the visit of Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to Caracas .  On that occasion, Chavez defended Iran ‘s right to produce atomic energy and continue research in the area of nuclear development. Chavez spoke about his aspirations to develop nuclear weapons "for peaceful purposes" and his intention to seek cooperation with Latin American countries and Iran in this regard.

An additional deal was signed between Venezuela and Iran in March 2006. The two countries established a $200 million development fund and signed bilateral deals to build homes and exploit petroleum. The Venezuelan opposition raised the possibility that the deal could involve the transfer of Venezuelan uranium to Iran . This seems to be corroborated by a report published by a Venezuelan paper in which the Israeli Mossad provided exact locations of sources of uranium production in Venezuela . A Venezuelan nuclear expert confirmed that the Israeli report is credible and that in Venezuela there are important quantities of nuclear fuel.  It has also been reported that Iranian and Cuban geologists are working with a team of Chavez loyalists in the exploration for uranium deposits. Moreover, Venezuela voted in the United Nations against reporting Teheran to the U.N. Security Council for its uranium –enrichment program confirming the complicity and mutual sympathy of both regimes.

 

All this takes place amid reports on Chavez’s alleged relation with radical Islamic groups including the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, and allegations of government anti-Semitism in Venezuela , following a typical Iranian pattern. Since 2003 there have been reports on the presence of Islamic terrorist groups in Margarita Island . The US Southern Command stated that Isla Margarita is one of the most important centers of terrorist gathering and money laundering activities for Hamas and Hezbollah.

 

The Chavez regime is giving out Venezuelan passports to foreigners from countries such as Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon . The Miami Herald reported in November 2004 that the agency in charge of issuing these passports is called "Onidex" and the people in charge of the agency include an ardent supporter of Saddam Hussein and the son of the representative of the Iraqi Baath party in Venezuela.

  

Venezuelan state radio accused Venezuelan Jews of trying to influence the US Administration in opposing Hugo Chavez. Jewish schools and institutions were victims of a raid after a Chavista prosecutor was found murdered.  The reason for such a raid follows the logic of the elders of Zion in Czarist Russia and now its Islamist followers: The Israeli Mossad was supposedly one of the crime’s suspects, not based on any evidence, but on an unfounded anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. These charges were mostly made by Venezuelan state radio and TV.  Of course the raid did not advance the investigation. However, it unmasked a regime, which like Iran , is hostile to the Jewish minority. Most recently an Argentinean federal prosecutor found the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires and Hezbollah operatives in Latin America mainly responsible for the attacks against the Jewish community headquarters in 1994. 

 

Chavez has spoken publicly about adoption of methods such as suicide bombers in case a war is forced upon Venezuela by the US . This is what he calls an "asymmetric war", the kind of war Iran has promoted via its terrorist proxies and protégées in the Middle East. This doctrine calls for a long-term "asymmetric war" in which Chavez loyalists and foreign individuals (such as from the Middle East ) would wage a "war of the people" on all fronts against the invading U.S. military forces. This doctrine, whose intellectual author is Jorge Verstrynge, a Spanish radical, is a technical treatise on terrorism, and praises Islamic terrorism as a most effective warfare method since it involves fighters willing to sacrifice their lives to kill the enemy. This was Iran’s basic philosophy in its eight year old war with Iraq .

 

Now that Ahmadinejad has visited these Latin American countries, reports talk about expanding economic relations between Venezuela and Iran , and a common fund to help developing countries. They also talked about energy issues and their goal to de-value the American dollar.  With Nicaragua , the discussion is about re-opening the embassies in Teheran and Managua as well as signing a number of agreements on matters related to energy, technology, and commerce. The meetings with President Correa were not reported. It is not clear why.

 

There are many things that make Iran a threat: Iran could encourage terrorism in the region via a Hezbollah-FARC partnership, which could de-stabilize Colombia and beyond. Correa and Chavez are friendly to the FARC and ideologically close. Iran ‘s presence could also spread Radical Islam in the area that could have the same threatening effects it has today in Europe . Like Venezuela these countries may provide citizenship to potential terrorists willing to perpetrate attacks in the US . Nothing is evident but everything is possible. Even while the crisis in the Middle East continues it is crucial for American decision makers to think about strategies to contain the Iranian influence in our hemisphere as well as Hugo Chavez, himself.  

 

Dr. Luis Fleischman is an advisor to the Menges Hemispheric Security Project at the Center for Security Policy in Washington Dc. He is also an adjunct professor of Political Science and Sociology at Wilkes Honor College at Florida Atlantic University .

The Importance of Ratifying Free Trade Agreements

By Nicole M. Ferrand










The Colombian Army during assists in anti-drug operations


For some time now, media outlets in Latin America and the US have been closely monitoring the negotiations for an Andean Free Trade agreement involving Colombia, Peru, and the United States. Lima’s agreement was signed on April 12, 2006 and the Peruvian Congress ratified it on June 28 2006. Bogota signed the FTA on November 22, 2006. The US Congress still needs to ratify both of them.


 


Over the course of many years, the United States has been trying to get the cooperation of Colombia and Peru to combat narcotics trafficking and the trade agreements were promised as a sign of recognition for their success on this front. No one can deny Uribe’s success since he has enacted tough policies to confront not only drug-trafficking but also the terrorist group inside Colombia, known as the FARC which is greatly responsible for the narcotic trafficking problem in South America. Since July, 2006, after Alan Garcia was elected in Peru, defeating Hugo Chavez’s puppet, Ollanta Humala, the country quickly aligned itself with the United States and has also made progress in their fight against drugs.


 


[More]


 


The Colombian and Peruvian FTA’s must be approved by the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees before they can be considered by the full Congress. The midterm U.S. elections that gave the Democrats control of Congress in January 2007, have delayed the much anticipated ratifications.


 


Andean Nations signed the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), which replaced the expired Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA). The ATPDEA was enacted by President Bush on August 6th 2002, granting Bolivia , Colombia , Ecuador and Peru preferential tariff treatment for specific products. It expired on December 31st 2006 and was renewed again for 6 months. Bogota and Lima are eager to ratify the FTA’s with the US since the ATPDEA, although a step forward, still forces exporters to cover the full costs of the tariffs which, in many cases, is a much too heavy burden for some businesses.  


 


A trade-skeptic Democratic-controlled Congress has announced that the free-trade agreements with the United States will need “substantive adjustments” to secure Congressional approval since many Democrats have objections over labor rights . Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John K. Veroneau made this announcement on January 18, 2007 . [1]


Pablo Bachelet makes an excellent point in a piece published in The Miami Herald this week. In the article it is argued that, “changing the texts of the agreements would be hard to do even if the Bush administration wanted to, officials and trade experts say. The language of the Peru and Colombian pacts took months of strenuous negotiations and Peru ‘s Congress has already ratified its agreement with the United States . Plus, U.S. law stipulates that the United States can only demand that countries implement their own labor laws, whereas Democrats want the agreements to include what they call “core International Labor Organization standards” in the texts themselves.” Gretchen Hamel, a representative of the Bush administration, quickly came out to clarify that the adjustments could be made through “some binding instrument and it is not necessary to reopen the text of the agreement.” [2]


“Democrats, backed by U.S. labor unions, have long complained that the free trade deals being negotiated by the administration did not include enough protections for American workers. They said that because of this, the U.S. workers’ jobs would be jeopardized by competition from low-wage countries with lax labor laws.” [3]






[1] Changes: likely in Peru , Colombia free-trade pacts. Jan. 18, 2007. The Miami Herald. By Pablo Bachelet.



[2] Changes: likely in Peru , Colombia free-trade pacts. Jan. 18, 2007. The Miami Herald. By Pablo Bachelet.



[3] U.S. Will Re-Negotiate Free Trade Deals. January 17, 2007. The Associated Press. By Martin Crutsinger.

The importance of the Colombia FTA

For some time now, media outlets in Latin America and the US have been closely monitoring the negotiations for an Andean Free Trade agreement involving Colombia , Peru and the United States . Lima ‘s agreement was signed on April 12, 2006 and the Peruvian Congress ratified it on June 28 2006. Bogota signed the FTA on November 22, 2006 . The US Congress still needs to ratify both of them.

Over the course of many years, the United States has been trying to get the cooperation of Colombia and Peru to combat narcotics trafficking and the trade agreements were promised as a sign of recognition for their success on this front. No one can deny Uribe’s success since he has enacted tough policies to confront not only drug-trafficking but also the terrorist group inside Colombia , known as the FARC which is greatly responsible for the narcotic trafficking problem in South America . Since July, 2006, after Alan Garcia was elected in Peru , defeating Hugo Chavez’s puppet, Ollanta Humala, the country quickly aligned itself with the United States and has also made progress in their fight against drugs.

NEWS:

  • Columbian counter-narcotics efforts to serve as model for Afghanistan.
  • Chavez and energy shortages major threats to Latin America.
  • Ecuador Defense Minister killed in crash.  Ecuador to investiage fatal crash.
  • Opposition to Chavez protests in Venezuela.  Venezuela likely to return to Andean Community of Nations.  Venezuela and Brazil cooperate to build ships.  Chavez’s policies create inflation in Venezuela.  Venezuela’s arms purchases top China, Iran, Pakistan.  Russia, Venezuela sign natural gas agreement.  Venezuelan army to buld road in Nicaragua.  Venezuela, Cuba sign new economics accords.
  • Bolivia’s Morales replaces 16 cabinet members.  Morales has a former terrorist as a principal advisor.  Bolivia: ETA ties.  Morales backs off on key referendum.  Morales submits tax "reforms" to Congress.
  • Panamanian ex-dictator to be released soon.
  • Mexico’s Calderon proposes cap on government salaries.  Mexico praised over extradition.
  • UN court abstains on Argentina-Uruguay dispute.  Argentina, Brazil file WTO complaint against U.S. corn subsidies.
  • Cuban militany enters plea in Texas.
  • Guatemala voters undecided.
  • El Salvador remittances rose 17% in 2006.

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Chavez and the Iranian connection

In the aftermath of the Chavez electoral victory on December 3, 2006, the Venezuelan President proceeded to deepen the Bolivarian revolution he initiated in 1998.  Most recently, he announced the nationalization of the phone and the electric companies as well as deciding not to renew broadcasting rights to a TV station critical of his regime.

Moreover, Chavez has turned himself into the regional leader of "revolutionary populism". As such he has formed coalitions with newly elected populist leaders including Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. Both have looked to Chavez as a source of inspiration and as an ally regarding specific policies. Nothing epitomizes more this spirit than the speech delivered by Rafael Correa in his inauguration ceremony. In a well written, somewhat academic speech Correa lays out these policies including the reformulation of the state constitution and the creation of a Constituent assembly. While rejecting traditional parties and institutions, President Correa supports the development of regional alliances and South American integration, which include the development of an economy independent of foreign investment. It is also clear he wishes to form a political alliance against US influence.

NEWS:

  • Iran’s Ahmadinejad visits Venezuela, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.  Iran, Nicaragua agree to strengthen relations.  Nicaragua’s Ortega seeks new IMF program.
  • Mercosur summit in Rio de Janeiro.  Bolivia, Venezuela, Mercosur membership: end privatizations.
  • Castro very ill, did not want colostomy.
  • Peru and Veneuela to mend fences.  Peru, Columbia, negotiate for FTA with U.S.
  • Columbia and Ecuador reach agricultural agreement.  Columbia military head onfesses.
  • New Ecuadorian President Correa calls for "radcial revolution."  The significance of Venezuela and Ecuador’s nationalizations.  Ecuador minister: "life before debt."  Correa could limit anti-drug fight.  Venezuelan oil company in Ecuador.
  • Bolivia: Cochabamba protests reach La Paz.  Bolivia cabinet probes Cochabamba.
  • Venezuala and Ecuador intial energy agreements.  Many concerned by Venezuelan media restrictions.  Venezuelan banks forced to fund social programs.  Caracas asks OPEC to cut production.  Chavez has carte blanche for socialism.
  • Second arrest warrant issued for Argentina’s Peron.

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