Tag Archives: FARC

Columbia: Moving toward more stability

The following is the official statement submitted by Nancy Menges, director of the Menges Hemispheric Security Project, to the House Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.  The statment was submitted on April 24, 2007.

Colombia, a country which was starting to look like a failed state during the late 1990s, is generally moving in the right direction under the current government.

The Uribe administration is under attack because the demobilization of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and the resulting peace process has led to the opening of old and new wounds, revealing links between the paramilitary and the political establishment.

We believe however, that the Uribe administration deserves US assistance and the ratification of a mutually beneficial FTA, sustaining the country’s rebounding economy. The peace process is messy and full of imperfections. It is however gaining momentum and providing a window of opportunity for a better future for the people of Colombia.

We further believe that US assistance at this moment can contribute to creating an environment of greater individual security that is less prone to lawlessness and organized crime. It is this environment, if sustained that will help curtail drug smuggling into the United States.

The recent "parapolitics" scandals need to be put into context: they are the symptoms of a consolidating democracy which has created a political climate where these things come to light. The investigations have started a judicial process unprecedented in Colombia’s history. The Justice and Peace Law offers only limited amnesty to all those laying down their arms. An estimated 30,000 troops of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) have laid down their arms and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) are severely diminished. The country deserves military assistance to close the security gap and create the conditions for greater respect of human rights and lower criminality.

The advantages of a generous FTA will outweigh the competitive disadvantages for small farmers and foster agricultural diversification away from Coca planting. It will help sustain the rebounding Colombian economy and promote a consolidating democracy. Continued assistance under "Plan Colombia" will help strengthen central security. It could also send a powerful message to both the supporters and opponents of the US economic and democratic model.

Stepped up Security

The Uribe Administration is making some headway in reducing crime and violence. The issue of personal security is of great importance to the citizens of Colombia and the positive track record of the Uribe administration, in this regard, is largely responsible for the overwhelming popular support of his government, despite the recent scandals. Colombian investment in the military and security forces have lead to an overall reduction in crime and terror.

The FARC has been expelled from the populated Bogotá – Medellín – Cali triangle in central Colombia. For the first time in years, Colombians can drive between most of the country’s cities without risk of abduction or extortion. However, the FARC is diminished but not defeated. There is evidence that its members enjoy safe haven in neighboring Venezuela.

Colombia’s murder rate has dropped from 68 people per 100,000 inhabitants in 2002 to 38 people per 100,000 inhabitants in 2006. Some CAFTA members show worse statistics. Killings by right-wing paramilitary squads are on a massive decline and some top paramilitary leaders are in jail.

The Justice and Peace Law: The Disarmament of an Undefeated Military Group.

Embarking on a peace process, the paramilitaries needed an incentive to lay down their arms. The Justice and Peace Law was a necessary compromise albeit its implementation could have been more stringent. The Uribe administration has managed, however, to disarm an undefeated military group without having to offer full amnesty. The Supreme Court stiffened the law which shows that the administration is respecting the legal branch as compared to Venezuela which had the majority of Supreme Court judges resign in the first year of Chavez’s rule.

Ensuring peace could become a major achievement of Uribe’s administration. Continued US support is crucial, now that the process is gaining momentum. There is good reason to fear that the paramilitary will return to violence. An estimated number of 2,500 to 3,600 have joined "second-generation" paramilitary groups, with purely criminal motivations. This danger is likely to escalate if the military is not given adequate support and is therefore unable to counteract these various threats. If mafia structures believe that the military is a) not able to contain the FARC and ELN and b) might not be able to implement stepped up security measures all over the country, criminal elements will have an easier time resuming armed activities against a weakened Uribe government.

The Administration Entrenched in a Scandal

Uribe’s administration is under attack for alleged links to AUC. But Uribe’s current problems are, paradoxically, the result of his successful transformation of the conflict. These revelations are a byproduct of the successful disarmament of AUC. The consolidation of democracy has created a climate where prior connections can come to light. Witnesses are coming forward now that they can speak out with less fear. The scandals also present evidence for the slow return of trust in democratic and judicial institutions. It highlights the declining power of the paramilitary who have lost a lot of their leverage over a strengthened democratic apparatus. The recent scandal investigations have to be seen for what they are: a judicial process, unprecedented in Colombia’s history.

So far, there is no evidence that Uribe has had any direct contact with the paramilitary leadership. Two members of the Uribe Cabinet that were identified as having connections to the paramilitaries were asked to resign. Admittedly, most of the arrested representatives were his supporters. But it should be noted that most of the allegations against them date from 2002, when they backed the official Liberal candidate against Uribe, who then ran as an independent.

Uribe has given full support to the investigations against AUC members and affiliates. It is their testifying leaders who reveal the connections between them and political representatives; a sad reality of Colombia’s politics during the nineties. It is fair to say, however, that neither FARC nor ELN have surrendered to the peace and justice act provisions. To believe that their leader’s confessions would not reveal links to left leaning politicians is somewhat illusionary.

While the demobilization has been full of imperfections the process has acquired a momentum of its own that offers a chance for more peace and the strengthening of the rule of law.

Promoting Prosperity through Free Market Mechanisms

A generous free trade agreement is consistent with the interests of the United States. Declining the FTA would hamper the free movement of goods and damage the Colombian economy in a time of rebound. It would discourage those Colombian farmers who are willing to diversify away from coca into legal crops. The success story of Latin countries like Chile show that free trade and US-market access can help strengthen sustainable development and alleviate poverty. Illegal narcotics, on the other hand, do not face tariffs. Though the trade agreement will put competitive pressure on the Colombian agricultural sector the disadvantages posed by US competition are outweighed by the advantages of easier access to the market of Colombia’s largest trade partner.

As a result of enhanced security, the economy has rebounded as businesses ramp up investment to $10 billion last year. Colombia’s GDP has been stable under the current administration. However, during a period of economic recovery, Colombia will face competitive disadvantages without the trade agreement. The United States represents the most important market for the sale of Colombian goods. The decline in US-Colombian trade would make the country more dependent on its US-critical neighbors, Venezuela and Ecuador.

Free trade inherently creates win-win situations, meaning that an agreement would benefit the Unite States as well. Preferred access to a market comprising the second largest population of the Southern Cone (45.3 million inhabitants) will give US business a head start as the Colombian economy is likely to expand in the coming years.

Plan Colombia – a Link Between the Drug Trade and Security

Plan Colombia was started under the Clinton administration and passed by the Congress in order to combat the major drug cartels then thriving in Colombia. A rise in military expenses was crucial for combating drug production and trade. Plan Colombia has stopped the huge drug cartels from creating a criminal element that competes with the legitimate government. The smaller cartels no longer have the same concentration of power that single "drug lords" had before. Estimates are that Plan Colombia has contained the explosion of drug production despite better extraction techniques. Plan Colombia provided for the introduction of more permanent security checkpoints as well as the flexible intervention of security squads through increased use of helicopters.

Plan Colombia has helped to equip the security forces and transform them into a more effective force within the country. US assistance has been essential for that purpose, be it the delivery of hardware or training. While spraying has had negative impacts on the environment it has lead to a decrease in long standing coca plantations. It is likely that the transportation and shipping of the drugs as well as the maintenance of clandestine drug laboratories is becoming more difficult as the security situation tightens.

US-Colombia Relations in a Regional Context

In making decisions about Colombia, it is important to consider the wider political context in the Andean region. The recent trend towards left wing governments which happen to have a strong anti-American rhetoric in common leaves Colombia as one of the few remaining examples which can prove that friendship with the United States is beneficial. While two of its neighbors, Venezuela and Ecuador are rapidly moving towards a "Bolivarian Revolution", Colombia’s democracy is healthy but fragile. Colombia has fought a narco-guerilla insurgency in the form of the FARC for the past thirty years. The FARC gave rise to the paramilitaries. Now that the paramilitaries have been disbanded, and the economy is rebounding, is this the time to abandon our ally? Should Colombia falter, the balance of power in the region would change for the worse and the consequences in terms of the increase in drug shipments alone would be contrary to US interests. In that regard, President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has already said that he will not renew the lease of our base at Manta which expires in 2009, from which the majority of our planes leave on drug related missions.

With its commitment to free trade and to the United States, Colombia has accepted the de facto collapse of the Andean Community of Nations. The departure of Venezuela for MERCOSUR marked the demise of a major trade partner. Now that the tide is turning in Ecuador too, Colombia is in need of trade partners. The FARC are diminished but unbeaten. They think history is going their way: Chávez in Venezuela has expressed sympathy for them in the past; so has Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s new president. The ratification of the FTA must send a powerful message to an ascending Colombia and to its neighbors. The failure to ratify FTA would play into the hands of those Latin American leaders who advocate giving up on the United States and would shift to more colorful aid offers by populists like Hugo Chávez.

Suffice it to say, that US support has helped to stabilize Colombia so far. Continued US support is needed to help an ally that has accomplished much but requires our assistance to meet the challenges ahead.

Citgo: A Chavez-Kennedy enterprise?

Many of us have seen the CITGO, the Venezuelan-owned oil company TV commercials running across the United States, which promote discounted heating oil to low-income people. Some wonder how can this be possible: Hugo Chávez helping the poor in the US? Chávez has allied himself with staunch enemies of this country such as Iran and Cuba. He has even vowed to bring down the US government. So it is strange, to say the least, that the ads feature Americans expressing gratitude for the program. What’s really behind all this?.

NEWS:

  • Venezuela: Hugo Chávez raises nuclear plant idea. Chávez shifts ethanol stance to ease dispute with Brazil. Venezuela threatens no oil takeover compensation.
  • Lula and Chavez initiate Petrochemical Complex.
  • Brazil won’t join ‘Bank of the South.’ 20 die in Rio de Janeiro as drug gangs battle police.
  • Date set for Colombia-Venezuela Pipeline. Colombians march against FARC bombing. ELN say ready for talks on ending fighting.
  • Nicaragua: Ortega slams US ethanol campaign.  
  • Bolivian protesters seize gas pipeline to Argentina.
  • Perú: No negotiations with coca protesters backed by drug cartels.
  • Ecuador: Correa won the Referendum.
  • Costa Rica to vote on CAFTA.
  • Mexico: 100 police officers arrested allegedly linked to organized crime.  
  • Chile: Chavez apologizes for outburst against Chilean Congress.

View the full version of the America’s Report (PDF)

For any questions, comments, or those interested in receiving this report in the future or seeking to have their email removed from our list please contact Nicole M. Ferrand at our new e-mail address: mengesproject@cen terforsecuritypolicy.org. If you have news stories that you think might be useful for future editions of this report please send them, with a link to the original website, to the same e-mail address. If you wish to contribute with an article, please send it to the same address, with your name and place of work or study.

Guatemala’s upcoming elections

Guatemala was the smallest country on President Bush’s recent Latin America tour. It was worth the stop, however. For good reasons: the Central American country has gained international weight and recognition after benefiting from widespread Latin American mistrust against Venezuelan representation in the United Nation Security Council. More importantly, Guatemala will go to the polls to elect a new executive and legislative branch in September. The core topic, however, is likely to be domestic security, as crime has been on the rise for years. It will be difficult for a female candidate with little experience in security issues to gain the confidence of a majority.

NEWS:

  • Presidents Bush and Lula meet in US to talk trade and biofuels.
  • Four bombs explode in Chile. Great unrest and violent protests against President Bachelet.
  • Nobel Menchú trails in Guatemala Election Poll.
  • Chavez could nationalize Hospitals. PDVSA sells record $7.5 billion in bonds despite cash flow problems.
  • Bolivia to nationalize Top Phone Company.
  • Colombia: drug traffickers supplying FARC. Six FARC members captured.
  • Peru’s Garcia visits Colombia; calls for Alliance. Peru’s trade minister hopes to get past FTA obstacles this month.
  • Ecuadorian Congress suspended.
  • Argentina vows to regain Falkland sovereignty. 28 killed, 40,000 displaced in flooding in Argentina.
  • Castro lashes out at US in first post-surgery editorial.
  • Brazilians back Lula’s friendly ties with Bush.

View the full version of the Americas Report (PDF)

For any questions, comments, or those interested in receiving this report in the future or seeking to have their email removed from our list please contact Nicole M. Ferrand at our new e-mail address: mengesproject@cen terforsecuritypolicy.org. If you have news stories that you think might be useful for future editions of this report please send them, with a link to the original website, to the same e-mail address. If you wish to contribute with an article, please send it to the same address, with your name and place of work or study.

Latin America’s radical grassroots








 

The logo of Hezbollah in Venezuela


by Dr. Luis Fleischman and Nicole M. Ferrand


 


The emergence of neo-populism in Latin America has coincided with the rise of new leaders promising equality and rejection of the old elites.  It also combines, in numerous cases, with the political mobilization of previously passive populations who lived on the margins of society, often of indigenous origins, who speak different dialects.


 


These new groups have become a most desired political prey for populist leaders willing to climb the political ladder and even carry a revolutionary change. The populations which include the cocaleros (coca leaf growers) in Bolivia or the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) indeed have been key players in the election of leaders such as Evo Morales and Rafael Correa. Ollanta Humala in Peru also used the etnocacerista group relatively successfully even though he lost the election.


 


[More]


 


Despite being an interesting political capital for political leaders, some of these new populist movements have an element of independence and do not necessarily blindly follow leaders. One example is the Piquetero Movement in Argentina. Even though some of its leaders have associated themselves with President Nestor Kirchner, they have also taken independent action which, at times has become a problem for the President and at other times is useful and coincides with his purposes.


 


 


Indigenous movements such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, the CONAIE in Ecuador, the radical indigenous movement in Chile, and the landless movement in Brazil represent examples of more independent movements. They represent a feeling of economic and political exclusion and their demands include redistribution of land and expropriation of private property and foreign capital in favor of indigenous cooperatives and other forms of economic autonomy.


  


Often, these new movements tend to be radical, anti-systemic, and are inclined to reject the old political and economic order. In some cases, Indian movements have claimed their status as the majority and therefore claim all the power for themselves. Street protests and challenge of the government as well as rejection of the system and revolutionary unwillingness to compromise also characterize some of these movements.  


 


Of course, such discontent could be capitalized on by demagogue populist leaders, but it can also go beyond. One such example is presented by the Wayuu Guajira Indians who represent the largest indigenous group in Venezuela and Colombia (about 135,000 in Colombia and 170,000 in Venezuela).  On October 23, 2006, the police in Caracas found two explosive devices near the American Embassy. One of the bombs was in a box which also contained propaganda brochures for the Iran-backed organization, Hezbollah. One young man, a student at the Bolivarian University founded by Hugo Chavez, was arrested.[1]


 


An organization called Hezbollah Latin America claimed responsibility for the attack. Hezbollah Latin America is an organization based in the Wayuu Indian population and also calls itself Autonomia Islamica Wayuu (Wayuu Islamic Autonomy). Its website is written in Spanish and Chapateka (a combination of the Wayuu language and Spanish) and claims activity in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico. But the backbone of the organization is Venezuela. Their website states: “The brief enjoyment of life on earth is selfish. The other life is better for those who follow Allah.” The members of this group are locals and not Muslim in origin and claim to be Shiites, supporters of Hezbollah and Iran.[2]


 


The leader of Hezbollah Latin America is Teodoro Rafael Darnott. Mr. Darnott was initially the leader of a small Marxist faction called The Guaicapuro Movement for National Liberation, (Proyecto Movimiento Guaicaipuro por la Liberacin Nacional – MGLN)” which struggled against the oppression of the poor, indigenous peasants in the Valle de Caracas region. The organization initially proposed a concrete micro- farming project but it failed to obtain support from the authorities. It was then that Darnott decided to join the Chavez political party Movimiento Quinta Republica.[3]


 


It was reported that early in 2004 about 100 Wayuu Indians were massacred by Colombian para-military, guerilla and drug traffickers. These events also pushed hundreds of Wayuu to flee Colombia into Venezuela. It is thought that such genocide was the result of the need to control the drug trafficking ports in the Guajira littoral by the para-military and the guerillas, according to the Colombian army.


 


The organization opens up its website with a set of interesting quotations by the leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Rhuolla Khomeini. “Our struggle is the struggle against all inequalities. Our struggle is the struggle of the barefoot people against uncontrolled freedom. It is the struggle of the ideological values against the dirty world of power, money and greediness”. Then it proceeds to two other quotations from Khomeini. The first states that “all the political activities are part of a religious duty” and the second points out that the “Koran is not a book of prayer but a manual to organize society and to train its leaders to rule. Islam and Islamic rules are divine and their practices guarantee prosperity in this world and salvation in the world to come. (Islam) can put an end to injustice, tyranny and corruption and help mankind to achieve perfection.”[4]


 


The philosophy of this “new Muslim” group says that the Venezuelan revolution cannot take place unless it takes a path towards the moral and divine. The group claims that Venezuelans worship sex, money, industry and commerce leading society into a “swamp of immorality and corruption”.[5]  Hezbollah Latin America claims that political movements and parties cannot provide an answer to these problems because they are also part of the problem. Thus, only “a theocratic, Political-Islamic force can liberate society from this situation”.[6]


 


Hezbollah Latin America “respects the Venezuelan revolutionary process, and supports its social policies as well as its anti-Zionism and anti-Americanism”, even though it rejects socialism in favor of an Islamic order. The group urges everyone to vote for and support Chavez.[7]


 


Nobody seems to have an answer as to why and how this Wayuu indigenous group came to embrace Hezbollah and why. The first possibility is that Hezbollah has its own independent agenda trying to create terrorist cells and bases of support for their activities aimed at spreading Islam  in the western hemisphere.[8]


 


Some of those covering the events since the October 23rd bombing have tended to downplay the role of Darnott and to question to what extent Hezbollah Latin America is a serious organization. Yet, the phenomenon is worrisome for a number of reasons. First, Hezbollah obviously has ways to either bribe or convert so- called marginal and indigenous groups in Latin America that had already developed anti-system ideologies, and, consequently, have a predisposition to make alliances with other groups that also detest the system and identify with the oppressed. In other words, Hezbollah and radical Islamist groups do not have to import Islamists from the Muslim world; they can be “home-grown” in Latin America, itself, because the social and emotional conditions provide fertile ground. Furthermore, this new available human capital clearly does not have to have any previous connection to Islam, they can be converted to Islam because Islamism is not merely a religion but is foremost a political movement.


 


This method is similar to Islamist methods we find in the U.S. The case of Jose Padilla comes to mind. Padilla, an American citizen of Hispanic ancestry was indoctrinated by Islamists while in prison for common crimes and later charged with terrorist conspiracy. Indigenous populations have been socially marginal and their status is comparable with criminals even though they are not criminals, by definition. Those who have dismissed Mr. Darnott as a mere opportunist have ignored the systematic way in which the message of the organization was put together. The methods of indoctrination use images that are simple and consistent with the totalitarian ideology of the Iranian revolution. 


 


The second possibility worth exploring is that Hugo Chavez is fully cooperating with the Islamization process of indigenous and other populations. Indeed, such conversion is taking place as relations between Venezuela and Iran strengthen at all levels and as Chavez openly supports Iran‘s nuclear program and Hezbollah during the war against Israel. In addition, Chavez has strong sympathies for Islamic groups and has provided safe haven for financial activities benefiting Islamic terrorist organizations. Chavez has given Venezuelan passports to individuals coming from Arab and Muslim countries, and, his administration maintains a very uneasy relationship with the Jewish community as anti-Semitism among Chavista circles becomes more apparent. Chvez is supporting Hezbollah in the Middle East and will most probably support their criminal work in Venezuela.[9]


 


Gustavo Coronel, an opponent of Chavez, reports that in October 2005 Hugo Chavez expelled a group of US Evangelical missionaries who were working with indigenous communities in the area for more than half a century. Coronel reports that as the evangelical groups left Venezuela, Hezbollah occupied the new territory.[10]


 


The presence of Hezbollah Venezuela is worrisome because of the timing of their activities. They have become visible at a moment in which Hugo Chavez and the Iranian President Ahmadinejad have become really close allies. Ahmadinejad visited Caracas in September 2006 and again in January 2007 and the two countries have signed more than 20 cooperation agreements in the fields of oil & gas, iron & steel, and infrastructure worth billions of dollars.[11]


 


As stated in The America’s Report of March 13, 2006, Luis D’Elia, one of the leaders of the Argentinean Piquetero movement and a former member of the Kirchner cabinet, has established both a relationship with Chavez and with the Iranian government. D’Elia, like other Latin American ” social” leaders from Latin America, attended the first Iran- Latin American conference that took place in Tehran on February 27 and 28, 2007. The conference was characterized by a clear ideological agenda with strong anti-American tones and was not attended by the higher echelons of the political system in Latin America but by “social” leaders such as Mr. D’Elia. By the same token, Chavez has been the main promoter of the reinforcement of relations between Iran and Latin America, as he has engaged in deepening relations between Iran and grassroots leaders in the region, mostly those newly mobilized social forces that we described above.[12]


 


It could be said that the road from socialist revolutionarily Marxism to Islam has been paved by no other than Hugo Chavez. Therefore, should we rule out the Darnott episode as a farce? We do not think so. At this point the revolutionary fever led by Hugo Chavez, to mobilize the “politically” available marginal masses of society coupled with the Iranian penetration in the region should raise an eyebrow not only among American government officials but also among those in Latin America.  Given its importance, we will continue to explore the radicalization of indigenous populations in the region.


 


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.


Nicole M. Ferrand is a research analyst and editor of “The Americas Report” of the Menges Hemispheric Security Project at the Center for Security Policy in Washington DC. She is a graduate of Columbia University in Economics and Political Science with a background in Law from Peruvian University, UNIFE.


[1] The Hezbollah Venezuelan Metastasis. September 4, 2006. Venezuela Today. By Gustavo Coronel.


[2] “La Fascinacin por el xito: Hezbollah en Amrica Latina .” Jihad Monitor. Oct. 17, 2006. Manuel Torres Soriano.


[3] The Hezbollah Venezuelan Metastasis. September 4, 2006. Venezuela Today. By Gustavo Coronel.


[4] Democracy? I meant theocracy. August 5, 2003. The Iranian.


[5] “La Fascinacin por el xito: Hezbollah en Amrica Latina .” Jihad Monitor. Oct. 17, 2006. Manuel Torres Soriano.


[6] Chvez joins the terrorists: his path to martyrdom. September 2, 2006. Venezuela Today. By Gustavo Coronel.


[7] The Hezbollah Venezuelan Metastasis. September 4, 2006. Venezuela Today. By Gustavo Coronel.


[8] Hezbollah America Latina: strange group or real threat? Feb. 12, 2007. By Ely Karmon. Reporter Associati Internacional.


[9] The Other “Axis of Evil.” July 1st, 2003. The American Legion Magazine. By Paul Crespo.


[10] Chvez joins the terrorists: his path to martyrdom. September 2, 2006. Venezuela Today. By Gustavo Coronel.


[11] Gustavo Coronel. The Hezbollah Venezuelan Metastasis.


[12] Jose Orozco, “Venezuelan Jews Fear Chavez-Iran Ties,” The Jerusalem Post, September 19, 2006.

Latin America’s radical grassroots (part 1)

The emergence of Latin American neo-populism, as well as the political mobilization indigenous peoples, has created a new class of political prey for radical leaders and terrorist groups.  The Piquetero Movement in Argentina, indigenous movements such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, the CONAIE in Ecuador, the radical indigenous movement in Chile, and the landless movement in Brazil are some examples of this worrying and growing phenomenon.  This article details and analyzes the fundamental currents which underlie this new movement taking place in Latin America.

NEWS:

  • Brazil’s Lula visits Bush for Ethanol and World Trade Talks.
  • "Venezuela is a drug dealers’ temple." The Venezuelan Government seizes private land. Jews fear for future in Venezuela.
  • Chile: Trouble for Bachelet. Bachelet shuffles Cabinet. Chile and Japan sign free trade agreement.
  • FARC calls upon Lula and Chavez for recognition. FARC would accept US lawmakers in talks.
  • Bolivia: Morales may extend term in office. Head of state energy firm replaced.
  • Mexico: Zapatista "Subcomandante Marcos" launches countrywide tour praising Chavez, Morales and Correa. State Oil Company in Financial Trouble.
  • Cuba and Nebraska sign trade deals.
  • Colombia accused of violating Ecuador sovereignty. Para-scandal: Colombia amry chief denies role in 2002 raid.    

View the full version of the Americas Report (PDF)

Ver la versión completa del Informe de Américas (PDF)

 

For any questions, comments, or those interested in receiving this report in the future or seeking to have their email removed from our list please contact Nicole M. Ferrand at our new e-mail address: mengesproject@centerforsecuritypolicy.org. If you have news stories that you think might be useful for future editions of this report please send them, with a link to the original website, to the same e-mail address. If you wish to contribute with an article, please send it to the same address, with your name and place of work or study.

 

The surging threat in Latin America

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the principal foreign policy and intelligence institutions of the United States considered that communism had disappeared. Soon after, a new threat emerged: terrorism, and since then, intelligence organizations in the US lost interest in the subject. However, communism did not disappear. In Latin America, under the direction of Fidel Castro and with the support of Lula da Silva, all the leftist groups reorganized in the region with the purpose of taking power under the umbrella of the Forum of Sao Paolo.

NEWS:

  • Mexico: U.S. breaks up Mexican drug gang.
  • Latin stocks fall because of plunge in Chinese shares. The next day there are gains.
  • Defector says Cuba is developing biological weapons. College professor and wife spied for Cuba from Florida.
  • Venezuela takes control of foreign oil projects. Venezuela and Cuba sign agreements in excess of U$ 700 million. Chavez scaring away investments in the region. US warns that Venezuela is unleashing an arms race in Latin America.
  • Deported from Bolivia, Cuban dissident will accept asylum in Norway.
  • Bolivia : opposition blocks oil contracts. Gazprom and YPFB sign memo of understanding.
  • Brazil : Gazprom and Petrobras sign cooperation accord.
  • Argentina: former government official, picketer Luis D’Elía, goes to Iran. Interpol lists 1 Lebanese and six Iranians in bombing of AMIA.
  • Colombia to invest U$ 3.7 billion to combat drugs and FARC. It has been five years since Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian Presidential Candidate was kidnapped by FARC. Fernando Araújo: new foreign minister. Ex-guerrilla (former M-19) leads opposition in Colombia against Uribe.
  • President Bush: backs FTA with Peru. Will visit Lima in 2008.
  • Nicaragua : Ortega seeks closer ties with Iran. Congress gives special powers given to Ortega.

View the full version of the Americas Report (PDF)

For any questions, comments, or those interested in receiving this report in the future or seeking to have their email removed from our list please contact Nicole M. Ferrand at our new e-mail address: mengesproject@centerforsecuritypolicy.org. If you have news stories that you think might be useful for future editions of this report please send them, with a link to the original website, to the same e-mail address. If you wish to contribute with an article, please send it to the same address, with your name and place of work or study.

New threat: communism in Latin America

By Alejandro Pea Escluza








 
Communism is surging south of the border, thanks to the work of lefties like Hugo Chavez and Luiz Ignacio Lula de Silva
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the principal foreign policy and intelligence institutions of the United States considered that communism had disappeared and they ruled it out as a real threat. Soon after, a new threat emerged: terrorism, and since then, intelligence organizations in the US lost interest in the subject, forgetting about communism in the process.


However, communism did not disappear. In Latin America, under the direction of Fidel Castro and with the support of Lula da Silva, all the leftist groups reorganized in the region with the purpose of taking power under the umbrella of the Forum of Sao Paolo. [1]



To conceal their intentions, the Forum of Sao Paolo (FSP) abandoned its Marxist discourse and adopted diverse themes to carry on their struggle: Appealing to indigenous populations, Liberation theology, and a fierce criticism of capitalism and globalization.


[More]


The organization is typified by the strong relationship between its chief leaders: Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Sandinista, Daniel Ortega, and, since 1995, Hugo Chvez, Venezuela’s president. His entrance marked a change of phase for that organization, since it was able to have control over an unlimited flow of petrodollars to expand.





Since 1990, when the Forum of Sao Paolo was first established its growth has been impressive. The Presidents of nearly every Latin American nation belong to the FSP or have achieved power supported by the Forum of Sao Paolo.



The United States has not been able to fully grasp the danger of the revival of communism in the region. It is perceived that the mere coexistence with the free market of some “moderate” members of the Forum of Sao Paolo mean that they   are not actively supporting the efforts of the Chavez/Castro Axis (Lula da Silva, Nstor Kirchner, Michelle Bachelet, Tabar Vsquez, Torrijos [2]); secondly, there is no present nuclear threat coming from any of these countries.   As can be seen in the following list there are communist as well as terrorist organizations that are represented in the Forum’s membership.



Some of the Participants of the Forum are [3]:



  • Argentina – Communist Party of Argentina

  • Barbados – Clement Payne Movement

  • Bolivia – Communist Party of Bolivia

  • Brazil – Workers’ Party, Communist Party of Brazil

  • Chile – Communist Party of Chile, Socialist Party of Chile

  • Colombia – Colombian Communist Party, National Liberation Army (FLN), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

  • Costa Rica – Costa Rican Peoples Party

  • Cuba – Communist Party of Cuba

  • Dominica – Dominica Labor Party

  • Dominican Republic – Dominican Liberation Party

  • El Salvador – Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (FMNL)

  • Guatemala – Unin Revolucionaria Nacional de Guatemala (URNG)

  • Guyana – Working People’s Alliance

  • Mexico – Party of Labor, Popular Socialist Party and Partido de la Revolucin Democrtica (PRD)

  • Nicaragua – Sandinista National Liberation Front

  • Paraguay – Paraguayan Communist Party, Free Homeland Party

  • Peru – Peruvian Communist Party, Socialist Party of Peru. Ex-leaders of the MRTA.

  • Puerto Rico – Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Socialist Front, Hostosian National Independence Movement, University Pro-Independence Federation of Puerto Rico.

  • Uruguay – Broad Front, Communist Party of Uruguay, Socialist Party of Uruguay, Tupamaros

  • Venezuela – Communist Party of Venezuela.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, some communist groups decided to accept the neo-liberal model in the economic front, but keeping their political scheme intact. But to coexist with the free market does not mean that they have embraced the model. In the case of Kirchner and Lula, they have made a pragmatic decision to “accept” free markets only because it is useful to them, but not because they disagree politically with Castro-Communism. In fact, every time they can, they support the Chvez regime.


Regarding nuclear armaments, it is true that up to now the Forum of Sao Paolo has not been able to obtain weapons of mass destruction, but it is only a matter of time. In the long run, its member’s alliances with Iran and North Korea will provide the necessary supplies and technology to achieve this goal.


The lack of understanding by the United States with respect to this threat is evident when its authorities think they will be successful by asking the “moderate leftists” to contain the “radical leftists” (Castro, Chvez, Morales, Correa, Ortega).


The Forum is not satisfied with their extraordinary accomplishments achieved up to now; they also want to have control over Colombia and Mexico. That is why, in the next few months they want to destabilize the administrations of Alvaro Uribe and of Felipe Caldern. The FARC and the PRD [4] of Lpez Obrador, members of the Forum of Sao Paolo, will have the political support and the petrodollars of this organization to use towards that end.


It is of vital importance for the security of the Western Hemisphere that the institutions of the United States open their eyes with respect to the new threat that is emerging on its southern border and that they carefully study the dangers posed by the Forum of Sao Paolo.   


*Alejandro Pea Esclusa is a leader of the Venezuelan Opposition and founder of the organization, Fuerza Solidaria. He ran against Hugo Chavez in the 1998 presidential elections and lectures widely throughout Latin America.






[1] The Sao Paulo Forum: fall and rise of communism. http://www.fuerzasolidaria.org/WebFS/Escritos/FSPFallAndRise.html



[2] Martn Torrijos Espino. President of Panama.



[3] Leftist Front-runners in Brazil, Nicaragua. Aug. 21, 2001. NewsMax.



[4] Party of the Democratic Revolution (in Spanish: Partido de la Revolucin Democrtica, PRD) is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador is affiliated with this group.

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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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 .