Posted on 04/14/2002 4:01:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Although Mr. Santos does not represent the Colombian government and Colombian officials tried to stay out of the fray, his words risked further deterioration of the already strained relationship between the two nations.
Bad blood between these countries, sharing a 2000-kilometer border, is legendary. But things have gotten decidedly worse since Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made it clear that he believes in promoting Fidel Castro's armed struggle on the South American continent and that he sympathizes with Colombian guerrillas. The MiG issue could take relations to a new low.
The problem for Colombia is not simply a question of Venezuelan air superiority. The purchase could put pressure on Bogotá to engage in an arms race when the country has more immediate and destabilizing threat: the internal guerrilla conflict. Moreover, Colombian alarm at the prospect of Venezuelan MiGs must be considered in light of a steady stream of reports that Venezuela has been accommodating the Colombian rebels.
A little short on diplomatic skills, the Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia, Carlos Rodolfo Santiago, immediately answered Mr. Santos's assertion by calling him a "cynical and irresponsible liar." He also reportedly denied the existence of the letter that the former Colombian official had cited as proof of his assertion. "The only thing that has happened is that during a visit of Russians to Caracas, it was asked how much that could be worth," he said. "But that is not to say that there was a tender offer or something similar." Venezuelan Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton accused Mr. Santos of links to coup-plotters.
As to the letter, Mr. Santos seems to have been on solid ground. Colombian security analyst Alfredo Rangel Suárez tells me he has seen the text and in a column last week in Colombia's El Tiempo, he described its contents. Contrary to Mr. Santiago's claims, it was not a casual inquiry.
"The request from Venezuela to the Russian factory is very specific: Fifty combat aircraft, with multifunctional Zhuk-M liquid crystal 6X8 inch radar, with navigation and weapons control systems that insure the use of six types of air-to-air missiles, three classes of guided air-to-surface missiles, in addition to bombs and 30 caliber guns," wrote Mr. Rangel Suárez. "Additionally, it asks that ten of the planes be delivered within 18 months of the contract signing and also that it include a tailor-made maintenance center for MiGs in Venezuela." The letter was sent to the director general of Russian MiG Aeronautic Corporation, Nicolai Nikitin and signed by Venezuelan Air Force commander Régulo Anselmi, according to an El Tiempo report.
Mr. Chavez cashiered Mr. Anselmi not long after April 11, 2002, which means that the letter is more than one year old and the Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S. says that the only orders pending are for four Russian-made reconnaissance helicopters. It's thus uncertain whether the idea of buying MiGs remains alive.
Venezuelan sources differ on the question, with some sure that there is no budget for such extravagance and at least one reporting that the signs suggest a Russian deal is in the works. But Mr. Rangel Suárez tells me that he has verified that the Venezuelan order to the Russian factory "was made official by foreign minister Chaderton some two months ago in a visit to Moscow. The contract would be signed next year and initially they would deliver two flotillas of eight planes each. Later they would make delivery of the remaining planes that were ordered."
Why Venezuela might want so many high performance fighter planes remains a question. Its unlikely that even the cocky Mr. Chavez is misguided enough to think he can mix it up with the U.S. Air Force.
…………………… This is not surprising given the fact that the Venezuelan military has been gutted of its professional staff and turned into an armed brigade, infused with Cuban consultants and a heavy dose of militia, and is now dedicated solely to enforcing the Bolivarian Revolution.
Add to this Castroite agenda Mr. Chavez's personal political ambitions, the fact that the economy is a basket case and that his popularity hovers at only 30%, and its not hard to envision him picking a fight with a historical nemesis to stir up nationalism. ***
Hardline opponents, backed by fiercely anti-Chavez private media, shrilly proclaim that the Cuban doctors are political commissars of Cuban President Fidel Castro doling out Marxism-Leninism along with medicine. "They aren't doctors; they're professional political activists," said Douglas Leon Natera, president of Venezuela's Medical Federation. He argues the Cubans are working in Venezuela illegally and stealing the jobs of local doctors. ***
Back then, the Venezuelan motto was Está barato; dame dos -- "It's cheap; give me two."
It's that level of affluence and the pride Venezuelans have in their country -- beautiful beaches, beautiful mountains, beautiful women -- that contributed to the perception of Venezuelans as the most arrogant of Latin Americans. And it's their recent history -- soaring crime, inflation, poverty, a crippling strike, a failed coup -- which has deflated that conceit.
"We were the paradise of Latin America. Now we're just another third-world country struggling economically and politically," Rodriguez said. "It's very hard for Venezuelans to deal with that."
...........For the expatriate community of Venezuelans in Orlando, paradise became a prison under Hugo Chavez.
"You don't feel safe in the streets. You don't want your kids playing in the streets or they might get kidnapped," Roche said.
About a fifth of the nation is unemployed. An estimated 80 percent are poor. In the first quarter of the year, the economy shrank 29 percent. Inflation is approaching 35 percent.
And so they come here, a place where Venezuelans can earn a living, raise their children, walk the streets without fear, and live inside houses with glass doors. ***
Chavez was elected president in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 after pushing through a new constitution that he called a cornerstone of a revolution to end social injustice. Venezuela's opposition wants a referendum this year, accusing Chavez of grabbing power, ruining the economy with leftist policies and ignoring corruption in his government. But in his Sunday address, Chavez said opposition leaders couldn't hand in signatures to demand a referendum until the National Assembly appoints a new elections council. Venezuela's opposition is seeking a referendum this year to force Chavez from office. [End]
Rafael Ramirez said no Iraqi official would be allowed to attend any OPEC meeting until an "internationally recognized" government is in place. "They can't attend the OPEC meeting," he said. "Perhaps some Arab states might meet with them informally." Venezuela is the world's No. 5 oil producer. President Hugo Chavez's government condemned the U.S. invasion against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"There will be no official contact between Venezuela and Iraq," Ramirez said. Representatives from OPEC nations were to discuss global oil markets at the Vienna meeting and consider possible adjustments to current production levels of 25.4 million barrels per day. Ramirez said that world oil supply and demand are balanced. "We are in equilibrium," he said. [End]
He or she must also have a fair sense of what is wrong with Venezuela beyond the current squabble. Ever since oil was discovered in the early part of the 20th century, Venezuelan military leaders and democratic politicians have promised citizens a socialist caretaker state without ever promoting individual enterprise or broad public participation in governance.
Former President Carter, who often found good things to say about some of the world's worst dictators, is not be the best person to sniff out the truth. His own willingness to excuse leftist governments that try to guarantee citizens economic privileges in place of political rights may also blind him to the wreckage that populism has left in this oil-rich but poverty-stricken nation.***
In a message dated Sunday and posted on the Web site of the AUC, as the group is known by its initials in Spanish, the paramilitary chief claimed his fighters prevented guerrillas from taking over Colombia. "We are not seeking gratitude," Castano said in the message. "We are satisfied with the results of our struggle." Members of the AUC must "face up" to their actions either collectively or individually, Castano said. But he added: "No one here can summarily send the self-defense forces to jail." ***
The court stated that under articles 148 and 149 of the Criminal Code, people can be imprisoned for insulting "by speech or in writing" the president, the vice president, the president of the legislature, the chief justice and numerous other government officials, or by showing them "lack of respect in any other way." Article 150 prohibits anyone from insulting the legislature, the judiciary and the cabinet. Human rights activists pointed out that the court's decisions disregarded, not only democracy and the right of free speech, but also article 13 of the American convention on human rights and censorship. In 1995 the Inter American Commission of Human Rights published a report on 'insult laws' with the conclusion "the special protection desacato laws (laws endangering freedom of the press) ... is not congruent with the objective of a democratic society to foster public debate."
The Chavez administration saw the Supreme Court decision as vindication of their ongoing vocal, at time brutal, attacks on the media. They assumed the media should and could be reined in. Decisions made by the government prohibited television and radio from reporting on violent demonstrations and riots. As the world's human rights communities were sounding the alarm, the president and his top ministers did not yield.
The most alarming move by the president and chief of staff team is the plan to create a reserve territorial army, apparently following the Cuban model. The army will introduce the new units as operational by June 24, 2004, when the territorial reserve force will include 250,000 men, comprised of soldiers and volunteers. The first units were introduced as they paraded with the army on the last Armed Forces Day. The opposition reacted immediately with criticism claiming the Chavez plan was intended to enable the government to declare a state of emergency whenever it suited its purpose.
Western intelligence officers are convinced the new territorials are being formed and trained with direct Cuban involvement. Cuba is also seen as being behind Chavez's friendly overtures to the Colombian left-wing guerrillas.***
Step 1: Buy a business, a franchise if you can. "Once the deal is closed, the buyer will feel the sweet sound of the cash register announcing cash flow in his favor, without losing time," the article says. But also: "Be happy with what you have while you go after what you want." It is timely advice for the Venezuelans flooding into Florida these days. Driven by political and economic instability in their homeland, many prosperous Venezuelans accustomed to visiting Miami as weekend tourists are putting down roots here. In a slow and sometimes painful settling-in, they are investing in real estate, starting businesses and establishing cultural institutions.
Many of them say how long they stay depends on whether they can oust leftist President Hugo Chavez. But others have decided to settle here. "I won't go back to Venezuela," said Manuel Pita, owner of a gas station and El Arepaso, where recent immigrants stop for arepas, or fat corn tortillas drenched in margarine and filled with meat or cheese. Pita said Venezuela is no longer livable, and adapting to the United States is not hard: "You just have to keep your head about you and work." The 2000 Census estimated there were 41,000 Venezuelans living in Florida, more than half of them in Miami-Dade County. Some experts speculate the population has increased by as much as 80 percent since then. ***
Noriega's confirmation came after a long delay because Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., had been blocking the vote for months in an effort to force a Senate vote on his proposal for easing restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba. ''We had all been waiting for so long that we stopped watching,'' said Ana Navarro, a longtime Miami lobbyist and friend of Noriega, the current U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States.
Until Tuesday, the Senate had refused to confirm a series of nominees for the State Department job, in charge of relations with Washington's hemispheric neighbors, since 1999 because of a string of political disputes. The post had been held since then on an interim or appointed basis by four officials.The unanimous approval on a voice vote, as Congress headed toward its summer recess this week, drew praise from Latin American officials as well as U.S. supporters. ***
"I have to remind the U.S. one more time that they have no right to express their opinion ... we are an independent country not a colony of North America," the president told thousands of cheering supporters during a street rally.
Chavez, who survived a coup in 2002 and later outlasted a two-month opposition strike, now faces a campaign for a recall referendum from foes who accuse him of dictatorial rule in the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
The outspoken ex-army paratrooper elected in 1998 has often riled Washington with his fierce populist, anti-capitalist rhetoric and close ties with states such as Communist Cuba.
His comments followed remarks made by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher urging the government and opposition to respect an accord they signed in May on the possible referendum on Chavez's rule.
The Venezuelan constitution allows for a referendum on the president's rule after August 19 -- halfway through his current mandate. But the opposition says Chavez is trying to block and stall the vote.
Government officials have said they will accept a referendum but only after the opposition has completed the legal requirements. They say the National Assembly or the Supreme Court must first appoint a new National Electoral Council to oversee the vote.
Boucher said Tuesday a decision on the referendum lies "with the courts, the National Electoral Council and the people of Venezuela, rather than with the executive branch of the government."
He also said the United States expected the government to investigate the kidnapping of former Tachira State governor and opposition leader Sergio Calderon. The opposition charges the government is involved in his disappearance from his farm at the weekend. Officials say they are still investigating. [End]
"In lots of cases, teachers forbid their students to discuss politics, but the solution to the problem is not to sweep it under the table," says Mr. Perrera. "Children, just like adults, need to learn how to communicate in ways that are healthy."
In the absence of a nationwide effort, child-welfare organizations have joined with educators and child psychiatrists in an ad hoc effort to depoliticize the classroom. CECODAP sponsors workshops for students as well as teachers. >[? A handful of nonprofit groups are at work training teachers around the country in the basic tenets of dispute-settlement: focus on the problems, not the participants; learn how to listen; look for "win-win" solutions that are free of judgment. Role-playing is suggested, and instructors are encouraged to incorporate peacemaking into their curricula.
At Alberdi elementary, where children play soccer in a dusty field next to a mountain of rusted chairs and desks, values are taught every day.
In a drab second-floor classroom, sixth-grade teacher Danny Camaripano stands in front of his 60 students, pensively rolling a piece of chalk between his fingers.
"What would you do if someone wanted to fight you?" he asks the classroom.
Norma Acosa, a beaming extrovert, raises her hand.
"I wouldn't do it," she says.
"What would you do?" Mr. Camaripano asks her.
"I'd talk with him, and find out what the problem is," Norma says.
Over the course of the 50-minute class, Camaripano lectures about values and peppers his students with hypotheticals, coaxing tentative answers from quiet types and back-row pranksters alike.***
Analysts say the vote is the last hope to push the South American nation out of the political crisis, which is expected to shrink the economy by at least 10 percent this year. But as the stalling continues, Chávez gains ground. He has tightened his grip on the National Assembly, the courts, the state oil company and the military as the opposition runs out of steam.
By law, the recall drive can begin Aug. 19, half way through Chávez's six-year term. But Chávez loyalists argue that the millions of signatures already collected in February are invalid: They were collected too soon.
Chávez this week also insisted that only people who voted in the 2000 election can cast ballots for the referendum -- a key issue because it was widespread absenteeism three years ago that allowed Chávez to sweep into power.
The National Elections Council will eventually decide both matters, but the National Assembly, responsible for naming members of the council, has deadlocked on theboard's fifth member. Two of the members are pro-Chávez and the other two came from the opposition ranks. The supreme court has given the assembly a 10-day deadline, saying it will pick the fifth member if the legislature can't. The government insists that opposition leaders are deliberately creating controversy.***
The country's top tribunal moved to break the long-running political deadlock between supporters and opponents of Chavez,which has raised doubts about when, or even if, the referendum will be held.
"We will name a National Electoral Council if the Assembly does not do so in 10 days," Supreme Court President Ivan Rincon told reporters. He said the court would give itself 10 days to appoint the council if it were required to take that step.
In the National Assembly, lawmakers loyal and opposed to the leftist president have been haggling for weeks over the composition of the 15-member electoral body.
Without it, no elections of any kind can be held. The court had declared the previous National Electoral Council unfit to organize an election.
Under Venezuela's constitution, a referendum on Chavez's rule can be held after Aug. 19, halfway through his current mandate. Chavez has ruled the world's No. 5 oil exporter since winning a 1998 election,
Foes of the populist Chavez, who survived a brief coup last year, say he and his government want to avoid a vote. They accuse him of trying to implant Cuban-style communism and of ruining the oil-rich economy with left-wing policies that increase the role of the state. ***
Ramirez suggested the resumption of the practice that existed during the reign of the USSR, when Soviet companies supplied oil to Venezuela's partners in Europe, while Venezuela, in its turn, exported fuel to other countries, partners of the Soviet Union. The minister said Russia could take part in a number of Venezuelan projects for oil and gas extraction and transportation and their supply to third countries, Tass reported.
Yusufov stressed the importance of completing work on a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the area of the fuel and energy complex, to be signed shortly. He said the document "will serve as the basis for the development of the dialogue on energy." The Russian minister welcomed including into this process representatives of the business community, and proposed holding a business seminar, Tass reported.
The sides also discussed the situation in the world petroleum market and its possible change in the near future. They said it is important that Iraq be brought back into the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries again, according to Tass. [End]
Sergio Calderón, the former secretary general of the COPEI party, has not been heard from since he was abducted July 25 by five gunmen who wore hoods covering their heads but not their faces. The snatching of the popular opposition leader known as ''El Cura'' -- the priest -- has sparked fears that it signals a critical turn in Venezuela's 16-month political crisis.
All the boxes of voter petition signatures were challenged as invalid, and the Chief Executive issued directives to delay their counting. Strings are being pulled to circumvent the rules of law and the state constitution.
And all during the months this has been happening, the Leftist Chief Executive and his apparatchiks have spewed propaganda denouncing the recall effort as illegitimate and politically smearing the reputations of those leading it.
Despite the close resemblance, this state executive is not Democratic Governor Gray Davis. The state is not California, named by Spanish explorers for the land of fabled Queen Califia, ruler of a magical island filled with talking animals.
The state depicted instead was by Spanish explorers named "Little Venice," Venezuela, after the homes its native people had built on stilts above the waters around the oil-rich Lake Maracaibo basin.
The executive depicted is Hugo Chavez, the brutal Marxist thug President who keeps his friend dictator Fidel Castro afloat with Venezuelan oil exchanged for Cuban I.O.U.'s that everybody knows will never be paid.
Polling finds that in a recall election 69 percent of Venezuelans would vote against Chavez, an overwhelming repudiation similar to what polls say California voters would deliver to Gray Davis.
The response of both these Leftist rulers has been an attempt to postpone or prevent any such election, to stifle the democratic voice of the people.
Chavez and his Marxist government allies have prevented the counting of petition signatures, an estimated four million of which remain locked away in 64 boxes in four-foot-high stacks.***
"In his first year of government, he has not only shown a seriousness of purpose and a capacity for work without precedent, but he has also given rebirth to hope in a country whose morale was at rock bottom," noted an editorial last Sunday in El Tiempo, Colombia's most prominent newspaper
According to the Defense Ministry, kidnapping has decreased by a third since Uribe took power a year ago Thursday. Terrorist attacks targeting population centers are down 78 percent it reports, and murders have declined by 16 percent. In a country that has seen 39-years of brutal civil war between leftist guerrillas and rightist paramilitaries fueled by drug money, that is welcome news.***
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