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U.S. More Intent on Blocking Chavez
Venezuela's leader seeks to rally opposition to Washington as
elections near in the region.
By Paul Richter, Times Staff Writer
03/10/06 "Los
Angeles Times' -- -- WASHINGTON — The Bush
administration is stepping up efforts to counter leftist Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez as he builds opposition to U.S. influence in
Latin America.
U.S. diplomats have sought in recent years to mute their conflicts
with Chavez, fearing that a war of words with the flamboyant
populist could raise his stature at home and abroad. But in recent
months, as Chavez has sharpened his attacks — and touched American
nerves by increasing ties with Iran — American officials have become
more outspoken about their intention to isolate him.
Signaling the shift, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told
Congress last month that the United States was actively organizing
other countries to carry out an "inoculation strategy" against what
it sees as meddling by Chavez.
U.S. officials believe Chavez uses his oil wealth to reward
governments that share his anti-American views and to foment change
in those that don't.
"We are working with other countries to make certain that there is a
united front against some of the things that Venezuela gets involved
in," said Rice, who called Venezuela a "sidekick" of Iran.
Rice leaves today on an eight-day trip to Latin America, Indonesia
and Australia, including a stop in Chile for the inauguration of
President-elect Michelle Bachelet. Rice said pointedly Thursday that
she did not plan to see Chavez, who is expected to attend the
inauguration Saturday.
As part of the administration's new view of Venezuela, U.S. defense
and intelligence officials have revised their assessment of the
security threat Venezuela poses to the region. They say they believe
Venezuela will have growing military and diplomatic relationships
with North Korea and Iran, and point with concern to its arms
buildup. Of equal worry to them is Venezuela's overhaul of its
military doctrine, which now emphasizes "asymmetric warfare" — a
strategy of sabotage and hit-and-run attacks against a greater
military power, much like that used by Iraqi insurgents.
The U.S. government's revived interest in Latin America comes at a
time when Congress has been pressing the Bush administration to
define its strategy amid a growing number of clashes with the Chavez
government.
Last month, the United States and Venezuela engaged in a diplomatic
tit-for-tat reminiscent of the Cold War, trading espionage
accusations against each other's diplomats, then expelling them. The
two countries have also clashed on airspace and landing rights for
civilian and military aircraft, as the United States has sought to
block Venezuela's bid to become a nonpermanent member of the United
Nations Security Council. Venezuela has threatened to end the oil
sales that provide the United States with about 12% of its imports,
and begun rewriting its contracts with U.S. oil companies.
The tougher U.S. approach also reflects an administration interest
in trying to head off any further leftist inroads in upcoming
elections in the region. A number of governments face elections this
year in Latin America, and Chavez has made known his support for
opposition candidates in several of the countries, including Mexico,
which will elect its president in July.
"There is some concern that if the United States doesn't play its
cards right, there could be a major policy shift in the region that
favors Venezuela's interests over the United States," said Daniel P.
Erikson of the Inter-American Dialogue, a research organization in
Washington.
Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has been trying to build a
left-leaning alliance and has offered cut-rate oil and other
inducements through a foreign aid program some believe to be worth
billions of dollars annually. His stated aim is to push an
alternative development model that eases the sting of globalism and
favors the interests of the poor, who make up about 40% of the
region's population.
Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the United States,
defended his country's policies, saying they respond to failed
economic models that have increased poverty and social exclusion.
"Chavez and [Bolivian President] Evo Morales are not accidents of
history," Alvarez said.
In a recent interview, Alvarez defended Venezuela's relationship
with Iran, saying the two nations had forged strong ties as
co-founders of OPEC in 1960. He said his government's repeated
efforts to improve relations with Washington have been met with
indifference.
"Any time we try to open a dialogue, there are people who act to
sabotage it," Alvarez said.
Many observers are skeptical that Chavez has much appeal beyond
Fidel Castro's Cuba and impoverished Bolivia, but U.S. officials are
concerned that his efforts could foment violence in unstable
countries and weaken Latin American support for the American program
of free market economics and U.S.-style governance.
Rice said U.S. officials were trying to build international pressure
to address what they see as Venezuelan abuses of democratic
institutions at home. This year, she called European Union officials
to draw their attention to the trial of a Venezuelan opposition
group, Sumate, whose leaders face treason charges for accepting a
$31,000 grant from the Washington-based National Endowment for
Democracy, a private group funded by Congress.
"This kangaroo trial is a disgrace," she said. The EU, a key trading
partner of Venezuela, signaled its concern by sending observers to
the trial, she noted.
Chavez reacted strongly to Rice's criticism, saying it amounted to
plans for an "imperialist attack" that he would resist.
Some State Department officials continue to emphasize that they do
not want to be confrontational. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas
A. Shannon, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, has said he is
not looking for a quarrel with Chavez.
"We don't want to exaggerate his role or presence in the region,"
Shannon said in an interview. "We want to stay focused on a positive
agenda for the region."
Military and intelligence officials have been more blunt.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last month likened Chavez to
Hitler, noting that both leaders were elected legally. At the same
time, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte,
appearing before the Senate last week, said Chavez was spending
"very extravagantly" to build alliances and seeking to strengthen
ties with Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said this week in
Caracas, the capital, that the recent tough talk by U.S. officials
"represents a victory of the hawks in U.S. foreign policy," the
official Cuban News Agency reported.
Whether the United States' tough talk will resonate among Latin
American leaders is uncertain. Thus far, only Mexico, not an
immediate neighbor of Venezuela, has persisted in criticizing
Chavez. Mexican President Vicente Fox, who is in the final nine
months of his presidential term and hails from a conservative party
strongly committed to free trade, exchanged angry words with Chavez
late last year over Mexico's U.S. ties.
In the widening spat, the Bush administration might be able to
enlist countries that are heavily dependent on the U.S., or badly
want the benefits of better ties with the north, one senior Latin
American diplomat said.
But others, "even the ones who don't like Chavez, don't want to be
out front," said the envoy, who declined to be identified because of
the sensitivity of the subject. "They don't want trouble."
Times staff writer Chris Kraul in Los Angeles contributed to this
report.
Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times
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