U.S. Hypocritically Decrys the “Militaristic” Politics of Venezuela

Once again, the U.S. government appeals to its hypocritical “democratic” politics, accusing Venezuela of buying arms to impose Bolivarian socialism in Latin America.

With what morality does the Obama government dare to judge, when it approved this year, 2010, the largest U.S. military budget since World War II and still does not contribute funds to the U.N. or to other aid programs for the developing world?

Regarding this topic, President Hugo Chavez Frias reiterated that “the accusations of some functionaries of the United States government regarding the supposed arms race of Venezuela are in a clear cynical disposition.” He also urged, “the Venezuelan nation is prepared to defend the country, not only militarily, but also its culture, economy and politics.” [http://www.programabolivariano.com/]

In the same manner, the Venezuelan leader affirmed, in an encounter with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Caracas for the signing of bilateral agreements, the “government of that country does not have the morality to criticize Venezuela for the purchase of Russian military equipment.” Prime Minister Putin commented right there that “the bellicose U.S. budget is superior to that of the militaristic expenditures of all of the countries in the world.”*

Data from the SIPRI Indicate the Ill Will of U.S. Functionaries

Why the insistence upon portraying Venezuela as a militarist country with hegemonic intentions for Latin America and the Caribbean? The right to defend our sovereignty, as consecrated in international treaties, permits this nation to obtain arms in its defense in the face of eminent external aggression. There already exist precedents of foreign action on Venezuelan territory: the support of the 2002 military coup and corporate strike (defrayed by the U.S. embassy and government); the penetration of paramilitaries from Colombia to assassinate President Chavez; arrests of Venezuelan authorities and the detention of military intelligence; and, moreover, the uncouth penetration of irregular groups. These equate to a silent war against our Latin American nation.

The figures that SIPRI (International Peace Research Institute of Stockholm) has published on the military spending of many countries in our region (between 1968 and 2008, in percent of GDP)** have uncovered the farce of the U.S. government regarding the militaristic campaign of Venezuela. The figures published by this institution indicate otherwise, leaving exposed the defamatory media campaign of the private media and international press about the military campaign of Venezuela. Along with Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, Venezuela substantially reduced military expenses during those 40 years, unlike Colombia, which doubled its percentages.

Country Expense 1968 Expense 2008

Argentina 2.2 0.8

Brazil 2.6 1.5

Colombia 2.1 4.0

Chile 2.1 3.4

Mexico 0.6 0.4

Peru 1.7 1.2

Venezuela 2.1 1.3

Plan Colombia and the Uribe Government Have Created a Real Military Campaign

Again, we resort to the word, “cynical”, to appraise the declarations of the functionaries of the Obama administration, which has increased by seven the military bases in Colombia, along with concomitant military officials, rapid-action aircraft, and helicopter, all under the pretext that they are combating an armed movement, which, according to Uribe himself, “is dissolving,” or drug cartels that, like the phoenix bird, re-emerge from their ashes.

The geopolitical vision of the U.S. runs from the failure of NAFTA and neoliberalism to the old concept of the “great garrote” in the application of the Monroe Doctrine and a return to decades of invasions or military coups (in Honduras). This is the theory of Obama, “recurrence of the re-encounter,” with Latin America, which manifested in the first meeting with Latin American leaders.

But the most serious issue is supporting, as successor to Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos, author and executor of the Ecuadorian air-raid and the assassination of a group of people with the excuse to kill, as they did, a chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Moreover, [for Santos] to affirm in a press interview that “he is capable of doing it in Venezuela and in any other country,” without caring about the consequences of his actions, creating conditions for military actions that interest the United States.

The constant declarations of the presidential candidate Santos, implying that Chavez is mixing in the internal elections of Colombia, demonstrates that, if he wins these elections, the house of Nariño will become more hawkish and irrational. Disputes between Latin American nations are resolved through dialogue, not by the interference of external powers inciting war for the control of the markets.

Of the new politics of the U.S. we can expect only actions such as the unchecked and legalized military coup in the Honduras or the military support of Colombia, which indicate the true intentions of the Obama administration: intervention, plotting, and military action. [This is] the centuries-old recipe to carry out armed intervention and military coups on our continent.

*Editor’s Note: While the meeting itself can be confirmed, these quotes, accurately translated, cannot be confirmed.

** http://www.sipri.org/databases