Venezuela Watch

Barcepundit has been following a trip by Venezuela by Spanish PM Zapatero. Two recent posts cover Spanish weapon sales to the Socialist (and that is perhaps grossly understated) government of Hugo Chavez. The first post is to the website EU Referendum and their post Selling Arms To Dictators:

Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero has argued that that planes and ships will be used to fight terrorism and illegal drug trade while contributing to regional security and democracy.

This is rather hard to understand. President Chávez is arming Venezuela, buying arms not only from Spain but from Russia and Brazil. He is also believed to be supporting the Communist-inclined narcoterrorists FARC as well as a number of other terrorist and insurgent organizations.

At the same time, Spain is also selling C-212 cargo planes and is discussing the sales of military helicopters and patrol boats to Colombia. Perhaps, this is to aid the fight against drug smuggling, but the big worry in that part of the world is the potentially explosive situation between those two countries.

There is, inevitably, a more general aspect. Chávez, hero of the Marxist left in Europe, is known as Fidelito (the little Fidel) in the United States and other South American countries. In fact, he has recently had a public love-in with the old tyrant, almost as if the mantle of old-fashioned left wing tyranny and international terrorism was being handed on.

Chávez has proclaimed himself to be the leader of the anti-US struggle, supposedly supported by the peoples of the world. In reality, of course, his greatest supporters are the Euro-elite. Pursuing his "struggle" he has threatened to cut off the sale of oil to the USA, signing deals with China instead. He may, of course, find himself on the receiving end of China's notorious unreliability in deals.

Mr. Aleman then asks, "What Else Did Spain Sell To Venezuela?" The answer so far is chemical warfare agents and radioactive materials. (This is, no doubt, for research at various Venezuelan universities.) There has been little coverage of this in Spanish newspapers and those that do, place responsibility for the sales on the Aznar government. This assignment is, however, without documentation and Mr. Aleman argues strongly why this is unlikely to be the case.

It is clear that the situation in Venezuela will bear watching as Fidelito tries to "Castro" Venezuela out of the Third World. I do understand Mr. Chavez' zeal in his program, for it has worked so well for Cuba.