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Chavez says US meddling in UN visit
(Reuters, Sep 13, 2005)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday accused the U.S. government of trying to interfere in his visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York by denying visas to his personal security detail and his medical team. . . . Chavez, an ally of Communist Cuba who frequently accuses Washington of trying to assassinate him, said he was still considering whether to visit the United States this week to take part in the world body's 60th anniversary summit. . . . "They threaten to kill me from there and then deny visas to my closest security team who have been with me for years ... they deny my medical team their visas, I'm going to have to walk around the Big Apple by myself," Chavez said. . . . "Without a doubt they are interfering," he said during a ceremony to sign deals with a Chinese delegation. . . . Ties between oil producer Venezuela and the United States have been strained since Chavez came to office in 1998 vowing to combat poverty. U.S. officials say he has since eroded democracy at home and become a threat to regional stability. . . . Caracas and Washington often engage in diplomatic squabbling, most recently last month when Chavez suspended his government's cooperation agreements with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. . . . After Chavez froze accords with U.S. drug agents, Washington revoked the U.S. visas of three top Venezuelan military officers, including the head of a narcotics squad, on suspicion they were linked to drug trafficking.

posted by LoZo 7:20 AM

    War on Venezuela Archives     War on Venezuela [Home]

 

Chavez: U.S., NATO planning an attack on Venezuela
(The Miami Herald, September 4, 2005)
Venezuela has uncovered plans for a NATO U.S.-led invasion and is preparing to defend the country against invading forces if necessary, President Hugo Chavez said . . . Chavez made the comments during an interview with CNN. It was not clear when the interview was to be aired. . . . "We discovered through intelligence work a military exercise that NATO has of an invasion against Venezuela, and we are preparing ourselves for that invasion," Chávez was quoted as saying late Friday night. [COMMENT by Lorenzo: Isn't it interesting that the top two U.S. generals in charge of training exercises have recently been forecably "retired".] . . . He said the military exercise is known as "Plan Balboa" and includes rehearsing simultaneous assaults by air, sea and land at a military base in Spain, involving troops from the United States and NATO countries. U.S. officials in the past have said such training is meant to prepare troops for general scenarios but not for a specific military action. . . . "If it occurs to the United States to invade our country -- Fidel Castro said it and I agree -- a war will start here to last 100 years," he added. "Not only this country would be burned up, but a good part of this continent; they shouldn't make any mistake about it; we are preparing to repel an invasion." . . . 'It's known they have everything planned out to capture the oil fields of the west and the east, the south,'' Chavez was quoted as saying. . . . Chavez repeated his threat that if the government of President Bush were to attempt an attack, his government would cut off oil shipments to the United States. . . . Tensions have grown in recent months between Chávez and the U.S. government. . . . On Saturday, more than 100 Chavez supporters marched through Caracas to demand justice against American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson for recently suggesting their president should be killed. Almost two weeks ago, Robertson drew condemnation from Venezuela's government and others for suggesting Chavez should be assassinated because he poses a threat to the United States.

posted by LoZo 10:44 AM

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Venezuela 'targets private banks'
(BBC NEWS, 2 September 2005)
The Venezuelan government is reported to be planning to insist that all private banks appoint two state representatives to their board. . . . Such a move is likely to be part of the country's forthcoming new banking law, according to the UK's Financial Times. . . . A continuation of left-wing President Hugo Chavez's aim to create "socialism of the 21st Century", a number of foreign banks would be affected. . . . Among them are Spanish institutions Banco Santander and BBVA. . . . Both own Venezuelan banks - Banco de Venezuela and Banco Provincial respectively. . . . Other large banks in the country that are likely to be hit include Banco Mercantil and Banesco. . . . The reported move to put government representatives on the boards of private banks comes as businesses across Venezuela are being asked to ensure 20% worker representation in their board rooms. . . . Analysts say that the government's chosen bank appointees would be there to ensure loans and other money flows are more determined by left-leaning political considerations rather than pure financial gain factors. . . . "The government has a revolutionary project and by necessity that has to go through controlling the flow of credit," Venezuelan banking expert Francisco Faraco told the FT. . . . Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter, and a key ally of Fidel Castro's Cuba. . . . Last month US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused both Venezuela and Cuba of fermenting unrest in Bolivia.

posted by LoZo 9:44 AM