FINANCIAL TIMES: BUSH ORDERS POLICY TO CONTAIN VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ

By Andy Webb-Vidal in Miami

Published: March 13 2005 21:42

 http://news.ft.com/cms/s/77d0a418-93ff-11d9-9d6e-00000e2511c8,ft_acl=,s01=1.html
 http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=27214

Relocated to Miami (Florida, USA), UK Financial Times correspondent Andy Webb-Vidal writes that senior US administration officials are working on a policy to contain Hugo Chavez ... the Venezuelan President ... and what they allege is his drive to 'subvert' Latin America's least stable states.

A strategy aimed at fencing in the government of the world's 5th-largest oil exporter is being prepared at the request of President George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, senior US officials say. The move signals a renewed interest by the administration in a region that has been relatively neglected in recent years.


Roger Pardo-Maurer, deputy assistant secretary for western hemisphere affairs at the US Department of Defense, said "the Venezuela policy was being developed because Mr. Chavez was employing a "hyena strategy" in the region.

"Chávez is a problem because he is clearly using his oil money and influence to introduce his conflictive style into the politics of other countries, Mr. Pardo-Maurer said in an interview with the Financial Times. "He's picking on the countries whose social fabric is the weakest", he added. "In some cases it's downright subversion."

Mr. Chavez, whose government has enjoyed bumper export revenues during his six years in office thanks to high oil prices, has denied that he is aiding insurgent groups in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. But a tougher stance from the US appears to be in the offing, a move that is likely to worsen strained bilateral relations.

The policy shift in Washington, which a US military officer said is at an early stage but is centered on the goal of 'containment', could also have implications for the world oil market.


Mr. Chavez has threatened to suspend oil shipments to the US if it attempts to oust him. He and Fidel Castro, the Cuban president, have alleged, without offering proof, that the Bush administration was plotting to assassinate the Venezuelan leader, an allegation that US officials have dismissed as 'wild.'

Suggestions that Mr. Chavez backs subversive groups surface frequently, although so far also with scant evidence. Colombian officials close to President Alvaro Uribe say Venezuela is giving sanctuary to Colombian guerrillas, deemed terrorists by the US and Europe.

US officials say Mr. Chavez financed Evo Morales, the Bolivian indigenous leader whose followers last week unsuccessfully tried to force President Carlos Mesa's resignation. In Peru allegations emerged suggesting that Mr. Chavez financed a rogue army officer who tried to incite a rebellion against President Alejandro Toledo in December.

Mr. Chavez has dismissed such claims as fabrications designed to undermine his attempts to foster greater political and economic integration in Latin America.

Mr. Pardo-Maurer said Washington has run out of patience: "We have reached the end of the road of the current approach."