Tag Archives: US

May
31
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Differing views on U.S.-imposed sanctions on Venezuela

Below are two differing views on the sanctions the U.S. recently imposed on Venezuela’s PDVSA.

US Oil Sanctions Against Venezuela May End Up Helping Chavez
The Wall Street Journal
By Ezequiel Minaya and Kejal Vyas
May 30, 2011

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company may benefit rather than hurt President Hugo Chavez’s government by providing fuel for anti-U.S. rhetoric as the leftist leader rallies supporters ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Slamming Washington is a timeworn strategy for winning votes in many parts of Latin America, and it could provide a boost to the re-election bid by Chavez, who in his 12 years in power has become the region’s loudest U.S. critic. “Chavez is using [the sanctions] as a weapon to consolidate his base, to put the opposition in an uncomfortable situation and to rally support for his election campaign,” said Anibal Romero, a Caracas-based retired professor of political science. While analysts don’t expect the recent sanctions to have much effect on Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA, as the state oil company is known, the reaction from the Chavez government has generated unease among holders of Venezuelan debt, weighing on bonds trading in New York in recent days.

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Hugo Chavez in the U.S. Crosshairs
Foreign Policy
By José R. Cárdenas
May 27, 2011

Finally, Hugo Chavez is being held accountable for his reckless efforts to aid and abet Iran’s illegal pursuit of a nuclear capability and evasion of international sanctions. This week, the Obama administration announced it was imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and the Venezuelan Military Industries Company CAVIM for their illicit dealings with Iran. The sanctions are admittedly minimal, but one hopes they signal a new vigor on the part of the administration towards further exposing and countering the nefarious Venezuelan-Iran axis.

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May
17
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Iran building rocket bases in Venezuela

‘Die Welt’: Iran building rocket bases in Venezuela
Jerusalem Post
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
May 17, 2011

German paper says Iranians paid cash to build mid-range missile launch pads on Paraguana Peninsula; Iranian engineers visited site in Feb.

BERLIN – The Iranian government is moving forward with the construction of rocket launch bases in Venezuela, the German daily Die Welt wrote in its Thursday edition.

Iran is building intermediate- range missile launch pads on the Paraguaná Peninsula, and engineers from a construction firm – Khatam al-Anbia – owned by the Revolutionary Guards visited Paraguaná in February. Amir al-Hadschisadeh, the head of the Guard’s Air Force, participated in the visit, according to the report. Die Welt cited information from “Western security insiders.”

The rocket bases are to include measures to prevent air attacks on Venezuela as well as commando and control stations.

The Iranian military involvement in the project extends to bunker, barracks and watch tower construction. Twenty-meter deep rocket silos are planned. The cost of the Venezuelan military project is being paid for with Iranian oil revenue. The Iranians paid in cash for the preliminary phase of the project and, the total cost is expected to amount to “dozens of millions” of dollars, Die Welt wrote.

The Paraguaná Peninsula is on the coast of Venezuela and is roughly 120 kilometers from America’s main South American partner, Columbia.

According to Die Welt, the clandestine agreement between Venezuela and Iran would mean the Chavez government would fire rocket at Iran’s enemies should the Islamic Republic face military strikes.

Meanwhile the German press agency (DPA) reported on Friday that Germany will not contest the placement of the Hamburg- based European- Iranian Trade Bank (EIH) on the EU sanctions list at the end of the month. The US Treasury Department sanctioned the EIH last year, saying it was one of the most important institutions in Europe for financing Iran’s missile and nuclear proliferation programs. Germany was the subject of criticism from American, French, British and Israeli officials because it refused to shut the EIH.

The EIH plays a crucial role in facilitating financial transactions for midsize German firms that are active in Iran. German- Iranian total trade amounted to over 4 billion euros in 2010, making German Iran’s No. 1 EU trade partner.

 
Apr
8
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 4/8/11

In this week’s roundup… the similarities between Venezuela’s Chávez and Libya’s Gaddafi, a high-ranking U.S. military commander raises concerns about the Caracas–Tehran connection, Colombia confirms the extradition of alleged drug lord Walid Makled to Venezuelan authorities, and President Chávez signals that more nationalizations are on the way. To check out all of our musings find us on Twitter @whatsnextvz or on StumbleUpon.

A Caribbean Tripoli?, The Economist

IT IS a long way from Tripoli to Caracas. But although Hugo Chávez, unlike his friend and close ally Muammar Qaddafi, is an elected president, there are some striking similarities between the Libyan and Venezuelan regimes. Mr Chávez’s grassroots “communes” resemble Colonel Qaddafi’s “people’s committees”. And a new decree, published last month, speeds up the creation of a sectarian militia like that which opened fire against unarmed protesters in Libya.

US general voices concern over Iran-Venezuela ties, AFP

The United States is worried about increasingly close ties between Venezuela and Iran, a top US military official told lawmakers Tuesday. “My concern, as I look at it, is the fact that there are flights between Iran and Venezuela on a weekly basis, and visas are not required for entrance into Venezuela or Bolivia or Nicaragua,” said General Douglas Fraser, head of the US Southern Command.

Colombia Confirms Plan to Extradite Makled To Venezuela, The Wall Street Journal

Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos reiterated Wednesday that he plans to extradite to Venezuela and not to the U.S. a suspected drug trafficker who in his heyday was said to smuggle 10 tons of cocaine a month into the U.S.

Álvaro Uribe: Chavezism loses ground in Latin America, El Universal

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said that chavezism is losing ground in Latin America, highlighting that some allies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez are moving away from Chávez’s government model.

President Chávez: More nationalizations are on the way, El Universal

The Venezuelan government will nationalize more means of production, but will also favor the coexistence of “social ownership” and partnerships with the private sector, said President Hugo Chávez, in an interview published by Uruguayan newspaper La República.