Venezuela Responds to US Secretary of Defense
Date: Friday, October 05 @ 19:41:27 UTC
Topic: Venezuela and Chavez
October 4th 2007
by Chris Carlson
Venezuelanalysis.com
Caracas, October 4, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)- Responding to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said that Hugo Chavez is a "threat to regional stability," Venezuelan Vice-President Jorge Rodriguez affirmed that Hugo Chavez is indeed a "tremendous threat" to the "empires of the world," and assured they would continue to be a "greater threat" as time goes on.
"Of course he [Chavez] is a threat to the stability of the empires of the world, for those who consider themselves the world police, for those who think they have a right to invade countries and massively murder the population," replied the Venezuelan vice-president to a recent statement made by Robert Gates during a visit to El Salvador.
"And we are going to continue becoming a greater danger as the people continue to heed the call to get organized. Without a doubt, we will convert ourselves into a danger for the despots of the world," Rodriguez continued.
The US defense secretary made the comment on Monday during a two-hour visit to El Salvador. At a joint news conference with Salvadoran President Antonio Saca, Gates called El Salvador "one of the most faithful coalition partners," due to the fact that it is the only Latin American country with troops in Iraq. Gates went on to praise its "important role in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations worldwide."
Gates then warned that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was mainly a "threat to the freedom and economic prosperity of the people of Venezuela." According to Gates, Chavez "has been very generous in offering their resources to people around the world, when perhaps these resources could be better used to alleviate some of the economic problems facing the people of Venezuela."
Gates made the visit to El Salvador as a part of a five-nation tour of Latin America. The defense secretary's tour will include visits to Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Surinam, some of Washington's strongest allies in the region. Analysts said the goal of Gates' Latin American tour is to not only shore up US allies, but also to counter the influence of Hugo Chavez in the region.
Chavez has also become a strong ally for US enemy, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has made investments in Venezuela and increased economic ties with the region. Ahmadinejad met last week with the Venezuelan President after first traveling to Bolivia to meet with President Evo Morales. He also met this year with Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.
Vice-President Rodriguez assured that Gates' intention in Latin America was to undermine the alliances that President Chavez has built with other leaders in the region, but assured that he would not be successful.
"Every time they have tried it the only thing they have done is waste their time," he said.
"I have no doubt that this guy is wasting his time and he is going to keep wasting his time. I think it is completely impossible to reverse this wind of liberty, of self-determination, of sovereignty, that the leaders of the continent are obligated to defend. Now it is the whole continent that is struggling for its liberty and I doubt very much that this official will be able to come here and reverse the course of history," he concluded.
Reprinted from:
www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2687
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