CARACAS, Friday March 14, 2008 | Update
Monday 10
US considers including Venezuela in list of state
sponsors of terrorism
The US Government is considering if Venezuela could be included
in a US list of state sponsors of terrorism, following recent
allegations linking President Hugo Chávez's administration
and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC),
Monday reported daily The Miami Herald in Internet.
According to the newspaper, US President George W. Bush's
administration has asked its lawyers to look into what gets
a country on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, said
DPA.
This process, an official source who spoke on condition of
anonymity told The Miami Herald, is in its initial steps.
And it is fundamental to confirm the veracity of the alleged
links between the FARC -an organization the US deems terrorist-
and the Venezuelan Government.
The connection was disclosed by the Colombian authorities
after they captured some computers belonging to a guerrilla
leader in a March 1 raid carried out against a FARC camp in
Ecuadorian soil.
Tuesday 11
State Department report points to deteriorating human rights
in Venezuela, Cuba
The United States administration Tuesday in an annual report
criticized the human rights situation in Venezuela and Cuba,
but it highlighted both the progress made in Colombia and
the efforts made in the Organization of American States (OAS)
to promote human rights, Efe reported.
The 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices the US
Department of State published on Tuesday stressed that some
countries made "significant progress," but rejected corruption
in Russia, sectarian violence in Iraq, oppression in Iran,
and freedom repression in North Korea.
The United States underscored the rejection in a referendum
last December of the changes to the Constitution proposed
by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
"In Venezuela, a democratically elected leader's efforts
to undermine democratic institutions and intimidate civil
society met with vigorous resistance," the Department of State
asserted.
Wednesday 12
Venezuelan Ombudsman rejects US report on human rights
While acknowledging that she did not know the contents of
the 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices the US
Department of State disclosed on Tuesday, Venezuelan People's
Ombudsman Gabriela Ramírez shrugged off the document
by wondering "How can they set themselves to certify respect
for human rights in other countries, while they do not respect
their own citizens' human rights?"
Reference was made to US President George W. Bush's veto
on a law forbidding the police and military forces in the
US to perform a set of interrogation practices to suspected
terrorists which were deemed to violate basic rights.
Ramírez claimed that the Venezuelan 1999 Constitution
is one of the most advanced constitution as to human rights
protection.
Bush: Chávez's government is full of empty promises
and thirst for power
United States President George W. Bush Wednesday said Venezuelan
ruler Hugo Chávez's government was "full of empty promises
and thirst for power," adding that in "his (Chávez's)
efforts to promote an anti-US vision, he has left his own
citizens with food shortages and threats against their neighbors."
Bush warned that at the present time "there is much at stake,"
and therefore people in the region should make important decisions,
making a clear distinction between democratic governments
and "terrorist" or "demagogue" governments.
The US ruler criticized the fact that Chávez mourned
the death of the number two man of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary
Armed Forces (FARC), Raúl Reyes. Bush claimed that such
action showed Chávez's closeness to the guerrilla group,
and accused the Venezuelan President of using oil revenues
to sponsor an anti-US campaign.
Rice declines making comments on Chávez's alleged links
to the FARC
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Wednesday refrained
from answering a question on whether Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez was "actually involved" with the rebel Colombian
Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).
In a hearing in the House of Representatives, Rice only referred
to the latest information the Colombian government has disclosed
based on the findings made in personal computers allegedly
found in a FARC camp. However, she refrained from making any
personal judgment, AP reported.
Rice appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs to discuss
the State Department's budget for 2009.
"The Colombian government is investigating an apparent relation
between Venezuela and the FARC. This work is still incomplete.
They are reportedly considering the information they obtained
recently from top leaders of the FARC. I just want to highlight
publicly that the President of Venezuela has asked to remove
the FARC from the lists of terrorists in a number of countries,
when they actually are terrorists, because they are involved
in abductions, and bomb attacks," Rice said, following her
government's guidelines not to mention Chávez.
Shannon: it is too early to include Venezuela in list of
state sponsors of terrorism
The United States is carefully studying the information on
Venezuela found in the computers the Colombian Government
says it seized from the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed
Forces (FARC), and even though the information is "disturbing,"
Washington is far from a decision to put Caracas on a terrorism
blacklist, said a US State Department high-ranking official.
"Declaring somebody a state sponsor of terrorism is a big
step. It's a serious step," said US Assistant Secretary of
State Tom Shannon, the top US diplomat for Latin America,
in a press conference, reported AFP.
"And it's one (step) that we would only take after the very
careful consideration of all the evidence," added Shannon,
who is scheduled to travel to Brazil and Chile together with
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Asked if the information was sufficient to build a case to
put Venezuela on the list, which currently includes Iran,
North Korea, Cuba, Sudan and Syria, Shannon said, "We don't
know yet."
Thursday 13
The White House investigates Venezuela
The United States, conducted by President George W. Bush,
voiced suspicions that Venezuela and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary
Armed Forces (FARC) are supposedly related.
In a harsh statement against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez,
Bush claimed that senior Venezuelan officials have met with
guerrilla group leaders in Venezuela, Efe reported.
When speaking before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
Bush raided on Chávez, but he would not mention his name,
claiming he was "full of empty promises and thirst for power."
"As it tries to expand its influence in Latin America, the
regime claims to promote social justice. In truth, its agenda
amounts to little more than empty promises and a thirst for
power," said Bush.
Rice: The US is to watch and act accordingly regarding Venezuela
The United States is to assess reports about alleged links
between Venezuela and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed
Forces (FARC), an organization Washington views as a terrorist
group, "and will act accordingly," said the US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice Thursday in Brasilia.
"We are going to watch the situation and act accordingly,"
Rice said in a joint press conference with her Brazilian counterpart
Celso Amorim. She would not clarify whether her country plans
to enroll Venezuela in a list of nations sponsoring terrorism,
as some news reports claimed, AFP informed.
Venezuelan FM: "Bush is reacting to the successful Rio Group
Summit"
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro replied to
the accusations US President George W. Bush launched Wednesday
against his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez during
an address before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington.
According to Maduro, Bush's remarks are a direct consequence
of the results obtained in the Rio Group Summit, held in Santo
Domingo last March 7.
"The US government took 72 hours to react to the Santo Domingo
meeting; they remained quiet while Latin America and the world
hailed the results and acknowledged the role of Hugo Chávez,
(Argentinean President) Cristina (Fernández), (Nicaraguan
President) Daniel Ortega and (Ecuadorian President Rafael)
Correa," Maduro told Venezuelan official television network
VTV.
Friday 14
Foreign Minister dismisses US criticism
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro said it was
too soon to accuse Venezuela of "terrorist State," in a reply
to an announcement made by the US Assistant Secretary of State
for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon.
Maduro branded Shannon's remarks as "adventurous," adding
that "Venezuela cannot be rated by anyone."
"Venezuela has a clear behavior. Nonetheless, we will see
what is the real terrorist government as fate will be unveiled
in the short term, through the opinion the US people themselves
are to voice in connection with the violent and terrorist
nature of the Bush administration for their country and the
world," Maduro added, as quoted by Venezuelan official news
agency ABN.
US lawmakers propose including Venezuela in list of state
sponsors of terrorism
US Republican lawmakers Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Connie Mack
Friday submitted a draft resolution to the House of Representatives
urging the US government to include Venezuela in its list
of state sponsors of terrorism.
"For more than 40 years, the FARC waged a brutal destabilizing
war against Colombians," reminded Cuban-US lawmaker Ros-Lehtinen
when presenting the motion together with one of the representatives
who has criticized President Hugo Chávez most fiercely
over the last few years.
"The evidence that the Venezuelan government could have given
help and shelter to violent extremists is reprehensible and
should not be disregarded," said Ros-Lehtinen, who is the
co-chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Chávez challenges the US to put him in list of
sponsors of terrorism
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Friday challenged
Washington to dare to include Venezuela in its list of state
sponsors of terrorism, branding such US threat as a politically
motivated attempt at undermining his government.
The ruler said "the threat to include us in the list of terrorists"
-which emerged on Thursday at the US House of Representatives-
was Washington's "response" to his success in the region.
Chávez said the US could "stuff in its pocket" the list
where Washington would write Venezuela's name once the country
is labeled as a terrorist State.
04:20 PM. Western Hemisphere. Colombian President Álvaro Uribe said on Tuesday that governments should ensure citizens' rights to live on the border, in reference to a political and diplomatic crisis with Venezuela and its effects on border residents.