Politics

Otto Reich, the policy adviser on Latin America for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and a a former US ambassador to Venezuela, under the presidency of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, said that President Hugo Chávez is an enemy of the US.

Last Thursday, eluniversal.com asked readers whether they believed Chávez's government should change its policy towards the US after the US presidential elections. Reich, in the framework of the National Republican convention held in Saint Paul, answered to the question: "I think so. He (Chávez) should change many things. It is evident that Chávez is destroying a country I deeply love. I suffer seeing how he destroys the economy and how he undermines the democratic institutions. I hope that he changes but I am not an optimist on the matter."

"That is a reality. He has repeatedly insulted our country and our leaders. He is an ally of US enemies and he takes actions against our interests," Reich added. 

Reich also stressed, "there are people like the Castro brothers or Chávez who want to create problems and when they do, someone has to stop them. When I refer to the "21st Century Socialism," as Chávez calls Venezuelan regime, for me, when you examine his actions, what he is doing is exactly what Mussolini did in Italy and Adolph Hitler did in Germany in 1930 before becoming an expansionist. It is fascism," he said. Reich also questioned Chávez relationship with the government of Iran.  

McCain's advisor said that the region would not be the priority for the Republican candidate, although he will pay attention to Latin America.