Hugo Chavez dares US to put Venezuela on terror list
Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:50p.m.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dared the US on Friday to put Venezuela on a list of countries accused of supporting terrorism, calling it one more attempt by Washington to undermine him for political reasons.
Chavez said the "threat to include us on the terrorist list", an idea raised by some Republican lawmakers recently, is Washington's response to his own recent successes in the region.
"Let them make that list and shove it in their pocket," Chavez said in a televised speech.
US lawmakers including Rep. Connie Mack and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both Florida Republicans, have called for the State Department to add Venezuela to its list of terror sponsors, which currently includes North Korea, Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.
They have expressed concerns about what they call Chavez's close ties to Colombia's leftist rebels.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday during a visit to Brazil that all UN nations, including Venezuela, have an obligation to go after terrorists and keep them from operating within their borders.
The comment was largely a warning shot for Chavez, who US officials suspect has lent support to Colombian rebels.
In recent days, Rice and US President George W. Bush have sharpened their rhetoric against Chavez while at the same time praising Colombia and other Latin American allies in a bid to isolate the Venezuelan leader.
Chavez said Rice's visit to Brazil and Chile this week is aimed at increasing the pressure on Venezuela and him in particular.
Chavez also responded to earlier critical comments by Bush, saying "you have already seen the chief of the empire attacking us once again."
"The chief of the empire is desperate," Chavez said.
Bush on Wednesday accused the Venezuelan government of destabilising, provocative behaviour.
Chavez also announced Friday that the government nationalised a chain of slaughterhouses that makes up the bulk of the meat-processing capacity in the country.
"We have nationalised, through an acquisition and without hurting anyone, a great chain of (slaughterhouses) that, according to my numbers, makes up 70 percent of the installed capacity in Venezuela," Chavez said in televised remarks.
The move to nationalise these businesses is a response to Chavez's attempt to bring key food-industry companies under closer state control.
The president has threatened in the past to nationalise, or forcefully acquire, any business considered of national importance, particularly those involved in the food-processing industry.
Chavez's threats come at a time when he denounces rising prices, a problem of late for the Andean country, which saw inflation reach 22.5 percent in 2007.
Venezuela has suffered from food shortages for years now, a problem that has gotten worse, with staples such as milk and certain cuts of meat disappearing from stores.
Government officials have made clear in the past their belief that government-run businesses can better serve customers than the private sector does.
Chavez insists that privately owned companies respond to the needs of their owners and neglect consumers.
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