PrintJune 4, 2005
Venezuela's war message to the Caribbean
It was hard to not sense something was gravely wrong when Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez announced he would put his Caribbean oil headquarters in Havana, Cuba, a city of absolutely no economic significance, in fact, of no actual economy. Havana's only significance is political, as the seat of U.S.'s leading enemy in the hemisphere, Fidel Castro. Chavez seemed to be trying to put the oil squeeze on the small Caribbean states, who have many votes in the United Nations and the Organization of American States, to extort those votes. It wasn't about oil, but oil as a strategic weapon. But it was more than that. Yesterday the Venezuelan media announced huge naval exercises to defend against a potential U.S. blockade and invasion. Sixteen ships and up to 5000 military personnel (out of a total of 78,000—strong total military) participated. They were aided by Chavez's Bolivarian Circles paramilitaries, whose job is to ensure the impoverished barrios don't come...(Read Full Article)
