Venezuela's FTA with the USA and Cuba's invasion
By Aleksander Boyd
London 14.06.06 | Hugo Chavez the disintegrator goes around the region pointing out the so called servile character of other nations due to their trade agreements with the USA. Violating all Venezuelan constitutional precepts and international agreements he singlehandedly decides to take our country out of the Andean Pact and the G3. Colombia and Mexico are to be condemned for exporting goods and services to the US, Peru and Ecuador ought not seek to sell its fish and bananas to the Yanks whilst OXY is nationalised and Petrobras, British Gas et al are sent similar warnings; in sum Chavez hurls abuse at elected presidents of South American nations for doing what he does on a daily basis; i.e. trade with the evil USA.
It is a bit rich for Chavez to make use of such argument, especially when one takes into consideration that Venezuela has a de facto perfectly working and extraordinarily profitable Free Trade Agreement with the USA. The sole product that our country produces, a commodity, is not subject to tariffs and trade barriers anywhere. The US, being the biggest energy consumer, is all too happy in trying to meet its energy requirements with Venezuelan supply. It does so and has done it for very many years. So why the nonsensical and demonstrably fallacious stance of the Venezuelan caudillo? The answer is in Havana...
Cuba's Invasion
During the 1960s the Cuban dictator tried, unsuccessfully, to invade Venezuela. Historians recall the event as a personal feud between Castro and the democratic leaders of the group that ousted the second to last dictator of Venezuela, Marcos Perez Jimenez. Unsuccessful as he was, he never stopped dreaming about conquering Venezuela.
After being pardoned for his coup d'etat and released from prison Hugo Chavez travelled to Cuba where he was received with honours by Castro. At the time Castro was recuperating from the Russian weaning, and from the Venezuelan sky fell this provincial, moronic and utterly gullible soldier who was already willing to surrender the riches and sovereignty of Venezuela to him. Talk about good luck. It was only a matter of making Chavez reach the presidency, which, most unfortunately, happened in 1998 and all would be sorted. Indeed for all of Chavez's hollow chauvinistic talk never in our contemporary history had a foreign leader, let alone a dictator, so much leverage in Venezuela.
The current foreign policy is not dictated by the Venezuelan executive but rather by the bearded one in Havana, who knows a thing or two about poking fun at the international community. Incredibly for nearly 50 years Castro has been able to advance this idea of him being a victim of the imperialists designs of Washington. And those who have bought into the BS are yet to start criticizing Castro's own imperialist activities in Africa, Central and South America.
Chavez's anti-imperialist discourse is not of his making. Rather he's just parroting, like the devout, obeying soldier he is, the Cuban script that has worked so remarkably well for the past 48 years. His notorious 'anti-US' stance and constant attacks to imperialism have gained him notoriety all around the planet. But see revolutions are extremely costly enterprises, especially when these are to be developed in continent-wide frameworks. The Cuban revolution can not afford to overcome another weaning, which would accelerate the demise, political and otherwise, of Fidel Castro. For that reason Venezuela must be protected at all costs and, equally, its riches must be taken away from its rightful owners and be put at the service of the revolution.
That is why thousands of Cubans have been dispatched to Venezuela. Similarly Chavez and high officials of his regime are constantly travelling to Havana for consultations. International PR strategy is run by Cuban spin doctors and Venezuelan lobbying activities are meant to be conducted by Cuban diplomatic personel. The Cuban interference that we are seeing nowadays in Venezuela is patently clear; to the point where the Cuban Ambassador goes on state-owned TV to accuse Venezuelan citizens and request apologies from them. The most unerving fact of it all is that the so called 'patriotic' chavistas do not seem to be bothered by the constant affronts of Cuban representatives. As someone else stated is "Not an American Invasion; But a Cuban One!"
Venezuela's FTA with the USA not only props the oppresion of Venezuelan people but funds instability in the whole continent. Will the democratic leaders of other nations stress upon the ludicrous claims of Castro's poodle?
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