Venezuela’s foreign minister yesterday denied his country was a destabilizing influence in the region and defended weapons deals with Russia and Brazil as purely defensive in nature.
“We are not buying intercontinental ballistic missiles, and we are not even dreaming about weapons of mass destruction research,” Ali Rodriguez Araque told reporters.
“We have bought some weapons in order to have the necessary equipment for our troops,” he said, adding that the Venezuelan military was relying on weapons that were more than 50 years old.
Caracas has purchased 100,000 AK-47 rifles from Russia, and is negotiating for 24 Super Tucano multipurpose combat aircraft from Brazil. Moscow also might supply MiG-29 fighters and attack helicopters.
“We are not thinking of attacking anybody, but if we are attacked we want to be prepared,” Mr. Rodriguez said during a one-day stop in Washington to speak at the Organization of American States.
U.S. officials are concerned the weapons deals could be used to help militant left-wing groups in Latin America, such as the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels.
Rhetoric between Washington and Caracas has become heated, with leftist President Hugo Chavez threatening that Venezuela would pull the plug on oil exports to the United States if he were assassinated.
Venezuela is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States and the fifth-largest producer worldwide.
Mr. Rodriguez insisted that economic relations between the two countries are good and that the oil flow would not be suspended. He added, however, that Venezuela intended to diversify its export markets.
“Venezuela is the best supplier of oil, the paramount supplier of oil to the United States,” the minister said. “If the United States wants to enhance the good relations with our country, the decision is in the hands of the government of the United States.
“We are ready to discuss and exchange our views and positions. It is possible to overcome the difficulties we are facing at this moment,” Mr. Rodriguez said.
“We need respect — that is the key word,” he said.
In a speech to the Organization of American States, Mr. Rodriguez implied that the United States was meddling in its affairs and warned that an assassination of Mr. Chavez would cause regionwide upheaval.
Mr. Rodriguez said his government’s intelligence services had reported learning of attempts to “physically liquidate” the pro-Castro leader. He declined to provide details and stopped short of accusing Washington of any involvement.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher has denied the accusations.
“These allegations are ridiculous and untrue, and the idea that we were out to get the president of Venezuela is just plain wrong,” he said Tuesday.
Mr. Rodriguez shot back, saying, “Past experiences indicated that sooner or later, there would be an attack.
“That’s what happened with the push for a coup in April 2002, and with the attack against the oil industry and the economy in December that same year,” the minister said.
Washington was slow to condemn the coup but denied any involvement.
“The same happened with Allende,” said Mr. Rodriguez, apparently referring to CIA efforts in 1970 to instigate a coup to prevent Chile’s democratically elected left-wing President Salvador Allende from taking office.
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