US mulls sanctions against Venezuela

[justinsb]

US mulls sanctions against Venezuela

The United States is considering punishing Venezuela with sanctions for breaking off work with US anti-drug agents in the world's top cocaine-exporting region, the State Department has said .

In a new blow to already fraying ties between the US and Venezuela, one of its key oil supplier, President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that he suspended cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration, because it was unnecessary and accused the US agency of spying on his government.

"The fears are baseless," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said. "I think it's pretty clear to us that the motivation for this is not the accusation itself... The motivation is an effort to detract from the government's increasingly deficient record of cooperation."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C389BF7A-C7B5-4B89-8CC6-DE4CCE8ED685.htm

[Dez]

1. The rest of the world needs

to do the same! no more DEA in any country! Let the US sanction everyone then. The drug war is evil, and it's time to shut it down..

[justinsb]

2. I agree, and

Venezuela is a oil exporter, perhaps Venezuela can pass sanctions against the US - drive up the price of oil and then increase duties on US imports.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Hugo Chavez, Meet Reza Pahlavi

Although I was not a fan of the deposed tyrannical Shah of Iran, he did say something profound that still has relevance in today's world. The Shah said that nobody would be able to wave a finger at Iran because they could wave back.

Venezuela is a major oil-exporting nation facing a major power that has already managed to alienate many of its friends and allies before the first boots hit the ground. As long as Venezuela doesn't opt for Cuba's marxist-leninist economic policies, it can continue to prosper in the face of US sanctions; there's plenty of eager customers ready to buy Venezuelan oil diverted from US markets. The US military is already overextended in Iraq and Afghanistan and also has to face the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea as well as Iran. Look at Venezuela's Hugo Chavez waving back at Gee Dubya and the Duck Soup Posse.

[Mika]

4. No country has faced US sanctions as Cuba has

Venezuela can prosper because it has oil, and the US will never sanction that.


"Look at Venezuela's Hugo Chavez waving back at Gee Dubya and the Duck Soup Posse."

Yep, standing right next to Mr Castro.

[K-W]

5. "marxist-leninist economic policies"

Can we stop with the cold war propaganda already?

[Vogon_Glory]

8. Social Democracy versus Marxism Leninism

Sorry, but I won't stop using the "Cold War" rhetoric. People who can't distinguish between a genuine mixed economy with state-owned or state-controlled businesses and smaller private-sector, privately-owned enterprises and an economy where the state owns not only the means of production but all the means of distribution down to the last "Mom-and-Pop" corner store are as clueless as the screaming junior right-wing reactionary "conservatives" who support the war in Iraq (But who won't enlist themselves), seek to abolish Social Security, but think that Dubya isn't conservative enough because he doesn't support the death penalty for women who have had abortions or for "unrepentant" homosexuals.

[K-W]

9. You seem to think that cold war propaganda was true, it wasnt.

Marx's economic policies were not reflected in the Soviet Union, which you would know if you knew even a little bit about Marx's economic policies and the soviet union.

The tyranny in soviety society was in most ways much worse than the United States, that is true, but it had nothing to do with ideology and everything to do with the destinct histories of the two nations. Which is why totalitarian regimes pop up all over the world in many shapes and sizes and with many supposed ideologies.

[Vogon_Glory]

10. Obviously We Disagree About Marxism

Obviously we disagree about labels. What has been packaged as Marxism--state control of the means of production and the means of distribution is what happened in the old Soviet Bloc, and also in Cuba. Whatever theorists and academicians may call "true" Marxism ain't got that much to do with what's practiced (Sorta like genuine Christianity and what the Spaniards imposed when they conquered the New World).

Either way, I'm not impressed with Marxism--Leninism, especially as an economic system. I don't see why I'm obliged to apologize for that system or to ignore or to make excuses for its shortcomings.

I was unimpressed by the poverty I saw during my visits to Cuba in 2001 and 2003. A genuine mixed economy would have left the Cuba of the 1990's and of the early 2000's more prosperous than it is today even without Hugo Chavez's subsidies.

[Minstrel Boy]

11. Been to Haiti?

How impressed are you with its capitalist system, and the poverty its people endure, without benefit of free healthcare and free education, and without the cruelity of 40+ years of sanctions?

[Vogon_Glory]

13. Social Democracy Versus Haiti

When I said I was skeptical about Marxism--Leninism, I believe that I made it very clear that I favored genuine social democracy, not typical post-colonial kleptocracy or the social darwinism Gee Dubya and his fellow Banana Republicans want to foist on the USA. If you want to try to convince all and sundry that the Duvaliers' tyranny was social democracy, you are welcome to try. Maybe some of the right wingie-dingies over at FreeRepublic would believe you (Then applaud you for seeing their light and taking a stand against World Communism), but I wouldn't.

[K-W]

12. Yes because you believe propaganda.

What has been packaged as Marxism--state control of the means of production and the means of distribution is what happened in the old Soviet Bloc, and also in Cuba.

That is not what was packaged as Marxism. Marxism was used to create propaganda to hide the authoritarian nature of soviet bloc governments. Much like Bush uses heavy liberal/democratic rhetoric to rationalize and obscur his policies which are quite authoritarian. In fact leaders throughout the world and throughout history have done the exact same thing with as many different ideologies as you could come up with.

The Russian people were told they were getting democracy, they thought they were getting a regime of workers and peasants and that they would get to control thier own lives. That is the Marxism they were sold. The Bolshiviks used thier organizational and military power to sieze the state apparatus and economy. It wasnt marxism it wasnt communism it was just good old fashioned power grabbing and tyranny.

Whatever theorists and academicians may call "true" Marxism ain't got that much to do with what's practiced (Sorta like genuine Christianity and what the Spaniards imposed when they conquered the New World).

Exactly right, Marxism had little to do with what was practiced, which is why calling it Marxism makes you sound pretty foolish. When did we decide to let Stalin write our dictionaries? Marxism isnt what liars claimed it was, it is what it actually is.

Your christianity comparison is very good. And it is why we dont blame Spanish imperialism on the words of christ.

Either way, I'm not impressed with Marxism--Leninism, especially as an economic system.

There is no such thing as Marxist-Leninist economic theory. The two had completely different economic theories and Lenin largely crafted his theories to rationalize policies that served his power. The only connection is that Lenin claimed that if given enough time he would somehow create a Marxist economy. Which was of course boloney. Whether or not Lenin actually believed his bullshit doesnt make it any less bullshit.

I don't see why I'm obliged to apologize for that system or to ignore or to make excuses for its shortcomings.

I dont see why you think anyone wants you to apologize/make excuses for any system, what on earth are you talking about?

I was unimpressed by the poverty I saw during my visits to Cuba in 2001 and 2003. A genuine mixed economy would have left the Cuba of the 1990's and of the early 2000's more prosperous than it is today even without Hugo Chavez's subsidies.
Yah, Cuba is the only nation in the world with poverty. Certainly no capitalist countries have poverty.

[E-Z-B]

6. "The motivation is an effort to detract from the government's increasingly

deficient record of cooperation."

So in other words: "Cooperate with the U.S. - or else".

[wli]

7. Looks like the EHM's and "jackals" have failed

I guess they're scheduled for a full-scale invasion now.

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Those leftist countries are SO dangerous

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. Would such sanctions be allowed by WTO rules?

And if so, would they be effective? It's not like the USA is the only country with demand for oil.

Methinks it would be a shoot to the foot. More, I think they're bluffing.

[Al-CIAda]

16. Chavez variety pack-

Venezuela's Chavez Considers Sale of U.S. Refineries (Update2)

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his government may sell eight U.S. refineries as part of a strategy by the world's fifth-largest supplier of oil to reduce dependency on sales to the U.S.

``Not one Venezuelan works at these refineries,'' Chavez said in Buenos Aires yesterday, according to Venezuela's Communication and Information Ministry. ``They don't give us one cent of profit. They don't pay taxes in Venezuela. This is economic imperialism.''

Chavez, who on Jan. 30 signed agreements with China to boost sales of gas and oil to the world's second-largest energy consumer after the U.S., also said he may sell refineries in Germany, Sweden and the U.K., according to the ministry's Web site.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aP3vwKnY0rNU&refer=latin_america
=====

US Seeks Latin American Initiative on Venezuela
Voice of America
04 February 2005

By Bill Rodgers
Washington

A top State Department official says the United States wants to mobilize Latin American countries to deal with what the Bush administration considers to be Venezuela's threat to regional stability. The official spoke about Venezuela and other hemispheric issues on VOA's "Foro Interamericano" program, and in a separate English interview.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega says the rhetoric and actions of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are undermining democracy in the South American nation, and posing a threat to Venezuela's neighbors. Mr. Noriega says the populist Venezuelan leader is centralizing power in the executive branch, and reaching out to groups that seek to overthrow democratically-elected governments.
...
Mr. Noriega says the Bush administration will seek to persuade Latin American countries that Venezuela poses a threat to hemispheric stability. However, he acknowledged such a consensus does not yet exist.
...
Mr. Noriega said Washington might seek to invoke the democracy charter of the Organization of American States that was signed in 2001, which calls for collective sanctions against presidents who seek to become de facto dictators.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-02-04-voa64.cfm

=======

US Fingerprints on Venezuelan Coup
By Calvin Tucker
April 22, 2002
On Friday 12th of April, only hours after Venezuelan army generals had seized elected President Hugo Chavez and closed down parliament, the White House's official spokesman Ari Fleicher, declared triumphantly; "Now the situation will be one of tranquillity and democracy". But unknown to Fleicher, by the time the Bush regime's official seal of approval was to make it into print, the coup was already being defeated on the streets.
The US has now been forced to admit that a steady stream of business, military, and media leaders had been visiting their embassy in Caracas to discuss a possible coup. However, there is compelling evidence that US complicity went much further than giving a "nod and a wink" to the plotters.
For several months, the coup plotters had been making secret trips to the White House to meet with Elliot Abrams, the head of the National Security Council, and Otto Reich, the key policy maker for Latin America. Both men are veterans of Reagan's "dirty wars" of the Eighties and were linked to the death squads in Central America. Sources from the Organisation of American States confirmed to the Observer (21 April 2002) that, "the coup was discussed in some detail, right down to its timing and chances of success, which were deemed to be excellent."
White House visitors included coup leader Pedro Carmona, who was installed as head of the junta, and General Lucas Romero Rincon, head of the Venezuelan military, who met with Pentagon official Rogelio Pardo-Maurer, a former close associate of the US sponsored Contra forces in Nicaragua. Opposition legislators were also brought to Washington in recent months, including at least one delegation sponsored by the International Republican Institute, an integral part of the National Endowment for Democracy, long used by the CIA for covert operations abroad.

http://www.trinicenter.com/world/venez/calvin/tucker2.shtml

=====

For the record:"US declares Iraqis can't save seeds"-Pay Monsanto or die

"As part of sweeping "economic restructuring" implemented by the Bush Administration in Iraq, Iraqi farmers will no longer be permitted to save their seeds, which include seeds the Iraqis themselves have developed over hundreds of years. Instead, they will be forced to buy seeds from US corporations. That is because in recent years, transnational corporations have patented and now own many seed varieties originated or developed by indigenous peoples. In a short time, Iraq will be living under the new American credo:
Pay Monsanto, or starve ."

www.globalresearch.ca/articles/KHA501A.html

Guess who wins the elections?
Monsanto World Headquarters
800 North Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, Missouri 63167
Phone:[phone]

=====

Venezuela: Chavez dumps Monsanto
Jason Tockman, Caracas
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced that the cultivation of genetically modified crops will be prohibited on Venezuelan soil, possibly establishing the most sweeping restrictions on transgenic crops in the western hemisphere.
Though full details of the administration’s policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are still forthcoming, the statement by President Hugo Chavez will lead most immediately to the cancellation of a contract that Venezuela had negotiated with the US-based Monsanto Corporation.
Before a recent international gathering of supporters in Caracas, Chavez admonished genetically engineered crops as contrary to interests and needs of the nation’s farmers and farmworkers. He then zeroed in on Monsanto’s plans to plant up to 500,000 acres of transgenic soybeans in Venezuela.
“I ordered an end to the project”, said Chavez, upon learning that transgenic crops were involved. “This project is terminated.”
Chavez emphasised the importance of food sovereignty and security — required by the Venezuelan Constitution — as the basis of his decision. Instead of allowing Monsanto to grow its transgenic crops, these fields will be used to plant yuca, an indigenous crop, Chavez explained. He also announced the creation of a large seed bank facility to maintain indigenous seeds for peasants’ movements around the world.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/581/581p17.htm

=====

Cutting an oil artery
The virulently anti-American president of Venezuela, the fourth largest U.S. supplier, seems intent on severing those oil ties.
By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent
Published February 7, 2005

MIAMI - It's been one of the longest-serving and most reliable oil suppliers to the United States. But for how much longer?

That's the question facing United States oil companies and the Bush administration after reports this week that Venezuela's revolutionary government is seeking to cut its U.S. oil ties.

Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States, last year contributing 11.8 percent (1.52-million barrels a day) of imports. PdVSA also owns several major refineries in the United States, as well as the Citgo franchise, which has almost 14,000 gas stations across the eastern United States.

Venezuela's fiery leftist president, Hugo Chavez, has emerged in recent years as one of the harshest critics of the United States. He has repeatedly warned of his determination to reduce dependency on sales to the United States. Lately Chavez has taken to accusing the United States of "robbing" Venezuela of tax revenue, claiming that Citgo receives its gas from PdVSA at a discount.

Con't-
http://www.stpetetimes.com/2005/02/07/Business/Cutting_an_oil_artery.shtml


=======
Associated Press
80 McDonald's Ordered Closed in Venezuela
02.05.2005, 08:19 PM

Venezuela's tax agency ordered the three-day closing of all 80 McDonald's restaurants in the country as a penalty for failing to follow tax rules, the state news agency reported.

Tax officials found inconsistencies between the company's purchases and sales records, the state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported late Friday.

Tax official Lucila Ascanio told the news agency the action was part of the tax agency's "zero evasion" effort to make sure individuals and businesses are in compliance with the law.

The closing apparently took effect immediately and was to last through the weekend. McDonald's employees were seen standing about and sweeping the walkway outside one closed restaurant in Caracas.

http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2005/02/05/ap1807481.html

=======

Venezuela's Oil Company Registers Profit
02.07.2005, 01:45 PM
Venezuela's state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, registered profits of $6.6 billion from January through November last year, an 88 percent increase over the same period in 2003, according to the nation's oil minister.
Rafael Ramirez, who also serves as PDVSA president, said the company has an "extraordinary financial situation," according to a report published Monday in the daily El Universal.

PDVSA, one of Latin America's largest state-run oil companies, registered profits of $3.5 billion in 2003, a 15 percent increase from 2002.

Ramirez said PDVSA was unable to boost crude production in 2004, leaving total oil output close to 3.1 million barrels per day. He said it would take at least five years for PDVSA to completely recover from a devastating two-month strike that ended in February 2003, after failing to oust Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as intended.

http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2005/02/07/ap1809771.html