Wednesday, August 17, 2005

US reaction to Venezuela kicking out DEA

Here we go again. Uncle Sam says: We've only just begun!

US revokes Venezuelan military visas

"The measure came less than a week after left-winger Chavez ended anti-drug cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after accusing its agents of spying, in the latest blow to relations between Washington and Caracas...

Following Chavez's announcement on the DEA, U.S. officials said his decision would influence next month's ruling in Washington [certification] on whether Venezuela had cooperated in the fight against illicit drugs."

More concise reporting from NarcoNews :

On the one hand, the “de-certification” threat is a pathetic one, as it appeals to the old logic that a country had to bend over backwards to win approval from the U.S. in order to maintain international legitimacy. Chávez has been one of the principal people to break that trance, and such a move won’t faze him or his supporters. But read between the lines and there is the further threat of violence that Chávez has so often denounced and U.S. officials so indignantly dismiss. The United States has only ever denied counter-narcotics certification to two Latin American countries. One is Colombia. The other is Panama, and that certification denial was quickly followed by a bloody U.S. invasion.

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