Russia Arms Venezuela

[KanadaHye]

Why does America feel they need to divide and destabilize every region in the world?

Venezuela to get Russian missiles

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has announced that the country will soon take delivery of Russian missiles with a range of 300km (185 miles).



Returning from a 10-day tour of Africa, Asia and Europe, including Russia, Mr Chavez is also planning to buy Russian T-72 and T-90.

"Soon some little rockets are going to be arriving... and they don't fail," he announced at the presidential palace.

But he denied they would be used for offensive purposes.

"We are not going to attack anybody, these are just defence tools, because we are going to defend our country from any threat, wherever it may come from," the president said.




Venezuela is involved in a long-running diplomatic stand-off with neighbouring Colombia, over the latter's plans to allow US troops greater access to its military bases.

Colombia says the US forces will help in the war against drugs and left-wing guerrillas and will not destabilise the region.

Mr Chavez, a fierce opponent of US foreign policy, did not say how many missiles he had ordered.

Russia has been strengthening its ties with several Latin American countries, including Venezuela.

The two countries held joint naval exercises in Venezuelan waters last November.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8251969.stm

[KanadaHye]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

Chavez in $2bn Russian arms deal

Russia has agreed to lend Venezuela over $2bn (£1.2bn) to buy weapons, President Hugo Chavez has said.

The credit will be used to purchase nearly 100 tanks and a series of anti-aircraft rocket systems from Russia.

In his weekly TV address, Mr Chavez said the weapons were intended to boost Venezuela's defensive capacity.

The deal comes as tensions grow between Venezuela and Colombia over Bogota's plan to allow the US access to several military bases there.

Colombia says the US forces will help in the war against drugs and left-wing guerrillas, and will not destabilise the region.

Russian tour

"The Russian government approved financing of $2.2bn for the cost of the weapons," Mr Chavez said on his weekly programme "Alo Presidente".

The money would be used to buy arms including 92 T-72 tanks and an S-300 rocket launch system, he said.

Mr Chavez suggested that Colombia's decision to grant the US access to seven military bases was a threat to Venezuelan security.

He said the anti-aircraft rockets systems would make it difficult to be attacked.

"With these rockets, it is going to be very difficult for them [the US] to come and bomb us. If that happens, they should know that we will soon have these systems installed, [and] for an enemy that appears on the horizon, there it goes," he said.




Mr Chavez said that the country's vast reserves of oil and gas demanded military protection.

"Venezuela has no plans to invade anybody, nor attack anybody," he said. "These arms are necessary for our national defence."

He also reiterated that his government was committed to developing nuclear power with Russia's help.

"With Russia we have created an atomic energy commission and I tell the world - Venezuela is going to start developing nuclear energy, but we are not going to make an atomic bomb," Mr Chavez said.

The loan announcement came days after Mr Chavez returned from a 10-day tour of Africa, Asia and Europe, during which he held two days of talks in Moscow.

Over recent years the country has signed over $4bn worth of weapons contracts with Russia, including the purchase of 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, numerous combat helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Last November, the two states held joint exercises in the Caribbean Sea, close to US territorial waters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8253822.stm

[KanadaHye]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

US worried about Venezuelan arms

The US has said it is concerned by an arms build-up in Venezuela, a day after its president announced a major weapons deal with Russia.

US state department spokesman Ian Kelly said Venezuelan policy posed "a serious challenge to stability" in the region.

He also urged Venezuela to be "transparent" about buying weapons.

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that Russia had agreed to lend his country over $2bn (£1.2bn) to buy weapons.

The money would be used to buy arms including 92 T-72 tanks and an S-300 rocket launch system, he said.

The deal comes as tensions grow between Venezuela and Colombia over Bogota's plan to allow the US access to several military bases there.

Colombia says the US forces will help in the war against drugs and left-wing guerrillas, and will not destabilise the region.

But Mr Chavez suggested that Colombia's decision to grant the US access to seven military bases was a threat to Venezuelan security, and that Venezuela's vast reserves of oil and gas needed military protection.

He also reiterated that his government was committed to developing nuclear power with Russia's help.

Mr Kelly said: "We urge Venezuela to be transparent in its purchases, and very clear about the purposes of these purchases."

"We're also very concerned that they put in place very clear procedures and safeguards that these arms are not diverted to any irregular or illegal organizations," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8255930.stm

[hipeter924]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

US worried about Venezuelan arms

The US has said it is concerned by an arms build-up in Venezuela, a day after its president announced a major weapons deal with Russia.

US state department spokesman Ian Kelly said Venezuelan policy posed "a serious challenge to stability" in the region.

He also urged Venezuela to be "transparent" about buying weapons.

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that Russia had agreed to lend his country over $2bn (£1.2bn) to buy weapons.

The money would be used to buy arms including 92 T-72 tanks and an S-300 rocket launch system, he said.

The deal comes as tensions grow between Venezuela and Colombia over Bogota's plan to allow the US access to several military bases there.

Colombia says the US forces will help in the war against drugs and left-wing guerrillas, and will not destabilise the region.

But Mr Chavez suggested that Colombia's decision to grant the US access to seven military bases was a threat to Venezuelan security, and that Venezuela's vast reserves of oil and gas needed military protection.

He also reiterated that his government was committed to developing nuclear power with Russia's help.

Mr Kelly said: "We urge Venezuela to be transparent in its purchases, and very clear about the purposes of these purchases."

"We're also very concerned that they put in place very clear procedures and safeguards that these arms are not diverted to any irregular or illegal organizations," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8255930.stm

Like in Israel?

[Haykakan]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

It is easy to see why Venezuela would want nukes now.

[Federate]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

US 'likely behind' Chavez coup



Jimmy Carter, a former US president, has said that Washington knew about an abortive coup against Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, in 2002, and that it may even have taken part.

"I think there is no doubt that in 2002, the United States had at the very least full knowledge about the coup, and could even have been directly involved," Carter said in an interview with Colombian El Tiempo newspaper published on Sunday.

Carter said it was understandable that Chavez continues to blame the US for the failed attempt to overthrow him.

Chavez was deposed by a civilian-military junta for about 48 hours in April 2002, before returning to power.

George Bush, the then US president, denied any US involvement in the abortive coup and called on Chavez, who is critical of US policy, to "learn a lesson" from the attempted overthrow.

'Receding popularity'

Carter told El Tiempo that he believed Chavez was elected in a "fair" vote in 1999, had carried out necessary reforms for Venezuela and ensured that "those who are traditionally excluded are able to get a larger share of the national wealth".

But he also said he was worried by the Venezuelan leader's drift towards "authoritarianism" and added that he felt Chavez's popularity at home and his influence abroad have receded.

Carter said that Barack Obama, the US president, had told him he would eventually like to have normal relations with Venezuela.

"But he [Chavez] has made this almost impossible," Carter said, adding that "international relations would be better if he would stop his attacks and insults against the United States".

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/09/200992116049879437.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

Carter said, adding that "international relations would be better if he would stop his attacks and insults against the United States".

This might happen if the usa was not placind dictators in its neighborhood and Arming them to the teeth with weapons aimed at veninzuella.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

Carter said, adding that "international relations would be better if he would stop his attacks and insults against the United States".

This might happen if the usa was not placind dictators in its neighborhood and Arming them to the teeth with weapons aimed at veninzuella.

According to U.S. politicians, those are "democratically" elected dictators. For the people, of the people... just not the people of South America.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Russia Arms Venezuela

South America's growing arms race

South America is "up in arms" these days — literally and figuratively.

Arms spending is up. Way up, as the most powerful leaders in the region are acquiring billions of dollars worth of weapons and military hardware.



At the same time, many people here are upset with a deal by the government of Colombia that gives the United States a bigger military presence in their collective backyard.

Colombia will allow American forces to set up on seven Colombian military bases in exchange for more U.S. money, weapons, military support and intelligence to battle guerrilla groups and drug traffickers.

The arrangement is part of the so-called U.S. war on drugs, known officially as Plan Colombia in Washington.

But it has virtually every other nation in South America alarmed at the prospect of more U.S. troops within striking distance of their borders, particularly given the long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America.

They say the American presence will threaten regional stability.

Beefing up
To make their case, South America's presidents called an emergency meeting last month to discuss the deal. They grilled Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, asking him for guarantees that U.S. troops won't venture outside Colombia's borders.

"Our only focus is to resolve our own internal [security] problems," Uribe told the gathering. "We don't play hypothetical war games with our neighbours."

For decades now, Colombia has been waging a three-front battle against left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups and heavily armed drug cartels.



Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, along with Ecuador's Raphael Correa and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez called on the other leaders to forbid the "foreign military presence" in South America.

Every president expressed a concern, but the meeting ended without unanimous condemnation of the Colombia-U.S. deal.

However, days later Chavez flew off to Russia to order more than $2 billion worth of anti-aircraft missiles and tanks, on the grounds that the American forces bound for Colombia might one day be coming after him, because of his often strong, anti-U.S. views.

Before this latest trip, Chavez had already spent $4.4 billion on Russian fighter jets, helicopters and automatic weapons.

But he isn't the only one beefing up his military.

Brazil is spending more than $20 billion upgrading its forces. A big chunk of that goes to France for submarines, helicopters and the technology to build new French fighter jets.

This strategic partnership will allow Brazil to develop its own arms industry, as part of the country's ambitions to become a world power.


Washington watching
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that the Obama administration is worried about the spectre of an arms race in South America. "We hope that we can see a change in behaviour and attitude on the part of the Venezuelan government," she said.

But it is not just Venezuela who is bulking up. In addition to Brazil and Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and even Bolivia are also buying new military gear.

After South America's infamous dictatorships of the 1980s, most of the ensuing civilian governments actively neglected their armed forces for political reasons.

Today, only Argentina continues that policy and many regional analysts believe the investment in modern weaponry is long overdue.

Defence spending in the region is among the lowest in the world, on average 2 per cent of a country's gross domestic product, notes Rosendo Fraga, a historian and political analyst who's an expert on Latin America's armed forces. Still, he cautions that the most important countries in the region are buying weapons at a moment of tension and that this could be risky.

"Nobody wants a war in South America. It's clear," says Fraga. "But the situation involving Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador is very tense at this moment. And there's a historical conflict involving Peru, Chile and Bolivia.

"So it's very risky. Especially in a moment when American influence in the region has decreased."


Leadership vacuum
Fraga believes Washington has lost interest in Latin America, with the exception of Mexico because of concerns over drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

"The U.S. prefers to transfer leadership in the region to Brazil," Fraga says. "But Brazil doesn't want to pay the cost of that leadership yet. And that's an opportunity for Chavez who doesn't have enough power to make decisions [for the region]. But he has enough power to establish the agenda of the debate."

With more influence and more weapons in the hands of someone as unpredictable as Chavez, Washington and its closest ally, Colombia, are worried about who else might get their hands on the powerful new arms pouring into South America.

Members of Colombia's largest guerrilla movement, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known as FARC), are reportedly trying to buy surface-to-air missiles.

U.S. undercover agents, posing as FARC guerrillas, busted a Syrian arms dealer this summer in Central America. Another Syrian and a Russian arms trafficker were also arrested over the past two years in separate attempts to sell missiles to agents they thought were FARC guerrillas.

Ever since Colombian forces raided a rebel camp in neighbouring Ecuador last year — which nearly set off a regional war — Colombia claims to have email proof that FARC was contacting prominent officials in Chavez's government in order to buy Russian missiles.

Chavez says the emails are a lie, and that he's never offered the rebels any support beyond ideological empathy.


Moscow mischief
But FARC may not be the only powerfully armed group in Colombia looking for high-tech weapons. Some analysts says there is also a risk that right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels could acquire missiles and provoke a conflict that would draw in the armies of Colombia, Ecuador or Venezuela.

As for Washington's concern about weapons in Latin America, critics point out that America used to be the region's number one supplier.

A U.S. Congressional Research Service study released in September shows Russia is now the top supplier there although the U.S. "ranked first in arms transfer agreements with developing nations" overall, with $29.6 billion or 70.1 per cent of these agreements in 2008.

The U.S. was Venezuela's main source for military equipment and arms until relations began to sour around 1998. Now, Chavez complains, he can't even get a replacement part for any of his U.S.-made machines, not even through a third party.

He says that is what forced him to go Moscow and Beijing for new equipment. He also points out that he hasn't allowed either Russia or China to set up military operations in Venezuela, as Colombia has done with the U.S.

With almost every country in the region buying weapons these days, Russia and France have been reaping the profits. Moscow's back in circulation in South and Central America, raising questions about what its motives might be.

Fraga believes Russia is using its influence in the region only as a way to get Washington's attention and create bargaining chips for negotiations over Europe.

While it's impossible to parse every motive in a continent as complex as South America, the bigger picture is what's troubling some of the smaller countries, such as Uruguay, whose president, Tabare Vazquez, condemns the arms buildup, not just for the risk it poses but for the money it consumes.

"South America has millions of people living in poverty, and there are thousands of children that die across Latin America and South America because of child diarrhea or diseases that could be prevented," he said recently.

"So, under those conditions, it is still worse to be devoting those resources to weapons."





http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/1...fa-watson.html