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Russian Arms to Venezuela Could Destabilize Hemisphere — Rumsfeld
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday he was worried about a planned purchase of 100,000 Russian assault rifles by Venezuela and said it could destabilize the hemisphere, Reuters reported.The comments were the latest in a string of accusations between Venezuelan left-wing President Hugo Chavez and Washington, including charges by Chavez this month that he has evidence the United States is planning to assassinate him. The charges have raised questions about whether the multibillion-dollar energy relationship between Washington and one of its top oil suppliers is at risk. The United States is the main destination for oil from Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter. "I can't imagine what's going to happen to 100,000 AK-47s, I can't imagine why Venezuela needs 100,000 AK-47s," Rumsfeld told reporters in Brazil's capital Brasilia, where he is on a two-day visit. "I hope it doesn't happen and I can't imagine, if it did happen, it would be good for the hemisphere. Certainly, I'm concerned." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called Chavez a "negative force" in Latin America and there have been reports that the U.S. is worried the guns could fall into the hands of Colombia's left-wing FARC guerrillas. Venezuelan has dismissed U.S. complaints over the weapons as "impertinence" and suggests Washington is upset it planned to purchase arms from Russia and not the United States. The government has said the assault rifles will replace the aging FAL rifles currently used by its armed forces. But a senior U.S. defense official traveling with Rumsfeld said Venezuela was also planning to build a factory to produce 7.62 mm ammunition, "which is the ammunition of choice for narcotics traffickers and other criminals in Latin America." The official, who asked to remain anonymous, said there was evidence the FARC is low on ammunition and is paying as much as a $1 dollar for 7.62 mm bullets for its AK-47s, the official said. Diplomats in Brasilia have suggested that Rumsfeld could use his visit to Brazil to ask President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to help temper Chavez' positions. "The Washington-Brasilia-Caracas channel no doubt exists," said Reginaldo Nasser, professor of foreign relations at the Catholic University of Sao Paulo. "The idea of (Lula) talking to Chavez to temper him is there, without a doubt." Rumsfeld was in Brazil to discuss the Latin American country's increasing leadership role in the region, including its peacekeeping mission in Haiti. He met with Lula and Defense Minister Jose Alencar. Posted by: tipper 2005-03-25 |
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