Published January 09, 2012
Dr. Carlos Ponce is the elected general coordinator of the Latin
American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, lecturer at Tufts
University and member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement
for Democracy and the ISC of the Community of Democracies.
What happens when a president appoints as Minister of Defense a General
who has been included in several international terrorist lists as well
as been placed on the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset
Control (OFAC) list for his connection with drug cartels? It would be
safe to assume that the president himself is an active player illicit
drug and terrorism activities. This is the case in Venezuela, where
Hugo Chávez appointed General in Chief Henry Rangel Silva to be the new
Minister of Defense. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Rangel
Silva and six other current (and former) high level Venezuelan
government officials for allegedly assisting narcotics trafficking by
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Further making this case, President Chávez secured the election of
another suspect of connections with drug trafficking, former Vice
President and Miranda State governor Captain Diosdado Cabello. Cabello
is a former military official who was involved with Chávez's
conspiracies starting with the guerilla group Revolutionary Bolivarian
Movement and some says that he is the key element in the connection
among the military and illegal business. His new position as the
president of the parliament gives more power to the corrupt military
faction of Chávez's movement in the country. Cabello's position at the
head of Chávez's United Socialist Party (PSUV) cements the military
takeover.
Unfortunately, the bad news does not stop here. This week the Iranian
dictator Mahmud Ahmadinejad is visiting Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and
Ecuador to "strengthen" the economic, political, energy and military
"brotherhood" with Latin America, in particular with the "Bolivarian"
countries in the region. Hugo Chávez has been an active promoter of Iran
in Latin America and other regional leaders due to receive Ahmadinejad,
such as Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Ecuador's Rafael Correa, have a
similar ideological-authoritarian stance to Chávez. Despite fewer
resources than Chávez, they can assist Mr. Chávez in his attempts to
triangulate Iran's banking, commercial and energy operations worldwide
to counter effect the imminent international economic sanctions against
Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei regime.
There is increasing evidence of the Iranian regime using Latin America
to launder sanctionable money. For example, several oil and gas experts
have been claiming that Venezuela's oil production has been less than 2
million barrels per day for the last decade, at the same time that
Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) - the government oil company - reports
more than 3 million barrels per day of production. This difference of
more than 1 million barrels per day could be the use of the oil company
to launder Iranian and drug trafficking money.
If we add other countries to the equation, what we are witnessing could
be one of the largest mafia cartels in the world; assisting not only the
FARC and Hezbollah, but Iran and Russian and Chinese mafias as well.
Their constant protests aside; this cartel called ALBA cares less for
social justice and equality than they do about power and money. Hugo
Chávez has carefully crafted for himself the image of a great Latin
American "libertator", but as the reality emerges from his "Bolivarian
Revolution", he ceases to amuse, he is more a dangerous clown or
sadistic buffoon than a social champion. What he has been doing has
been consolidating a major challenge for the democratic world.
To obtain diplomatic cover, Chávez has also gone about buying support
from other Latin American leaders anxious to assuage their energy needs
for a reduced price. The "see no evil, hear no evil" presidents of
Latin America have become accomplices in the destruction of democracy in
Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela; and are morally responsible
for the continued tragedy that is Cuba. And the charade just keep
growing, as Fox News Latino article "Is Ollanta Humala the New Autocrat
Apprentice?" predicted months ago, the Peru's president, Ollanta Humala,
has been getting rid of democratic elements in his cabinet and he is
building a stronger alliance with Mr. Chávez.
The sad demonstration from the MERCOSUR country presidents two weeks
ago, seeking a way to modify then statues of the organization just to
satisfy Hugo Chávez; or the regional support for the electoral fraud in
Nicaragua; or turning their backs on drug-running through the ALBA
triangle; it has been sad to watch the lack of leadership in the region.
It is sad to see democratic countries become accomplices of a major
crime against democracy, allowing criminals to literally get away with
murder. It is at long last time for principled people to see the plight
of the poor and oppressed within the ALBA triangle and for presidents
across the hemisphere to finally offer their support – not to the
governments but to the citizens. A people who are governed by drug
runners, like Henry Rangél Silva, cannot expect from their own
governments a redress of grievances or their right that their
governments be for the people and by the people.
Dr. Carlos Ponce is the elected general coordinator of the Latin
American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, co-editor of the political
magazine "Nueva Politica", lecturer in several US and Latin American
Universities and member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement
for Democracy and the ISC of the Community of Democracies. Twitter:
@ceponces
Accomplices of the Americas' Narco-tyranny
Dr. Carlos E. Ponce
What happens when a president appoints as Minister of Defense a General
who has been included in several international terrorist lists as well
as been placed on the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset
Control (OFAC) list for his connection with drug cartels? It would be
safe to assume that the president himself is an active player illicit
drug and terrorism activities. This is the case in Venezuela, where
Hugo Chávez appointed General in Chief Henry Rangel Silva to be the new
Minister of Defense. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Rangel
Silva and six other current (and former) high level Venezuelan
government officials for allegedly assisting narcotics trafficking by
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Further making this
case, President Chávez secured the election of another suspect of
connections with drug trafficking, former Vice President and Miranda
State governor Captain Diosdado Cabello. Cabello is a former military
official who was involved with Chávez's conspiracies starting with the
guerilla group Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement and some says that he
is the key element in the connection among the military and illegal
business. His new position as the president of the parliament gives
more power to the corrupt military faction of Chávez's movement in the
country. Cabello's position at the head of Chávez's United Socialist
Party (PSUV) cements the military takeover. Unfortunately, the bad news
does not stop here. This week the Iranian dictator Mahmud Ahmadinejad
is visiting Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador to "strengthen" the
economic, political, energy and military "brotherhood" with Latin
America, in particular with the "Bolivarian" countries in the region.
Hugo Chávez has been an active promoter of Iran in Latin America and
other regional leaders due to receive Ahmadinejad, such as Nicaragua's
Daniel Ortega and Ecuador's Rafael Correa, have a similar
ideological-authoritarian stance to Chávez. Despite fewer resources
than Chávez, they can assist Mr. Chávez in his attempts to triangulate
Iran's banking, commercial and energy operations worldwide to counter
effect the imminent international economic sanctions against Ahmadinejad
and Ali Khamenei regime.
There is increasing evidence of the Iranian regime using Latin America
to launder sanctionable money. For example, several oil and gas experts
have been claiming that Venezuela's oil production has been less than 2
million barrels per day for the last decade, at the same time that
Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) - the government oil company - reports
more than 3 million barrels per day of production. This difference of
more than 1 million barrels per day could be the use of the oil company
to launder Iranian and drug trafficking money. If we add other
countries to the equation, what we are witnessing could be one of the
largest mafia cartels in the world; assisting not only the FARC and
Hezbollah, but Iran and Russian and Chinese mafias as well. Their
constant protests aside; this cartel called ALBA cares less for social
justice and equality than they do about power and money. Hugo Chávez
has carefully crafted for himself the image of a great Latin American
"libertator", but as the reality emerges from his "Bolivarian
Revolution", he ceases to amuse, he is more a dangerous clown or
sadistic buffoon than a social champion. What he has been doing has
been consolidating a major challenge for the democratic world.
To obtain diplomatic cover, Chávez has also gone about buying support
from other Latin American leaders anxious to assuage their energy needs
for a reduced price. The "see no evil, hear no evil" presidents of
Latin America have become accomplices in the destruction of democracy in
Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela; and are morally responsible
for the continued tragedy that is Cuba. And the charade just keep
growing, as Fox News article "Is Ollanta Humala the New Autocrat
Apprentice?" predicted months ago, the Peru's president, Ollanta Humala,
has been getting rid of democratic elements in his cabinet and he is
building a stronger alliance with Mr. Chávez.
The sad demonstration from the MERCOSUR country presidents two weeks
ago, seeking a way to modify then statues of the organization just to
satisfy Hugo Chávez; or the regional support for the electoral fraud in
Nicaragua; or turning their backs on drug-running through the ALBA
triangle; it has been sad to watch the lack of leadership in the region.
It is sad to see democratic countries become accomplices of a major
crime against democracy, allowing criminals to literally get away with
murder. It is at long last time for principled people to see the plight
of the poor and oppressed within the ALBA triangle and for presidents
across the hemisphere to finally offer their support – not to the
governments but to the citizens. A people who are governed by drug
runners, like Henry Rangel Silva, cannot expect from their own
governments a redress of grievances or their right that their
governments be for the people and by the people.
Dr. Carlos Ponce is the elected general coordinator of the Latin
American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, co-editor of the political
magazine "Nueva Politica", lecturer in several US and Latin American
Universities and member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement
for Democracy and the ISC of the Community of Democracies. Twitter:
@ceponces http://twolatinamericas.blogspot.com/
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/01/09/carlos-ponce-accomplices-to-americas-narco-tyranny/
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