Gold9472
08-17-2005, 02:09 PM
U.S. sees foreign hands behind Bolivian unrest
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16201800.htm
(Gold9472: Hugo Chavez just threatened to stop oil exports to the U.S.)
By Alistair Scrutton
17 Aug 2005 00:40:08 GMT
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Washington's leftist foes Venezuela and Cuba of trying to destabilize Bolivia, embroiled in indigenous revolts that have overthrown two presidents in two years.
"There is certainly evidence both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways," Rumsfeld told reporters on Tuesday while flying to Paraguay on an official visit. He gave no evidence to support his claim.
Indian protesters, angry at years of Washington-encouraged free market reforms, helped oust Bolivia's President Carlos Mesa this year, the second leader to have been overthrown by leftist street demonstrators since 2003.
New presidential elections are set for December and some radical Indian leaders have a chance of winning.
Rumsfeld's statement was a sign of Washington's growing concern that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro were fomenting leftist and anti-U.S. protests in Latin America, especially in troubled and impoverished Andean countries like Bolivia.
The United States is increasingly focusing on Bolivia, one of the world's biggest suppliers of illegal cocaine, as a major foreign policy challenge in the region, political analysts say.
Many Latin American experts dispute Washington's view of Venezuelan and Cuban influence, saying turmoil in Bolivia is due to home-grown factors like widespread poverty and growing political muscle of impoverished indigenous groups.
Polls also show considerable support for some leftist Bolivian leaders.
But U.S. officials say they are worried that social upheaval in Bolivia could spill over into neighbors like Paraguay and Peru and spark further social unrest across other unstable Andean nations like Ecuador.
Washington has increasingly tried to diplomatically isolate Chavez - whom they say is moving Venezuela toward Cuban-style communism while pursing an aggressive foreign policy in the region -- but this approach has met with little success.
Many Latin American countries prefer to have good relations with Venezuela, which is not seen as a serious threat to regional stability and has a democratically-elected leader.
It is Rumsfeld's third visit to Latin America in a year amid not only worries about anti-US protests but also security concerns that Islamic militant groups could try to infiltrate the United States from the region. Washington has so far produced little evidence to support these concerns.
Paraguay is one of the South America's countries seen as most friendly to U.S. interests.
It has allowed US troops to train there and has cooperated in efforts to police the tri-border area, a lawless region of arms and drugs smugglers. It also has a large Muslim population and U.S. officials say some of its members could be bank rolling Islamic militant groups like Hamas.
But the presence of U.S. troops has already sparked criticism from many politicians and human rights groups in Paraguay.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16201800.htm
(Gold9472: Hugo Chavez just threatened to stop oil exports to the U.S.)
By Alistair Scrutton
17 Aug 2005 00:40:08 GMT
ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Washington's leftist foes Venezuela and Cuba of trying to destabilize Bolivia, embroiled in indigenous revolts that have overthrown two presidents in two years.
"There is certainly evidence both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways," Rumsfeld told reporters on Tuesday while flying to Paraguay on an official visit. He gave no evidence to support his claim.
Indian protesters, angry at years of Washington-encouraged free market reforms, helped oust Bolivia's President Carlos Mesa this year, the second leader to have been overthrown by leftist street demonstrators since 2003.
New presidential elections are set for December and some radical Indian leaders have a chance of winning.
Rumsfeld's statement was a sign of Washington's growing concern that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro were fomenting leftist and anti-U.S. protests in Latin America, especially in troubled and impoverished Andean countries like Bolivia.
The United States is increasingly focusing on Bolivia, one of the world's biggest suppliers of illegal cocaine, as a major foreign policy challenge in the region, political analysts say.
Many Latin American experts dispute Washington's view of Venezuelan and Cuban influence, saying turmoil in Bolivia is due to home-grown factors like widespread poverty and growing political muscle of impoverished indigenous groups.
Polls also show considerable support for some leftist Bolivian leaders.
But U.S. officials say they are worried that social upheaval in Bolivia could spill over into neighbors like Paraguay and Peru and spark further social unrest across other unstable Andean nations like Ecuador.
Washington has increasingly tried to diplomatically isolate Chavez - whom they say is moving Venezuela toward Cuban-style communism while pursing an aggressive foreign policy in the region -- but this approach has met with little success.
Many Latin American countries prefer to have good relations with Venezuela, which is not seen as a serious threat to regional stability and has a democratically-elected leader.
It is Rumsfeld's third visit to Latin America in a year amid not only worries about anti-US protests but also security concerns that Islamic militant groups could try to infiltrate the United States from the region. Washington has so far produced little evidence to support these concerns.
Paraguay is one of the South America's countries seen as most friendly to U.S. interests.
It has allowed US troops to train there and has cooperated in efforts to police the tri-border area, a lawless region of arms and drugs smugglers. It also has a large Muslim population and U.S. officials say some of its members could be bank rolling Islamic militant groups like Hamas.
But the presence of U.S. troops has already sparked criticism from many politicians and human rights groups in Paraguay.