This past Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called the United States a “terrorist state” in response to the Bush administration’s criticism of Chavez’s purchase of arms from Russia. Saying that President Bush “lied openly about Iraq having chemical weapons”, Chavez noted that “(the US) keep on bombing cities, killing children, they have become a terrorist state.” This is not the first time the outspoken Chavez has harshly criticized the Bush Administration. Last year Chavez referred to Bush as an “asshole” for supporting coups in both Venezuela and Haiti.
While Chavez’s rhetoric is unusual in it’s frankness, his political and economic prominence is at a comparative high right now according to a new article by Jessica Leigh posted on the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Noting that the increases in world oil prices have increased his bargaining power, Leigh points out that Chavez is moving Venezuela toward closer economic ties with China, Iran and Russia. These transitions in economic orientation by the fifth largest supplier of oil in the world are sure not to go unnoticed by Washington. While much attention is being focused on Iran and North Korea as the next targets of the Bush regime, progressives and radicals would do well to keep Venezuela in mind.
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