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U.S. Wary of Cuba's Support for
Leftists.
By George Gedda
Associated Press
Las Vegas Sun
The Bush administration is becoming increasingly concerned about what it
sees as a joint effort by Cuba and Venezuela to nurture anti-American
sentiment in Latin America with money, political indoctrination and
training.
As U.S. officials see it, the alliance combines Cuban President Fidel
Castro's political savvy with surplus cash that Venezuelan President
Hugo
Chavez obtains from oil exports.
Venezuelan resources may have been decisive in the ouster of Bolivia's
elected, pro-American president, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, said the
officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A key recipient of Venezuelan help has been Evo Morales, a charismatic
Bolivian legislator who has broad support among his country's indigenous
population. He is an avowed opponent of the capitalist system.
Before Sanchez de Lozada was deposed, one official said, Venezuela's
military attache in Bolivia was expelled for giving money to Morales,
and
Morales received money from Venezuelan officials in a visit to Caracas.
There also has been evidence of Venezuelan money and manpower in Ecuador
and
Uruguay being used in support of anti-government groups, the officials
said.
Despite Venezuelan denials, they said, Chavez has supported Colombia's
FARC
and ELN rebels, allowing use of territory in western Venezuela as a
springboard for attacks inside Colombia.
In Caracas on Monday, Tarek William Saab, the pro-Chavez head of
Venezuela's
congressional foreign relations commission, denied that Venezuela was
supporting FARC rebels or was meddling in Bolivia's internal affairs.
Saab
accused the U.S. government of "using slander and defamation to weaken a
constitutional government like ours."
"It's false and irresponsible and cowardly," Saab said.
U.S. officials said Castro has been providing training, advice and
logistical support to leftist groups in the region, a sign of
re-engagement
after relative inactivity in the 1990s.
Roger Noriega, Secretary of State Colin Powell's top aide for Latin
America,
said Friday that the 77-year-old Castro, in his "final days," appears to
be
"nostalgic for destabilizing elected governments. From the point of view
of
his democratic neighbors, Castro's actions are increasingly
provocative."
Cuba sees the United States in the same light. A top Cuban National
Assembly
leader, Osvaldo Martinez, in remarks aired repeatedly by the government
media in recent days, said Cubans must redouble their attention in 2004
"to
the growing aggressiveness of the United States and its threats against
Cuba."
This spring, the Bush administration is expected to issue a report being
prepared under Powell's supervision on how to achieve a quick transition
to
democracy in Cuba.
Castro has deployed considerable manpower to Venezuela to help Chavez
defeat
efforts by enemies to end his rule through a recall vote.
U.S. officials say Castro has dispatched thousands of doctors, teachers
and
sports trainers to Venezuela who supplement their professional duties by
carrying out political tasks. Cuban agents are said to be providing
security
for high-ranking Venezuelan officials.
Cuban officials acknowledge that Cubans are active in Venezuela but
insist
their mission is strictly humanitarian.
Chavez showed his radical side three years ago when he traveled to
Saddam
Hussein's Iraq and to Libya on a tour of oil-producing countries. U.S.
officials also took note of an unannounced visit to Venezuela in
September
by North Korea's ambassador to Cuba.
Caracas also is described by U.S. officials as a gathering place for
European leftists, retired East European intelligence officers and
activists
from countries on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
U.S. News & World Report magazine reported in the fall that Middle
Eastern
terrorist groups are operating support cells in Venezuela and elsewhere
in
the Andean region.
It added that thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being
distributed to foreigners from Islamic nations, including Syria,
Pakistan,
Egypt and Lebanon.
At the State Department, Noriega declined to comment on reports based on
intelligence information. But, he said: "We have told the Venezuelans
that
such reports are a matter of great concern to all of our Latin American
neighbors."
Chavez has said he is a victim of outside interference and pointed to
alleged assassination plots against him in the Dominican Republic and
the
United States.
Source: Colaboración: Armando F. Mastrapa III
La Nueva Cuba
January 5, 2004
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