Chavez's guns to go to FARC?

Sr Tertius says on Feb 11, 2007, 11:01:

At least That's how the propaganda line runs. Fact is, there is no evidence of more support of rogue officials in Venezuela armed forces, or semi-official tolerance by Ven politicos than there was before Chavez. The current Venezuelan administration runs the same line it has been running since at least a few decades: The internal conflict of Colombia is Colombia's problem, if it spills over their side, they'll deal with it their way.

I wish more countries would follow THAT policy.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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toneloc24 says on Feb 11, 2007, 13:00:

LOL!!! How many guns do you think the USA gives to Colombia under Plan Colombia also ends up in the hands of FARC as well?

Chavez is just an easy target. He's a jerk-off, but he's not Colombia's problem. Before Chavez, there was FARC. After Chavez, there will be FARC. Because he doesn't explicitly help Colombia against FARC, doesn't mean that he's hell-bent on destroying Colombia either.

I could give a rat's ass about Chavez. But this blame shifting is completely hilarious.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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scotty says on Feb 11, 2007, 14:29:

chavez Don't underestimate Chavez, he is just now warming up, we will hear much more from this guy in the future. He is big trouble just waiting to happen.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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podborski says on Feb 11, 2007, 15:15:

at toneloc who said anywhere that chavez was the cause of colombia's problems or that FARC would be any different with or without him?

think you've been smoking something, that makes lots of things seem funny doesn't it?

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podborski says on Feb 11, 2007, 15:18:

so Sr T I guess he'll just use all those guns to keep his own people in place when the riots start, oh, in about 2 to 3 years is my best guess.

No doubt the collapse of the Venezuelan economy will be blamed on evil american multinationals, globalization and the CIA. Now that's funny.

Time will tell...

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 11, 2007, 15:49:

Chill out CM I don't mean to censor you (because, first, it's not in my power, and second, I tend to feel the same way you do), but your reaction is not precisely an invitation to dialogue. Identify the monologues and ignore them. Otherwise, you'll end up like Uribe, who seems to be foaming and ranting against any form of opposition (see latest Semana).

Toneloc: I agree with you. There is no underestimation: The Bolivarian Project, whether anyone likes it or not (I have strong, VERY strong reservations) is ABSOLUTELY public. He announced it during his first campaign, and got him elected. Everything is still posted in the gobiernoenlinea website. Social programs, nationalizations, international politics, are all described as part of the agenda. So, it is disingenuous to assume (falsely) that because Chavez has surprised us before (because he hasn't), he may surprise us (concocting his plans in secret, the evil bastard) again in the future. He is following a public agenda. Sure, a lot of it is rather ambiguous--like most statements of national purpose--but, AFAIK, everything that Chavez has done during the last few years falls within the parameters he established publicly. For that, I give him credit. EVERYONE with a couple of neurons firing in Colombia (that excludes Londoño and Jose Obdulio, but includes international relations experts like Rodrigo Pardo, and conservative security analysts like Alfredo Rangel) agrees with this, and has concluded that Venezuela, in particular, poses no danger to Colombia. We should keep an eye on Venezuela's military buildup. That doesn't mean that it wasn't expected: It was well established as the "promotion of a new regime of integral hemispheric security" (International Relations Objective, Sub-Objective 5). Everyone has had a chance to look at it, and it appears to be within the bounds of what was expected, nothing surprising or dangerous. Apocalyptic views of a regional arms race or armed conflict, of the spread of socialism through interventionist means, are but paranoid delusions that seem to guide the people in Washington. The worst thing is the implication that people in LatAm don't know how to elect their leaders (yeah, like Washington has ANY moral authority to speak about that). The Venezuelans wanted a strong and sweeping reform towards a particular form of government, and they are getting it. The Peruvians didn't like it, and they didn't vote for it. The Bolivians thought otherwise. In which direction will Colombia go? I have my own ideas, but whatever we decide to do, it's our own goddamn business.

Wow, this thing got too long. Anyway, that's probably all I have to say about Chavez vs. Colombia. I'm happy to debate, but I'll be walking out as soon as the adolescent insults start flying around.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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podborski says on Feb 11, 2007, 15:53:

ummm and the guns are for??? self defense I suppose?

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 11, 2007, 16:02:

podborski Let me ask you: Has anybody questioned the military buildup of the US--which is much larger than Venezuela's? If so, has anyone speculated about how those weapons are going to be used? Has anyone speculated whether they will be used against US citizens when they start revolting in 2-3 years?

I just want to point out certain assumptions that are disingenuously presented as questions, speculations. Same thing goes for rumours about the US attacking Iran, or Uribe running for a third term: We should worry on the basis of precedents. So far, Chavez has done what he said he would do, and I don't read anything about the intended purpose of the recent purchase of weapons to be either sent to FARC or used against his own people. Until shown otherwise, until having any evidence better than propaganda, I give him the benefit of the doubt. So, yes, time will tell. In the meanwhile, the propaganda worries me: Who is behind it? Who benefits from all this animosity towards the Venezuelans? I'd like to think that it is just the hot-headed politicians in Washington who want to keep the "global security" deal up in the headlines... but I don't really know. THAT'S what we should be worried about.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 11, 2007, 16:07:

"self-defense I suppose?" Instead of speculating, go to the document. It's here.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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podborski says on Feb 11, 2007, 16:30:

jaja I suspected your response would be to try to change the subject rather than address the question. I'm a bit disappointed though, I must say.

Animosity is not directed towards venezuelans at all, it is in fact a show of concern for their welfare, as anyone with a brain and two eyes can see that Chavez plans to follow his idol's footsteps and Venezuelans will soon be joining their cuban friends in food ration lineups.

The idea that one cannot foresee the end result of the policies Chavez has announced until they happen is laughable.

I can tell you almost exactly what will happen, I just can't put a timeline on it (otherwise I'd be a billionaire).

Too bad you can't see it.

(This is your cue to spout the same old lame old Castro propaganda about literacy rates, great doctors and all that nonsense. I'll save you the trouble. You see I've been to a pharmacy in Cuba, and so I know you can't even buy an aspirin. And I've seen the highly educated physicists lining up for their bread rations. What a great success story!)

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 11, 2007, 17:29:

CM, Pod CM: Thanks for the kind words. I agree on one thing: Abuses by the insurgencies in Colombia are not acceptable, but to put them in the same scale as the paramilitaries (as the Uribe administration tries so hard to do) is ridiculous. It's like comparing serial murder with genocide. However, I am somewhat skeptical of the drug-para connection with Uribe. I know he has a dark past, but the relations between mafia/government/paras/business/etc. are so complicated that I don't dare to say anything categorically. Every day I learn something new about this, and it scares me shitless.

Pod: No, I did not evade your question, on the contrary, I am directing you to as primary as a source can be. For me that is the best answer. If you enjoy the ideological display that PBH usually is, I'll keep dissapointing you. Here is another dissapointment: I have never used the achievements of Cuban society to justify the Cuban regime, nor do I plan to. I think Cuba needs major reforms if it wants to be sustainable to any degree, and it should start by changing the top of the pyramid, and probably the pyramid itself. It also needs a bunch of other things, like less harrassment from the US. But to say that their achievements in literacy and healthcare are "nonsense" seems like ideological prejudice of the worst kind (somewhat consistent, though, with your prejudice against me as a pro-Castro kind of person). Under whatever light you look at it, Cuba has levels of social service that few other LatAm countries can dream of. This is perfectly verifiable. Even a loonie like Carlos Montaner wouldn't deny it: He'd say it is not worth the cost in civil freedoms, and on that point I may agree to a large extent.

So, that Cuba thing, talk about changing topic... wasn't this about Colombia and Venezuela? Did you read the document from gobiernoenlinea? Maybe on the basis of that we may have an informed discussion. Anything else is just ranting.

"Animosity is not directed towards venezuelans at all, it is in fact a show of concern for their welfare"

Breaks my heart, but such arrogant "concern for their welfare" implies that either (a) Chavez took power by force, or (b) Venezuelans don't have "a brain and two eyes" to see the plans of their own political leaders. Or maybe (c) most Venezuelans would rather be in Cuba. (a) is false. So it's either (b) or (c). I tell you what: I think Venezuelans know a tad more about how to run their own country than you or me. Before worrying so much about them, ask yourself where are you getting all this worrying from. Unless you have experienced it first hand in the slums of Caracas, someone is telling you all these stories... who is that?

"The idea that one cannot foresee the end result of the policies Chavez has announced until they happen is laughable."

In fact it is, but no one is saying that. What I say is that we should worry about what happens on OUR side of the fence, trusting that Venezuelans will know what to do on their side. And on our side of the fence, things look okay: The Bolivarian agenda doesn't go against Colombia's domestic and international interests , and so far Chavez seems to be sticking to that. You can point out to me (a) how his agenda is damaging to Colombian interests, or (b) what reasons we have to believe that Chavez will not follow the agenda he has followed for the last 5 years: Then we will have an interesting discussion. Your crystal ball, on the other hand, has the believability of Dick Cheney's "greeted-as-liberators" line.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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athensugadawg says on Feb 11, 2007, 19:15:

A STABLE ECONOMY IN VENEZUELA??? who in the hell are you trying to fool???

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-inflate11feb11,1,1681206.story?track=rss

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goin_south says on Feb 11, 2007, 19:23:

Higher wages? Just how many Colombians are crossing the border, Senora CM? and, likewise, oh yea man of fact, how many people are crossing the other way?

Paz y prosperidad para Colombia.

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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goin_south says on Feb 11, 2007, 19:55:

It's great to have a new scholar on PBsH Colombia needs help.

Paz y prosperidad para Colombia.

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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athensugadawg says on Feb 11, 2007, 20:34:

ANOTHER GREAT EXAMPLE!!! of Venezuela's "stable" economy!!! Don't forget...."I TOLD YOU SO!!!"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070212/ap_on_re_as/venezuela_food_shortages

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goin_south says on Feb 11, 2007, 20:47:

I always wonder.... who you are talking about? (((In which direction will Colombia go? I have my own ideas, but whatever we decide to do, it's our own goddamn business.)))

I don't mean for it to be a nasty comment Sr Tertius, but if you don't live there, then...is it still your business? And, likewise, then...you are starting to remind me (sorta in reverse!) of the power-laden jewish factor in the united states (that keeps our a** revved up in supporting Israel). If you live in the EEUU, and your comment is 'it's our own goddamn business'......?

I am always amazed when so-called Colombian (or, any other) Nationals are promulgating theory from another country.

It might be time to head back home so you can make it 'your own goddamn business', (instead of continuing your exploitation of the USA economy.)

Paz y prosperidad para Colombia.

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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athensugadawg says on Feb 12, 2007, 05:50:

ColombiaMike.... I'm calling BS here....if you're a journalist then Anna Nicole Smith's child was sired by yours truly...

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toneloc24 says on Feb 12, 2007, 06:54:

Sr T You get it.

The OVERWHELMING majority of Venezuelans voted for the dude. He's doing what he said he would do for them, and what they are asking, including addressing health-care and disparity of wealth issues.

Chavez is some sort of boogieman for many. However, he's not Colombia's problem, nor are Colombia's internal issues his problem. There are "outsiders" who appear interested in dragging the two countries into something else.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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toneloc24 says on Feb 12, 2007, 07:05:

Note to Pod Place a mirror up to Colombian politicians, including Uribe. What do you think you'll see? Transparency?

I believe it is you who is smoking a bit too much. Where in the hell did you ever read that Chavez intended or intends to invade Colombia? Please post the link where this is explicitly or implicitly established.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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juancegomez says on Feb 12, 2007, 07:11:

... I agree that Chavez shouldn't be a big concern of ours until he actually does something that merits worrying over.

He is a democratically elected leader with good intentions (I respect his interest in helping the poor), but that doesn't mean that we cannot criticize him (a former "golpista") or his policies (he has heavily personalized the Venezuelan state and has accumulated too much power, up to a point that Uribe hasn't even come close).

I also don't believe that FARC is acquiring guns in any significant quantity from Venezuela at the moment (rogue agents and such aside), but I do believe that it's perfectly alright to talk about how Venezuela will handle so many "old" and "new" weapons.

Not to mention that Colombia has not made any weapons purchases on that same scale recently (unlike Venezuela, we are not talking about arming a "million man" reserve to scare away an unlikely hypothetical invasion from the U.S.), so a direct comparison is out of the question.

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toneloc24 says on Feb 12, 2007, 08:25:

Juance You're way more knowledgeable on this stuff than me, so this is just a question.

If Plan Colombia includes arms to Colombia from the USA, would there really need to be further sizable weapons purchases by Colombia?

Seriously, I really think that once this US administration is out of office, US-Venezuela relations will be more stable. Until then, I think that Chavez, as paranoid and as big of an ass as he might be, might be justified in his thinking that the US government would have an interest in subversive activities in his country. The current US administration's pre-emptive strike doctrine kinda puts other countries on the defensive. Can't blame a man for wanting to defend his house against a perceived external threat.

Methinks, those "old" and "new" weapons purchases would go to his new friends in Ecuador and Bolivia, before FARC.

"Don't tase me, bro!!!!"

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podborski says on Feb 12, 2007, 08:28:

toneloc, sr t, mike Read my post again, I said I do NOT think Chavez will invade Colombia, but that the 100k russian weapons he just bought will get into the hands of marxist terrorists like FARC and maybe others.

It´s just my wild guess, nothing more. But I'd put money on it 'cause I'm a betting man.

My post was about Chavez and the guns. The reponse from you guys is, ´yeah but GW is a bad guy and colombia´s problems are not due to Chavez.'

WTF???

I know very little about Uribe or any other politician in Colombia. If they are anything like politicians I am getting used to in argentina, I'd say they are power hungry, corrupt morons. But I really don´t know. I'm reserving judgement. I do know 99% of colombians I talk to LOVE Uribe, but a few do not.

You and Sr T and mike jump to the conclusion that because I think Chavez´s intentions are very bad that I somehow adore the paras in colombia, Uribe, George Bush, and anyone else you can think of. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I pray (and believe) the yanks will stay the hell out of venezuela`s affairs, (and everyone else`s for that matter).

When Venezuela's economy collapses in a few years it will provide just one more example of how socialism is doomed to failure. I think it´s great ´cause it won´t affect me at all. Too bad for the venezuelan people though, but I am not my brother´s keeper.

Going to lunch now but have lots more to say later, chao!

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 12, 2007, 08:29:

Elfeliz... (you seem to be changing names pretty often...) "is it still your business?"

Of course it is. You seem to be unaware that (unlike other countries) Colombian citizenship is not bound by territoriality. We even have a political representative for those of us living abroad. Moreover, a new job opportunity may have me commuting between Colombia and somewhere else (could be the US). I work pretty hard to make the little better that an individual can make for his country, and I'm not willing to give it up just yet.

"I am always amazed when so-called Colombian (or, any other) Nationals are promulgating theory from another country."

What theory?

"(instead of continuing your exploitation of the USA economy.)"

I wish you could hear my laughter. Me exploiting the USA economy? If anything, it's the other way around: Do you know that I contribute to the Arizona State Retirement System, Social Security, and Medicare, and I am entitled to neither? Yeah, right, how exploitative of me! But I'm not bitter, because I get to play every day for a living ;)

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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Mr. Hollywood says on Feb 12, 2007, 11:06:

Miguel Colombiamike, I wonder, do the editors at the Christian Science Monitor where you claim to work know that you're busy promulgating conspiracy theories on internet bulletin boards?

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cali373 says on Feb 12, 2007, 11:29:

Not to say that I would be supportive of Chavez's gun purchases making it to the hands of the FARC, but it is indeed propaganda at this point. Much like when Bush metioned years ago that the US should be weary of Cuban biotech researchers because they could be developing biological weapons. This coming from the head of the country with the largest stockpile of biological weapons. Of course Bush did not start the Chavez aiding the FARC rumor, even though the white house has accused Chavez of trying to spread instability. Historically the US has not tried to spread stablity anywhere in Latin America, only stability where it would benefit US business interests.

Back to the FARC and Guns. Even if Chavez did not exist, the FARC would not be short of guns and ammo, as we have witnessed before Chavez came to power. The Israelis will make sure any illegal group in Colombia gets the guns they need. FARC will always have the money to buy guns thanks in part to our cocaine consuming US americans and Europeans.

Since we started on baseless rumors, I figure I will throw in that Montesinos of Peru was charged with an illegal arms sale to Colombian guerillas, something which he said that he could never had been able to do without assistance from the CIA. Now this is coming from a man that had the power to do make this deal.
Who started the "Chavez's guns to go to FARC?" rumor?

Smile if you are a thinker!

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cali373 says on Feb 12, 2007, 11:42:

"Food shortages in Ven....sounding like the Soviet Union." I just want to clarify that there are not food shortages in Venezuela. There are food shortages in the government owned stores of Venezuela, mainly because there are ALOT of poor hungry people there. Contary to all the US propanganda, Venezuela does still operate a free enterprise system and while there are price controls on food, you can open a food market. The price controls though have caused the informal economy to grow, but there is still food to buy. There were alot of hungry poor people before Chavez came to power, it not like Venezuelans were prospering before and not now.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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athensugadawg says on Feb 12, 2007, 13:17:

SAY WHAT??? and now there is a doctor shortage as well???

http://origin.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/16678780.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_cuba

Looks like that "stable Venezuelan economy" is getting a little frayed at the edges...but as one wise sage once said...."I TOLD YOU SO...!"

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juancegomez says on Feb 12, 2007, 13:27:

toneloc24 "You're way more knowledgeable on this stuff than me, so this is just a question."

I appreciate your respect, but I'd like to make clear that I am not privy to any information beyond what is already publicly available in some way, shape or form. Somebody that is, and that can effectively back it up of course, would be in a much better position than either of us.

"If Plan Colombia includes arms to Colombia from the USA, would there really need to be further sizable weapons purchases by Colombia?"

Overall, I'd tend to say yes. Not as sizable as Venezuela's perhaps, but more than what we currently have.

Plan Colombia includes some arms and weapons, clearly, but if you look at the quantities (and qualities) they represent, they are nowhere near fulfilling our total needs.

So much so that Colombia still buys small but consistent quantities of helicopters from U.S., for example, even if that's probably supposed to be one of the main military components of the Plan. Not to mention that we've been buying some Super Tucanos (light attack aircraft) from Brazil and so forth.

Venezuela argues that it's buying equipment in order to a)defend itself from the extremely unlikely U.S. invasion. b)replace aging equipment. The thing is that a lot of our military equipment is just as old, if not older, than Venezuela's. Strictly speaking, we'd have just as much of a need to replace it, yet we're doing so at a much slower rate.

"Methinks, those "old" and "new" weapons purchases would go to his new friends in Ecuador and Bolivia, before FARC."

Probably, but still, specifics individuals with such intentions probably do exist, even if not as part of any organized official effort.

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 12, 2007, 13:52:

I guess the best way to avoid shortages is to have nothing to start with.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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Miguel_Clavo says on Feb 12, 2007, 15:45:

Hmmm....Chavez has purchased the right to build a factory in Ven for making the AKs......yup, that is what i would do, buy the right to such a factory, build it, and make just the amount of guns i personaly need, then shut the factory down until i need more guns......yeah, right, you have to be a moron to think that...he is building the factory to make the AKs for sale and export....i wonder who the buyers would be?....the Salvation Army????

BTW, Sr T....it is an injustice to pay into retirement systems and receive no financial benefit in return. That should be changed.

Just my opinion...and brought to you by a kinder and gentler

Miguel_Clavo =).....Colombia es pasión!

"F.A.R.C..S.U.C.K.S"

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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Mr. Hollywood says on Feb 12, 2007, 15:57:

AK's That's a leap of logic. Chavez doesn't need to sell those Venezuelan AKs to the FARC to make a profit. There's plenty of other customers out there who can buy a LOT more. And if Hugo just wants to arm the FARC he can buy plenty of guns on the open market and pass them along.

The Colombian government also builds lots of automatic weapons through Indumil, its own little military industrial complex. The FARC, AUC and ELN have all bought plenty of those through corrupt officers.

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goin_south says on Feb 12, 2007, 17:56:

an injustice? ((an injustice to pay into retirement systems and receive no financial benefit in return.)) Naaawh, M_C; it's just his way of saying THANKS! to the American people and Uncle Sam, for providing him a nice living and playing while he's working everyday in the Land of Opportunity.

Paz y prosperidad para Colombia.

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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Mr. Hollywood says on Feb 12, 2007, 18:31:

Retirement systems? What are you guys talking about? Did Chavez steal your social security insurance checks?

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 12, 2007, 20:47:

Ayayay, elfeliz... your sarcasm is too subtle for me...

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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goin_south says on Feb 13, 2007, 00:03:

On behalf of the rest of the american people (and, all the Mexicans too! including, but not excluded to, Strobers) Let me say: THANK YOU, Sr TERTIUS.

Paz y prosperidad para Colombia.

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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Sr Tertius says on Feb 13, 2007, 07:28:

I knew from the beginning... that I would be greeted as a liberator. You are ALL welcomed!

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

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nick b. says on Feb 13, 2007, 08:13:

the EU is a major producer of beet sugar... true,but also :the EU is a large importer of cane sugar..(more expensive).Lots of people by it because they think that it helps farmers from the third world.

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podborski says on Feb 13, 2007, 10:06:

so sr t this document that supposedly states the guns won't go to arm terrorists in LA is written by Chavez? And that's supposed to mean something? You're kidding right, or did I misunderstand that?

Anyway, sorry that I do feel a bit of empathy for the venezuelans, not awhole lot, I don't know any, but if you say I should not worry about them, I won't.

I've said on other posts here I'd LOVE to see an isolationist USA. Man, the money they'd save might even be enough to pay for GW's idiotic economic policies.

Unfortunately, it won't happen, as all the ivory-tower-pseudo-intellectual-couldn't-get-a-real-job-if-my-life-depended-on-it types have no interest in promoting policies that would see them without jobs.

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cali373 says on Feb 13, 2007, 11:13:

"Yeah cali what you fail to Recognize"

Yes I agree that IF all food stores are made public then there will be food shortages. I was merely stating an important fact that was left out about the Venezuelen food shortage post. There is a major difference between food shortages of the Soviet union or Cuba and Venezuela. BTW I am for the market economy, but what good is a market economy to a person that does not have the money to buy food? That is one of big issues that capitalism has FAILED to fix or alleviate in Latin America.

Smile if you are a thinker!

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cali373 says on Feb 13, 2007, 11:18:

ivory-tower-pseudo-intellectual-couldn't-get-a-real-job-if-my-life-depended-on-it types

I think I like that name. what is an example of one, like the people at the Heritage foundation.

Smile if you are a thinker!

Smile if you are a thinker!

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podborski says on Feb 14, 2007, 15:04:

I had no idea they actually are having food shortages there already.

Just read in la nacion that the biggest super market chain (30% of the market) has stopped selling meat as it can't make a profit since chavez fixed the price (but not of course the costs that go into raising a cow, how brilliant).

Can I change my prediction to riots in 1 to 2 years?

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vladimiro says on Feb 18, 2007, 12:18:

What does Ven have to gain from arming the FARC? There are many powerful arms merchants. If a weapon originated from a certain country it does not mean that it was supplied by the country's governement.

The FARC aren't dependant on Venezuela, weren't created by Venezuela, and certainly don't take any orders from Chavez.

The FARC pursue their own interests which are mostly detrimental to Venezuela. For instance, the narcotics the FARC create are exported through Venezuela and I'm sure are cuasing a great deal of corruption and crime there as a result.

So what could Venezuela possibly gain from arming the FARC? More instability in its already unstable neighbor...does Venezuela want more Colombian refugees...or more Colombian narcotics flowing through thier country? I don't know, but perhaps these accusations come from the US because the US is the only country to behave in such a reckless manner.

If the Venezuelan government is at all involved in Colombian politics I would guess it would be in supporting Colombia's leftist politicians, or organizations not illigal militias.

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podborski says on Feb 18, 2007, 16:23:

you could be right vlad my post does have a big question mark after it by the way.

I was just throwing out the suggestion to see what other, better informed, people have to say.

But instability in Colombia could lead to a change of government, possibly to one more in line with chavez's way of thinking.

I really do think the guy is a megalomaniac and has much bigger plans than to just loot venezuela.

But I freely admit that's just my wild guess, and I have not even read so much as an 'Economist' magazine article about the guy.

My wild guesses are sometimes right on though. We'll see.

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podborski says on Feb 18, 2007, 16:31:

Uribe did pay some venezuelans to bring back some FARC leader from a beach house in Venezuela, right?

I suppose only the venezuelan gov't didn't know he was there...

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