The Inside Straight

Electioneering-Chavez Style

There hasn't been an awful lot about it on TV or in the papers , but Hugo Chavez is (Surprise !) running for re-election , and is apparently worried that the voters might favor his opponent , Manuel Rosales.

While Rosales is using fairly conventional means to gather supporters , Chavez has a big edge: He runs the government and is in a position to tell people who work for the petroleum industry to vote for him...or get fired !

Chavez , of course , doesn't handle such matters personally - not when he has government ministers at his beck and call - but he does support these ministers when they are caught in the act of violating Venezuela's election laws - even when they are caught on videotape.

Hugo believes those who do not support him do not need to be employed - and he suggests - quite bluntly - they go to Miami if they don't like it.

He's Hugo Chavez and he approved that message !

Feds Seize Over 2 Tons of Cocaine from Vessel in Puerto Rico

This report is from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Press Release. All emphasis and commentary added by blog author.

"SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today the seizure of more than 4,900 pounds of cocaine on board the Greek-flagged vessel M/V Sierra Express at the port of San Juan. The seizure was part of Operation Caribbean Corridor, an investigative/law enforcement initiative by ICE, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and United States Coast Guard (USCG) in the Caribbean Basin. The M/V Sierra Express docked at the port of San Juan at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Sep. 10, 2006. The vessel's last port of call prior to arriving to San Juan was Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. (Now we know why Hugo Chavez has been so testy the last few days !) During a required inspection of the vessel, a K-9 unit of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) alerted on several boxes of printing paper inside one of the containers of the Sierra Express. The container was subsequently transported to the examination facilities of CBP where a thorough search revealed the presence of numerous kilo-size packages of a white powdery substance that when tested reacted positive for cocaine. “Through the Caribbean Corridor Initiative, ICE, along with the FBI, DEA, and the USCG, have been able to intercept tons of narcotics and illegal merchandise destined to United States,” said Lydia St. John-Mellado, special agent in charge of ICE investigations in San Juan. “Our CBP partners have the technology, resources and intelligence to detect any type of contraband coming to the United States from abroad and will continue working with ICE and other Caribbean Corridor Initiative agencies to prevent these massive quantities of drugs from reaching the streets of Puerto Rico.” No arrests were made during this seizure; however, ICE as well as other Operation Caribbean Corridor participating agencies continue with the investigation. Puerto Rico Police Department and San Juan Municipal Police officers participated in this seizure." Comment: The Chavez regime has long been suspected of cooperating with Communist guerrillas from Colombia in the cocaine traffic : providing shelter, arms,and supplies to cross-border raiders in exchange for a share of their cocaine trafficking proceeds.

Update-Bolivarian Rep. of Cuba

I received some correspondence from Luis, yesterday,that seems worth passing along.

Luis,who is presently expatriate from Venezuela,still has family and friends in that country, and wonders if Venezuela is actually under the control of Cuba ; if the relationship between the two countries is not  "Puppet Master" (Cuba) and "Puppet" (Venezuela) ?

He has heard reports ( so far,unconfirmed ) Venezuela plans yet another name change : this time to "The Socialist Republic of Venezuela".

There is an additional report - from behind the new "Iron Curtain" - that Venezuela's "Rubber Stamp Parliament" plans to amend the Constitution to this effect,and to declare the practice of Capitalism a "Crime Against the State" - along with the dastardly act of organizing political opposition to Hugo Chavez.

I suppose, with well-trained,heavily armed Cuban troops to back such a play,it would be almost irresistible.

I'm sure,should this particular bit of "reform" go through, Fidel and Hugo's many admirerers - here and abroad - will nod approvingly - and remind us the regime was "democratically chosen".

The Bolivarian Republic of Cuba ?

The last time I saw Cuba , she was a very distant smudge of light off the starboard bow ; but I could hear her: music from Radio Havana was playing softly in the Officers' wardroom ,and -despite reports of unrest - it sounded as if folks on the big island were having a fine old time.

In case you're wondering,we were just "getting a feel" of what it would be like to conduct reconnaissance of a foreign coast . We remained in international waters at all times .

A few months after our "discreet visit" a Cuban soldier named Batista seized power - and the music changed: becoming more strident,as Batista tried to turn the Cuban people into lackies for American gangster Meyer Lansky. The people despised Batista,and began working to overthrow him.

In 1959, a man named Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz swept into power-and the music stopped : drowned out by the rattle and roar of firing squads, and the rumble of trucks carrying the intelligentsia of Cuba off to "post-graduate" work in the cane fields. They had supported Fidel, rather than his more democratic competitors, and I'm sure they wondered why he did not return their adoration.

The reason was simple: Fidel did not trust them. If they had been willing to betray Cuba to him, would they not betray him to others seeking power ?

Fidel trusted nobody -except his brother Raul , on whom he kept a close eye, and whose follies he shrugged off. When Raul introduced Holstein-Fresian cattle to Cuba-at great expense-and the cattle turned out (predictably,had anyone asked) to be totally unsuitable for tropical Cuba ,Fidel patted "little Raul" on the shoulder and put him in charge of the island's prison system: a job even a reputed drunk like Raul could handle.

Fast forward a few years: the takeover of Cuba by Russian advisers,the actual installation of some nuclear missiles (under Russian control) on the island, and the attempt to install longer-range,more powerful nukes - thwarted during the Kennedy administration.

There were clumsy attempts-(most led by the charismatic-but-inept Che Guevarra) -to "export" Communism into other parts of Central and South America;the furnishing of Cuban mercenaries to Angola,and the waging of bio-warfare in that troubled country.

The exports did not fare well. The Cuban mercenaries returned from Angola carrying AIDS, and were "treated" by enforced isolation in the Isle of Pines Prison for the rest of their painful lives.

Fidel attempted "one last hurrah" when he sent troops to occupy the peaceful island of Grenada, during the Reagan administration. Reagan-instead of blathering and blustering (as his predecessor might have done) sent in troops: forcing the Cubans to scurry home with their tails between their legs.

Somehow, 47 years later,Fidel is still in power...but gravely ill. He has given his little brother temporary authority ; but it looks more and more as if his real successor will be ...Hugo Chavez, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; and that the "Peoples' Democratic Republic of Cuba" will soon be The Bolivarian Republic of Cuba ...to be followed (if Chavez can arrange it) by Bolivarian Republics in Bolivia , Mexico , Colombia ,and as many other countries as Hugo can bring to heel. (Chavez has already set up trade relationships with some of his prospective "targets" : a sort of Latin Common Market.)

The motive ? Absolute control of Latin America's oil ,mineral and drug supply,and the establishment of a Chinese-supported Latin Soviet Union.

What kind of leader can the world expect Hugo Chavez to be ? Click the link to see how peaceful democratic protest is handled in Venezuela.

Fidel Castro's days may be numbered, but the evil he has helped create will live long after him.

Hugo Chavez Wheels Shopping Cart to Russia : 3 BILLION Dollar Order !

Moscow is delighted with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' latest weapons shopping order : the immediate tab is one billion dollars,and the final reckoning could reach three billion !

According to Russian Information Agency Novosti :

Venezuela has a $52 million agreement with Russia for the supply of 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and munitions, and two agreements worth $474.6 million on the construction in Venezuela of a plant to produce the AK-103 assault rifles under a license, along with a plant to manufacture 7.62 mm ammo for them. This time the two sides signed a contract worth $484 million for the delivery of 38 Mi-17V-5 helicopters, which combine transport, gunship and reconnaissance and rescue operations, and Mi-35M fire-support helicopters, as well as an agreement for the supply of Su-30MK2 multirole fighters.

(In case your calculator wasn't working, Russian officials say the initial tab would be over $ 1 billion.)

But wait ! That's not all el Presidente wants for his struggling people !

According to RIA Novosti : Chavez wants more than fighters, choppers and rifles from Russia. He also wants to buy several Amur Class (Lada Class, in NATO terminology) submarines, the Tor-M1 and Osa-10(Strela 10) air-defense missile systems, infantry fighting vehicles, and other equipment worth $3 billion. That is nearly half Russia's total arms export revenues for 2005.

To put this rather massive arms purchase agreement in proper perspective,Venezuela is heavily dependent upon its oil revenues,which,according to the CIA Country Factbook,pay about 47% of the national budget: the remaining 53% coming from an aggressive tax system.(Those fields are beginning to run dry,and there is considerable interest in off-shore drilling-very possibly in partnership with Cuba.)

Unemployment averages 12.5 % , inflation is about 16% per year,and 47% of the population have earnings "below the poverty line".

The nation's infrastructure could best be described as " improving somewhat " : the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (as it is properly called) has just over 96,000 miles of roadway-of which approximately 64,000 is unpaved.

Looking at Venezuela's "transnational issues" ,it has a long-term dispute with Guyana,and claims "all areas west of the Rio Essequibo".

There is a similar boundary dispute with Colombia over ownership of the Los Monjes Islands,and there are some disputes about ownership of  Continental Shelf areas bordering on Aruba-(which,reading between the lines,probably relate to offshore oil reserves.)

Checking further to see what else might motivate this large an arms purchase,there have been paramilitary incursions into Venezuela from Colombia...and Venezuela has armed and supported Marxist guerrilla bands which have penetrated into Colombia.

Venezuela is considered a "major transit point" for drug smuggling,and is believed to engage in a considerable amount of money laundering.

From time to time-(about once a month)- Presidente Chavez puts his nation on high alert : declaring an invasion by the United States (which buys over 55% of the Republic's exports) is imminent; and it is supposed the citizenry will accept this as a reason for the arms buildup-at least for a little while.

It seems doubtful the United States has anything to fear from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ; but there is growing concern on the part of Venezuela's neighbors: Do the 8 stars on the new flag of the Republic really represent the 8 regions of Venezuela,or are they advance warning of Hugo Chavez' designs on 7 of his neighbors ?

Only time will tell.