Dear Editor,
An embattled Chávez seems to be buckling under US pressure to show that he is doing something to allay US concerns on the drugs’ traffic to the US. The blowing up of bridges and halting of trade relations with Colombia, may be a clever ploy to shield Venezuela from its domestic problems and away from the glare of the outside world. The placing of his armed forces on a war footing has also failed to ruffle the Colombians as Chávez seeks refuge in belligerent antics and anti-imperialist tactics. Chávez now seems to be facing a dilemma about what to do next, and it seems this is more about calling upon his friends to stand up and be counted.
Suddenly Guyana was dragged into the picture. Guyana’s security forces are few in number and of no consequence relative to the Venezuelans. They are also poorly equipped, poorly trained and poorly managed. It is the Venezuelans who can make claims about having overwhelming numbers in terms of their well-trained security forces as well as the best of military hardware, modern jet fighters and tactical air transport at their disposal. Guyana is an absolute irrelevance to Venezuela if the real objectives of the Venezuelans are to crush the drugs’ traffic.
A subservient President Jagdeo, dependent on subsidized Venezuelan oil, was however called upon to dance to the tune of Chávez. Earlier this month top Guyanese security officials were hastily dispatched to a call from Caracas for the two countries to cooperate to fight against drugs (‘Guyana, Venezuela to toughen drugs fight’ SN, November 23).
This is against a backdrop of Guyana failing to show any sustained and strong commitment in the fight against drugs. Then there is the recent scuttling of the UK funding of $1.6 billion security and policing project, which resulted in the Guyana police being denied proper training and rendering them incapable of delivering effective and accountable policing. The horror of torture of a minor allegedly by police recently has also created a public outcry.
Would the Caracas initiative finally put an end to the growing drugs’ problem that is spreading across Guyana, or is it another one of Chávez’s smoke-screens to divert attention elsewhere?
Venezuela is unable to deal with its own endemic corruption, as Leocenis Garcia, the investigative journalist had discovered. The journalist had spent his life investigating corruption in Venezuela and had prepared a dossier on 60 cases, which was published in a newspaper, and submitted to the Venezuelan National Assembly for action. It is claimed that one of the cases involved the purchase of drilling equipment from China at $5M a piece, but invoices were submitted for $25M to $30M a piece.
Each of the dossiers on corruption was some 300 pages long and providing all the crucial evidence needed for action to be taken. All 60 dossiers were dismissed by the Venezuelan National Assembly within 24 hours carte blanche, and not a single case was upheld. According to Leocenis Garcia the dossier on PDVSA went missing. Even if the National Assembly had taken action against just one single case, it would have sent a wake-up call to the Venezuelan people and to change the current status quo.
If this is indicative of how the Venezuelans deal with endemic corruption, then what lessons could Guyana learn from them about curbing drug trafficking? It may however play in Chávez’s favour with little to gain for Guyana.
The fact remains that Venezuela has very close ties with the US and Chávez knows he could get away with it. This has not been the same in the past for Guyana. Indeed Cheddi had paid the heavy price for doing just that when he tried.
As his biggest customer, the US is buying half of the Venezuelan people’s oil. Chávez has also recruited Joe Kennedy of the Kennedy clan to ensure his relationship with the US is always alive and well. Further last year he provided heating oil subsidies to poor people in the US to the tune of $100 million through the Venezuelan owned CITCO based in Texas.
The people’s oil money is being used by Chávez to buy him powerful friends across the globe and at the cost of the poor, who are living in squalor and poverty in the shanty towns of Venezuela. They were told recently by Chavez that they must bathe less to save water and to reduce the water shortage.
Further the PDVSA social project was meant to change the face of poverty in Venezuela. However, with the oil revenue from the people’s oil in full flow, little seems to reach the shanty towns and the Venezuelan poor.
Yours faithfully,
Mac Mahase
First, I had no idea the Guyana-Venezuela meeting was at the initiatve of Venezuela, but now that this has been stated, the only ulterior motive I could see for their agreeing to fight together to combat the drug trade across their shared border is COLOMBIA!
See, Venezuela is agitating against Colombia because of America’s presence in Colombia purportedly to fight drug smuggling, and in an attempt to show Venezuela is doing its part to fight the problem, it decided to enlist Guyana, as though Guyana could do anything. Guyana has drug dealers walking the streets of Georgetown untouched.
Another tactic of Venezuela here is to ensure Guyana does not become a staging ground for America if fighting breaks out between Colombia and Venezuela and America is drawn into it.
All that said, I think Chavez is a spent force whose time for fading has arrived. The man is a lunatic.
Extracted: Another tactic of Venezuela here is to ensure (that) Guyana does not become a staging ground for America….
Yes indeed Dandy, this is the MACRO picture you so eloquently just landed on here. Therefore in retrospect, Guyana’s controversial rejection of the British Security Aid proposal recently has now become the reason Chavez is having this opportunity to step into the vacuum. Chavez is no dummy because if there is war he is proposing to cover his flank.
The British is America’s closest ally and since they already have a unique history with Guyana it was only prudent that the British military sought to have some residence in the Essiquibo region.
Tra, la la la la Dandy, this is history repeating itself because the GoG is notorious for picking the wrong side in every fight. Guyana unknowingly picked Chavez/Venezuela over America when they rejected the British Security Aid.
Arm chair generals, toothless dogs of war.Drug dealers are in every country on the planet its a global problem.
Mac, well said even more importantly you pointed out the nature of the relationship between Guyana and Venezuela in this quote “A subservient President Jagdeo, dependent on subsidized Venezuelan oil, was however called upon to dance to the tune of Chávez. Earlier this month top Guyanese security officials were hastily dispatched to a call from Caracas for the two countries to cooperate to fight against drugs (‘Guyana, Venezuela to toughen drugs fight’ SN, November 23).”
Mr. Jagdeo is not a strong leader by any stretch of any definition.
…. Dandy Andy urs is a well defined theory ,, as fuh chavez ,, he’s a bean brain ! and for the author of this letter ,, who ever captioned it ,, should understand that the “drug problem is not “spreading” ,, it has blanketed the nation ! it’s just another facet of the corruption that has enveloped the country ! an ah feel shor yuhal knoe hoo is de architect of de malaise !….
Was Karl Marx a bean brain Michael?
Karl Marx. A joker with a failed ideology.That collapsed in 1989.Which by the way was taken up in full by the loser PNC.Who collapsed along with Marx, the Bolshevik evil empire, and his and their beliefs.The aftermath.Zero. They did no business since 1917.
… if yuh lookin to make a comparison of marx an chavez ,, just like de failure of marx’s theory ,,, so too will venez go more south ,, make intelligent comparisons ! ah doan know why i’m dignifying ur query !….
Acdemic. Go and ask the people, in Guyana and Venezuela, who made the agreements, how they propose to end the drug problem.
I will tell you how to end the drug problem. The country with the highest demand has to legalise it. the profit motive would disappear. the amount of money spent to stop the entry without success will be spent creating facilities for the youths. spent educating the youths,
Face facts if Rich America cannot stop it entering no one can really stop it entering and passing through. There is no conscience only the quest for money and more money.
How about the drugs comming from the middle east. From the talibans.
IF the venezuelan can’t control their internal drugs problem how can they cooperate with guyana to fight against it where runs thousand of tons?Jagdeo has to be more intellegent than chavez,
Chavez another idea.
First the style of the letter allow many anti Chavez points to be made. Its a good propaganda piece. Respose to all the issues would take time and a lot of space and so many distortions would have to go unanswered.
Some time ago i replied to the US Ambassadoe to Guyana who stated in a letter to the press that unless Guyana shows success it would not get resources. Seems like a chicken abd the egg question.
I asked then if guyana is expected with a huge porus border and so little resources to stop drugs from passing through how is it America with all its homeland security etc etc cannot stop the drug from entering.
And I asked in the same tone how is it with all the resources America cannot stop the export of illegal arms. America is the largest exporter of illegal arms in the world.
How is it that Columbia cannot stop the production of the drugs?
We are told that venezuela has a porus border are they and are we supposed to do what America seems unable to do.
Profits drives the capitalist world. Huge profits ignores crimes. The principle is as long as there is a demand there would be suppliers once the profits are ok.
The other issues why are we discussing Venezuela. Because the corporate Press directs our attention there. Why are we not discussing lack of democracy in Saudi Arabia. Why the fact of one billion people going without basic food not topical. Why 600 million children in the capitalist world dying of starvation not topical.
Before chavez 80 Percent of the people of venezuela were in poverty and marginalised why were we not discussing this. Have we suddenly realised that there is poverty there.
The manipulation of our minds is so all compassing but this is crouded out by the Fact that we have a free will. Do we.
Why are we discussing Iran and nuclear weapons and not Israel. Why do we seem to have accepted that indeed Israel has a right to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran. Do we hear anything about UN consent.
Should we begin to appreciate the level of indoctrination that we are subjected to.
Do you realise that we get a regular dose of “anti Chavez” in the SN. Compliments of Openhiemer.
All you guys have your arguments, some hallow and others objective! One fact that we all must accept is that we are “blanketed” and it has been so for years…However, we have to make use of the opportunities we have to do something about it. Are we doing something about this?
…. yes we exporting it ! duz this look like de ansah yuh lookin fuh ???????