Speaking to the
National Press Club in Washington on February 2, U.S. Secretary of Defence
Donald Rumsfeld likened Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Hitler. “We've got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money.
He's a person who was elected legally, just as Adolf Hitler was elected
legally, and then consolidated power, and now is of course working closely with
Fidel Castro and [Bolivian President Evo] Morales and others. It concerns
me," Rumsfeld said during a scheduled talk.
Testifying the
same day before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence of the U.S.
Congress, John Negroponte, the Bush administration’s appointment as Director of
National Intelligence, also characterized Chavez as a threat.“In Venezuela, President Chavez, if he wins
reelection later this year, appears ready to use his control of the legislature
and other institutions to continue to stifle the opposition, reduce press
freedom, and entrench himself through measures that are technically legal, but
which nonetheless constrict democracy. We expect Chavez to deepen his
relationship with Castro.He also is
seeking closer economic, military, and diplomatic ties with Iran and North Korea. Chavez has scaled back
counter-narcotics cooperation with the U.S. Increased oil revenues have allowed
Chavez to embark on an activist foreign policy in Latin America that includes
providing oil at favorable repayment rates to gain allies, using newly created
media outlets to generate support for his Bolivarian goals, and meddling in the
internal affairs of his neighbors by backing particular candidates for elective
office,” Negroponte told the committee.
Venezeulan Vice
President Jose Vicente Regal denounced these comments and pointed out that any
objective comparison would indicate that the Bush administration in the U.S. is the
elected government with the most in common with Hitler.He noted this administration has invaded
countries to further U.S.
imperialist aims, set up prison and concentration camps in countries around the
world, dismissed the death of thousands of civilians as collateral damage and
sanctioned the use of torture, all tactics employed by the Nazis.
The increase in
anti-Chavez rhetoric comes as the Bush administration is seeking renewed
funding from Congress to interfere in Venezuela.For 2006, Congress has already allocated $9
million to support “democracy initiatives in Venezuela”,
with the administration seeking further millions to support operations of the
National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Agency for International
Development in Venezuela.Between 2000 and 2005, the U.S. spent over $300 hundred million in Venezuela on
initiatives that many have described as trying to undermine the democratically
elected Venezuelan government.