|
26 September 2005
Hugo Chavez
Democracy Now! Amy
Goodman interview with Hugo Chavez (streaming
video and/or transcripts)
President Chavez was in New York last
week for a summit of world leaders at the United Nations.
In his speech, Chavez blasted US foreign policy and
accused the Bush administration of trying to hijack
the UN summit. He described the United States as a terrorist
nation because it is harboring the televangelist Pat
Robertson who recently called for his assassination.
Chavez has long charged that the US was behind the aborted
coup against him in 2002.
In the interview, he reveals for the
first time, details of a plan to offer of cheap oil
to the poor...of the United States.
Hugo Chavez : Anti-Bush,
And Mincing No Words (Washington
Post)
Sunday, September 25, 2005; B01
Controversy and intrigue have swirled
around Venezuela's Hugo Chavez ever since he was elected
president seven years ago and established himself as
a leftist force. Chavez's rising influence in Latin
American politics, his country's role as a major supplier
of crude oil for U.S. refiners and his close ties to
Cuba's Fidel Castro have alarmed policymakers in the
Bush administration. Last month, on his television show,
the Rev. Pat Robertson actually went so far as to suggest
the United States should assassinate the 51-year-old
Chavez. (Robertson later apologized.)
While Chavez was in New York last week
for the gathering of world leaders at the United Nations,
he sat down with Newsweek-Washington Post's Lally Weymouth.
He spelled his dislike for the Bush administration and
described himself as a revolutionary. Dressed in a bright
red shirt, he noted that he was planning to stop in
Havana on his way home so that he could spend several
hours talking with Castro.
Excerpts:
"What I said is that this U.S.
administration -- the current government -- is a terrorist
administration, not all U.S. governments. I entertained
the best of relations with the Clinton administration,
and I consider myself a good friend of former President
Carter.
So what's wrong with President Bush?
This administration invaded Iraq. According
to Pope John Paul II, it is an illegal war, an immoral
war, a terrorist war. The U.S. has bombarded entire
cities, used chemical weapons and napalm, killed women,
children and thousands of soldiers. That's terrorism.
In Venezuela they fostered a coup d'etat
[in 2002] manufactured by the CIA . . . Recently,Reverend
Robertson called for my assassination. This is a terrorist
attack, according to international law. In Miami, on
a daily basis, people on TV shows are calling for my
assassination. This is terrorism.
This [present U.S.] government is a
threat to humanity. I have confidence that the American
people will save humanity from this government -- they
will not allow it to [continue to] violate human rights
and to invade countries.
Who would you like to see as president
of the United States?
"Regarding who is in the White
House, it's up to you, the American people. Think it
over. A government with so much power that it can start
a war and destabilize a country but doesn't take care
of its own people. Now, before the hurricane, they knew
that Katrina was coming, and the government did not
evacuate people. In Cuba, when they know a hurricane
is coming, chickens, hens and people are all evacuated.
A hurricane recently destroyed many towns in Cuba but
not a single person died because no one was there. The
government prepared its people and took them to shelters,
whereas here they left the poor without protection,
especially the blacks. That's horrible. Be careful with
the government you have.
Reportedly, Venezuela is buying MiG
planes, as well as rifles, from Russia. Why does Venezuela
need these?
Who told you that I am going to buy
MiGs? I am going to buy rifles, that's true. Our rifles
are very old. Venezuela does not have spare parts or
the workshops to maintain our equipment. It is high
time for us to replace our old rifles. We could not
buy rifles from the Americans because of the poor relations
we have. We did not like what they had to offer in Europe
because of the prices. We liked the Russian rifles.
They are to defend our country. We are threatened by
the empire.
Is the U.S. the empire?
The government of the United States,
that's the empire. We have evidence that there are plans
in this country to invade Venezuela. There is a plan
called "Balboa." Our intelligence found this
plan, and everything is spelled out there -- the target
is Venezuela. They have even calculated how many bombings
they should do, how many soldiers they will require.
We now have the counter-Balboa plan. I hope that this
will never happen because you're going to regret it.
There will be such havoc in the whole hemisphere if
this happens. The United States invaded Iraq, but Venezuela
is not Iraq. The price of oil would shoot up and reach
what -- $100 a barrel?
|
