"The World's Next Rogue State"
Gregory Levey, The National Post - May 27, 2005

Earlier this week, Hugo Chavez's government in Venezuela threatened to cut off diplomatic relations with the United States if Washington did not turn over Luis Posada Carriles to face trial for allegedly bombing a Cuban airliner in 1976. The United States must refuse. Regardless of Posada's murky past, Venezuela is not a country that should be appeased, and certainly not one to be trusted to handle a political prisoner fairly.

Indeed, Chavez's regime seems to be nothing less than a rogue state in embryo. Consider that Venezuela recently purchased 300,000 assault rifles. The weapons are supposedly intended for the country's armed forces. But those forces total just 83,000 members.

Arithmetic suggests the extra weapons are destined for use beyond Venezuela's borders. Chavez's assistance to terrorist groups, such as the FARC and ELN - originally established by the Soviets and the Cubans to destroy the democratic government of Colombia - has become increasingly blatant and substantial in recent years. Both groups have taken an active role in distributing Latin American drugs worldwide in order to support their violent activities.

Under Chavez, the once-democratic Venezuelan government has steadily weakened the civil rights of its citizens. Industrial workers are intimidated into joining militias under the control of Chavez; protestors are beaten and even murdered; political prisoners regularly go missing; judges are summarily dismissed and replaced by Chavez loyalists; free speech has been curtailed; and much of the independent press has been silenced.

Chavez's apparently visceral hatred for America makes him dangerous. According to his former private pilot, after 9/11, Chavez asked him to provide one million dollars to al-Qaeda, and has since also provided Venezuelan identity cards to known terrorists.

Equally ominously, Chavez continues to cultivate a close relationship with the leadership of Iran, the world's primary state supporter of terrorism, including co-ordinating efforts to use oil as a destabilizing political weapon. A few days ago, he announced Venezuela would begin exploring the development of nuclear power, using Iranian assistance.

It is time for the international community, especially the countries of the Western Hemisphere, to stand up to Chavez and his thuggish regime. A few weeks ago, George W. Bush asked Canada, Mexico and other democracies to help isolate the country. But so far, Canada seems non-committal about giving its support to containing Chavez.

This is perhaps to be expected given our nation's reflexive anti-Americanism - as well as our support for Latin America's other dictator, Fidel Castro. But another likely factor is the fact Canadian oil producers anticipate the possibility of profiting if Chavez cuts off oil from the United States. These same producers are even now benefiting from the outpouring of skilled Venezuelan oil workers and technicians to Alberta - to the point where Canadian oil companies are actually establishing English-language training programs in Venezuela.

In sum, short-term economics is trumping long-term security. If Ottawa takes the fight against terrorism and rogue power seriously, it should reconsider its strategy.