Chavez cries foul again

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela accused the US today -- specifically the Drug Enforcement Agency -- of spying on Venezuela.

Chavez said that although his government would be cutting its links with the DEA, it would still work to combat drug trafficking with France, Spain, China, Russia and other south American states.

Chavez's comments come after Washington in recent weeks has stepped up its criticism of Venezuela, accusing it of actively funding efforts to destabilize its Latin American neighbours and allowing weapons to cross into Colombia.

Chavez is well-known for utilizing inflammatory comments about the US for political gain. But a friend in Colombia tells me that there are attempts by the US to utilize the rightist government of Uribe in next-door Colombia to create problems for leftist Chavez, creating a similar situation to the tensions between Nicaragua and Guatemala through American-funded mercenaries and paramilitaries during the Reagan administration. Apparently, this is easier said than done in the case of Venezuela-Colombia since the FARC and ELN in Colombia make for a less stable launching pad than the US might like.

UPDATE (Aug. 9, 12:29):

Nell Lancaster writes in the Comments that, "Guatemala might have been a 'launching pad' for political and diplomatic attacks against Nicaragua in the Sandinista era, but it was not a physical base, given the geography. Honduras was the vast contra camp.

Your point about the inconvenience of guerrilla activity for such operations is well taken, though. The U.S. funded and organized a leftist-killing drive in Honduras to clean the way, lest anything like the Salvadoran or Guatemalan insurgencies get going, and get in the way."

Helmut: Yes, you're right, thanks for the clarification.