nelson
06-23-2006, 12:25 AM
USA TODAY's highlight of Hugo Chavez's baseless attacks on the USA and our leaders was just the tip of the iceberg of the anti-democratic rantings and actions of Venezuela's authoritarian president (U.S. baseball strikes out with Chavez (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-07-venezuela_x.htm) 6/7).
Since assuming power, Chavez has engineered a vicious assault on free markets, freedom and democracy in Venezuela. He has seized control over private banks, confiscated large parcels of private property and is taking steps to nationalize Venezuela's oil industry; he has persecuted and imprisoned his critics, snuffed out a free press and subjected the media to surveillance, censorship and intimidation; and he has turned Venezuela into a major pipeline for illegal drug shipments to the USA and Europe.
Just as alarming is the rapid buildup of Chavez's military. He has recently purchased tens of thousands of Russian AK-103 Kalashnikov rifles and 25 million rounds of ammunition, and he is attempting to add new warplanes and warships to his growing arsenal.
Buoyed by his vast new-found oil wealth, a growing military and dangerous alliances, Chavez has embarked on a self-declared socialist revolution within Venezuela and across Latin America. Americans should take note. Hugo Chavez is no friend of freedom, and he is no friend of ours.
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., Washington
Since assuming power, Chavez has engineered a vicious assault on free markets, freedom and democracy in Venezuela. He has seized control over private banks, confiscated large parcels of private property and is taking steps to nationalize Venezuela's oil industry; he has persecuted and imprisoned his critics, snuffed out a free press and subjected the media to surveillance, censorship and intimidation; and he has turned Venezuela into a major pipeline for illegal drug shipments to the USA and Europe.
Just as alarming is the rapid buildup of Chavez's military. He has recently purchased tens of thousands of Russian AK-103 Kalashnikov rifles and 25 million rounds of ammunition, and he is attempting to add new warplanes and warships to his growing arsenal.
Buoyed by his vast new-found oil wealth, a growing military and dangerous alliances, Chavez has embarked on a self-declared socialist revolution within Venezuela and across Latin America. Americans should take note. Hugo Chavez is no friend of freedom, and he is no friend of ours.
U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., Washington