Chavez gets cozy with U.S. enemies

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 9/24/2008 9:35:00 AM

The founder of a conservative military think tank believes that Venezuela is a present and growing danger as its radical leader continues to reach out to countries and groups that are not friendly to the United States, including Russia.


During the Cold War, Latin America was an ideological battleground between the United States and the Soviet Union. Recently the Kremlin has once again moved to intensify contacts with Venezuela, Cuba, and other Latin American countries.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been very cozy with Moscow. A Russian Navy squadron set off for Venezuela this week and will conduct joint military maneuvers with the Venezuelan Navy. That deployment follows a weeklong visit to the Latin American country by a pair of strategic Russian bombers.

Frank Gaffney is president of the Center for Security Policy and is a former member of the Ronald Reagan defense team. He says Chavez is courting U.S. enemies around the world.

"You have a guy in Chavez who is in our proverbial back yard," Gaffney contends. "His anti-Americanism and his radicalism and his support for our enemies -- both in the region and beyond Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah, most especially, but increasing now [in] China and Russia as well -- is a present and growing danger."

Chavez reportedly said in an interview with Russian television that Latin America needs a strong friendship with Russia to help reduce U.S. influence and keep peace in the region.