Who is Hugo Chavez?

Who Is Hugo Chavez?

New York Sun Editorial
August 29, 2005

View online at:http://www.nysun.com/article/19294

 

For all the fuss about Pat Robertson's suggestion that America assassinate Hugo Chavez, there's been surprisingly little focus on just what Mr. Chavez has done to prompt such a rumination.

There's Mr. Chavez's extremist stance against America in the war on Islamic extremist terrorism. He opposed not only the Iraq war but even the effort to destroy Al Qaeda in Afghanistan after the attacks on America of September 11, 2001.

There's Mr. Chavez's treatment of his neighbors. A protege of Mr. Chavez, Evo Morales, for example, led the June demonstrations in Bolivia that resulted in the resignation of the pro-American president, Carlos Mesa. In his recent trip to Paraguay, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said: "There is certainly evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways." FARC in Colombia, which the American government has designated a terrorist organization for its activities including car-bombing a Bogota nightclub, is another favorite of Mr. Chavez.

And then there's Mr. Chavez's treatment of Venezuela's own citizens. The State Department's "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" for 2004 writes that the human rights group Red de Apoyo reported that on January 10, 2004, nine men were rounded up and executed. On March 10, Juan Carlos Zambrano "died after being beaten by soldiers who had detained him." His girlfriend was raped by the same soldiers. "On March 30, eight soldiers were burned in a punishment cell ... two of the soldiers died of their injuries." The State Department reports further that the International Association of Broadcasters complained that Mr. Chavez forces outlets to air his speeches.

Freedom House rates Venezuela as only "partly free" and said that Mr. Chavez's "victory" in August's recall vote was marked by credible reports from independent observers of "voter harassment, including physical intimidation and the reassignment of thousands of voters to far-away polling stations, and vote tampering."

None of this amounts to justification for the American government to assassinate Mr. Chavez, though we certainly wouldn't shed any tears if he were removed from power by some resourceful Venezuelans. But the contrast between the left's loud fuss over Rev. Robertson's comments and their silence about Mr. Chavez's actions signals that whatever its motivation, the furor surely doesn't stem from an evenhanded application of principles of nonviolence or human rights.

105 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007