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Council On Hemispheric Affairs
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Monitoring
Political, Economic and Diplomatic Issues Affecting the Western Hemisphere
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Memorandum to the Press 04.70
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Word Count: 1700
Thursday, 7 October 2004
Washington’s Human Trafficking Charges Drag Down
U.S.-Venezuelan Relations
• Is the administration flip-flopping on Venezuela?
• U.S. sanctions against Caracas further damage already tenuous diplomatic ties between
the two nations.
• In September, the State Department
humiliated Chávez with human trafficking charges, but now has switched to
constructive rhetoric. Is this confusion or does it represent a policy?
• By threatening to block Venezuela's
access to international loans with its de facto veto in international lending
institutions, the Bush administration is attempting to punish President Chávez
for his August 15 referendum victory and to placate domestic critics who
increasingly are complaining that the White House was being too soft on Chávez.
• The deterioration of bilateral
relations could threaten the much needed flow of Venezuelan oil to bolster the United States' still sputtering economy.
• Domestic political considerations in
relation to the November presidential election are at the heart of the White
House’s action against the Chávez government.
• Like Washington’s certification
process, in which the performance of foreign governments’ anti-narcotics and
counter-terrorism efforts is evaluated, Washington’s procedures for monitoring
foreign governments’ human trafficking records are completely devoid of
objectivity or meaningful standards.
Although faced with rising international oil
prices, Washington has, in an almost consciously destructive mode, once
again placed ideology over national interests by single-mindedly aggravating
its already strained relationship with Venezuela. The U.S.’ oil-rich southern neighbor provides
approximately 1.4 million barrels per day to satisfy the country’s burgeoning
energy needs, and has become the fourth largest foreign supplier of petroleum
to the U.S. By attempting to punish Venezuela for the outcome of the August 15
referendum, through the imposition of economic sanctions in response to the
Chávez government’s alleged failure to crack down on international human
trafficking, both in its language as well as its actions, the Bush administration
has once again demonstrated a repellently vindictive nature. Washington’s decision is patently based more on domestic political
considerations than on Caracas’ record regarding human trafficking. With two months
still to go before the U.S. presidential elections in which Florida’s key
electoral votes are at stake, the Bush administration has targeted Venezuela in
order to appease Florida’s staunchly anti-Castro constituency, as well as its
growing anti-Chávez Venezuelan expatriate population, hoping to assure victory
on November 2 in the pivotal swing state. The debasement of an important global
issue through such political skullduggery has not only placed U.S.-Venezuelan
relations at an all time low, it also has raised questions over the visceral
nature of Washington’s commitment to democratic ideals throughout the
hemisphere. Washington’s anti-human trafficking actions also represent a
telling indictment of the level of cynicism which exists within the White House
and the Department of State, where there is little ethical substance to
distinguish Bush’s chief political handler Karl R
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This analysis was
prepared by Larry Birns and Mark Scott, respectively Director and Research
Fellow of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs.
Additional research was
provided by David R. Kolker and Eric Lynn, COHA
Research Associates.
October 7, 2004
The Council on Hemispheric
Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan,
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ove from the supposedly respectable Secretary of State,
Colin Powell.