Chavez plans a “Simon Bolivar Satellite”
Over the past few weeks, I written about Hugo Chavez squandering his petro dollars on 5000 sniper rifles from Russia, subsidizing bus fares for Londoners and paying for elections in Argentina. Today he announced that China is building a “Simon Bolivar satellite” (Washington Times’ Martin Arostegui);
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his nation plans to launch “the Simon Bolivar satellite” now being built in China as part of plans to develop an integrated ground- and space-based air defense — presumably against the United States.
“We have 100 satellite technicians training in China who be back in the next few months. The radars, tracking stations and air defenses are being installed right now,” Mr. Chavez said this week on his television talk show, “Hello President.”
With the Chinese ambassador present for the performance, Mr. Chavez made extensive comments on Venezuela’s growing ties with China in areas such as oil exports and national defense.
But that’s not all;
Mr. Chavez, who claims the U.S. has attempted to assassinate him and often warns of an Iraq-style U.S. invasion of Venezuela, already has the most powerful air force in South America with his recent acquisition of 24 Sukhoi Su-30 fighters from Russia.
He also is negotiating the purchase of nine Russian submarines.
So with children starving, staples absent from supermarket shelves, and Venezuela’s trading paper struggling, Chavez is investing his new ill-gotten wealth in strengthening his military position in a relatively calm region – and attempting to strengthen ties with China in South America – all so he can stick his finger in the eye of the United States (which by the way is no threat to him) and wave the Uncle Sam boogeyman in the faces of his chavistas.
China has invested heavily in Venezuela’s oil industry as part of efforts to gain ever greater access to energy sources.
They are jointly planning a pipeline through Panama to pump 800,000 barrels of oil a day to Pacific ports. This would allow a vast increase in Venezuelan exports to China at the possible expense of the U.S.
China is also assisting Cuba in oil exploration off the coast of Florida – another reason for them to build a pipeline through Panama. In Panama, they already control about 40% of the ports through their COSCO company (according my source there) and they’re assisting Panama in their endeavor to widen the Canal over the next 5 years.
Category: Economy, Foreign Policy, Hugo Chavez, Politics
The china connection is of concern, but the Iranian connection is critical!
Jonn wrote: I agree completely, but at least Iran lacks the ability to project real conventional military force outside of it’s own region. Iran also enjoys support from China, so it’s a problem of association, too. Chavez could be an important link between the two. I think the whole thing is a covert Chinese containment policy – especially in light of recent military cooperation with Russia and their resistance to containing Iran’s nuclear program.
Speaking of the Chinese, he’s promised them three oil refineries. We’ll see where he gets that money from, considering he can’t even pay for the one he promised Nicaragua. Once again, he screws over the Venezuelan people…
Jonn wrote: See, that’s the problem. he also promised Torrijos a refinery in Panama more than two years ago. Earlier this year, he promised oil to the entire Caribe. He’s making these promises and not keeping them – it can all come back to haunt him in the near future and then in order to control his own population, he can turn these weapons on them. I’m convinced that’s why he continues to buy military hardware while he still has popular support of sorts. It’s to further entrench himself in power over Venezuelans, not so much in the region.
We can easily cut Chavez off from our own petro dollars by developing our resources if we can get Congress off of it’s bloated carcass and get it working in favor of our national interests instead of the myriad of interest groups that currently have the legislature by the throat.
I might have to slightly disagree with you on this one, Jonn. While I agree that Chávez is absolutely trying to exert his power further over the Venezuelan people, I do feel he’s making a concerted effort to penetrate other vulnerable countries in the region. One needn’t look further than they way he is flagrantly and irresponsibly throwing around money to countries like Nicaragua and Bolivia. Whether or not he is tangibly spreading his influence in the region –I mean in terms of physical items, such as a refinery– his polarizing and, to be frank, absurd rhetoric regarding imperialis, capitalism, etc. exacerbates the already weak state of democracy and Rule of Law in Latin America.
Oh, and about getting this lame-duck Congress to do anything about domestic petropolitics… good luck with that, they’re not going to let us drill up in ANWR, even though it will certainly buy us time in terms of weaning ourselves off foreign oil dependency.
Jonn wrote: Well, I agree with you in the short term, but there’s enough independence among the Latin states that Chavez will eventually meet resistance – especially if he doesn’t make good on his promises.