Rev. Jackson Meets With Venezuela’s Chavez

08/29/2005

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday urged President Bush to strongly condemn a U.S. religious broadcaster’s call to assassinate Venezuela’s leftist president, saying Washington needs to cool down the rhetoric against this South American nation and major oil producer.

The U.S. civil rights leader met Hugo Chavez in private at the presidential palace, moving to ease tensions aggravated last week by Pat Robertson’s suggestion that Chavez ought to be killed.

Chavez said after the session that he was willing to cooperate with the United States in the anti-drug fight, a program he canceled recently amid claims of U.S. spying. Also, his government provided details on his earlier pledge to sell oil directly to poor U.S. communities.

“We never lose hope that we’ll regain a good tone with Mr. Bush’s government,” Chavez said.


Jackson told The Associated Press in an interview shortly before the meeting that “we must make it clear that talk of isolating Venezuela, talk of assassinating its leader, this is unacceptable, and it must be denounced roundly by our president and by our secretary of state.”

“The U.S. and Venezuelan leadership must have a detente on rhetoric. That exacerbates tensions,” Jackson said. “We need to have a cooling down of divisive rhetoric.”

Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro who frequently criticizes what he calls U.S. domination of Latin America, said Sunday night that his government could ask the Washington to extradite Robertson to Venezuela for suggesting U.S. agents kill him.

“Calling for the assassination of a head of state is a terrorist act,” said Chavez, who has regularly accused the U.S. government and its allies of plotting to overthrow him. The U.S. government denies the charge.

The U.S. State Department said Monday that Venezuela does not appear to have a sound legal basis for extradition.


“I think that’s probably of questionable legal foundation,” spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Robertson called for Chavez’s assassination on his TV show “The 700 Club” a week ago, saying the United States should “take him out” because the Venezuelan leader poses a danger to the region.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a supporter of Bush’s re-election bid, later apologized.

But Jackson said that isn’t enough.

“The Pat Robertson statement was the threat that was heard around the world,” Jackson said. “It reinforces ancient fears because the U.S. has had a policy of eliminating leaders in this region, in Guatemala, in Chile.”


Jackson, who arrived Saturday for a visit along with members of his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, cited record-high oil prices as one major reason the U.S. government should seek better relations with Venezuela, which is the world’s fifth largest oil exporter and a major supplier to the U.S. market.

“We need a good relationship with this energy problem now,” Jackson told the AP, adding that both sides should work to establish a “good-neighbor policy.”

Jackson, who also planned to tour one of Venezuela’s state-backed cooperatives on Tuesday, said his visit had been scheduled about two months ago, long before Robertson’s remarks.

Chavez, an ex-army officer elected in 1998, says he is leading Venezuela toward socialism and has accused the United States of backing a short-lived coup against him in 2002, along with a series of other efforts to destabilize his government.

U.S. officials have strongly denied trying to bring down Chavez, even as they have made clear they are concerned about Chavez’s ties with Castro and what his opponents call the Venezuelan leader’s authoritarian tendencies.


Chavez recently suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, accusing its agents of acting as spies. But after emerging from the talks with Jackson, Chavez said: “We are willing to continue working in the fight against drugs with Mr. Bush’s government.”

Chavez also offered Venezuelan aid to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and he reiterated a recent suggestion that his country would provide oil directly to poor U.S. communities.

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Venezuela’s Citgo Petroleum Corp. refineries produce some 660,000 barrels a day of oil products, and that Chavez has offered 10 percent of that - in heating oil - to help poor U.S. communities starting this winter.

The fuel would be sold directly to the communities, avoiding middle men to bring down costs, Ramirez said.

Tensions also have been aggravated by the case of Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles, a naturalized Venezuelan accused by Chavez’s government of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jet that killed 73 people.

McCormack said the U.S. is reviewing the Posada Carriles extradition request.

As for the overall state of U.S.-Venezuelan relations, McCormack said there are “certainly difficulties” but that the two countries continue to hold diplomatic discussions.