In defense of Venezuela

THIS WEEK, the State Department announced that it was banning all sales of weapons to Venezuela, alleging that the government of President Hugo Chavez was not cooperating in the worldwide war on terror. Though the sanctions are mostly symbolic -- Washington sells few weapons to Caracas as it is -- the extreme nature of these false allegations indicates that Washington is continuing its long campaign to delegitimize and undermine my country's democratic government.

As the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, I was not surprised. In January, we received word that the Bush administration was considering designating Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism -- politicizing the war on terror. Bush administration officials feebly attempted to link Chavez to terrorist groups and acts, though they have failed to provide any evidence to substantiate such claims. They also claim that Venezuela's friendly relations with Iran and Cuba constitute an "intelligence-sharing relationship" that threatens U.S. security. This is nonsense. Venezuela, like many other countries, maintains relations with Iran and Cuba based on specific interests -- oil with Iran, social programs with Cuba. This poses no threat to the United States.

The administration also has accused us of working with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the Army of National Liberation, or ELN, both of which have been engaged in a five-decade-long conflict with the Colombian government. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chavez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe maintain close and cordial ties, cooperating on everything from law enforcement to commerce. We have extradited a number of irregular fighters to Colombia, including leading figures from the ELN and FARC. And Venezuela has started a process of military modernization to shore up defenses along the country's shared border with Colombia, a process that the Bush administration has attempted to derail through unfounded criticisms and the recent blocking of the sale of Spanish patrol boats and Brazilian transport planes that would help secure the border. And at the request of Uribe, Venezuela has been assisting the Colombian government in its peace negotiations with the ELN.