ISSUES....
Inside,
confidential, off the record
The
Honorable Delahunt
The Honorable William D. Delahunt
U.S. House of Representatives
2454 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
January 24th 2008
Dear Rep. Delahunt:
I
write to convey my doubts about your stance on issues affecting
Venezuela and its relations to the U.S. I am
a concerned Venezuelan
national who over the years has observed your dodged efforts to
cultivate a friendly and surprisingly tolerant relationship with
Hugo Chávez, my country's President.
Having
met with you and having attended hearings and events at which
you have spoken on the subject of Venezuela,
I fail to comprehend
the rational for your permissive posture towards the increasingly
authoritarian and anti-U.S. President Chávez.
In
an effort to better understand the motives and methods regarding
your obstinate and narrow posture towards my
country, I would like
to pose the following questions to you. While I look forward to
receiving a response, many in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
as well as in my country, would be well served by reading the answers
to these questions. In the interest of full transparency, I suggest
you might include the answers and additional details about your
close relationship with Mr. Chávez on a new section of your
web site so your constituents can better appreciate your views
and priorities:
Given
that the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) is
listed as a terrorist group by both the
European Union and the
United States, does it not undermine the efforts of the legitimate
democratically-elected government of Colombia in its quest for
peace, as well as grant an unwarranted legitimacy to the FARC,
when you send a letter to the FARC during the recent negotiations
regarding the many hostages held by that terrorist group? Is this
an effort to establish a practical political partnership with President
Chávez who has called on the world to remove the label of "terrorist" from
the FARC, in open defiance of the explicit wishes and policies
of the democratically-elected government of Colombia? Do you agree
with Mr. Chávez's demand that the FARC should be granted
belligerent status and thus stricken from the list of terrorist
organizations?
Several years ago, the government of Venezuela demanded the Government
of the United States negotiate a new set of protocols for the operation
of the DEA in Venezuela. The U.S . – according to published
reports and testimony - did accede to this request and negotiated
an agreement that was approved by Luis Correa, who was then Venezuela's
anti-narcotics chief. The agreement however was apparently discarded
by Mr. Chávez. Given that the U.S. administration has harshly
criticized Venezuela's drug interdiction efforts, can you share
Mr. Chávez's rationale for not signing a revised cooperation
agreement as it has been reported that this was discussed during
your recent conversations with him?
Why did you remain silent as Mr. Chávez was honoring the
Iranian president, Mr. Ahmadinejad? As a known friend (some would
say apologist) of Mr. Chávez, it would have made a serious
impression upon people if you had chosen to condemn Chávez's
praises for this anti-Semitic ruffian?
Other than condemning Chávez's overblown rhetoric whenever
Chávez insults President Bush, why have you failed to condemn
any of the substantively anti-democratic acts committed by the
Chávez government — including the politically motivated
confiscation of the hard earned health and pension benefits of
thousands of PDVSA employees who were fired arbitrarily; the persecution—without
grounds—of countless individual citizens for political reasons;
the refusal to follow judicial due process or hold any administrative
fact finding proceedings prior to the closure of the RCTV television
channel—these being among many other arbitrary and well-documented
developments?
Mr. Chávez has enlisted the services of Joseph P. Kennedy,
a former Congressman from your own state of Massachusetts, to portray
the corrupt and inept Bolivarian régime as being concerned
for the fate of poor Americans. In this regard, have you read the
report prepared by the GAO on the risks posed by Mr. Chávez's
reckless management of the largest oil reservoirs in the hemisphere?
Sir, are you unaware of the effects on supplies and prices resulting
from Mr. Chávez's reckless firing in 2003 of almost all
the qualified personnel at PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil monopoly?
Sir, are you aware that one who reportedly spends "millions" to
provide "relief" to the most needy in your state has
himself vociferously demanded actions by OPEC that have led to
higher oil prices, which have had pernicious effects on every single
household in the U.S.?
Mr. Delahunt, I respectfully request your answers these questions
as openly as they have been asked and delivered to you. I will
duly post them on my blog where I am also posting this letter.
Sincerely,
Pedro M. Burelli
pmbcomments@gmail.com
www.pmbcomments.com
Petroleumworld
01 31 08
ISSUES....
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