Foreign relations of Venezuela

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Venezuela's declared priorities in the international arena are:

Respect for human rights;
The right of all people to self-determination;
Nonintervention in the internal affairs of other nations;
Peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, including border disputes;
The right of all people to peace and security; and
Support for democracy.

Hemispheric cooperation and integration are two pillars of president Hugo Chávez's foreign policy. Venezuela worked closely with its neighbors following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas--particularly energy integration--and championed the OAS decision to adopt an Anti-Corruption Convention. Venezuela also participates in the UN Friends groups for Haiti. It is pursuing efforts to join the MERCOSUR trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects. The Venezuelan government advocates an end to Cuba's isolation and a "multi-polar" world based on ties among Third World countries.

1 The USA and Hugo Chávez
2 International disputes
- 2.1 Border dispute
- 2.2 Illicit drugs
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
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Further information: Foreign policy of Hugo Chávez

Since Hugo Chávez was elected President of Venezuela, the long-standing close diplomatic relationship between Venezuela and the United States have progressively worsened. During Venezuela's presidency of OPEC in 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries, in the process becoming the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. The visit was controversial at home and in the United States, although Chávez did respect the ban on international flights to and from Iraq (he drove from Iran, his previous stop).^[1]

Chávez's stance as an OPEC price hawk has raised the price of oil for the United States. His public friendship and significant trade relationship with Cuba and Fidel Castro has undermined the U.S. foreign policy of isolating Cuba. Long-running ties between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries were severed on Chávez's initiative. Chávez has been intensely critical of U.S. economic and foreign policy: in Iraq, Haiti, regarding the Free Trade Area of the Americas and in numerous other areas.

After Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez resumed his presidency in April 2002, he claimed that a plane with U.S. registration numbers had visited and been berthed at Venezuela's Orchila Island airbase, where Chávez had been held captive. On May 14, 2002, Chávez alleged that he had definitive proof of U.S. military involvement in April's coup. He claimed that during the coup Venezuelan radar images had indicated the presence of U.S. naval vessels and aircraft in Venezuelan waters and airspace. The Guardian published a claim by Wayne Madsen – a writer (at the time) for left-wing publications, former U.S. naval analyst, and critic of the George W. Bush administration – alleging U.S. naval involvement.^[2] U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT, requested an investigation of concerns that Washington appeared to condone the removal of Chavez,^[3]^[4] which subsequently found that "U.S. officials acted appropriately and did nothing to encourage an April coup against Venezuela's president", nor did they provide any naval logistical support.^[5]^[6]

According to Democracy Now!, CIA documents indicate that the Bush administration knew about a plot weeks before the April military coup. They cite a document dated 6 April 2002, which says: "dissident military factions...are stepping up efforts to organize a coup against President Chavez, possibly as early as this month." According to William Brownfield, U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, the U.S. embassy in Venezuela warned Chávez about a coup plot in April 2002.^[7] Further, the U.S. Department of State and the investigation by the U.S. Office of the Inspector General found no evidence that "U.S. assistance programs in Venezuela, including those funded by the [U.S.] National Endowment for Democracy (NED), were inconsistent with U.S. law or policy" or ". . . directly contributed, or was intended to contribute, to the coup d'état."^[8]^[5]

Venezuelan President Chávez also claimed, during the coup's immediate aftermath, that the U.S. was still seeking his overthrow. On October 6, 2002, he stated that he had foiled a new coup plot, and on October 20, 2002, he stated that he had barely escaped an assassination attempt while returning from a trip to Europe. During that period, the US ambassador to Venezuela warned the Chávez administration of two potential assassination plots.^[7]

Venezuelan President Chávez's anti-U.S. rhetoric has sometimes touched the personal. In response to the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, Chávez called U.S. President George W. Bush a pendejo ("dumbass"). In a later speech, he made personal remarks regarding United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The U.S. has called Chávez a "negative force" in the region, and requested support from Venezuela's neighbors in isolating Chávez.

The United States has opposed and lobbied against numerous Venezuelan arms purchases, including a purchase of 100,000 rifles from Russia, which United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld implied would be passed on to FARC, and the purchase of aircraft from Brazil. The United States has also warned Israel to not carry through on a deal to upgrade Venezuela's aging fleet of F-16s, and has similarly pressured Spain.

At the 2005 meeting of the Organization of American States, a United States resolution to add a mechanism to monitor the nature of democracies was widely seen as a move to isolate Venezuela. The failure of the resolution was seen as politically significant, expressing Latin American support for Chávez.

Venezuela claims most of Guyana west of the Essequibo River. It also has a maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela.

Venezuela is a small-scale producer of opium for the international drug trade. Large quantities of cocaine and heroin transit the country from Colombia bound for the US and Europe