Jim McIlroy, Caracas

The Venezuelan government has informed Spain that it will shop elsewhere for military aircraft and patrol boats if Madrid cannot overcome Washington’s veto on selling items that contain US technology to Caracas. The US has also banned the sale by Brazil of Tucano training aircraft to Venezuela, because they contain US parts.

“We’ll ask the Spaniards once and for all if they find it impossible to sell [the aircraft and boats] to us, in which case we will buy our patrol boats in Russia, or in China, or in Iran, in India or even in Brazil”, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told a meeting of industry officials on January 30, according to the February 1 Caracas Daily Journal.

“As you know, Mr Danger [US President George Bush] goes around the world blackmailing and pressuring people so that nobody will sell us what we need to defend our land”, Chavez told the gathering.

“If the United States doesn’t allow Spaniards to sell them to us, what can I do? I’ll have to go to Moscow or Beijing to buy them — but Venezuela is going to have patrol boats, you can be sure of that.”

On top of this, the US will not supply spare parts for the 22 F-16 fighter-bombers that make up the backbone of Venezuela s air force.

Chavez stated that due to the slow but continuous using up of replacement parts, some of the aircraft are no longer operative, and said that if the situation continued, he would not hesitate to buy MiG-29s from Russia.

From Green Left Weekly, February 8, 2006.
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