Terrorist' in the neighborhood

A new documentary calls Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a "terrorist in our hemisphere."

"Crisis in the Americas," a film from the American Security

Council Foundation (ASCF), argues that Mr. Chavez is "turning his country into a forward base for terrorists from around the world including such organizations as Hezbollah and Hamas," and fostering an anti-American partnership with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Proper attention has not been paid to the situation evolving in Venezuela, the ASCF said, a situation that poses a threat to U.S. national security.

Otto Reich, a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, said Mr. Chavez's tactics in both domestic and foreign policy are similar to those of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Mr. Ahmadinejad.

"Chavez's first international friend was Fidel Castro, a person who was a terrorist himself, came to power through terrorism, bombings, assassinations," Mr. Reich said. "Terrorists all the way from Mexico to Argentina and the Middle East, and other parts of the world, are Chavez's friends and they are in Venezuela."

According to ASCF, the Chavez government is increasingly seeking to control the Venezuelan people. Last month, Mr. Chavez announced new taxes on tobacco, alcohol and luxury goods, saying Venezuela should "be ashamed" of its per-capita alcohol consumption.

"I'm not willing to continue offering dollars to import whiskey in these quantities. What kind of revolution is this?" Mr. Chavez said on Venezuela's state-operated TV station, according to the Associated Press.

Featured in the ASCF documentary is Andres Mendoza, a young Venezuelan journalist who said the press and broadcasters no longer have the right to operate independently under Mr. Chavez's rule and that the dictator is "controlling our population."

Former Rep. Bill McCollum, a Republican who is serving as Florida's attorney general, cited the failure of the American government and press to sufficiently discuss the issues at hand in Venezuela, and the serious effects that they have on the U.S.

"I think a lot of Americans are aware that Chavez is a dictator, and aware that he's causing problems, but that's probably the extent of it," Mr. McCollum said.

Mr. McCollum and other officials featured in the documentary — available in DVD format from the ASCF's Web site (www.ascfusa.org) —said Venezuela and Mr. Chavez have enabled terrorists worldwide to operate freely in the Western Hemisphere. Hezbollah now has a presence in Venezuela, Mr. McCollum said, and drug traffickers and terrorists are able to move easily across and within Venezuelan borders.

Mr. Chavez is "probably the largest drug kingpin in history, allowing huge drug transit to Europe and the United States through Venezuela," Mr. McCollum said.

The objective of the documentary is to spread awareness and encourage consideration of an unstable leader situated in South America, posing a potential threat to the U.S., said Michael Waller of the Institute of World Politics.

"You can be a communist. You can be a left-winger of any type. You can be a drug trafficker. You can be a Shi'ite, or you can be Osama bin Laden. ... As long as you're against the United States, Chavez will take you as an ally," Mr. Waller said.