Thread: Venezuela Says Americans Could Be Denied Visas in Response t

Aug 12, 2005

Venezuela Says Americans Could Be Denied Visas in Response to U.S. Visa Revocations
By Christopher Toothaker
Associated Press Writer


CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - American citizens could be denied visas to visit Venezuela in response to a U.S. decision to revoke the visas of six Venezuelan military officers, the vice president said Friday. Jose Vicente Rangel said Venezuela had decided to take a harder line after the United States pulled the visas of six officers previously involved in anti-drug efforts with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

"The Venezuelan government ... will proceed quickly, with responsibility, but firmly to reciprocate in the cases of U.S. citizens who travel to our country," Rangel told a press conference.

Rangel said Venezuelans who apply for visas to the United States are often subject to "humiliating" treatment by U.S. Embassy officials. "We could study a similar policy," Rangel said, without giving specifics.

The visas of six military officers who worked with the DEA were revoked following Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's announcement this week that cooperation with the U.S. agency would be suspended because its agents were involved in spying.

U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield denied the accusations, which have aggravated tensions between Caracas and Washington.

Chavez made the accusations against DEA agents after prosecutors opened an investigation into the agency's activities in Venezuela.

Rangel said DEA agents in Venezuela also worked with "unacceptable autonomy" while "detaining and interrogating Venezuelans" without notifying Venezuelan authorities.

The vice president said DEA agents maintained "strange ties" with drug traffickers in Venezuela, which often serves as a corridor for Colombian cocaine destined for the United States and Europe.

Ryan Methany, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, declined to comment on the reason why the military officers' visas were revoked.

"Due to the confidentiality of the records, we cannot give details," Methany said.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, have grown increasingly strained since Chavez survived a short-lived 2002 coup.

Chavez, a leftist former army paratroop commander with close ties to Fidel Castro, accused the administration of President George W. Bush of fomenting the military rebellion, an allegation U.S. officials deny.

He claims the United States backed opposition groups that helped organize a presidential recall last year. Chavez, who won the vote by a large margin, is up for re-election next year.
AP-ES-08-12-05 1550EDT

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBM6VTUACE.html

Our government needs to leave Venezuela alone.

Originally Posted by Judy

Our government needs to leave Venezuela alone.

Our "government" BETTER leave Venezuela alone. Right now they are all in Crawford, TEXAS at the rancho del dumbasso. Messing with Chavez is liking messing with mother nature.

American citizens could be denied visas to visit Venezuela in response to a U.S. decision to revoke the visas of six Venezuelan military officers, the vice president said Friday.

Go ahead. Who cares what you do.

Venezuela is a socialist [mod edit]hole.

The only reason to go there is if you are scouting for a major league baseball team.

And Dominican players are better than Venezuelans anyway.

The fewer Americans that visit that dump, the better.

Originally Posted by Jeonju

Venezuela is a socialist s**thole.

The only reason to go there is if you are scouting for a major league baseball team.

And Dominican players are better than Venezuelans anyway.

The fewer Americans that visit that dump, the better.

That is what you have been told. I know the people of Venezuela, and they are great. This is a more socialist country than any other in the WORLD. Venezuela in the person of Hugo Chavez stands up to this nation against CAFTA. They stand up for their region, their HOOD Don't judge a book by a Madison Ave. cover

I think we should support Venezuela with the buycott and see what happens. It's better than supporting GLOBALISTS trying to end our nation, pollute our environment, rob our treasuries through the Energy Bill, and sell us all out downriver to the Third World Toilet Bowl. I admire any leader that recognizes that these Treason Trade Treaties are stealing sovereignty and Chavez does which is why he opposed SHAFTA CAFTA!!

Lets say Thank You by buying CITGO gas.

While he may hate BUSH, maybe he likes Americans.

The U.S. imports from Venezuela (1.273 million barrels of oil per day). scary isn't it? What I would like to know, if Ortho can make a chemical to spray on your front lawn that kills the weeds yet leaves the grass, why can't they make a renewable alcohol based fuel that will work just fine in our existing vehicles? The farmers would be the new oil barons, there would be massive employment in the distilleries/refinearies. We could say "Pzzzzztttt" (typed razberries) to the middle east and those "other" oil hyjackers. No need for everyone to buy new cars, maybe a few slight mods. Heck, dragsters go over 300 MPH on an alcohol blend, so do formula 1 cars (about 230mph).

Defens, there are programs already that allow this. Methonol from corn is such a program developed I believe by ADM. The distribution network has been the issue and of course the major oil companies want to protect their markets while there is still oil to sell.

The problem with using agricultural land for energy is that this would take lands out of production for food. It would not be a reasonable permanent solution without massive population control.

NC loses 400 acres of farm and timber land every day to development. Arizona is losing 50 acres of farm and timber land every HOUR to development.

The US has set a course for doubling its population within the next 20 years. There will not be enough farmland for food or timberland to provide wood products or clean the air. If farmland or timberland is cleared to grow fuel for automobiles, then we'll starve to death or burn up.

They are working on a a hydrogen based fuel that may show some promise. I believe GM is working on this. I don't know the details but GM when focused on doing the right thing is probably the best automotive research group in the world. Their talent gets misdirected by silly CEOs who thought SUVs were a wise and lasting objective.

What ever Judy says.