Western Hemisphere Missile Crisis?

By Noquel A. Matos

This last Friday on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez announced it will buy short range missiles from Russia. Chavez clarified that the purpose of the missiles were only for defense against an attack or invasion and that Venezuela was not planning an attack against another country.

However, the purchase of the missiles with enough range to strike American military installations in Colombia, Curacao and the Island of Aruba are suspected to be Chavez's response to America's plan to increase its military presence in Colombia. Chavez's decision of purchasing the missiles might bring conflict with the United States. The United States might read Chavez's move of purchasing these weapons as the leader's intention of following his fellow nation leader Fidel Castro's steps. During the Cuban missile crisis in 1961 Fidel Castro placed Soviet Union's (Russian) missiles in its mountains in response to United States' placing of missiles in Turkey.

Alarm in Washington over President Chavez's transaction with Russia is to be expected. On this last decade, Hugo Chavez has come to replace Castro as the most outspoken anti-American leader in the Western Hemisphere. Also, Chavez has openly accused the United States of backing the military coup that temporarily removed him from government in 2002. Moreover, more than once Chavez has denounced plans of the United States to assassinate him.

If any country in the Western Hemisphere has the motive and the capability to attack the United States is Venezuela. The United States should take this seriously because if a conflict were to prevail the loses will be equally as high in both sides since Venezuela is the fourth largest supplier of American oil and Venezuela's economy depends heavily on America's petrodollars.