Pubdate: Sat, 13 Aug 2005
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2005 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Juan Forero
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Venezuela

U.S. REVOKES VISAS FOR 3 TOP-RANKING VENEZUELAN OFFICERS SUSPECTED OF 
DRUG TRAFFICKING

The United States said on Friday that it had
revoked the visas for three high-ranking Venezuelan military officers
suspected of drug trafficking, prompting President Hugo Chavez's
government to retaliate by promising to withdraw diplomatic immunity
for American narcotics agents in Venezuela.

"For every attack, there will be a reaction; for every strike, a
strike back; for every measure, a corresponding measure; and the
revoking of visas will mean reciprocal action," Vice President Jose
Vicente Rangel told reporters in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, he added, "has functioned in
Venezuela with diplomatic immunity because they operate as employees
of the U.S. Embassy. That privilege is over."

The latest spat between the United States and Mr. Chavez's populist
government began Sunday when Mr. Chavez suspended bilateral antidrug
cooperation after accusing the D.E.A. of spying. The United States had
previously complained that Venezuela was not doing enough to stop
shipments of Colombian cocaine from going through Venezuela en route
to the United States or Europe.

A spokesman for the United States Embassy in Caracas, Ryan Matheny,
confirmed the identity of the three military officers as Gen. Frank
Morgado, chief of the Venezuelan National Guard's antidrug unit, Gen.
Alexis Maneiro and Maj. Iran Salas, also officers in the Guard.

American officials said the visas were pulled under an immigration law
barring entry to the United States for officials suspected of
drug-related activities. Washington also barred three lower-ranking
Venezuelan officers from obtaining visas for the same reason.

"We don't talk about specific visas," the United States ambassador in
Caracas, William Brownfield, told Venezuela's Globovision television.
"But there is a part of U.S. immigration law that obliges us to revoke
the visa of anyone suspected of participating in illicit activities
related to drug-trafficking."

Mr. Rangel called the decision to pull the visas political and hailed
the officers' service as "impeccable." The American accusations, he
said were "grave and inconsiderate."

"To reach that conclusion you have to have a trial," he said of the
accusations. "I think it's an irresponsibility on the part of the
United States."

American officials, though, have raised serious concerns for months
about what they say is a spike in trafficking through Venezuela, which
does not produce cocaine but is considered a major conduit country.

The Venezuelan government's commitment to stopping drugs has appeared
to flag. In June, Mildred Camero, the well-regarded chief of the
country's drug-fighting unit of the central government, was abruptly
removed, with little explanation. Earlier that month, a leading
Colombian trafficker, Jose Maria Corredor, who was wanted by American
authorities, escaped from prison after bribing guards.

"Venezuela is being stricken by drug trafficking," an American
official in Colombia who is involved in fighting drugs, said in a
recent interview on condition of anonymity because of agency policy.
"The drug-trafficking organizations based in this region are ripping a
trail right through the center of the country."

American officials say the developments in Venezuela would be taken
into account as the State Department determines by next month whether
to certify Venezuela as cooperating in the war on drugs. If Venezuela
is decertified, it could face sanctions on loans and other aid.

Earlier this week, Adam Ereli, a State Department spokesman, said in
Washington that Mr. Chavez's decision to suspend cooperation with the
D.E.A. was "an effort to detract from the government's increasingly
deficient record of cooperation."

Mr. Ereli added that the decision "would obviously have an impact on
deliberations concerning our annual decision-making process" regarding
certification.

The Venezuelan government has blamed the United States for the
region's drug problems and said it would continue cooperating with the
United Nations in combating drugs.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake