State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Looms for Venezuela

CONGRESS MEMBERS BEGIN GROUNDWORK TO DESIGNATE VENEZUELA AS "STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM"

Since Representative Darrell Issa (CA-R) introduced House Resolution 965 condemning President Chavez last month, the political fervor in Congress to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism has increased noticeably.

This is not the first time Congress has moved to condemn Venezuela. In fact, this is the fourth year in a row that it has done so. In 2005, Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) introduced an anti-Venezuela resolution to increase US funding for the activities of the political opposition in Venezuela. In 2006, a resolution by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) sought to condemn Venezuela for allegedly failing to cooperate with the U.S. in the fight against drug trafficking. In 2007, Congress pushed hard to pass a resolution condemning Venezuela on freedom of expression.

This month, Connie Mack (R-FL) and other Republican Members of Congress are attempting to go a step further with House Resolution 1049, calling on the State Department to designate Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism. This would impose a number of sanctions on Venezuela and U.S. companies that do business there.

Visit our ACTION CENTER today to find out more about H. Res. 1049 and take action by sending a letter to your elected officials. It's fast and easy!

WASHINGTON POST INCREASES HOSTILITY TOWARD VENEZUELA

News outlets in the US haven't characterized Venezuela much better.  Overall, press coverage of Venezuela in the U.S. has been negative and one-sided, and media outlets have knowingly refused to cover key issues that debunk this viewpoint.

The amount of half-truths and misinformation spread by the Washington Post alone about Venezuela haS increased immensely over the last year and a half,  according to a recent investigation by the Ministry of Communication and Information in Caracas.  This is especially true of the opinion section, overseen by the notoriously anti-Venezuela editorial page editor, Jackson Diehl.

Venezuela's Minister of Communication and Information, Andres Izarra, wrote this week in a letter to the Post that the daily has "manipulated and outright censored" information on Venezuela. The paper consistently amplified negative coverage of Venezuela through generalizations that are neither credible nor based in fact, and strategically downplayed achievements.  The letter states: "Mr. Diehl, you should certainly know that the United States is currently waging an international war against terrorism. Within that framework, the Bush administration has clearly stated that those nations associated with or friendly to terrorist states or groups can be subject to preemptive invasion or intervention. Are you seeking such an end in Venezuela?"

Of particular concern are Washington Post editorials from February and March that implied support for a boycott of Venezuelan oil and warned that Venezuela could be in "danger."

Read the Minister's complete letter here. Share your own opinion of the Post's coverage of Venezuela by writing to the readers' representative: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.