Gustavo Coronel :Chavez is surrendering Venezuela into Russian arms

Hell has no fury like a woman scorned…

William Congreve, 1670-1729.

Congreve forgot to add: or like a political narcissist treated with indifference and disdain. For long months, even years, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has insulted, shouted at and threatened US President George Bush without generating any reaction from him other than silent contempt. This has provoked such a fury in Chavez that, like a lover spurned, he has decided to deliver himself and our country into Russia's arms.

This tragic process of surrendering our remaining traces of national sovereignty (whatever is left after the takeover of our key intelligence and national security sectors by the Cubans) started about three years ago, when Hugo Chavez embarked in a shopping spree for weapons and selected Russia as main supplier.

During a first round of acquisitions he bought 100,000 Kalishnikov rifles and signed an agreement to manufacture them in Venezuelan soil. This factory is already under construction. He also acquired 36 Sukhoi jet fighters (24 already delivered) and placed an order for up to 100 T-90 tanks. This initial order amounted to over $4 billion.

As Bush seemed indifferent, Chavez increased his wooing of Putin. He visited Russia two, three times, unsuccessfully trying to address the Russian parliament, becoming a nuisance for Putin but one that could not be openly dismissed since he had become such a good client of the Russian military establishment.

The second order for military equipment included 10-12 transport planes, 2 in-flight tankers, 20-30 missile systems and 6-8 helicopters. A third visit was the occasion to place an order for three or four diesel-powered submarines, similar to the one that just had a very serious accident at sea, killing more than 20 members of its crew. At the same time he obtained a credit line for one billion dollars to be dedicated to payment for these weapons.

When Russia and Georgia had their recent showdown over South Ossetia Hugo Chavez lost no time in siding with the Russians, just to irritate the indifferent Bush.

More recently Chavez has decided to create a $4 billion "joint bank" with Russia in order to finance oil industry projects in Venezuelan soil. Chavez is giving away to Russians selected areas of proven Venezuelan oil reserves for their development and is also allowing Gazprom to explore for natural gas in offshore Venezuela. The first exploration well for gas has recently been started, with Chavez and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin attending. In this event Chavez spoke about Venezuela "becoming independent from imperialistic US and becoming tied to Russia forever," from atop an offshore drilling rig rented from … a US company.

This new loan from Russia to Venezuela has to be added to about $12 billion already borrowed from China and Japan , since Venezuela is finding it hard to obtain bank loans which are urgently needed because the Chavez regime keeps spending more than its oil income.

In fact, Chavez is now committing future oil and/or gas production as collateral to pay these loans, something that represents a gross violation of Venezuelan law.

• Just like the scorned woman who will dance with any man just to show the "other," Chavez has announced that he will soon adopt the ruble as the reference currency for Venezuelan international reserves.

Recent reports also reveal that a Russian company, RusAl, is interested in opening a new alumina mill in Venezuela for which some 4 gigawatts of electric energy will be needed. Since Venezuela is already showing acute shortages of electricity for normal national consumption, with ever more frequent nation-wide blackouts, is hard to see where this additional electricity requirement would come from.

Not only two large Russian bomber planes have been visiting Venezuela recently, flying ostentatiously over our territory, but a portion of the Russian navy, including a large carrier, Peter the Great, is expected to arrive in Venezuela by the end of this month of November. This is a show put up by Putin and Chavez to challenge the US in their own "backyard." Chavez has converted Venezuela into a submissive pawn in a new chapter of the cold war, probably designed to play a similar role to the one played by Cuba during the 1960s missile crisis.

In the mining area, Chavez has taken the concession of the large Las Cristinas gold mine away from a rather murky Canadian mining company called Crystallex, only to pass it over to a … rather murky company called Rusoro, defined by a high Venezuelan official as Russian. In fact, the company seems to be Canadian, although with important Russian shareholders (the Agapov family), a Russian office and an Italian-sounding president (Mr. Salamis).

The surrendering of Venezuelan resources and strategic activities to Russia also include the nuclear sector. Chavez has said: ["eat your heart out, Bush"] "we will build atomic reactors," adding with glee: "they will accuse us [I hope] of building atomic bombs."

Chavez has signed with the Russians some 15 cooperation agreements including the supply by Russia of milk, wheat, salami and margarine and expects the visit of Russian President Medvedev by the end of November. According to a story by AFP Chavez has expressed: "It has cost us a lot but we are finally strategic partners [with Russia ]."

He can say that again. He has not only paid billions of dollars of our Venezuelan money to Putin for military toys but he has surrendered our national sovereignty out of spite, what we, in Latin America , call "despecho." This surrender of Hugo Chavez into Putin's arms is only the latest in the series of treasons committed by the Venezuelan strongman against our nation.

In Venezuela we have a saying that explains the abandon with which he is committing this latest crime: "Que es una raya mas para un tigre?" -- which approximately means: "Why should the tiger worry about one more stripe?"

Gustavo Coronel
gustavocoronelg@hotmail.com

Gustavo Coronel is a 28 years oil industry veteran, a member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), author of several books.