President Chavez of Venezuela says Premier Castro of Cuba is his role model. Cuba has long had ties with Russia. In the 60s, we had the Betelgeuse scared out of us during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Russia began secretly-building missile bases in Cuba, a mere 90 miles offshore USA.
President Kennedy told Russia that any aggression launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere would be reason for full retaliation by the US against Russia.
A negotiation was made, the missile bases were dismantled. Later, it was acknowledged that the US also withdrew certain installations from countries bordering Russia.
This week Putin sent from Russia to Venezuela several planes equipped to carry nuclear weapons. Heretofore, Venezuela had no such capacity.
US diplomatic relations with President Chavez and Putin of Russia have been exceedingly strained, very similar to the strain and testing of timbre going on in the 1960s between the US and Russia.
Here is a map, just to reiterate how close Venezuela is to Cuba, the US, vulnerable Mexico and Central America. Not to mention Guatemala, the Panama Canal and Colombia. *See Bolivia’s stance below.
President Bush? Will you follow In John F. Kennedy’s footsteps? Or shall you remain silent? Is this a crisis in the making? Or will it become so, for any number of reasons, for the next guy to be inaugurated in January 09?
Today, on the anniversary of 9-11, you said publicly, ‘the buildings fell down and heroes rose up.’ Which shall you do now?
And John? Barack? Your strategic takes on this now? Sin BS. Please let us know ASAP.
Addendum:
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – President Hugo Chavez says the U.S. ambassador has 72 hours to leave Venezuela and he’s recalling his ambassador from Washington.
Chavez said he’s asking U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy to leave as a means of showing solidarity with *Bolivian President Evo Morales, who expelled Washington’s envoy in La Paz.
“They’re trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia,” Chavez said. “That’s enough … from you, Yankees,” he said, using an expletive.
Chavez announced the decision during a televised speech, hours after saying his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him.
Chavez accused the group of current and former military officers of trying to assassinate him and topple the government with support from the United States. He didn’t offer evidence.
U.S. officials have repeatedly denied Chavez’s accusations that Washington has backed plots against him.