Anti-Bush, And Mincing No Words

Reportedly, Venezuela is buying MiG planes, as well as rifles, from Russia. Why does Venezuela need these?

Who told you that I am going to buy MiGs? I am going to buy rifles, that's true. Our rifles are very old. Venezuela does not have spare parts or the workshops to maintain our equipment. It is high time for us to replace our old rifles. We could not buy rifles from the Americans because of the poor relations we have. We did not like what they had to offer in Europe because of the prices. We liked the Russian rifles. They are to defend our country. We are threatened by the empire.

Is the U.S. the empire?

The government of the United States, that's the empire. We have evidence that there are plans in this country to invade Venezuela. There is a plan called "Balboa." Our intelligence found this plan, and everything is spelled out there -- the target is Venezuela. They have even calculated how many bombings they should do, how many soldiers they will require. We now have the counter-Balboa plan. I hope that this will never happen because you're going to regret it. There will be such havoc in the whole hemisphere if this happens. The United States invaded Iraq, but Venezuela is not Iraq. The price of oil would shoot up and reach what -- $100 a barrel?

Experts in Washington claim you are encouraging radical groups throughout Latin America -- that you're helping the FARC in Colombia, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Shafik Handal and the FMLN in El Salvador, and Evo Morales and the MAS in Bolivia.

Shafik is a great friend. We are together in this same revolutionary effort, of course. Shafik is a deputy member of the National Assembly, the [FMLN is] a legal party in El Salvador. Daniel Ortega is a close friend, and I think he will be a candidate in the next election. He is a great guy, very intelligent. Evo Morales is my friend, another great guy and an Indian leader. The parties they represent have excellent relations with my party. Do you want me to support the extreme right wing? I am a revolutionary. I have to support the left-wing movements in Latin America. We have to change Latin America.

Would you like to see these countries modeled on Cuba?

No country is going to copy any model. Cuba is Cuba and is based on its own circumstances. Latin American today is going to the left and not to the right.

In America, people believe in protecting minority rights and in a free press. What about the Sumate members who are on trial in your country?

Never before have we had so many political groups participate in the elections and debates in Venezuela -- right wing, left wing, center, radical left, radical right. They organize demonstrations and meetings; they go to the media: on TV, on radio. Not only have we not shut down any media [outlets] but, on the contrary, they have multiplied. . . . I doubt very much that in any other country in the world, there is more freedom of speech than in Venezuela. We will never jail a journalist in Venezuela because he does not want to reveal his sources. Here, yes. You have a journalist in jail here [New York Times reporter Judith Miller] because she did not want to reveal her sources.

In my capacity as head of state, I cannot comment on the legal aspects of the Sumate issue. It is true that they have been sued. But not only Sumate, other people and groups that took part in the coup of 2002 . . .

Weren't they merely gathering signatures for a referendum [against you as allowed by law]?

They did that as well and they lost.

So, why were they indicted for that?

I don't know if they are really going to be thrown in jail. We have a judiciary and an attorney general. If I had to make the decision, from a political standpoint I would prefer to ignore these people. We have evidence that they took part in the coup before gathering the signatures -- there is proof that they took part in a conspiracy. It is up to the branches in power to say what the decision is. It is not up to me to decide. In this country, from President Bush downward, everyone is defending Sumate. Sumate became an instrument of the U.S. government to intervene in Venezuela. I defend my sovereignty and the sovereignty of my country.