America Ends All Arms Sales To Venezuela
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
CARACAS, Venezuela – America ended all commercial arms sales to Venezuela, saying President Hugo Chavez isn’t doing enough to support its war on terrorism.
America imposed sanctions on Venezuela, its fourth-largest oil supplier, saying the South American country’s friendship with Iran and Cuba had made it difficult to cooperate on the fight against terrorism. The sanctions prohibit the sale of all American arms to Venezuela.
“The Venezuelan government has showed a near total lack of cooperation with the anti-terrorism effort over the past year,” a State Department spokesman, Eric Watnik, said in a telephone interview. Mr. Watnick said he didn’t know details on American arms sales to Venezuela.
The sanctions are the latest twist in the deterioration of relations between America and Mr. Chavez in which Mr. Chavez accused President Bush of seeking his ouster while American administration officials characterized Mr. Chavez as a destabilizing force.