Saab’s defense subsidiary Bofors has had military contracts with the Venezuelan government for 20 years. According to the United Press International, the company currently has contracts with Caracas for anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.

Over the past year Spanish and Brazilian arms exporters have also cancelled contracts with Venezuela after Washington denied them licenses to sell technology that included U.S.-made components.

In May, Washington slapped a formal arms sales ban on Venezuela, placing the South American nation on its list of states that are “not fully cooperating” with its “war on terrorism.” This list also includes Cuba, Syria, north Korea, and Iran.

The U.S. government, working with sections of Venezuela’s capitalist class, has sought unsuccessfully to overthrow the government headed by President Hugo Chávez, who is popular because of measures that have given more space to workers and farmers to fight for land, jobs, and democratic rights. In April of 2002, Washington backed a coup that briefly toppled the Chávez administration. That coup was defeated within 48 hours as hundreds and thousand of working people protested in Caracas and other cities, forcing a division in the Venezuelan military. Two subsequent U.S.-backed attempts to topple Venezuela’s government—a bosses’ lockout centered in the oil industry and a presidential recall referendum—also failed for similar reasons.

Meanwhile, Washington has continued to pour military aid into neighboring Colombia, which shares a long border with Venezuela. Some $4 billion in weapons and other assistance has been delivered to Bogotá since 2000.

The Venezuelan government has worked to replace arms contracts for its national defense through suppliers whose equipment does not rely on U.S. components. In July, Caracas signed a deal with Moscow to purchase 24 Russian-made Su-30 fighter jets and 53 attack helicopters. “We are breaking the U.S. blockade that was aimed at disarming Venezuela,” Chávez told the media after sealing the deal with the Russian government.

Washington has also stepped up its pressure on countries that trade arms with Iran. On August 4, U.S. officials announced seven companies in Russia, Cuba, north Korea, and India would face sanctions for trading with Tehran in equipment that could allegedly be used in “weapons of mass destruction.”  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home