Chavez bound for Syria as U.S. looks on

[Jag]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060829/...la_chavez_dc_2

Tue Aug 29, 6:17 AM ET


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he would leave for

Syria later on Tuesday on a trip likely to rile Washington, which charges the Arab nation with sponsoring terrorism.

Chavez has led an increasingly powerful leftist resurgence in Latin America that has worked to roll back U.S.-supported free-market reforms of the 1990s.

"Now I can say we are taking off in a few hours for the Arab Republic of Syria," Chavez, speaking through an interpreter, told a group of businessmen in Kuala Lumpur.

Tensions between Caracas and Washington flared last week after a spat over Venezuela's impounding of cargo that the U.S. embassy said was protected by diplomatic protocol.

Chavez, a harsh critic of U.S. foreign and trade policies, had arrived in Malaysia on Sunday for a three-day visit to cement bilateral business ties.

He seeks to enhance Venezuela's influence on the world stage by boosting ties with U.S. foes such as

Iran and Cuba, despite Washington's criticism of what he calls a socialist revolution.

The Bush administration and British Prime Minister

Tony Blair say Syria backs militant groups in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon and has stoked recent violence in the Middle East.

An aide to Chavez, who asked not to be identified, said the two countries would sign a pact during Chavez's visit to Damascus, but gave no details. From Syria, Chavez flies to Angola.

In Kuala Lumpur, Chavez urged Malaysian businessmen to invest in Venezuela's energy, telecommunications, construction and food-processing sectors.

Officials of the two nations were working on plans for an investment-guarantee fund aimed at smoothing investment, and hoped to sign pacts on business ties during a visit to Venezuela planned by the Malaysian prime minister in December, Chavez said.

"The new geopolitics of the world is tied to the bilateral relations of countries like us," he said, adding that his government sought investment to help revitalize Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

"To transform Caracas into a nice place, a nice city, with your help we can do it. You can come to Caracas and bring investment," he said.

Part of that investment could eventually be paid off in oil, Chavez said, noting that the national oil companies of the two countries were in talks on ways to cooperate. Venezuela is the world's No. 5 oil exporter.

Malaysia, which is the world's largest producer of palm oil, could share its palm-processing technology with Venezuela, which offers several million hectares of land for palm plantations, Chavez said. "Palm oil is very important for us," he said.


There would be no better time to take this freak out....
Jag

[American Patriot]

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > WORLD

Chavez Vows to Support Syria

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

DAMASCUS, Syria — Thousands of Syrians lined the streets of the capital Wednesday waving banners and flags to welcome Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who pledged to stand by Syria in opposition to American "imperialist aggression" in the Middle East.

Syrian President Bashar Assad hosted Chavez at the People's Palace, where the two leaders strolled down a red carpet alongside a 21-gun salute while a marching band played the Syrian and Venezuelan national anthems.
CountryWatch: Venezuela


"We have the same political vision and we will resist together the American imperialist aggression," Chavez told reporters upon his arrival at the Damascus airport late Tuesday. He said the two countries will sign a document opposing U.S. "aggression" in the Middle East.


Assad greeted Chavez at the airport and thanked him for his support for Middle Eastern nations, saying the Venezuelan president has made "great stands" in support of Arab causes.


"We appreciate your sincere feelings toward the peoples who have their rights and are under occupation, as well as your sincere humanitarian and moral sentiments," Assad was quoted as saying through an interpreter.
Chavez has built close ties with Iran, Syria and other Mideast countries while his relations have grown tense with the U.S. and Israel.


Earlier this month, Chavez compared Israel's attacks on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to the Holocaust and withdrew Venezuela's ambassador to the Jewish state. Israel responded by recalling its ambassador to Venezuela, criticizing what it called Chavez's "wild slurs."


Last month, Chavez visited Iran and received the country's highest state medal for supporting Tehran in its nuclear standoff with the international community. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the South American leader "a brother and trench mate."