Left I on the News

So says the Miami Herald's columnist, Andres Oppenheimer:

"There is no mystery about Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's intent on destabilizing U.S.-backed Latin American democracies: he says so on his own government's website."

And just what consititutes "destabilizing" a government to Mr. Oppenheimer? Here's the nefarious plan he found on that Venezuelan government website:

• Strengthening alternative movements in Central America and Mexico in search of [their] estrangement from the [U.S.] empire's domination.
• Neutralizing the [U.S.] empire's action by strengthening the solidarity and public opinion of the organized social movements in Latin America.
• Consolidating the axis of leadership Cuba-Venezuela-Bolivia, to push for the [Chávez-backed] Bolivarian Alternative of the Peoples as an alternative to the [U.S.-backed] Free Trade Area of the Americas and the [U.S.] Free Trade Agreements.
• Creating a new international communications order and encourage a network of alternative news networks.
• Encouraging organization of solidarity groups with the Bolivarian Revolution in the United States.

Sure sounds to me like the Venezuelan government is interested in strengthening democracy in Latin America, not "destabilizing" other governments.

As for Mr. Oppenheimer, it delights me to point out that he published a book entitled "Castro's Final Hour"...in 1992. :-)