Diplomats Ousted As U.S.-Latin Row Deepens

After Bolivia Expelled American Ambassador, U.S. Returns Favor; Venezuela Ousts U.S. Diplomat, Recalls Own

(CBS/AP)  The Bush administration responded to Bolivia's ouster of the U.S. ambassador by ordering the expulsion of Bolivia's ambassador from Washington. Venezuela also entered the fray, expelling the American ambassador and recalling theirs.

"In response to unwarranted actions and in accordance with the Vienna Convention (on diplomatic protocol), we have officially informed the government of Bolivia of our decision to declare Ambassador Gustavo Guzman persona non grata," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

It was unclear exactly how long Guzman would have to leave the United States but diplomats declared "persona non grata" are generally given 72 hours to depart. Guzman had been summoned to the department earlier Thursday and told of the decision a day after Bolivia expelled U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, officials said.

Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales had ordered Goldberg out, accusing him of conspiring with Bolivia's conservative opposition. McCormack earlier had called that a "grave error" and warned that Bolivia would face retaliatory actions for the expulsion, which he said had inflicted serious damage on U.S.-Bolivian relations.

In La Paz, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca told reporters that he formally had requested Goldberg's expulsion but added that he also wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to say Bolivia "wishes to maintain bilateral relations."

A share of U.S. aid to Bolivia goes to eastern provincial governments that are the nexus of opposition to Morales, which has angered the Bolivian president and his supporters.

Goldberg met last week with Ruben Costas, one of Morales' most virulent opponents. Costas is governor of Santa Cruz, Bolivia's richest province and the seat of a pro-autonomy revolt against the nation's first indigenous president.

The State Department also said the Morales government has asked Drug Enforcement Agency employees to leave a base camp in the coca-growing region of Chapare "because they could no longer protect them." State Department employees left too, the department said.

"We are disappointed that 25 years of working side by side with our counterparts at the Bolivian special counternarcotics police has been disrupted in this manner," the State Department said in a statement.

At least six people were killed as anti-government protesters fought backers of Morales on Thursday in Bolivia's pro-autonomy east with clubs, machetes and guns, police said.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said the U.S. ambassador has 72 hours to leave Venezuela and that he's recalling his ambassador from Washington.

Chavez said Thursday night that he is asking U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy to leave, in part, to show solidarity with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who expelled Washington's envoy in La Paz.

"They're trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia," Chavez said.

"That's enough ... from you, Yankees," he said, using an expletive.

The socialist leader said Venezuela's ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, would return to the U.S. "when there's a new government in the United States."

The move by Chavez brings relations with Washington to a new low and raises questions about whether the diplomatic clash could eventually hurt trade. Venezuela is a major oil supplier to the United States, which is the country's No. 1 client.

Chavez announced the decision during a televised speech, hours after saying his government had detained a group of alleged conspirators in a plot to overthrow him.

Chavez accused the group of current and former military officers of trying to assassinate him with backing from the United States. He didn't offer evidence.

U.S. officials have repeatedly denied Chavez's accusations that Washington has backed plots against him.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

Chavez warned last month that Duddy could soon be "packing his bags" after the diplomat lamented that U.S. and Venezuelan officials have not been cooperating in the war on drugs.

Duddy has said that deteriorating diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington were giving drug smugglers the upper hand.

[mcdasstheass]

we really really need to be more independent on natural resoruces...

[samsel3]

Venezuela, has struck oil and natural gas deals with Iran & Malaysia , as well as China and Russia .

China & Russia. will aid and protect Venezueala if needed .
It s all about BIG OIL. The administration wants regime change in Iran & Venezuela. Conoco-Phillips, Exxon Mobil & Chevron would not accept new conditions for their oil leases. They wanted significant control in new areas of the gulf of Venezuela, but the Venezuelan s are looking after their own interests and offered a diminished role in developing oil reserves or nothing. As a result all three companies were terminated. The owners of these companies are Richard Cheney s friends and now look for the administrations strong arm tactics.

In 2006 & 2007 Iran & Venezuela vested oil deals and partnered to develop tracts in Venezuelas Orinoco Reserve. One tract Iran will help develop contains approximately 30 billion barrels of oil.
Venezuela s total oil reserves are estimated at 265 billion barrels which could top the Saudi s Reserves.

[olfishgut]

This is a national disgrace that our Ambassador, representing the people of the United States, is trying to overthrow a democratically elected government. George Bushes greed knows no bounds. Our prestige and military power is being used to steal oil all over the globe. The natural resources of Bolivia belong to the people of Bolivia. The people of Bolivia and South America are perfectly justified in expelling our thieving diplomats.

[toolmangler-2009]

"Duddy has said that deteriorating diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington were giving drug smugglers the upper hand."



I agree, and the upperhand belongs to Chavez, He controls the country so He also controls the drug smuggling.

[thgdriver]

Is it not true that Butch Casady and the Sundance Kid were killed in Bolivia? The Bolivians have never paid for this despicable crime. We should have recalled our ambassador long ago.

[martel_v]

There isn''t a half-ounce of difference between Morales, Chavez and Bush. They''re all petty dictators with severely limited intelligence whose only real interest is accummulating personal power.

If the massive vote fraud (fake write-in ballots being mailed to millions of registered Democrats by the Republican Party to trick them into thinking that they''ve already voted) being perpetrated by those still in power in America somehow fails to perpetuate the rule of the oligarchs, we may find ourselves with a president who can take the ideological and philosophical high ground against dictators like Morales and Chavez.

As such, he would be able to effectively corner and contain them to the point that their own people would eventually rise up against them. If Bush or McCain attempted to impose some kind of economic sanctions against Venezuela or Bolivia, for example, the rest of the world would just laugh and ignore it as the petty squabling of dictators that it would actually be. If Obama took the same action, the rest of the world would sit up and take notice, even if it became necessary to impose sanctions on other countries which refused to go along with the effort.

This is the difference between a nation EARNING respect from its neighbors and a nation DEMANDING respect by imposing its will on the rest of the world. Great empires always fail, and always will fail, precisely because all other nations/people eventually despise them.

[flreason]

%u2026lets not forget the Congress is controlled overwhelmingly by Democrats. And since policy decisions on foreign affairs%u2026start in Congress, that means Democrats are largely to blame for where things stand right now.
Posted by phydeux2

Apparently you missed the civics class on duties of the Congress and the Executive Branch. Policy resides largely in the Executive Branch. The Congress is mainly concerned with funding and legislation. Clearly, these two coordinate, but the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce are most involved in day-to-day diplomacy and policy. Congress can affect these policies through their funding power. Any declared war has to come from Congress. However, all of the wars since WWII have been instigated by the Executive Branch under the War Powers Act, which allows the President limited power to commit troops in emergency situations, but has been interpreted to allow the President to commit troops indefinitely without a formal war declaration.

The Executive Branch has a long, often shameful, history of supporting tyrants and undermining democratically elected governments in other countries. The CIA was actively involved worldwide in the overthrow of regimes that posed a %u201Cthreat%u201D to American business interests, i.e. their worldwide control of natural resources like copper, silver, and oil, or their monopolies in agriculture.

[martel_v]

While the president is a Republican, Congress is controlled overwhelmingly by Democrats. Since policy decisions start in Congress, that means Democrats are to blame. All Bush is able to do is choose whether or not to veto what''s presented to him. - POSTED BY phydeux2



Since you choose to have no awareness of reality, I will inform you that Congress is NOT "overwhelmingly" controlled by Democrats. Republicans in the Senate filibuster whatever one of their own hasn''t proposed, and the Democrats don''t have the 60 votes required to shut down those filibusters. Democrats have a 51-49 majority.

In addition, Bush not only vetoes what slips through Congress, but he''s been rewriting bills passed by Congress for the last 8 years with so-called ''signing statements''. He believes that he has the power to change laws even if he chooses not to exercise an outright veto.

The reality is that he does have that power, even if it''s unconstitutionally illegal, because he''s now done it so many times that the courts don''t want to interfere since it would mean that hundreds of laws passed in the last 8 years could very likely be rendered entirely unenforceable if the court did choose to intervene.

So Bush''s statement that the Constitution is "just a ********* piece of paper" has become reality in America. We''re now a dictatorship which pays lip service to ''democracy'' and the ''rule of law'' much as Rome was a dictatorship paying lip service to democracy and the rule of law.

[babooph]

Wow- formenting a radical left wing revolution around the world-In S. Am ,France etc-those US founding fathers were something back then........now though.....

[wxfcstr-2009]

Why does everyonr assume that what these two south American presidents are saying is true? Where is the proof that our ambassadors were trying to plot a coup in those countries? I''m no fan of GW, but shouldn''t we ask why all of a sudden? Remeber the Bay of Pigs? Sounds like Russia might be up to their old tricks again and now these two countires feel protected because of an oil deal they struck with China and Russia. Don''t assume becasue GW is an idiot that all people who serve in the government are idiots.

[phydeux2]

jmurrieta11 - Do you even read what you write? Its EXPECT not except. And what does McCain possibly have to do with events in Georgia? Absolutely NOTHING. That was between the Georgian president and Russia until they asked for aid. So check your facts before you look for conspiracies where none could possibly even exist.

[skyk239]

Wow! Just making friends all over the world aren''t we? LOL

[jmurrieta11]

Now, with the Bush and McClone provocation of the Russians, we can certainly except an increased Russian presence in South America.

Che Guevara may become a bit more prominant as a folk hero down there in days to come, resulting in increased revolutionary pressures in other South American countries.

And the Russians may just decide to put a (non-nuclear, of course) anti-ballistic missile program in Cuba, just to protect Russia and its allies from rogue states like North Korea and Iran, of course.

Thank you John McCain. Your insane greed for power and your incitement of the Georgians is leading us right back down the slope to World War 3.

And Sarah Palin thinks she''ll be spared because some angels will come down and take her to Heaven as the rest of us fry.

[rushliberal]

Here you go you Dumb Republican Alaskan Rednecks

Two Russian supersonic strategic bombers, the advance party for a deployment of Russian forces for a joint exercise, landed in Venezuela on Wednesday in a move guaranteed to infuriate all believers in America%u2019s divine right to hegemony. The Tu-160 bombers(pictured above) are reputed to be the equals of America%u2019s B-1 and with an even bigger weapons load. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the bombers were there for ''training purposes%u2019 and added that he planned to fly one of the aircraft himself.

The entire exercise is designed to send a %u201Chow do you like it?%u201D message to the West, following the US and allied military presence in Georgia and the Black Sea:

[tapsettle]

The south american people need to stop putting clowns like Chavez in power. Who, by the way is a complete and utter idiot and is the laughing stock of the world. No country and no world leader really takes him at all seriously.
-----
Posted by yeahsure69

Yeah but he sure stuffed Bush up the arse eh? Not bad for a south american commie - who loves ya Bushy baby? Even Cheney is laughing at that one.

[yeahsure69]

fascist regime ? you guys fail world history and politics 101. Before calling anyone a fascist at least have a slight idea as to what a fascist actually is.

The south american people need to stop putting clowns like Chavez in power. Who, by the way is a complete and utter idiot and is the laughing stock of the world. No country and no world leader really takes him at all seriously.

[harp1963]

More people who love George Bush! What a positive effect George has had on the world during his 8 years of hell. It''s almost as if all the world leaders were holding hands in unison while George lead them in a chorus of "Let There Be Peace on Earth."

[johnpatrick9]

Congress is blocked by any actions due to the machinations of about 7 Republican fascists who wont override bush the worthless''s vetoes. Get rid of these few fascist die hards and congress will be able to kick bush''s ***.

[johnpatrick9]

Good for Chavez. We have nothing but a negative history in all of South America particularly under Republican administrations and particularly under the fascist regime of bush the worthless. Time we clean house here in American and keep our big noses out of their affairs. They have good reason to hate our government run by the military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned us of. Viva Chavez and also Viva Bolivia.

[tapsettle]

I think Chavez has pulled some masterful strokes, and the latest expulsion with the proviso of reviewing after the US election is a classic. What can Bush do apart from take it in the arse? And what will whoever wins do apart from re-establish diplomatic relations with a nation on whos oil it depends? Classic.