Bush Administration Blasts Chavez, Positive Results Be Damned

U.S. specialists are currently awaiting the White House's next drug certification report, which is normally released in September, to see whether the Bush Administration will continue to use the document as a political tool rather than a piece of objective research. In the summer of 2005, Venezuelan officials suspended collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) over Caracas' allegations that the U.S. agency had engaged in spying. In response, Washington decertified Venezuela as a cooperative anti-narcotics partner, and labeled it as one of two countries worldwide which "failed demonstrably to make substantial efforts" in the anti-drug campaign. However, the decision to blacklist Venezuela in the "war on drugs" was an unalloyed hoax. The Bush Administration's accusation that Venezuela had failed to implement anti-drug measures drawn up by U.S. policymakers did Caracas an injustice. It was a judgment inspired more by political differences rather than a genuine critique based on legitimate drug-trafficking issues. In fact, the administration's finding was little more than Washington sensing an opening to take another jab at Chávez's Venezuela for its insolent attitude. This is not surprising considering that the decertification process is so self-serving and political that it is held in low esteem worldwide because of its lack of transparency and its indifference to evidence which challenges the White House's simplistic verdict against the leftist regime.

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