Rangel: US politics is militarized

Venezuelan Executive Vice-President José Vicente Rangel Wednesday asserted that the statements the chief of the US Southern Command General Bantz Craddock made Tuesday about Venezuela are another signal that the US politics towards Latin America and particularly Caracas is militarized.

On Tuesday, Craddock declared that the Southern Command was concerned about the "destabilizing" influence of Venezuela in several political processes in the region, especially in Peru and Nicaragua.

"Now US official spokespersons now are not from the White House or the State Department, but they are Donald Rumsfeld, from the Defense Department; John Negroponte, from the intelligence service; and Bantz Craddock, from the Southern Command," Rangel stressed in a press release.

He labeled as weird the fact that US spokespersons are dealing with "this part of the world." Rather, he added, they should take care of Iraq, "things in the Middle East and other sensitive issues."

"I would almost dare to say they are idle people," Rangel said.

In his view, the US "military approach" ratifies Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez' theory of a "US attack" against Venezuela.

"It is annoying to have to deal with these US spokespersons. I insist that their considerations are toilet paper," Rangel underscored.