Venezuela is no threat

The Rutland Herald Saturday, Feb. 25, featured a story in which Sen. Mark Shepard says that he read a Human Rights Watch report on the "erosion of press freedoms in Venezuela." I can't vouch for or disclaim those reports, but recently, Feb. 12, my family and I returned home from Margarita, Venezuela, a lovely island with ideal conditions for windsurfing, a sport my son enjoys.

The hotel where we stayed commanded a grand view of the ocean. Although French-owned, American influence was apparent. One example, the breakfast menu featured Lipton tea, Kellogg's corn flakes, Nestle's coffee. American money was welcomed everywhere, but credit card acceptance was limited.

We rented a compact Kia for a day and toured the island. Away from the resort center, we soon recognized that Margarita is representative of a poor country. In Juangriego we witnessed crowded streets filled with small shops — all selling the same items — many made in the USA. Although a weekday, there seemed to be a dearth of gainful employment. On street after street men were gathered under shade trees to escape the blazing sun. A few were selling fruit and vegetables from the backs of old pickups.

It cannot be said that crime is absent — it is not. We were advised that it could be dangerous to ride the bus. However, everywhere we went, we were treated warmly and shown a great deal of consideration. The Venezuelan people we spoke with said that Chávez was duly elected president, and they hope that he will be able to improve conditions. We were told that the government was establishing free medical clinics and starting new housing projects on the hillsides around Caracas.

No one we spoke to showed fear to express themselves. The few tabloids we saw contained local news and in one instance a denunciation of George Bush. As for Shepard's speculation about what Venezuelans "think when they see their wealth going to the richest nation in the world," I surmise the sale of oil is bringing in money that is helping to build those medical clinics in the slum areas while cementing good will between the people of Venezuela and Vermont.

Those who scoffed at the socialist government were not native Venezuelans. The country is at peace, and that seems to be essential for them to succeed.

Here at home, in a nation at war, I listen to the same threatening rhetoric and twisted logic directed against impoverished countries like Venezuela. Our Secretary of State Rice called Venezuela a danger to democracy. It seems ludicrous that a tiny nation whose elected leader is trying to improve the lot of his country and his people can be a threat to a prosperous nation like the United States. Even as this administration denounces socialism, it undoes all the social advances that have made us the icon of democracy. By interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation the United States is in violation of international law.

I'm not an apologist for Hugo Chávez, but one should be open-minded to any attempt to lift people out of poverty. Venezuela has a long and rich history, and the people's struggle for peace and freedom should be encouraged. As the Rutland Herald editorial on Feb.27 points out, "In relying on the Human Rights Watch report to criticize Chávez, Shepard has pointed out the duplicity of U.S. foreign policy." Self-serving political slander by Shepard and Republican Sen. Wendy Wilton is unjustified. In fact it is a disservice to humanity.

BETTY EDELMAN, Andover