It looks rather like Hugo Chávez has been caught with his hand in the diplomatic cookie-jar: last week Interpol announced that a trove of computer files linking the Venezuelan leader to Colombia's FARC rebels appeared to be genuine. I've given my take over at Comment is free:
... if some of the Colombian government's specific accusations are a little overblown, taken as a whole the computer files strongly suggest that the Venezuelan government offered, and perhaps provided, material support to the Farc in recent months. The question now becomes: how to respond?One option, already floated by some hawks, would be for the US to declare Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism and impose sanctions accordingly. That would be hugely premature. While the recovered laptops are highly suggestive, they are not enough to bundle Venezuela in with the likes of Syria, North Korea and Iran. It would also probably be counterproductive, destabilizing Venezuela ahead of key regional elections and allowing Chávez to rail against US aggression.
Fortunately, with oil prices already closing in on $4 a gallon it's unlikely that US policymakers will rush to turn Venezuela into a petro-pariah. A better option might be so-called "smart sanctions", which would impose travel restrictions and monitor the assets of senior Venezuelan officials without wreaking economic havoc on the rest of the country. Best of all, though, would be for Venezuela's neighbors to remove the need for American action: the Organization of American States should take up the case where Interpol left off, and conduct a formal, impartial and transparent investigation into Venezuela's apparent efforts to hurt its neighbour.
Read the rest here.
