US lawmakers want Venezuela on US list of terrorism sponsors

WASHINGTON-Two US lawmakers Friday introduced a resolution calling for Venezuela to be added to a US list of state sponsors of terrorism amid allegations linking Caracas to Colombia's leftist FARC rebels."Evidence that the Venezuelan government might have given aid and comfort to violent extremists is reprehensible and must not be ignored," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, ranking Republican in the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.The proposed resolution the Cuban-American lawmaker co-sponsored with Connie Mack, a leading critic of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, came after Colombia charged that computers seized from a rebel camp showed links between Chavez and the FARC."For more than 40 years, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) has waged a brutal and debilitating war against the people of Colombia," Ros-Lehtinen said on presenting her resolution in Congress.The Marxist FARC rebel group, Colombia's oldest and strongest, is listed as a terrorist group by the US and Europe, despite Chavez's insistence they be recognized as a legitimate army with "a political project" meriting respect.Ros-Lehtinen also called Venezuela's close ties to Cuba and Iran-both on a US State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism-"a direct affront to all who work to promote justice and freedom in the region.""As troubling reports of alliances in the hemisphere continue to surface,Congress needs to stand side-by-side with our friends and rebuke our foes,"the lawmaker added."This resolution is the first step in drawing that bright line."The resolution came as the US government stepped up its criticism of Chavez this week but stopped short of calling Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday during a trip to Brazil that Washington was examining the alleged Venezuela-FARC links and would "act accordingly."US President George W. Bush on Wednesday accused Chavez of backing "terrorists" in neighboring Colombia.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080315/ts_afp/usvenezuelacongressterrorism_080315011216

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