The Foreign Service Journal, June 2011

J U N E 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 37 On the whole, it seems fair to conclude that Chávez’s actions have been less damaging to U.S. interests in the Middle East than to those in Latin America. But they were still harmful, nonetheless. Washington Wises Up Over the past two or three years the U.S. appears to have developed the beginnings of a sensible approach to dealing with Chávez. Washington has gone to great lengths to isolate him while ensuring that the region’s heads of state are fully aware of the dangers he poses. One dramatic instance of this policy at work occurred last July, when Ambassador Larry Palmer gave detailed, widely disseminated answers to questions from Senator Richard Lugar, R-Ind., the ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during his con- firmation hearing. Amb. Palmer’s statements in effect confirmed the veracity of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe’s detailed charges of Venezuelan support for the FARC and other narco-guerrilla groups. So there should no longer be any question in anyone’s mind as to what Chávez is up to in the region. Perhaps with that in mind, the United States, at long last, has begun to cultivate allies in the region after 15 years or more of benign neglect. Visits by Presidents George W. Bush (Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico in 2007) and Obama (Mexico, Brazil, Chile and El Salvador this year) have helped highlight U.S. pri- orities in the region, as did the fact that Pres. Obama only cut his visit short on the final day to deal with the Libyan crisis. One consequence of the improved policy approach is that many countries, notably including Brazil, are now seeking to put some distance between themselves and Venezuela. Still, none has gone so far as to reject the cash contributions Chávez continues to send their way, espe- cially countries in the Caribbean and smaller nations like Uruguay and Paraguay. As noted above, the U.S. will have to do much more to regain the confidence of democratic leaders in the re- gion. In the short term, that would include ratifying the Colombian Free Trade agreement, which has been await- F O C U S