In recent months, members of the Bush administration have wrongly accused Venezuela of being a "destabilizing" force and have implied without evidence that it supports terrorist groups. Their claims are based only on supposition, ideological differences with, and political biases against the democratically elected Chávez administration.
It is time to repair our relationship with Venezuela by accepting the right of the Venezuelan people to choose their government, by rejecting interventionist plans, by stopping inflammatory rhetoric, and by seeking a sincerely cooperative and friendly stance toward Venezuela.
Venezuela has shown its willingness to extend a hand of friendship by offering much needed and appreciated aid after the hurricane Katrina disaster and by offering to provide substantial material aid to poor communities in the US.
Congress can make a big difference by calling on the Bush administration to back away from confrontational rhetoric, by refusing to provide financial aid to organizations in Venezuela on a partisan basis, and by rejecting calls for intervention, assassination, or sabotage.
