Washington wary of Chavez's military deals:

Posted By: William "Bill" Buckington

By Patrick Markey

The U.S. government, which portrays Chavez as a oil-wealthy tyrant bent on undermining democracy, is locked in a simmering dispute with the left-wing former soldier and has moved to block arms sales it believes will inflate his 80,000-strong military beyond its requirements.

But defense analysts say Venezuela needs to modernize its army and they doubt the hardware opposed by Washington has the offensive capability to tip the balance of power when Colombia, Brazil and Chile are more potent forces in the region.

"If any other country in Latin America were acquiring these weapons, the U.S. wouldn't say boo," said Tom Baranauskas, a defense analyst at U.S. consultancy Forecast International. "Because it's Venezuela, it has got caught up in politics."

The clash over weapons is one of the latest to roil relations between Washington and Chavez, who has been at odds with the U.S. government over his socialist revolution in the world's No. 5 oil exporter and his ties to Cuba and Iran.

His state coffers bulging because of high crude prices, Chavez has purchased 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles and at least 10 Russian MI-type helicopters. Caracas has pushed back delivery dates of the rifles, but the first three helicopters arrived last month.

Chavez has signed a $2 billion deal with Spain to buy 10 C-295 transport aircraft, two CN-235 maritime surveillance planes, four patrol boats and four Navy corvette warships. He also wants some Super Tucano light trainer aircraft from Brazil.

U.S. officials are holding up the Spanish and Brazilian aircraft deals because they involved U.S.-made technology and needed Washington's approval.

While some of Venezuela's wish list appears exaggerated, so far most purchases would replace aging equipment and could be used to fight drug trafficking from neighboring Colombia, military analysts said.

"The army expenditure is the most necessary," said Anna Gilmour, Americas Editor with Jane's Country Risk. "The previous FAL rifles were nearing obsolescence and so the 100,000 rifle purchase is less significant than it might seem."

MILITARY DOCTRINE

Since he came to office seven years ago, Chavez has steadily steered Venezuela away from its traditional military reliance on the United States. He has suspended cooperation with the U.S. drug agents and training with U.S. military.

An avowed enemy of U.S. President George W. Bush, Chavez accuses Washington of plotting to invade or oust his government to gain control of Venezuela's oil reserves, a charge U.S. officials dismiss as populist rhetoric.

A concern for U.S. officials is that Chavez has ordered his military to train hundreds of thousands of reservists for a war of resistance against an invading force. Critics say the new force could be used to repress domestic opposition and they question how those recruits will be armed.

Venezuelan soldiers also have been sent to Cuba to train in civilian-military coordination.

Washington, which says Chavez may have sheltered Colombian Marxist FARC rebels, is concerned that AK-103 ammunition or weapons will fall into guerrilla hands. U.S. officials so far have provided no clear proof of the charges Chavez backs the FARC.

"What you have got are significant changes within the armed forces in terms of its weapons systems, in terms of its war-fighting doctrine, in how it understands the international environment in which the Venezuelan armed forces operate," a senior U.S. State Department official said.

"From our point of view this is worrisome and requires us to call a timeout as we try to figure out whether or not continued sales of U.S. weapons to Venezuela or U.S. components, is in our interests," the official said.

While Chavez has warned he could seek new fighter planes from China or Russia to replace U.S.-made F16 aircraft, so far Venezuela's purchases are limited to equipment analysts say poses little threat compared with the military capability of Brazil, Chile or Colombia.

"I don't think anyone believes Venezuela can launch an attack using transport planes," said Enrique Obando at the IDEPE security think tank in Lima. "Venezuela is buying light rifles, transport aircraft, helicopters. There is no real comparison."

(Additional reporting by Saul Hudson in Washington)

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