As has been highlighted in these pages in past months, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is nothing more than an agitator for the US . Chavez will use any opportunity to either embarrass or expose the US. In this most recent situation, Chavez hotly contends that President George Bush is harboring Cuban militant/CIA operative Luiz Posada Carriles in a double standard for US terrorism policies.

Chavez’s government sponsored a march on May 28, just one day after the US declined Venezuela’s request to arrest Posada and extradite him to Venezuela. The march remained peaceful, yet protesters carried anti-Bush, anti-US banners and slogans. There was a small counter protest against perceived government crackdowns on opposition and against Chavez’s socialist economic plans. Posada is wanted on murder charges for bombing a Cubana Airlines flight from Barbados in 1976 ; allegedly, he plotted the attack in Caracas where he also escaped from prison in 1985. Posada denies any involvement in the bombing. The US Department of Justice ruled that the request “did not include any statement of the evidence against the accused required for the issuance of an arrest warrant in the United States.” Posada does face deportation from the US, as he entered seeking asylum. His immigration hearing is slated for June 13.

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