About Secret History

Commentary on Latin America.
Mostly about Mexico - but not always.
Designed to encourage readers to learn about
the apparently "secret history" of 500 million people
spread across two continents
- but not always.
You can always count on a little snark.

Showing posts with label saab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saab. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Saab in Venezuela - Saab GUNS, that is.

Jane's Intelligence Weekly reports today that Venezuela is expanding its ability to buy weapons from the Russians. This comes on the heels of the discovery of Swedish guns in FARC camps in Colombia that were purchased initially (allegedly) by Venezuela. (see the UPI report here).

The Russia deal has the Colombian's spooked. An increase in weapons to the FARC at a time when the Colombian right-wing has them on the run signals to the world that the imminent death of the FARC has been greatly over-stated.

US guns and Russian guns battling it out in a Latin American nation as neighboring exporters of revolution or democracy fuel the fire: I think we've danced this dance before, and all we end up with at the end of the day are a lot of dead Latin Americans. Several months ago I made a comment on a blog to which the administrator snarkily (is that a word) replied that "all the historical factors" regarding Venezuela are different and that we will repeat no history there. Really? A mono-commodity populist exporting revolution as part of a proxy battle for global resources not part of a repeated past? Things may not repeat themselves, but I agree with Mr. Twain: We have some serious rhyming going on.