Pubdate: Sat, 10 Mar 2001
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 2001 Associated Press

PRESIDENTS PLEDGE TO FIGHT DRUGS

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- The presidents of Venezuela and 
the Dominican Republic pledged Saturday to combat drug trafficking and to 
fight government corruption in Latin America.

President Hugo Chavez also used the three-day official visit to defend his 
leftist government -- which some have criticized as autocratic -- saying 
democracy has "never existed" in Venezuela.

The visit comes as Chavez has tried to consolidate Venezuela's leadership 
in the region. Dominican President Hipolito Mejia's populist center-left 
government could be one ally in Chavez's quest to unite Latin America to 
counterbalance U.S. influence.

Chavez and Mejia committed to sharing information on drug traffickers and 
the "scourge of drugs" in the region, and also said they would lead a 
public crusade to help other Latin American countries detect and eradicate 
corruption.

"Corruption destroys the moral order and justice, and undermines the 
legitimacy of our democratic institutions," the presidents said in a joint 
statement issued Saturday.

Chavez's detractors have criticized his alliance with Cuban President Fidel 
Castro's communist government, and have said the Venezuelan president 
usurped legal and legislative power in Caracas.

"I couldn't threaten democracy, because you can't threaten something that 
never existed," Chavez said in an address Friday at the National Assembly 
in Santo Domingo.

He said past Venezuelan leaders feigned democratic stances while using 
their posts to funnel off the country's oil wealth.

A former paratrooper who led a failed coup in 1992, Chavez rode a wave of 
discontent to the presidency in 1998, promising to reverse decades of 
corruption and economic mismanagement.

He has since radically reformed Venezuela, rewriting the constitution and 
replacing the opposition-controlled Congress and Supreme Court through a 
series of elections and referendums.

Chavez has used Venezuela's oil wealth to build his diplomatic stature. He 
signed a pact last year to provide oil to 12 Latin American and Caribbean 
countries -- including the Dominican Republic -- under favorable financial 
conditions.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D