Washington's Praise of Poll Suggests Detente with Venezuela

[Praise by the U.S. State Department for Sunday's referendum in Venezuela suggests that President Barack Obama is hoping to ease long-strained relations with President Hugo Chavez, according to US-based Latin America experts.]

Washington's Praise of Poll Suggests Detente with Venezuela

February 17th 2009, by Jim Lobe - IPS

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (IPS) - Praise by the U.S. State Department for Sunday's referendum in Venezuela suggests that President Barack Obama is hoping to ease long-strained relations with President Hugo Chavez, according to regional experts here.

While State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid Tuesday noted that Washington had received "troubling reports of intimidation," he added that, "for the most part, this was a process that was fully consistent with [the] democratic process."

Asked whether Washington approved of the poll's results - which changes the country's constitution to enable Chavez to run for a third term in 2012 - Duguid said the question "was a matter for the Venezuelan people".

Washington's reaction marked a distinct change in tone from the consistently hostile rhetoric of the administration of President George W. Bush, which had welcomed a coup attempt against Chavez in 2002, and follows a remarkably conciliatory statement by the populist leader on the eve of the referendum, which Chavez won with a solid 54 percent of the vote.

Only last month, Chavez had denounced Obama - even comparing his "stench" to Bush - for publicly admonishing Caracas for its alleged support of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgency. On Saturday, however, he said he was ready to engage in direct talks with the new U.S. president in order to restore better ties.

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