NICARAGUA: U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Central and South American nations are working well together against violence and terrorism

United States' Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld congratulated on Tuesday (October 3, 2006) Central and South American nations for their continuing war against gangs, violence and terrorism at the close of a defence minister summit in Nicaragua. Yet, he added that work still needed to be done. "Whether its counter-narcotics or gangs or hostage taking or counter terrorism - all of those problems require very close cooperation among nations, many nations," he said. The meeting opened on Monday (October 02). Rumsfeld met with the ministers as a group and held individual sessions with some of them. "I respect greatly the work that these gentlemen, their nations, their leaders are doing to improve the cooperation and cohesion here in this important part of the world in Central America," he said. Rumsfeld stirred up Venezuela on Monday when he said Venezuela faced no threat in the Western Hemisphere, questioning Caracas' big arms build-up as Latin American neighbours worry about the weapons' ultimate destination. Rumsfeld and Gen. John Craddock, head of the Florida-based U.S. Southern Command, said several nations had expressed concerns about what Venezuela, under the leadership of leftist President Hugo Chavez, was going to do with the weapons. Chavez has accused the United States of planning to assassinate him but Rumsfeld said there were no plots against Venezuela. While both Rumsfeld and Venezuelan Defence Minister Raul Baduel attended the defence ministers meeting in Managua, they did not meet privately. They did, however, come face to face at a reception on Sunday, according to other officials there. Baduel offered Rumsfeld a cigar but it was declined, according to those officials. Rumsfeld's visit comes amid an increase in anti-American sentiment in some parts of Latin America. Some of that is blamed on the failure of U.S.-backed economic policies to produce a substantial decrease in poverty in the region. Many also believe Latin America faded in importance after the September 11 attacks when Washington turned much of its focus on Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror.

ITN Source | October 4, 2006

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