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Chavez Calls Bush 'The Devil' in UN Address, Predicts Fall
of 'U.S. Empire' and Calls For Major UN Reforms
Thirty Years After the Assassination of Chilean Diplomat
Orlando Letelier, His Son Francisco is Still Seeking Justice
Chavez Calls Bush 'The Devil' in UN Address, Predicts
Fall of 'U.S. Empire' and Calls For Major UN Reforms
At the United Nations, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
slammed the United States for its military actions in Iraq
and Afghanistan as well as its support for Israel's invasion
of Lebanon. Chavez described President Bush as the 'devil'
and predicted the 'U.S. empire' would fall. He also called
for major reforms at the United Nations. We play an extended
excerpt of the address and speak with Latin American History
professor, Greg Grandin. [includes rush
transcript]
At the United Nations on Wednesday, Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez slammed US foreign policy and described President
Bush as the 'devil.'
- President Hugo Chavez, speaking at the UN General Assembly,
September 20, 2006.
Chavez was standing at the lectern where President Bush had
delivered his speech the day before. The Venezuelan president
went on to criticize US foreign policies and renewed his calls
for major reforms at the United Nations to reduce US influence
and the other permanent members of the Security Council.
At the beginning of his speech, Chavez held up a copy of
the book, "Hegemony or Survival" by MIT professor
Noam Chomsky and addressed the packed chamber.
- President Hugo Chavez, speaking at the UN General Assembly,
September 20. [Full
transcript]
His address was greeted with warm applause by many diplomats
in the chamber. No senior members of the US delegation were
in attendance. A White House spokesman later said that Chavez"s
performance did not merit comment. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice said the address was "not becoming of a head of
state."
Chavez went on to call for drastic reform of the United Nations,
specifically at the Security Council. Venezuela has been pressing
to a get a seat on the 15-member Council when a vote is held
in October. The move is strongly opposed by the U.S., which
is backing Guatemala.
- Greg Grandin, professor of Latin American history at
New York University and author of "Empire's Workshop:
Latin America, the United States, and the Rise of the New
Imperialism."
Thirty Years After the Assassination of Chilean Diplomat
Orlando Letelier, His Son Francisco is Still Seeking Justice
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination
of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and his U.S. colleague,
Ronni Moffitt in a car bomb on the streets of Washington DC.
The assassination was eventually traced back to the regime
of General Augusto Pinochet, which was in the midst of a U.S.-backed
campaign against Chilean activists. We speak with Orlando
Letelier's son, Francisco, as well as Peter Korbluh, author
of "The Pinochet File." [includes rush
transcript - partial]
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of
Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt in Washington DC. Letelier
was a high-ranking government official in Chile under President
Salvador Allende. Following the 1973 US-backed coup in Chile
led by General Augusto Pinochet, Letelier was imprisoned and
tortured. After his release, he moved to the United States
where we worked for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington.
On September 21st, 1976, Letelier was killed, along with
his American colleague Ronni Moffitt, when a bomb planted
under his car exploded as they rode into work. The assassination
was eventually traced back to Pinochet's regime which was
in the midst of a US-backed campaign against Chilean activists.
On this thirtieth anniversary of his killing, we speak with
Orlando Letelier's son, Francisco Letelier as well as Peter
Kornbluh, a senior analyst at The National Security Archive.
- Francisco Letelier, his father, Orlando Letelier, was
assassinated with U.S. activist Ronni Moffitt, in a car
bombing Sept. 21, 1976, on Washington DC's Embassy Row.
Additional information at: Freethefive.org
- Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at The
National Security Archive, a public-interest documentation
center in Washington. He is the author of "The Pinochet
File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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