An April 4 Indian Country article reports that members of the Penobscot Indian Nation in Indian Island, Maine, are opposing a congressional resolution designating Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism.
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James Sappier, former Penobscot Indian Nation chief, said “the program has provided a donation to the U.S. low-income and poor people of almost a billion dollars over the years when domestic oil companies did nothing.” (Indian Country, April 4)
If passed, the resolution would impose a number of sanctions on Venezuela as well as U.S. companies and individuals that do business there. Other countries on the list are North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Sudan—all targets in the crosshairs of the U.S. empire.
The resolution puts forth a number of unsubstantiated or outright false allegations, including a claim that laptops captured from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) contain evidence linking Venezuela’s government to the guerilla group.
The FARC-EP, formed in 1964, is part of an armed resistance movement in defense of the poor and oppressed against a growing repressive onslaught of the U.S.-backed Colombian government. For its resistance, it has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S., EU and Colombian governments.
The resolution also condemns the Venezuelan government for its relations with Iran, citing a U.S. Annual Threat Assessment report highlighting Venezuela’s “expressed willingness to cooperate with [Iran] on nuclear energy.” The Venezuelan government responded by saying that “every country has the sovereign right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”
Venezuelan cooperation with Iran on military, intelligence and financial matters as well as civilian airline flights and cultural exchanges were cited as further evidence of support for terrorism in the resolution.
In response, Venezuela’s ambassador, Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, said, “[T]his is not the first time there’s been an effort to put Venezuela on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. … It’s a way to undermine the process of change that’s going on in Venezuela. It’s clear to everybody that this is a political decision. … It has no basis in reality, none at all.” (Indian Country, April 4)
Maine’s Wabanaki tribes—the Penobscot, the Passamaquoddy, the Maliseet and the Micmac—were the first to enter the heating oil agreement with Venezuela in 2005. Since then, the program has grown to provide 100 million gallons a year of free heating oil to more than 200 tribes and Alaska Natives, homeless shelters and low-income families.
