Chavez says Spain arms deal will go ahead
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-24 14:34

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez vowed Wednesday that a $2 billion agreement to buy planes and boats from Spain would go ahead despite U.S. opposition.

Chavez accused the U.S. government of doing "everything possible" to impede the agreement.

He spoke after the U.S. ambassador to Spain, Eduardo Aguirre, said Washington still had to decide whether it would block the deal because the planes carry U.S. technology. "We have not yet decided on the matter," he said. "In the long run, we hope the sale won't go ahead."

The deal — Spain's largest-ever defense order — comprises eight patrol boats and 10 military transport planes. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced the agreement during a visit to Venezuela in March.

Chavez said the Spanish boats and planes would be used against the drugs trade in Venezuela. The country borders Colombia, the world's top cocaine producer.

Tensions between Washington and Caracas have been tense in recent months, partly due to U.S. criticism of Venezuela's purchases of military equipment, including 100,000 Russian-made assault rifles.

"They are hurt because we are not buying from them," Chavez said.

Diplomatic differences have also been stoked the Venezuelan leader's allegations that President Bush has funded groups seeking his ouster and U.S. charges that Chavez — a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro — is supporting radical political movements in Latin America.

And at this month's Summit of the Americas, Chavez led a protest against U.S. policies and opposed President Bush's efforts to win support for a hemisphere-wide free trade zone.

Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, remains a major supplier of fuel to the United States despite the diplomatic differences between the two countries.