...for Its Alleged Role in Sex Trafficking
| I'm trying to figure why Venezuela, which literally has money squirting out of the ground, would need any assistance from us... |
President Bush on Friday ordered a partial cut in U.S. assistance to Venezuela because of its alleged role in the international trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation. The action means the United States will not support $250 million in Venezuelan loan requests expected to come before international lending institutions during the next fiscal year, a State Department official said. If Venezuela secures sufficient support from other governments, its loan requests could be approved without U.S. backing.
Bush took the action under legislation that calls for sanctions against countries that fail to crack down on international trafficking in persons. The legislation is designed to encourage countries to take decisive action against the practice. Bush's decision was announced in a White House memorandum to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Left intact were programs designed to monitor Venezuelan elections and to support political party development, part of U.S. efforts to promote democracy worldwide. It is official U.S. policy to carry out these activities on a nonpartisan basis, but Venezuela complained this year that the U.S. program in that country favored groups that supported the recall of President Hugo Chavez. Chavez won the Aug. 15 recall referendum by a wide margin. |