Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of Venezuela should actively support strategies for ensuring secure airport facilities that meet international certifications to prevent trafficking of controlled substances, narcotics, and laundered money.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 400) expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of Venezuela should actively support strategies for ensuring secure airport facilities that meet international certifications to prevent trafficking of controlled substances, narcotics, and laundered money, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mack).

Mr. Speaker, before I yield to my vice chairman of the committee, Mr. Weller, let me just make a couple of points.

First of all, I have high regard for my Democrat friend from Massachusetts. He and I are friends. We have a strong disagreement on this issue.

Let me just make a couple of points.

First of all, we were told by the Venezuelan government and the DEA was told by the Venezuelan government that they were going to work to reach an agreement on this draft agreement some time ago. Then they asked for an extension to July 8. And we were going to bring this resolution to the floor some time ago, and we decided, okay, we will wait until July 8. My friend from Massachusetts and Mr. Meeks asked me to hold up on this. I think Mr. Meeks asked. I can't remember. Mr. Delahunt did. And we held the resolution until July 8. We pulled it off the calendar and held it until July 8.

July 8 came, and we were told by the DEA that they refused to sign it, and Hugo Chavez said that he was not going to give us a time frame within which he would even consider signing it. So they asked for more time, we gave them more time, and when the time came they refused to sign, it and they won't give us a date to sign it now.

Now we are not trying to embarrass the government of Venezuela, but they have done such things as accused our DEA agents, who are fighting the drug war for the people of this country, of being spies for the United States. They have done everything they can to hamper the DEA's operation down there. And there have been $100 million of cocaine that was confiscated at the Mexican airport that came from the Caracas Venezuela airport. And so we have not had any cooperation whatsoever.

I don't know much about what kind of publicity this is going to generate in Venezuela, but the fact of the matter is Mr. Chavez needs to be put on notice that the American people are not going to stand idly by and let Venezuela be a transit point for drugs into this country and killing American people.

Mr. Speaker, I will now yield to my colleague, Mr. Weller, for 2\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield to my colleague from California, let me just take 1 minute.

First of all, when my colleague and good friend (Mr. Meeks) says that we have a delicate relationship with Venezuela, I would like to point out to him that President Chavez is in Tehran today. He is over there talking to the ayatollahs who he has invited to Venezuela. He has been buying thousands of AK-47s. He is trying to expand his military operation down there. He goes on television every Sunday for 5 hours, and he calls the President of the United States a donkey and other names.

So if you are talking about a delicate relationship being in jeopardy, let me just say the reason for the delicate relationship being in jeopardy is because Mr. Chavez is shooting off his mouth. I have met with him several times with you folks, and he always says he is going to tone down the rhetoric, and he never does.

Regarding the $100 million of cocaine that came out of Venezuela into the Mexican airport, we have talked to intelligence sources and they said there was no information coming from Venezuela about that shipment. They said that is totally false.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend from California (Mr. Royce) for 2 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, in answer to your question, I do not think anything is going to accelerate this until Mr. Chavez decides what he wants to do, and Mr. Chavez was given, if the gentleman will let me finish, Mr. Chavez and you, my good friend, asked for us to give them an extension to July 8. We did that, and on July 8, they did not sign it, and they would not give us a date after that. You know that.

So what we are trying to do is point out to the United States and the Venezuelan people that they reneged on their commitment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I have listened to with great interest the rhetoric coming from the other side, and now I intend to get to the facts of the matter. So I hope my friend from Massachusetts will indulge me and listen to me as attentively as I have listened to him.

First of all, let me just show, we have here a map from the maritime authorities, the Joint Interagency Task Force, showing from January 1 to December 31, 2005, the number of maritime trips involving drug activity originating in Venezuela, and it is 385 times.

Suspected air activity from January 1 to December 31, 2005, again from the Joint Interagency Task Force, 137 trips involving drug trafficking originating in Venezuela.

Let me just go through some of the issues that are very, very important to this debate.

First of all, DEA agents in August 2005 were accused of being spies for the United States and not doing their job as DEA agents. The fact of the matter is that was not the case. Nobody has proven or really indicated with any degree of authority that our DEA agents are doing anything more than trying to interdict drugs coming into the United States.

We received credible reports that traffickers are paying Venezuelan airport authorities a percentage of the money and drugs transported through the Simon Bolivar International Airport. Furthermore, the government of Venezuela has not taken any steps, any at all, unilaterally to prosecute any corrupt airport officials.

There are estimates that as much as 2,000 kilograms of cocaine and 200 kilograms of heroin were seized at the Simon Bolivar International Airport over the last 12 months. There are almost estimates there are 10 times that amount of cocaine, perhaps 20 times that amount of heroin, could be smuggled through that airport.

Seizure statistics at the Simon Bolivar Airport are not produced by the Venezuelans. The Venezuelan government does not track those statistics. Information regarding any seizures at the airport were not shared by the Venezuelan government with the DEA last year.

On April 11, 2006, a commercial plane, which we talked about earlier, originating in Caracas was seized in Mexico carrying 5.6 tons, tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of $100 million. Counternarcotics experts who we consulted agreed a 5.6 ton load of cocaine is not a test run. We can only speculate how this route was exploited by traffickers previously, how many millions of dollars and hundreds of tons of cocaine came through that route. And we know, as I said, there were 137 trips on that route last year.

The Venezuelan government has claimed the interdiction in Mexico was the result of a Venezuelan tip-off. That is what they said. So we checked. We have received assurances from our intelligence sources and other intelligence sources that those claims are categorically false. The Mexican police and government found that when that plane landed. They were not tipped off by anybody in Venezuela. Quite the contrary. The belief is that the Venezuelan people who are working at the airport were involved in the transport of these drugs amounting to $100 billion.

It is widely reported that the government of Venezuela is providing safe haven and logistical support to members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, the FARC guerrillas, which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization and was in 1997. And there is strong evidence that the Venezuelans are supporting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the FARC, with ammunition, safe houses, documentation, training, and weapons.

There is no formal mechanism to designate entities as drug trafficking organizations, but links between the FARC and drug trafficking were evident as far back as the mid to late 1980s, according to our State Department. It is precisely through this support for the FARC that we have estimates of as much as half of the Colombian cocaine moving to the United States and Europe as passing through Venezuela. Almost half of the cocaine coming into this country is coming through Venezuela.

You know, I have had the opportunity, with Mr. Delahunt and Mr. Meeks, to go down and meet with President Chavez in Venezuela, and at the U.N. in New York. He is a very engaging fellow. He is Clintonesque, if you will, in the way he meets people. He was very engaging. I was impressed with the fella. When we talked to him about toning down the rhetoric that would lead to a better relationship, or a relationship between Venezuela and the United States, he said he was going to do that. But he didn't.

Every week on television, for 5 hours, and I watched the tapes and I have listened to the translations, he maligns and beats up on not only the President but the Secretary of State. He says very demeaning things about Condoleezza Rice, our Secretary of State, and they are things that don't lead to any kind of a relationship between us and the Venezuelan leadership.

In addition to that, he is tied in very closely and he considers Fidel Castro, a Communist leader who wanted to revolutionize all of South America, he sent Che Guevara down there back in the 1980s to try to destroy any semblance of democracy throughout our hemisphere, and Che Guevara was killed. Now Chavez' mentor is Fidel Castro.

He is also tied in with Daniel Ortega and Mr. Morales of Bolivia, and all of these people want to move the South American continent to the left. And these are things we cannot tolerate. So the drug trafficking is only part of it.

Regarding Chavez' current trip, he is going to North Korea, he is going to Tehran, and he is meeting with what we consider the cabal of terrorists. He has also invited these people to visit him in Venezuela. In addition, as my colleague from California said a while ago, he is buying all kinds of military equipment, which really isn't necessary because there is no big threat to him down there, all kinds of military equipment to build up a huge military operation in South America and Venezuela.

We have got big problems down there. We want to talk to Mr. Chavez. We want to work with Mr. Chavez, but when we say to him we have an agreement that we have worked out, and his people hammered out the agreement with us, and he said he needed more time, until July 8, and you asked me for more time, Mr. Delahunt, we gave them more time, and when July 8 came, they would not sign the agreement nor would they give us a date certain when they would sign the agreement, and that is why this resolution is here on the floor tonight.

We want to have peace in our hemisphere. We want to work with all the presidents in our hemisphere, but we don't want revolution and we certainly don't want drugs coming through Venezuela into the United States damaging American women and children and hurting their families.

I will yield for one question, yes.

He is not going to North Korea?

He is not going to Tehran, either?

Reclaiming my time, and I just want to say this. If there is a problem that has evolved out

of this discussion tonight, it lays at the feet of Hugo Chavez. It lays at his feet. Because there was an agreement that was hammered out between his people and the DEA here in the United States. He asked for more time, we gave them more time. He wouldn't sign it nor would he give us a date certain when he would sign it.

How long do you wait? How long do you wait for drugs to continue to come into the United States before we get an agreement saying we are going to allow the DEA to do their job?

Well, I didn't yield any more time to my colleague, he just started talking. But that is okay, I have a high regard for him.

Let me just say once again that we have gone the extra mile on this agreement with Mr. Chavez. He wouldn't sign it, nor would he give us a date certain when he would sign it. We adhered to my colleague and others' requests to extend the time period, he wouldn't sign it, and that is why we have this resolution tonight.

I don't know how it is going to play in Caracas, all I can say is it is time we get an agreement, and the DEA needs to be able to do its job.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the resolution. While I have disagreements with some of the provisions in the preamble, and with the accusatory tone of some of the ``resolves'' clauses, what concerns me most is the timing of its consideration. Because a draft agreement between the Drug Enforcement Agency of the United States, and the Venezuelan antidrug office hangs in the balance.

Now, there has been considerable time and effort invested by both sides in this initiative, which I believe and I know others do, would be mutually beneficial to both Venezuela and the United States. But the passage of this resolution puts that at risk.

Because we all know that what we do here tonight will be interpreted in Caracas as a political statement to embarrass and intimidate the Chavez Government. That is simply the reality. And to think otherwise would be naive in the extreme.

Let us be candid. And my friend and colleague from Florida touched on many aspects of the relationship. But every one on the planet knows that the relationship between the Presidents of the United States, and Venezuela is poor. Prior to the coup in 2002, it was practically nonexistent.

But when it appeared to the Venezuelans that the Bush administration appeared to applaud the coup, that relationship proceeded to deteriorate to the point where it can only be described as bitter and hostile.

The rhetoric has become incendiary and insulting. And every action on either side is perceived to be motivated by hostility and political calculation. The unfortunate result is that what has evolved is a relationship that is hardened into profound mutual animosity that is having long-lasting and real world implications, whether it implicates terrorism, or drugs or anything.

We all know that while this resolution will be hardly noticed in this country, its language condemning the Chavez Government will provoke headlines in Venezuela, that will be used by Chavez's opponents in the forthcoming presidential campaign, and undoubtedly there will be a reaction from the Chavez Government.

Without a working, transparent and viable relationship between the Drug Enforcement Agency and Venezuela, there will be serious consequences to both countries. As I just said, I have no doubt that what we do here today will be interpreted in Caracas as yet another insult, which will provoke more inflammatory rhetoric, and make any potential constructive relationship on this particular issue much more difficult to achieve.

Now, let me be very clear. I know that that is not the intention of the chairman who has offered this resolution. But I am also confident, and I hope I am wrong, that this draft agreement will be the victim of this poisonous relationship and atmosphere that exists.

Let me emphasize, I am not giving up on the agreement. Earlier today I had a conversation with my friend and colleague from New York, Representative Meeks. We agreed that this is simply too important. This agreement is simply too important not to make a final effort.

And we will go down, and we will encourage the government of Venezuela to finally sign the agreement, which hopefully will restore a working relationship between the DEA and the anti-drug office in Venezuela.

But I am not hopeful. Because I believe that the language in this resolution, whether it is intended or not, will exacerbate the tension that clearly exists. And the tragedy is that the people in both countries will pay a price, and that is sad.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to my friend and colleague who serves on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee and has spent considerable time in Venezuela and is familiar with the nuances of that relationship, my friend, Mr. Meeks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I intend to yield to the gentleman from Ohio, but I am very glad that my friends raise the issue of Iran and Tehran, because the gentleman that spoke here today, that spoke in this, to this House, in this institution, has yet to denounce the military cooperation agreement between Iran and Iraq that exists as we speak.

Let me remind my friends, too, that the foreign minister of Iraq by the name of Zebari made this statement to the international community: We should not press Tehran about their nuclear program because they tell us that it is for peaceful purposes. We do not need a guarantee, let us just simply accept, accept what they say.

I am really glad you brought up Tehran because what I am beginning to see is an emerging relationship, if not an alliance, between Iraq and Iran. It is clear that there is a huge Iranian influence in Iraq today, a place where we have lost over 2,500 men and women, where we have expended hundreds of billions of dollars. And yet what do we hear? Nothing about Iran. We hear no condemnation of Hezbollah, none whatsoever.

I am glad you brought up Iran. Go back and check about that bilateral military cooperation agreement. I know one does not currently exist between Iran and Venezuela, but it does between our friends in Iraq and Iran. We have really created a hegemony in the Middle East, Iran.

But also, I think it is important that because the chairman spoke about the DEA, and I am sure they have gone through and I understand they have verified or they have had serious consultations. As a matter of record, if the chairman tells me, I will accept it, does the Drug Enforcement Administration believe that the passage of this resolution will accelerate the signing of this agreement?

I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.

Reclaiming my time, there was, and I would remind my friend that there was a very tense issue between Venezuela and the United States regarding air traffic between our countries. Quiet diplomacy, patience, restraint resulted in the resolution of that problem. So that today between Venezuela and the United States, there is air travel, it is working. So accord can happen.

I share the frustration of my friend from Indiana. I know that he is someone who is a very can-do kind of guy, and at times, one might describe his temperament as somewhat impetuous. Unfortunately, diplomacy does not necessarily work that way.

Now, I understand, too, that the State Department INL had this to say. I am quoting from our own State Department. This is after all of the problems that you described between the DEA and the anti-drug officer of Venezuela. This is a quote. ``In spite of the political tensions, DEA continued working with its law enforcement contacts, developing information and leads that have contributed,'' listen carefully, ``have contributed to record seizures by Venezuelan law enforcement.'' The DEA is acknowledging that there have been record seizures, according to their own official report, the INL. ``After decertification, political sniping faded and government officials expressed renewed willingness to cooperate. Government of Venezuela officials have linked cooperation to the signing of a new bilateral counternarcotics working arrangement.''

That is what we all want, and if we can achieve that, we have done something positive. We know the rhetoric is going to fly back and forth. We know there is going to be finger-pointing and all kinds of nasty words spoken on either side, but what is most important, what is most important is that we protect our own children.

I think the decertification process, I wonder if we have any standards for ourselves. In the last 6 years, have we taken steps to adequately decline, to adequately reduce the demand that fuels the narcotics coming in to this country?

Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

First of all, my friend made a misstatement about Chavez going to North Korea, but that is irrelevant to the revolution.

He is not going to North Korea, but let me focus on something.

He has been to Tehran, like Mr. Maliki has been to Tehran, and Mr. Zebari and Mr. Chalabi, all of the friends of the neoconservative movement, they have lived in Tehran for a considerable period of time.

But let us talk about this today. The rhetoric that we have heard about is about terrorists, it is about, this is not within the purview of this thing. But I have to tell you something, when this plays down in Caracas, like I said in my opening remarks, it is just going to make it impossible.

Today is the 26th of July, Mr. Speaker. The 26th of July. You know that I, and hopefully accompanied by others, was going to go to Caracas this August, have a conversation, and come back with a signed agreement. That is the hope. But with this language in this particular resolution, I will tell you what we have done. We have buried that agreement. And that is a tragedy because drugs will come into this country. That is the sadness.

Mr. Speaker, I understand the concerns of the chairman; and I believe I understand his intent for introducing this piece of legislation. But the bottom line is we have got to make sure that we accomplish something here.

The real deal here is not about the chatter between President Chavez and President Bush and the statements that have gone back and forth. The bottom line here is, what do we do to make sure that we are stopping the flow of drugs?

While we are here debating the merits of this resolution, the experts are still in Venezuela completing the specifics of an agreement that would reestablish the relationship between the Drug Enforcement Agency and the appropriate Venezuelan authorities. The fact that we are debating it on the floor today, as Mr. Delahunt says, it really threatens our relationship and makes it so that the possibility of getting this thing done becomes remote at best.

We don't need to continue to politicize this issue. What we need to do is to make sure that we are staying out of it, actually, and allowing the experts to really sit down to work to complete their job.

The Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of 2006 reported and identified 20 countries as major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing countries, despite increased drug seizures during the past 4 years; and these are the real facts.

In an effort to reduce the proliferation of drugs throughout the region and into the United States, the presidents of Venezuela and Colombia have started a process of military modernization to shore up the fence along their countries' borders; and Venezuela has extradited a number of leading armed actors from the ELN and the FARC to Colombia.

In fact, I spoke with DEA officials in my office, and I know they want this agreement signed so that they can continue to do their jobs. I also have been in communication with the Venezuelans; and they have expressed, I believe, a sincere desire to finally get this agreement signed.

Our actions today condemning the Venezuelan government for being complicit in efforts to secure airport facilities to prevent trafficking of controlled substances, narcotics and laundered money does not fit the action of negotiating in good faith to finalize this agreement. We cannot play into the hands of being somewhat obstructionist and widen the gap between our two governments, which already has a very strained relationship.

In the resolution itself, Mr. Speaker, it urges Venezuela to support strategies for ensuring secure airport facilities that meet international certifications to prevent trafficking of controlled substances, narcotics and laundered money. However, when the data- sharing agreement is signed, according to the DEA mandate, title 21, chapter 13, subchapter 1, part E, this concern will be addressed and covered. So passage of this resolution will either prevent or substantially delay this agreement from being signed.

The resolution also, you know, there is some truth, but sometimes the truths are half-truths. It states, drug trafficking through Venezuela significantly increased in 2005, when in fact over 25 percent of drug seizures occurred at the Simon Bolivar Airport in 2005, and 2005 also witnessed a 58 percent increase in drug seizures compared to the previous year. In addition, drug seizures are up in Venezuela compared to this time last year by as much as 30 percent.

The resolution further identified that on April 11 of this year, a commercial plane originating in Venezuela was seized in Mexico at the airport of Ciudad del Carmen, carrying 5.6 tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of $100 million. Well, Mr. Speaker, the truth of the matter is, according to Mexico's Defense Department, the army was waiting for the plane on Monday at the Airport del Carmen 550 miles east of Mexico City after receiving information from the Venezuelan Government and U.S. authorities; and this is according to Mexican Army General Carlos Gaytan.

Mr. Speaker, I have a newspaper article that I would ask unanimous consent to have added to the Record indicating the very same with quotations from the general.

Mr. Speaker, we are also told that statistics on drug seizures at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas are not available, but the truth of the matter is no one must have asked for the information. Because I called and asked for the information, and they provided me with the following, and I have charts that I would like to present for the Record.

There is a chart identifying where seizures took place in 2005, two charts define how much cocaine and heroin was seized at the airport and at Santiago Marino Airport since 2002. I have a chart identifying nationality of individuals involved in drugs and have been caught since 2002. And I have several charts identifying the type of drug and the quantity confiscated in Venezuela in 2005, the number of security agencies and personnel involved in drug confiscation throughout Venezuela, persons from Venezuela arrested for drugs in Venezuela, and the number of foreigners arrested for drugs in Venezuela. So I have all of these that I would also like to submit at the end for the Record. Their information is available. They have been sharing this with us.

This resolution further threatens the delicate relationship between our two countries. And, consequently, for me, I am really concerned. I happen to represent an international airport, JFK, John F. Kennedy International Airport; and I understand the importance of keeping drugs out. To me, that is what the bottom line is. This isn't about us against them. For me, it is about securing our country so that we can keep the drugs from coming in and doing what we have to do.

The resolution basically I think, and I hope I am wrong, as Mr. Delahunt said, what it will do is it will assure that we won't have an agreement. And if we don't have an agreement, then what we have accomplished is that there can be more drugs getting into this country.

We have got to do just the opposite. We have got to make sure that we do everything that we possibly can to secure and to prevent drugs from entering into the United States of America. I think that this is the wrong way of doing it, so therefore I will oppose this resolution and ask all Members that, if you truly want to stop drugs, we need to get an agreement with Venezuela.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 400 and commend my chairman, Mr. Burton, for his leadership on this issue.

This important resolution expresses this Congress's concern and frustration about the rising proliferation of narcotics from Venezuela and reaffirms the United States' commitment to stability and freedom in the Western Hemisphere.

Venezuela historically has the potential to be a key ally in the global war against the narcotics trade. However, its government is not stepping up to the plate. According to the State Department, approximately 150 metric tons of cocaine and increasing quantities of heroin move through its territory annually. Mr. Speaker, Venezuela is becoming a safe haven for the drug trade and those who profit from it.

Corruption is a growing problem in the Venezuelan government, and the airports are not immune. Simon Bolivar International Airport is becoming a haven for crime, where personal property theft, muggings and ``express kidnappings'' have become the norm. One of the nation's main transportation hubs, this airport has millions of dollars of narcotics flowing through it annually, and in the past year an estimated 90 percent of the cocaine and heroin trafficked through this airport have not been intercepted. These illicit drugs are headed to locations through our hemisphere and pose a significant threat to the health and safety of U.S. citizens.

The Government of Venezuela has failed to adhere to its obligations under international narcotics agreements; and, despite credible evidence that the airport is a transit point for the trade, they have not taken any unilateral steps on their part to prosecute corrupt airport officials involved in drug trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Venezuela has repeatedly assured us they would sign the new DEA Implementing Accord, an affirmation that Venezuelan and U.S. law enforcement would cooperate to combat trafficking and distribution of narcotics. The signing date for this accord has come and gone with no satisfactory explanation and no new firm signing date. With this resolution, we are expressing our apprehension over the lack of law enforcement cooperation the Government of Venezuela will allow and our concern about the growing use of Venezuelan territory as a transit route for drug trade in our hemisphere.

Mr. Speaker, the United States and Venezuela cooperated successfully historically in the past; and we need to continue to do so in the future. Narcotrafficking is a direct threat to democracy, a threat to peace, a threat to security within the Western Hemisphere, and together the U.S. and Venezuela must work together to combat it.

I sincerely hope that Venezuela will step up to its responsibility as a leader in our hemisphere by restoring cooperation with U.S. law enforcement and fulfilling its obligation to combat narcotrafficking within its own borders.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Let me say that last week the Subcommittee on International Terrorism that I chair held a hearing on Venezuela's link to terrorism. On May 15, the State Department designated Venezuela as not cooperating fully with U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. Mr. Speaker, from what we heard from the Department officials, it is not that Venezuela is not cooperating fully, it is that Venezuela is not cooperating at all.

Disconcerting was the testimony we heard from the State Department that Venezuelan passports can be forged with child-like ease and that the U.S. is detaining at our borders an increasing number of third country aliens carrying false Venezuelan documents. According to a 2003 U.S. news report, thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being distributed to foreigners from Middle Eastern nations including Syria, Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon.

It is not just anti-terrorism in which we see no cooperation, as pointed out in this resolution, it is also counternarcotics, and today, Hugo Chavez, President Chavez, is in Moscow signing a multibillion dollar agreement for advanced fighter jets for attack helicopters, for 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and a license to build a Kalashnikov factory in Venezuela. He is trying to negotiate two or three submarines, and frankly, these are not helpful in terms of regional stability.

It is not helpful that he is traveling to Iran and to North Korea, and it is not helpful when he says he is trying to create a common ideological front against the United States.

Frankly, these weapons are to allow his self-described socialist revolution to become a military force to be reckoned with in Latin America. This resolution is an important one, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.

Concerning, Mr. Speaker, the relationship between Hugo Chavez and Iran, let me explain why this is actually problematic, and we had an effort to bring pressure at the IAEA. We had the board of governors in an attempt by countries to pressure Iran not to go forward with its nuclear proliferation program. It was Venezuela, along with Cuba and one other country, I think it was Belarus, that voted against that effort.

Why are these points important? In the fall, there will be a seat on the Security Council that will open up. Venezuela is actively lobbying for that seat.

In light of this type of conduct, it is quite important that we point out the facts about the current efforts with Venezuela.