Would Bush React to Chavez's Conspiracy?

Giving more details on Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez's, a left-wing thug, plans to undermine Columbian democracy using the usually progressive liberal apologists, in Europe and in US, as his pawns to sympathize with Columbian narco-terrorist group, FARC, Washington Post's Jackson Diehl asks what would Bush do now, if anything.

The revelations made by Columbian military, obtained from the laptop captured from recent raid in Ecuador, are stunning. Chavez working hand-in-glove with FARC using his other left-wing pals from Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, apparently was directing a conspiracy to install FARC as the legitimate government in Columbia. Apparently we haven't seen anything yet when it comes nacro-drug supply to world markets.

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The first e-mail, dated Feb. 8, discusses the money: It says that Chávez, whom they call "angel," "has the first 50 [million] available and has a plan to get us the remaining 200 in the course of the year." Chávez proposed sending the first "packet" of money "through the black market in order to avoid problems." He said more could be arranged by giving the FARC a quota of petroleum to sell abroad or gasoline to retail in Colombia or Venezuela. Chávez then got to the plans that most interested him. He wanted the FARC to propose collecting all of its hostages in the open, possibly in Venezuela, for a proposed exchange for 500 FARC prisoners in Colombian jails. Chávez said he would travel to the area for a meeting with the FARC's top leader, Manuel Marulanda, and said the presidents of Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia would accompany him. Meanwhile, Chávez said he would set up a new diplomatic group, composed of those countries and the FARC, plus Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, for the purpose of recognizing the FARC as a legitimate "belligerent" in Colombia and forcing Uribe into releasing its prisoners. In "the early morning hours," the FARC envoys recounted in a Feb. 9 e-mail, Chávez reached the subject of whether the release of Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate who is the FARC's best-known hostage, would complicate his plan to back a pro-FARC alternative to Uribe. "He invites the FARC to participate in a few sessions of analysis he has laid out for following the Colombian political situation," the e-mail concluded.

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Jackson then asks if Bush would do anything about a head of state promoting terror groups - apparently Bush's test of announced policy against terror sponsors.

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If the president decides to ignore clear evidence that Venezuela has funded and conspired with an officially designated terrorist organization, he will flout what has been his first principle since Sept. 11, 2001.[The FARC's Guardian Angel - WaPo]

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Isn't there a precedence to this? Bush has been playing second fiddle to continued terror sponsored by General Musharraf in India, and in J&K, for more than six years, giving the general all sorts of praise and funding to continue his activities. Then, it was the General's promise of going after Taliban and al-Qaida. Now, in case of Chavez, it would be continued oil supply by Petróleos de Venezuela and Citgo, one of the largest supplier of oil to US. And because Chavez already has a number of U.S. Congressmen in his pocket by supplying their constituents oil below market price, about 50 million gallons in total. Hugo Chavez knows how to play the game - he is going nowhere.