Brazil, Venezuela deny “arms race”

Much has been mentioned in recent weeks about an “arms race” among Latin American states, especially regarding weapons purchases made by Venezuela and increased U.S. military presence in Colombia. Though the topic is of concern, the buying of weapons throughout the region is not a recent development. (For instance, Foreign Policy magazine named the Russian-led “Latin American Arms Race” as one of the “Top Ten Stories You Missed in 2006”). Additionally, several regional leaders have tried to downplay the weapons issue.

Last Friday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that his country was not engaging in an “arms race” and tried to defend the possible multi-billion-dollar deal to buy 36 new fighter jets. Lula tried to justify Brazil’s arms purchases as necessary for border enforcement and to protect vast offshore oil fields. Earlier in the week, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim claimed that Brazil is not "a Venezuela, buying in the world's arms supermarket…(and) not on a shopping spree.”

Speaking of Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez rejected U.S. concerns over a $2.2 billion deal to buy arms from Russia. Chavez also alluded to what he might say this month at U.N. General Assembly:

“(U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) knows she’s lying -- it’s cynicism without limits,” Chavez said (Friday) in comments carried by state television.

“What should I say at the UN then? Perhaps it still smells like sulfur,” Chavez added, referring to a speech he made in 2006 when he called former President George W. Bush “the devil” at the annual General Assembly meeting.

Image- BBC News (“Brazil is buying four Scorpene attack submarines from France.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, Bloomberg, Foreign Policy, Xinhua, AFP, AP