Hugo Chavez has been "democratically" provided with a dictatorship of Venezuela.
Ernesto Ackerman, president of Independent Venezuelan-American Citizens is quoted in the Miami Herald as saying:
"Chavez is moving faster every day toward a Castro-style communist government. What's coming is going to be terrible. Venezuelans aren't fleeing economic problems, they are leaving because of persecution. It's not hypothetical anymore that Venezuela will be a communist country -- it's a fact.''
In the same article in The Miami Herald of January 25, 2007, titled More Venezuelans seeking U.S. asylum, the authors, Alfonso Chardy and Casey Woods, point out that:
"In 1997 -- the year before Chávez was first elected -- only nine Venezuelans received asylum in the United States."
"The latest figures show a surge of Venezuelans moving to the United States either through asylum, permanent residence or other visas. The number of Venezuelans who got green cards in 2005 -- almost 11,000 U.S. permanent residents -- was more than double those in 2000."
"Those who seek asylum are claiming persecution or that communism is about to take hold in Venezuela. In 2004 and 2005, more than 3,000 Venezuelans filed petitions for asylum in immigration courts -- a dramatic rise from 1997 to 2001, when only a few dozen applied each year."
Click here for the full Miami Herald article.
It's too bad that the anti-capitalist sympathizers that dread right wing dictators do not have a similar fear of left wing dictators.
This BBC News article titled Rule by decree passed for Chavez is worth the time to read as well.
