Venezuela joins ranks with top arms spenders

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's arms spending has climbed to more than $4billion through the past two years, transforming the nation into Latin America's largest weapons buyer and placing it ahead of other major purchasers in international arms markets like Pakistan and Iran.

Venezuelan military and government officials here say the arms acquisitions, which include dozens of fighter jets and attack helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, are needed to circumvent a ban by the United States on sales of American weapons to the country.

They also argue that Venezuela must strengthen its defenses to counter potential military aggression from the United States.

"The United States has tried to paralyze our air power," Gen. Alberto Muller Rojas, a member of President Hugo Chavez's general staff, said in an interview, citing a recent effort by the Bush administration to prevent Venezuela from acquiring replacement parts for American F-16s bought in the 1980s. "We are feeling threatened and like any sovereign nation we are taking steps to strengthen our territorial defense," he said.

This retooling of Venezuela's military strategy, which includes creation of a large civilian reserve force and military assistance to regional allies like Bolivia, has been part of a steadily deteriorating political relationship with the U. S.

The Bush administration has repeatedly denied that it has any plans to attack Venezuela, one of the largest sources of imported oil in the United States. But distrust of such statements persists here after the administration tacitly supported a coup that briefly removed Chavez from office in 2002.

Venezuela's escalation of arms spending, up 12.5percent in 2006, has brought criticism from the Bush administration, which says the buildup is a potentially destabilizing problem in South America and is far more than what would be needed for domestic defense alone.

Concern has increased among Venezuela's neighbors that its arms purchases could upend regional power balances or lead to a new illicit trade in arms across Venezuela's porous borders.

Since 2005, Venezuela has signed contracts with Russia for 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, 50 transport and attack helicopters, and 100,000 assault rifles. Venezuela also has plans to open Latin America's first Kalashnikov factory, to produce the Russian-designed rifles in Maracay.

A report in January by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency pegged Venezuela's arms purchases in the past two years at $4.3 billion, more than Pakistan's $3billion and Iran's $1.7billion in that period.