MIAMI.-The overthrown dictator of Syria, Bashar Al Assadwas received in Venezuela with honors from the ruler Hugo Chavezwho not only gave him the replica of the sword of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, but also came to consider him “one of the great liberators of the world.”
In July 2010, Chávez received Assad at the Miraflores Palace, 16 days after having become, without opponents, the president of Syria, following the death of his father Hafez Assad, of a heart attack, after 29 years. in power of the Arab country.
During the ceremony, according to audiovisual testimony, Chávez spoke of the need to strengthen ties between Venezuela and Syria, and praised Al Assad as a leader committed to the sovereignty of his nation.
Alliance for convenience
A fact explained by analyst Joseph Hage, an expert in the Middle East and Terrorism.
“At that time, Hugo Chávez saw that the West represented by the US and its allies. “It was closed to him, and the business for Venezuela was right there, so he had to look for alliances elsewhere.”
He specifies that the alliance was later expanded “with the Iranians, the revolutionary guard, with Shiites from Lebanon who began to arrive in Venezuela and to those who were given Venezuelan citizenship so that they could move to all of Latin America.”
Nicolás Maduro followed in Chávez’s footsteps, he says. A few days ago, the president affirmed that the Venezuelan regime supported Syria in its “fight against terrorism and its sponsoring countries,” after pointing out that the West’s objective was to weaken al Assad’s power.
Venezuela and Syria, allies in objectives
Thus, Al Asad’s invitation to Venezuela by Chávez occurred in the context of outlining common objectives.
On the one hand, Venezuelan foreign policy pointed to positions that were harshly critical of the United States, which favored the alliance with Syria, a Middle Eastern country that is also an adversary of the North American nation due to its influence in the Middle East region.
But in addition, both countries had “iron fist” governments against their opponents, to the point of being questioned for human rights violations.
Two substantial facts in principle distinguish them, Hage points out. The Assad dynasty maintained power in Syria for 50 years and the Chávez-Maduro regime has been in charge for 24 years. Furthermore, Venezuela has nothing to do with the Palestinian cause, as it exists for the Syrians.
Al Assad fell this Sunday, after a 13-year civil war with rebel opponents who sought to end a regime that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and torture, for which he is accused of crimes against humanity by global human rights organizations.
He is asylum in Russia with his family, after having left the country
