A strategy aimed at fencing in the Chävez government is being prepared at the behest of President George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, senior US officials say. Roger Pardo-Maurer, deputy assistant secretary for western hemisphere affairs at the Department of Defense, said the policy was being developed because Mr Chavez was employing a "hyena strategy" in the region. "Chavez is a problem because he is clearly using his oil money and influence to introduce his conflictive style into the politics of other countries," Mr Pardo-Maurer said in an interview with the Financial Times. "He's picking on the countries whose social fabric is the weakest. In some cases it's downright subversion."Mr Chavez, whose government has enjoyed bumper export revenues during his six years in office thanks to high oil prices, has denied that he is aiding insurgent groups in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. But a tougher stance from the US already appears to be in the offing, a move likely to strain relations further. The policy shift in Washington, which a US military officer said was at an early stage, could also have implications for the world oil market. Mr Chävez has threatened to suspend oil shipments to the US if it attempts to oust him.
Recently, he and his ally, President Fidel Castro of Cuba, have alleged, without offering proof, that the Bush administration was plotting to assassinate the Venezuelan leader, an allegation that US officials have dismissed as "wild". Suggestions that Mr Chavez backs subversive groups surface frequently, although thus far also with scant evidence. Colombian officials close to President Alvaro Uribe say that Venezuela is giving sanctuary to Colombian guerrillas, deemed "terrorists" by both the US and Europe.