Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has become a whipping boy at the hands of some fundamentalist Americans. The fundamentalist Christian evangelist, The Rev Pat Robinson’s ‘fatwa’ (religious decree) for the assassination of democratically elected leader Chavez has highlighted the existence of America’s cuckoo constituency - nutcase Christian extremists whose outlook is as dark as the jehadis against whom the world rails.
Robertson is no ordinary preacher, although he is regarded by some as an insane bigot who should be locked up. He ran for president in 1988 and is the founder of the politically powerful and pro-Republican Christian Coalition. He heads the Christian Broadcasting Network, which beams its evangelical programmes to 70 countries.
Chavez’s anti-American stance and close friendship with Cuba’s Fiedel Castro has been an irritant to Washington. However, US officials have quickly distanced themselves from Robertson saying his statements did not reflect the position of the US Government.
On the other hand, Venezuela has condemned Robertson for his ‘fatwa’, saying he committed a crime that is punishable in the US. Robertson had said: ” You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war.”
