Venezuelan Election: Romney Accuses Obama Of Being Soft on Chávez

Source: ABC News

Venezuelan Election: Romney Accuses Obama Of Being Soft on Chávez
By JORDAN FABIAN
Oct. 8, 2012

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Monday that he would do more to counteract leftist governments in Venezuela and Cuba that have long been a thorn in the United States' side.

Romney delivered a foreign policy address at the Virginia Military Institute, in which he pledged to take a more muscular stance against countries that threaten the U.S. and its allies, such as Iran. The candidate's address almost solely focused on the turmoil in the Middle East, but one day after Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez won a third term, he briefly touched on Latin America.

"There is a longing for American leadership in the Middle East, and it is not unique to that region," Romney said. "Our neighbors in Latin America want to resist the failed ideology of Hugo Chávez and the Castro brothers and deepen ties with the United States on trade, energy, and security. But in all of these places, just as in the Middle East, the question is asked: 'Where does America stand?' "

Romney says he is seeking to stake out a more assertive stance on foreign policy and national security compared to President Barack Obama, and he has frequently accused the current administration of toeing a soft line against the socialist Chávez and Communist Castro governments.


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