WASHINGTON - November 30 - The Center for International Policy, the progressive foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC, has launched “Caracas Connect,” a blog exclusively devoted to dialogue about Venezuela and U.S. foreign policy toward Caracas and the southern hemisphere.

“Caracas Connect” can be found on the internet at: http://caracasconnect.blogspot.com/.

“’Caracas Connect’ invites dialogue at a crucial time for U.S. relations with Latin America,” said Sarah Stephens, senior associate at The Center for International Policy. “As Washington moves to personalize its differences with President Hugo Chavez – just as it has done with President Castro in Cuba – the people of our country need to learn what is actually happening in Venezuela, good and bad, and debate what our policy needs to be, not just with Caracas but also with the entire Hemisphere.”

For years, the Center for International Policy has raised alarms about how U.S. policy fundamentally misapprehends the challenges and the significance of the southern hemisphere with profound consequences for the 546 million citizens who live in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

“To be sure,” Ms. Stephens said, “U.S. policymakers need to better understand Venezuela’s intentions, its approach to domestic policy, how it intends to ameliorate poverty and income disparity, its use of oil as an instrument of diplomacy, and its influence over international trade and foreign policy throughout the region.

“But we strongly believe that this debate needs to be depersonalized and enriched with some face-to-face discussions, real dialogue, and research that go far beyond the political rhetoric we hear from the administration. That is what Caracas Connect is all about.”

The Center for International Policy (www.ciponline.org), founded in 1975, promotes a U.S. foreign policy based on international cooperation, demilitarization and respect for basic human rights.

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