[NYTr] No Fond Farewells as Departing US Ambassador Leaves Venezuela Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 15:04:29 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [So long, Brownfield... Don't let the door smack you in the ass on the way out!] The New York Times - July 6, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/world/americas/06venez.html No Fond Farewells in Venezuela as US Ambassador Leaves Post By Simon Romero CARACAS -- State Department aspirants to become Washington's top envoy to Venezuela, take note: Ambassador William Brownfield is leaving upon completing three years on the job here, after dealing with incidents ranging from the pelting of his motorcade with eggs to expulsion threats from President Hugo ChC!vez. Mr. Brownfield offered "two rules for anyone who holds this job in the future" in an interview before he left on Thursday for BogotC!, where he is to be the next United States ambassador to neighboring Colombia. "You absolutely have to have the patience of Job ? if you are not an extremely patient man or woman, this job will drive you crazy," said Mr. Brownfield, a West Texas native who was called "the Texan" by Venezuelan news outlets for his swaggering approach to verbal tit-for-tats with Mr. ChC!vez's government. "The second rule is that you had better have a sense of humor, because if you don't have a sense of humor in this particular country at this particular point in time, you will quickly become suicidal," Mr. Brownfield added. The ambassador's taste for irony was on display at an Independence Day celebration at the United States Embassy this week, where he wore a T-shirt reading, "Uh! Ah! Brownfield IS Leaving!" a play on a pro-ChC!vez slogan ("ChC!vez is NOT leaving") chanted at rallies. (The shirt was bright red, the color identified with the ChC!vez administration.) Patrick Duddy, a senior State Department official with tours in Brazil and Bolivia, will replace Mr. Brownfield as ambassador at a time when Mr. ChC!vez's growing use of nationalization is showing the door to American companies like Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Verizon Communications and the AES Corporation. NicolC!s Maduro, Venezuela's foreign minister, appraised Mr. Brownfield's term in Venezuela as a "failure." "We advise our Colombian brothers to have much caution," Mr. Maduro told reporters on Thursday. "William Brownfield came to Venezuela with one mission: to destabilize the government of President ChC!vez and assist in toppling him." Indeed, distrust of Washington persists in Mr. ChC!vez's government, since the Bush administration indirectly offered support for a coup in 2002 that briefly removed Mr. ChC!vez from office. Mr. ChC!vez has since frequently claimed that the United States is hatching plots to oust him or to invade, assertions Mr. Brownfield has frequently denied. As Mr. ChC!vez returned this week from a trip to Iran, where he tightened an alliance with its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and to Russia, where he discussed a deal to buy as many as five diesel-powered submarines, Mr. Brownfield surmised that relations between the United States and Venezuela had yet to reach a low point. "This relationship is probably going to get worse before it gets better," said Mr. Brownfield, who sought to ease bilateral tension during his time here through donations of mitts and bats at baseball diamonds throughout the country. "We have to accept that reality." *** BBC News - July 6, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6275972.stm Venezuela brands US envoy failure Venezuela has criticised the outgoing United States' ambassador to the country, saying his three-year term there was a failure. William Brownfield was accused of trying to undermine the government of the left-wing President, Hugo Chavez. Earlier this week, Mr Brownfield said he regretted that he had not achieved greater dialogue with the government in Caracas. He was almost expelled from Venezuela on several occasions. Mr Brownfield is to be replaced by Patrick Duddy, a top official in the State Department's Latin American department. Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said "there is little to hope" for from any appointee of US President George W Bush. 'Limited achievements' "We hope the new ambassador who is coming is at least serious and respects Venezuela's sovereignty", Mr Maduro told reporters. Mr Brownfield said in a televised interview on Wednesday that he felt he made limited achievements in lessening tensions with Venezuela but that he regretted he was not able to establish a pragmatic relationship. He poked fun at President Chavez's anti-American rhetoric, saying Americans were likely to do "very conspiratorial things" during the Independence Day holiday, such as attending baseball games. Mr Maduro told reporters that "William Brownfield came to Venezuela with one mission: to destabilize the government of President Chavez, to help topple him. And his mission has failed." Mr Brownfield took over as ambassador to Caracas in August 2004, and his time was marked by growing hostility between the two governments. On at least two occasions, President Chavez threatened to expel Mr Brownfield, accusing him of meddling in Venezuela's affairs. *** AP via The Washington Post - July 5, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070501799.html Venezuela Bids U.S. Envoy Angry Farewell By Sandra Sierra The Associated Press CARACAS -- Venezuela's foreign minister accused the outgoing U.S. ambassador Thursday of spending his term trying to undermine President Hugo Chavez and said the government hopes his replacement will show more respect. Ambassador William Brownfield's three-year term was marked by growing hostility between the two governments. The U.S. has called leftist Chavez a negative influence on Latin America, while the Venezuelan leader has often accused Washington of seeking his overthrow. On at least two occasions, Chavez threatened to expel Brownfield, accusing him of meddling in Venezuela's affairs. Brownfield left for the United States on Thursday and will soon take over the diplomatic mission in Colombia. He is being replaced by Patrick Duddy, a senior official in the State Department's Latin America bureau. "William Brownfield came to Venezuela with one mission: to destabilize the government of President Chavez, to help topple him. And his mission has failed," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told reporters. Maduro said "there is little to hope" for any appointee of President Bush. "We hope the new ambassador who is coming is at least serious" and respects Venezuela's sovereignty, he said. The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on Thursday. Brownfield said in a televised interview Wednesday night that he feels he made some limited achievements in lessening tensions with Venezuela but that he regrets being unable to establish a pragmatic relationship. He also poked fun at Chavez's anti-U.S. rhetoric, referring to the U.S. "empire" and saying Americans would likely do "very conspiratorial things" this week during the Independence Day holiday, such as attending baseball games. A career diplomat from Texas with a penchant for wry humor, Brownfield has drawn Chavez's ire by voicing Washington's concerns and handing out donations to youth baseball leagues and charities in pro-Chavez slums. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . 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