A senior US military commander has expressed concerns over Venezuela's arms procurement programme, the Financial Times reported on Monday. General Bantz Craddock, the commander-in-chief of the US Southern Command, said he was worried about the end-destination of around 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles which are reported to be heading for Venezuela. "We are wondering what is the intent here," Craddock was quoted as saying. "If it is for sovereign defence, obviously each nation can do their own... If it is to export instability, that is a different situation."
"We are concerned about that and we would like that not to happen," he added.
The article said US defence officials were concerned the weapons could reach Colombian guerrillas who are seeking to overthrow President Alvaro Uribe.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has stepped up his anti-US rhetoric this year after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called him a "negative force" in Latin America.
Last week, he risked further antagonising the United States by saying he backed Iran in its dispute with the United States and Europe over its nuclear programme.
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