Mr. Shipley

Your editorial on Venezuela asked “Why not cut military spending instead? ”

You then cited a paper listing Venezuela as the largest arms importer

in South America. However World Bank data shows Venezuela military expenditures as 1.2%

GDP. That’s vastly lower than Colombia, which spends 3.4% GDP

It is also lower than in Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador and Uruguay.

Conflating arms imports (even if the paper is accurate) with total military spending is not very sharp analysis.

You also cite an NGO’s claim on Venezuelan homicide statistics that even some opposition folks have found dubious and likely very inflated.

Joe Emersberger

PS: Will be posting this on a blog and will be happy to post any reply from you.

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