How EADS CASA looks in Congress

EADS CASA's Venezuelan tar baby is earning derision on Capitol Hill, with some insiders laughing at the company's last-minute attempts to distance itself from its paying customer, Hugo Chavez.

Two weeks after inking a controversial military transport deal with Venezuela over high-level US opposition, EADS CASA lobbyists reassure policymakers in Washington that the deal to provide Chavez with CN-235 and C-295 aircraft won't go through.

Policymakers don't know what to believe. EADS CASA, considered a reliable foreign defense partner until the Venezuela deal, is becoming known in Washington as EADS CHAVEZ.