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Hugo, Fidel and Muammar
By Ana Julia Jatar on 10 Mar, 2011
President Hugo Chávez is stoutly defending his longtime friend and ally Muammar Khaddafi while the rest of the world’s most despotic regimes – from Moscow to Beijing – have staked out positions against the homicidal Libyan leader who has oppressed his people for over four decades... more »
Guri Dam Drops to Lower Levels: Strafor Global Intelligence
By Other Sources on 8 May, 2010
May 7, 2010 | 1817 GMTVenezuela: Guri Dam Drops to Lowest LevelJUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty ImagesSummaryThe water level of Venezuela’s Guri dam is at the lowest since the electricity crisis began, and the country’s thermoelectric sector is in no… more »
Chávez Decaffeinates Venezuela
By Other Sources on 4 May, 2010
By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY The late Milton Friedman once quipped that "if you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand." Friedman was using hyperbole to make a point about central plannin… more »
Report details violence and lost freedoms in Venezuela
By Other Sources on 1 Mar, 2010
THE ORGANIZATION of American States has failed to respond to the steady deterioration of Latin American democracy during the past few years, even though the defense of democracy is supposed to be one of its primary missions. Now the OAS -- and governments throughout the region -- have been shamed by one of its own branch organizations. Last week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a searing and authoritative report on the destruction of Venezuela's political institutions and the erosion of freedom under President Hugo Chávez. It's a powerful and sometimes chilling account of what OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and the organization's permanent council have been ignoring... more »
"The Honduras Trap" by Jorge Castañeda
By Other Sources on 11 Dec, 2009
From the very beginning of the Honduran crisis, back in June of this year, many observers remarked that Washington, as well as most Latin American governments, the Organization of American States, and the European Union, had painted itself into a corner. The Obama administration rightly condemned the June 28 coup d'atat that overthrew President Manuel Zelaya--but also refrained from any judgment, let alone criticism, of Zelaya's bid for an unconstitutional third term, which led to his ouster. Nor did the Obama administration acknowledge that the best way out of the quagmire was to ensure that the already scheduled elections for Nov. 29 be as free and fair as possible, with the help of internation-al observers... more »
Chávez Plays Damage Control as Scandal Widens
By Other Sources on 8 Dec, 2009
CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chávez scrambled to distance his government from a brewing banking and corruption scandal that claimed one of his closest collaborators on Sunday and could claim other top officials.Speaking on his weekly television show, Mr. Chávez announced the resignation of Jesse Chacón, one of the government's most powerful officials, who was serving as science and technology minister. The announcement came a day after the arrest of Mr. Chacón's brother, Arné Chacón, president of Banco Real and Baninvest, two of seven small banks taken over by the Venezuelan government last week."I respect and love Jesse very much, and I know he understands," said Mr. Chávez. He said Mr. Chacón's resignation freed the official from suspicion in the banking scandal... more »
Doubt over Chávez's cure for ailing health system
By Other Sources on 18 Oct, 2009
By Benedict Mander in Caracas Financial Times UKPublished: October 16 2009 03:00 | Last updated: October 16 2009 03:00Hugo Chávez looked puzzled when, on one of his recent Sunday television shows, he listened to a guest's account of her sister's nightmarish experience trying to find somewhere to give birth in Caracas.While in labour, she was bandied about from hospital to hospital, repeatedly rejected because of a lack of beds and doctors. Incredulous, the Venezuelan president asked: "Who is responsible for this?"Many Venezuelans place the blame squarely on Mr Chávez's shoulders. They see this increasingly common phenomenon - known as "the runaround" - as symptomatic of the crumbling decay of the oil-rich country's public hospitals after years of neglect... more »
Rory Carroll, “Venezuela: Chavez accused of turning tyrant as even former allies languish in jail: President using courts and intimidation to neutralise opponents, critics say”
By Ana Julia Jatar on 14 Oct, 2009
The Guardian (London) - Final Edition, October 13, 2009 He was the man who saved Hugo Chavez when all seemed lost. A coup had ousted Venezuela's president and buried, it seemed, his leftist experiment.General Raul Baduel, however, stayed loyal and tilted the army Chavez's way during tumultuous days in April 2002, paving the way for his return to power and restoring democracy. A grateful Chavez hailed the general a hero and appointed him defence minister. They became close allies and confidants.Times change. Baduel is now stripped of power and facing corruption charges that could keep him in jail for decades. Prosecutors say he pilfered state funds. Baduel says his crime was to realise - and declare - that the president was a tyrant... more »
The Iran connection in Venezuela
By Other Sources on 24 Sep, 2009
The Bradenton Herald (Florida)By Andres OppenheimerHere's an issue that is drawing growing attention in Washington, but is going almost unnoticed in Latin America — allegations that Venezuela is helping Iran develop nuclear weapons, and that Iran's fundamentalist regime is setting up a foothold in Latin America from where to threaten the United States.While there has been speculation about Venezuela's ties to Iran's nuclear program in the past, it has risen to a new level since a Sept. 8 speech by New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau at the Brookings Institution in Washington... more »
Hugo Chavez Is Helping Iran’s Weapons’ Program
By Other Sources on 23 Sep, 2009
CNSNews.comBy Alvaro Vargas Llosa http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/54385 Being a buffoon can buy a lot of time in international politics—you can do naughty things for a long while before people begin to take them seriously. This is the case of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, whose relationship with Iran was the subject of a recent presentation by Robert Morgenthau, the legendary Manhattan district attorney. Based on his office’s investigations, third-party collaboration and snippets of public information, Morgenthau concludes that Venezuela and Iran are “acting together in our backyard on the development of nuclear and missile technology.” The news is not really new. For instance, a small group of private investigators came to my office a few months ago and showed me numerous documents and photographs that pointed to many of the things the Manhattan DA now confirms. They complained that they had visited authorities in the U.S. and other countries but had received very little support in their effort to put the spotlight on what Chavez is up to... more »
Eman al Obeidi, ciudadana Libia estudiante de postgrado de derecho de 28 años de edad y hasta hace pocos días una desconocida, se ha convertido por su coraje y valentía en el símbolo de la resistencia Libia y en el emblema de las desigualdades a las cuales está sometida la
Cuando en la década de los ochenta se anunciaba una autopista cibernética que nos conduciría a la revolución informática, nadie se imaginaba que poco tiempo después esa misma autopista abriera paso a otras revoluciones: las de carne y hueso. Y es que era imposible predecir que con el poder de