XML FeedsCategory: International
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 »
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 »
Advocates Appeal to Brazil on Venezuela's Political Prisoners and Mercosur
By Other Sources on 21 Oct, 2009
Representatives for political prisoner Eligio Cedeno visit Brazil to raise awarenessSAO PAULO, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives of the Venezuelan political prisoner Eligio Cedeno are visiting Sao Paulo and Brasilia this week to seek urgent support against the ongoing abuses of human rights and political persecution by the Venezuelan government. The situation for Cedeno, who is just one of dozens of high profile political prisoners in the country, is currently in legal limbo, as an appeals court of the Supreme Court of Justice has ordered his immediate release while the 38th control court has so far refused to fulfill its legal obligation to execute the order."Brazil is a prestigious and respected regional leader, and part of theresponsibility of this role is the defense of basic, universal rights," said Robert Amsterdam, international lawyer for Cedeno. "Right now we are witnessing the Venezuelan government's open interference in the judicial process, which poses enormous risks to Brazil as Venezuela's ascension to Mercosur is under consideration."... 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 »
“Venezuela Russophiles”
By Ana Julia Jatar on 22 Sep, 2009
Venezuela and Russia have mutual interests in the former's arms build-up and in energy dealsVenezuela continues to deepen its diplomatic and economic relations with Russia, as evidenced by President Hugo Chávez's recent visit--his eighth--to Moscow. Agreements were signed in the areas of trade and energy, with an arms deal getting the most attention. The motives behind the relationship are in part political, with Venezuela seeking to strengthen its hand against the US and offset its influence in Latin America, and Russia interested in expanding its presence in the region. But the two countries are also linked as major global energy producers with mutual interests in expanding co-operation in this area.The latest arms deal involves the purchase of 92 T-72S tanks, Smerch missiles with a range of 90 km and an advanced anti-aircraft defence system including radar and missiles with a range of 400 km, according to announcements by Mr Chávez made on September 13th. The Russian government will provide a credit line of US $2.2bn to finance the acquisition... more »
Elected Tyrants
By Ana Julia Jatar on 4 Jul, 2009
The Organization of American States was originally founded to defend democracy across our hemisphere. It has now instead become a refuge for elected presidents who choose to abuse their power. This syndicate is now in the misguided business of defending victimized presidents from supposed ‘gorillas’, instead of preventing them from becoming elected tyrants in the first place. These elected tyrants conveniently forget that ‘the majority’ is not their sole constituency, and thus should be specially subjected to the limits that the constitution and other institutional checks and balances place on them. In other words, the OAS is reacting to the symptoms instead of understanding the disease... more »
Chavez’s Cheap Oil and Anti-Semitism
By Ana Julia Jatar on 7 Feb, 2009
On Jan 7 Joseph Kennedy chairman of Citizens Energy, a nonprofit organization that administers the Venezuelan home heating oil program for the poor households in Massachusetts, announced the continuation of the program and said that he was "personally aware of President Chavez's genuine concern for the most vulnerable, regardless of where they may live." He also said that this was "a clear, direct message ... of [Chavez's] desire to strengthen relations between his country and the United States."Three weeks later, Friday January 30th 2009, fifteen heavily armed men broke in and desecrated one of the oldest Synagogues in Venezuela. During a five hour raid in Shabbat, Torah scrolls were damaged, prayer books ripped apart and anti-Semitic graffiti like “death to all” and “Jews get out” sprayed on the walls. For the first time since the Jews began living in Venezuela two hundred years ago, this community feels threatened and unprotected. To make things worse, the perpetrators took with them computers with the private data, names, addresses and financial information of Venezuelan Jews. One week later, the perpetrators of these acts have not been found. Some fear they will never be. more »
In Venezuela, 'People Are Terrified'
By Ana Julia Jatar on 6 Feb, 2009
The Jewish Weekby Stewart Ain and Sharon UdasinStaff WritersThe crisis in Venezuela deepened this week in the aftermath of the beating of a rabbi, Friday's attack on a synagogue and the growing exodus of Israelis from Caracas. All of this comes a month after Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador and the embassy's staff because of Israel's offensive in Gaza. In New York Monday, more than 150 demonstrators shouting "Never Again" rallied outside the Venezuelan Consulate to protest the country's failure to protect its Jewish citizens.And in a letter this week to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed by 19 members of Congress, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), the letter's co-author, expressed fear that the synagogue attack could lead to more Jews fleeing Chavez's hard-line rule. "It's difficult for me to say it was not government-instigated because nothing was stolen ... except the hard drives from the computers," Rabbi Isidoro Aizenberg, a former pulpit rabbi in Caracas who now lives in the U.S., said of the vandalism at Caracas' oldest synagogue. "I tremble when I say it." more »
Las elecciones primarias fueron sin duda un gran éxito para la oposición. Felicitaciones a todos los candidatos y a todos los votantes que expresaron su opinión con su voto en las urnas. A través de un complejo proceso de negociación política estamos en capacidad de presentar una lista única de
Luego de haber escuchado las declaraciones por las cuales fueron arrestados Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, ex gobernador del Zulia y Guillermo Zuloaga, Presidente de Globovisión, esta clarísimo que bien podríamos ser usted o yo los próximos tras las rejas. En sus declaraciones en la SIP, Zuloaga criticó el ventajismo estatal y
