08-31- 2007

INCOMING US AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA PATRICK DUDDY: US AND VENEZUELA SHARE DEMOCRACY 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Incoming US ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy said on arriving in Caracas that the peoples of both nations share "love for baseball, culture, freedom and democracy." Following his arrival on Wednesday night onboard a commercial airliner, Duddy talked briefly to reporters. However, he did not answer to any questions or provide the time and day to submit his credentials to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a fierce critic of US President George W. Bush' administration.

    As quoted by Efe, last March 1st President Bush appointed Duddy, ex "Number two" in the Department of State for Latin American Affairs, to replace Ambassador William Brownsfield, who will represent his country in Colombia. Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro said last month that Brownsfield had "failed to destabilize and overthrow President Chávez, and any US ambassador coming with similar intentions will fail also to disturb and meddle in Venezuela's internal affairs."

    The new ambassador was most recently the U.S. Consul General in São Paulo, Brazil.  Prior to this assignment, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia.  A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Duddy received his undergraduate degree from Colby College and a master's degree from Northeastern University. 

PARAGUAYAN GOVERNMENT THINKS THERE IS NO TIMING FOR VENEZUELA'S MEMBERSHIP AT MERCOSUR  

   ASUNCION, PARAGUAY   -- There is no good environment at this present moment to approve Venezuela's entry in the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), said Alfredo Ratti, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Paraguayan Senate.

    "The environment is not good after the disclosure of these alleged plans of (Venezuelan President) Hugo Chávez for Paraguay," Ratti said in reference to the release on the Paraguayan press of a confidential report from the Venezuelan government on "penetration" programs in South America aimed at influencing the armed forces, police, government officials, political parties and students, among other sectors.

    "The context is not the most appropriate. Of note is Chávez' eagerness to expand his Bolivarian ideal, even inside the armed forces," said the Senator. For Ratti, it is difficult "even to make a reasoned, balanced and fair decision. Therefore, we opted to take more time in order to explore this subject."

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, NGO SÚMATE SPEAKER, CALLS "UNTENABLE" PROPOSED CHANGES TO VENEZUELA CONSTITUTION

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- NGO Súmate rebutted the changes to the Constitution introduced by Hugo Chávez for considering them untenable, "because most of the country did not join the initiative." According to Súmate speaker María Corina Machado, President Chávez "wants to impose a proposal that will not last long, because it fails to take into account the opinion of all the sectors of the Venezuelan society."|

    She explained that the proposed changes "go back to a non-democratic past that most Venezuelans do not even remember."

    Machado pondered the procedure agreed for the changes. "In order to make a change as intended by the President, there is the need to call a national constituent assembly. Any process to change the Constitution leads to a referendum. And the current (National Electoral Council) CNE is neither trustworthy, nor ensures transparency and independence."

08-30- 2007

OAS SECRETARY GENERAL INSULZA DISAGREES WITH CHANGES TO THE VENEZUELA CONSTITUTION PROPOSED BY HUGO CHAVEZ

     SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE  -- Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza voiced Wednesday in Santiago disagreement with the changes to the Venezuelan Constitution championed by President Hugo Chávez that pave the way for indefinite re-election for the president.

    "I like democracies with a limited length of time; I am a supporter of limits on this matter; I advocate restricted power, instead of extended power," Insulza told Chilean TV Channel 13 during an interview. He clarified, however, that the proposal has been made by democratic means and noted that "there is democracy" in Venezuela, Efe quoted.

     "Institutions work, the Parliament works (…) I am not going to disqualify a government or a reform," said the OAS Secretary-General and remembered that in some countries, like France, the constitution was reformed "likewise."

CUBA AFRAID OF BOXERS' MASS DEFECTIONS; SKIP BOXING WORLDS IN CHICAGO

   HAVANA, CUBA  -- Cuba won't send a boxing team to the world championships in Chicago, heeding Fidel Castro's fears about future defections after two fighters abandoned their teammates during the Pan American Games.

      The competition is one of three qualifying tournaments for the 2008 Olympics. ''We will not expose anew a Cuban boxing team to the abuses and provocations that in this case will be present in Chicago, American territory, the perfect location for marketers and traffickers to act freely and with the total complicity of U.S. authorities,'' the Cuban Boxing Federation said Wednesday.  But the federation insisted Cuba won't forgo next year's Olympics, stating that there will be ``other opportunities to win qualification for Beijing 2008.'' ''That's a right that all members of the Cuban sports movement have and one we will exercise at the appropriate moment,'' boxing officials said in a statement published in official newspapers.

    Guillermo Rigondeaux, Cuba's top boxer and a two-time Olympic bantamweight champion, and Erislandy Lara, an amateur welterweight world champion, vanished for about two weeks last month in Brazil, only to be arrested and deported. The fighters say they never intended to defect and asked to return to Cuba, but a German promoter insists both signed five-year contracts and officials at the German Embassy in Brazil claim the pair sought visas.

MIAMI FBI DENIES ARREST OF ANTONINI WILSON

       MIAMI, FLORIDA  -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Tuesday belied that it detained Venezuelan business Guido Antonini Wilson, for whom an Argentinean judge made an application for international arrest.

    "We have not arrested anybody with that name. I do not know where that information came from," Miami FBI Special Agent Judy Orihuela told DPA, referring to news report on Antonini's arrest.

    Additionally, Orihuela warned that presently they can not detain Antonini, even if they knew his whereabouts. "We cannot arrest anybody with a bench warrant issued by Interpol; we need a bench warrant signed by a US judge," she added. Last August 4, the businessman tried to bring in Argentina a suitcase filled with an undeclared amount of almost USD 800,000 in cash.

08-29- 2007

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY TALKS OF BOMBING IF IRAN GETS NUCLEAR ARMS

     PARIS, FRANCE  --  President Nicolas Sarkozy called Iran’s nuclear ambition the world’s most dangerous problem Monday and raised the possibility that the country could be bombed if it persisted in building an atomic weapon.The French leader used tough language towards Tehran in the first broad survey of his plans for extending Gallic influence in the world since the start of his hyperactive presidency in May.

    Sarkozy also gave full backing to Bernard Kouchner, his Foreign Minister, who was forced to apologize Monday for calling for the replacement of Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister. The biggest challenge to the world was the avoidance of conflict between Islam and the West, President Sarkozy told the annual gathering of French ambassadors. Iran was the crossroads of the Middle East’s troubles and its nuclear aims “are without doubt the most serious crisis that weighs today on the international scene”, he said.

    A nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and the world must continue to tighten sanctions while offering incentives to Tehran to halt weapons development, he said.  “This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran,” he said. He did not say who would carry out such an attack, which has been suggested by policy experts in Israel and the U.S.

FORMER PANAMANIAN DICTATOR MANUEL NORIEGA ORDERED TO FACE CHARGES IN FRANCE 

   MIAMI, FLORIDA  --  A U.S. magistrate judge issued a court order Tuesday to extradite former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to France instead of Panama. France sought Noriega on money-laundering charges related to his drug-racketeering conviction in Miami. Noreiga is due to be released next month from federal prison in Miami. Last week, Noriega suffered a major setback to halt his extradition to France. U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler rejected the former general's argument that because the judge had designated him a prisoner of war after his sentencing in 1992, he was entitled to return to Panama under the Geneva Conventions.

    Noriega, 72, who has served about 18 years in federal prison in Southwest Miami-Dade County, is set to be released on Sept. 9 because of automatic parole and good behavior. The ex-general, captured during the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, was convicted of receiving payoffs in exchange for letting Colombian drug lords use his country as a conduit for tons of cocaine bound for the United States. It was Hoeveler who declared Noriega a prisoner of war. His attorneys have cited that status as the legal basis for stopping his extradition to France and requiring his return to Panama.

    He had wanted to return to Panama, even though he could face more prison time on pending murder and extortion charges there. But the U.S. government wanted him extradited to France. Noriega faces a 10-year sentence on money-laundering charges stemming from his alleged funneling of $3.15 million to a bank account in France. He is accused of using some of that money to buy three luxury apartments in Paris. He was convicted in absentia in 1999.

USE OF OFFICIAL CHANNEL FOR PROPAGANDA IS DEPLORED BY THE VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Opposition Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) party regretted (official TV channel) "VTV continued abuse by broadcasting for more than three hours the (United Socialist Party of Venezuela) PSUV ceremony on behalf of the constitutional reform proposed by the government."

    Enrique Ochoa Antich, the party national secretary-general, deplored "that the VTV signal is at the service of a political party. To be honest, the channel should be renamed TV-PSUV." During a press conference, the official called it indignant that "the money of all Venezuelans, the VAT collected from the poor, is used to fund a channel that works for a political party."

    He reported that the UNT Office of Opinion and the Media will send VTV a protest for such events. The leader made reference also to the "shameful" role played by the National Assembly (AN) channel. "They not even keep up appearances."

08-28- 2007

U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO GONZALES RESIGNS

   CRAWFORD, TEXAS  --  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, ending a months-long standoff with Republican and Democratic critics who called for his ouster over the Justice Department's botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firing of U.S. attorneys, officials said Monday.  The likely temporary replacement for Gonzales is Solicitor General Paul Clement, who would take over until a permanent replacement is found, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

    The Justice Department planned a news conference for 10:30 a.m. in Washington. President Bush was expected to discuss Gonzales' departure at his Crawford, Texas, ranch before leaving on a trip to western states. Two administration officials speaking on grounds of anonymity said that Gonzales submitted a resignation letter Friday. These officials declined to be identified because the formal announcement about Gonzales was still pending.

     A longtime friend of Bush, who once considered him for appointment to the Supreme Court, Gonzales is the fourth high-ranking administration official to leave since November. Donald Rumsfeld, an architect of the Iraq war, resigned as defense secretary one day after the November elections. Paul Wolfowitz agreed in May to step down as president of the World Bank after an ethics inquiry. And top Bush advisor Karl Rove earlier this month announced he was stepping down.

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA SAID: "WHEN A PRESIDENT THINKS HE (HUGO CHAVEZ) IS NONEXPENDABLE, A DICTATOR IS BORN"  

   BRAZILIA, BRAZIL  --  BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA dismissed any possibility of re-election for considering that whenever a politician feels like being nonexpendable, he is clearing the way for a dictator. However, the ruler refrained from talking about the power project devised by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

     During an extensive interview with daily newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo, Lula considered that eight years of government are enough, and dismissed any proposal to amend the Constitution to opt for a new re-election. However, he clarified that he would not be quiet during the elections for president in 2010. Lula said also that his government is not against the Gas Pipeline of the South "in advance," or against the Bank of the South. Both of these initiatives were made by Hugo Chávez and have been somewhat refused in Brazil. Further, he denied any differences among the countries in the hemisphere.

     "I do not believe in the term irreplaceable. There is nobody that cannot be replaced or nobody is nonexpendable here. But when a political leader starts to think that he is nonexpendable or cannot be replaced, then a little dictator is born," said the socialist leader.

venezuela opposition leader governor manuel rosales challenges hugo chavez to carry out a referendum on the proposed constitutional changes

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Zulia state governor and major opposition leader Manuel Rosales challenged Monday Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to instruct the National Assembly (AN) to carry out a referendum on the proposed changes to the Constitution question by question. Last week, the National Electoral Council (CNE) denied this choice and dismissed a request from the opposition to enforce article 344 of the current Constitution.

    Rosales said during a press conference that it would be interesting to ask the Venezuelan people if they want to have "a president forever." He was referring to an article amended for continued reelection.

    The principal challenger of President Chávez during the 2006 presidential campaign told Chávez that in the event of having the majority support, as he maintains, then he should ask AN to make the questionnaire separately or divided into two sections -one for the query on indefinite reelection and another for remaining issues.

08-27- 2007

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA BREAKS RANKS WITH RIVAL DEMOCRATS ON CUBA; WANTS TO EASE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  SENATOR Barack Obama's desire to ease U.S.-Cuba travel restrictions stands in contrast to the stances of Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and most of the Republican contenders.  Many Cuban-Americans also remain conflicted about the Bush administration's 2004 restrictions that slashed the amount of money they can send and cut the number of visits they can make to families on the island. They want to be able to travel home and help their needy relatives, but they also want to see ailing Fidel Castro's communist government fall.

     The Bush administration says the restrictions, on top of the government's 45-year-old economic embargo against Cuba, promote such change. But Obama disagrees. "The primary means we have of encouraging positive change in Cuba today is to help the Cuban people become less dependent on the Castro regime in fundamental ways," the Illinois senator wrote in an op-ed piece published in Tuesday's Miami Herald.

     Clinton, the New York senator and Democratic front-runner, issued a statement reiterating her support for the current policy toward Cuba, adding, "Until it is clear what type of policies might come with a new government, we cannot talk about changes in the U.S. policies toward Cuba." She has recently sought to portray Obama as naive on foreign policy.

VENEZUELA FATHER JOSE PALMAR CHARGES PDVSA WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Director and editor-in-chief of daily newspaper Reporte de la Economía, priest José Palmar, submitted Monday to the Attorney General Office "precise evidence" of drug traffic in oil tankers, as part of his charges made against state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), Efe reported.

     "I am bringing to the Attorney General Office precise evidence of drug traffic in oil tankers, surcharges in purchase of drills and hiring of killers inside Pdvsa," the priest and journalist told TV news channel Globovisión.

     Newspaper Reporte de la Economía stands out from other Venezuelan media for the largest amount of corruption-related charges published against Pdvsa. For this reason, Palmar was summoned to the Attorney General Office and the National Assembly (AN) Comptroller Committee. At the AN, the priest submitted two weeks ago a set of documents on 63 alleged cases. Palmar called himself a "pro-Chávez priest" -a follower of President Hugo Chávez- and said that if the newspaper led by him were to publish all news of corruption in Pdvsa, the ruler "had rolled a long time ago."

HUGO CHAVEZ DESTABILIZES LATIN AMERICA, SAYS MARCEL GRANIER, radio caracas television EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT

   SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE  -- Hugo Chávez has become a destabilizing factor in Latin America, where he gives monetary aid to anachronistic groups, said Friday Marcel Granier, CEO of private TV channel Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV). Granier, who is in Chile invited by the National Press Association, told Efe that Chávez has been sending an unspecified amount of money to anachronistic movements.

    "He is a destabilizing factor in the hemisphere, because he is funding, in every country he has entered, groups with an absolutely unsuccessful way of thinking," said Granier.

    In his opinion, failure in Latin America to solve the issue of wealth creation "is a broth for populism and Chávez cashes in on it." "He has given Iran a lot of money; he has given Argentina over USD 5 billion; he is giving Cuba about USD 4 billion annually. That is, Chávez has really stirred the henhouse up."

08-26- 2007

capital city fight suspends bolivian constituent assembly

   LA PAZ, BOLIVIA   -- An assembly rewriting Bolivia's constitution has been suspended because of rising protests over a proposal to relocate the Andean nation's capital.
Constituent Assembly President Sylvia Lazarte said Wednesday night that deliberations on a new framework will be halted «until further notice» after a day of occasionally violent demonstrations. The body was convened last year by President Evo Morales to give more voice to the country's long-oppressed poor majority.

    Protesters waving Sucre's red-cross flag, many of them university students, marched in front of the historic theater where the assembly's governing committee met on Wednesday, throwing rocks at riot police before being dispersed by tear gas. Others stoned a house where a delegate had taken refuge. Organized by Sucre civic leaders, the protesters are demanding the seat of government return to the southern city which was the capital from Bolivia's founding in 1825 until a little over a century ago.

     The nation's courts are still in Sucre, but the legislative and executive branches reside in La Paz, high in the Andes mountains. Bolivian maps mark both cities with a capital's star. But La Paz backers say the unlikely proposal to relocate the capital from Bolivia's largest city, with a metropolitan population of 1.7 million, to Sucre, population 250,000, is merely a political ploy meant to deadlock the assembly. The delegates are working toward a Dec. 14 deadline for drafting the new constitution, which would then be submitted to a national referendum.

NEW US AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA, PATRICK DUDDY, WILL ARRIVE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  The new US ambassador, Patrick Duddy, is set to arrive ending August, reported Deputy Chief of Mission Philip French. The senior official did not provide the exact date, but noted that the Venezuelan government was advised formally and was "kept informed about the date."

     He explained that as soon as the diplomat arrives, he will submit his credentials to the Venezuelan government. French gave the news during a ceremony to grant USD 70,000 in computers to Hogar Renacer, an organization involved in rehabilitation of young drug abusers.

     "This is just a token of our willingness to join anti-drug efforts. We are not helping enough," he said. French hopes "politics not to replace the action," in the fight waged by both the United States and Venezuela against drug traffic.

08-25- 2007

RUSSIA SELLS 98 ILYUSHIN PLANES TO HUGO CHAVEZ

   MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  Russia executed an agreement to sell 98 Ilyushin planes for civilian use to Venezuela, Russian newspapers reported Friday. Sergei Chemezov, the head of state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed the agreement on the sale of Ilyushin-114 planes that can be used both for passengers and cargo, said daily newspaper Vremya-Novostei.

The deal will amount to some thousand million US dollars, daily Izvestia reported. According to the senior official, last year 24 Sukhoi jets and 53 choppers were sold to Venezuela as part of a pool of long-term arms agreements for over USD 3 billion. No details were disclosed.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez visited Russia in June and thanked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for expressing solidarity in the face of a dispute with the US Government, said Reuters. Washington banned US companies from selling arms to Venezuela.

THE $800,000 SAGA: INTERPOL CALLS FOR CAPTURE OF KEY BISCAYNE ALEJANDRO ANTONINI WILSON

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- Interpol said Wednesday an international arrest warrant has been issued for a Venezuelan-American businessman wanted in Argentina on fraud charges stemming from the airport seizure of a cash-filled suitcase.  The whereabouts of Alejandro Antonini Wilson, who took $800,000 in undeclared cash into Argentina on a plane chartered by Argentina's state energy company, is unknown. He abandoned the cash after it was discovered by customs officials at a Buenos Aires airport.

    In a posting on its website, Interpol urged anyone with information regarding Antonini's whereabouts to contact their local police or Interpol's General Secretariat in France. The site said the warrant was issued by Argentina. The case has set off a scandal that is rattling the government of Argentina President Néstor Kirchner at a time when his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, is running to replace him as president.

    The seizure has also prompted investigations in Venezuela, where officials in President Hugo Chávez's government are denying allegations of links to Antonini. Neither Antonini nor anyone else on the plane has said where the money came from or what it was for. Venezuelan prosecutors have opened an investigation and a judge in Argentina ordered Antonini's arrest last week, Argentina's state-run Telam news agency reported. The judge, María Martha Novatti, did not make any public announcement. Her office has told The Associated Press it would not comment on the report.

SPANISH NEWSPAPER WARNS AGAINST DEALS WITH HUGO CHAVEZ

      MADRID, SPAIN  --  There should be no objection to an agreement under which state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) is to subsidize 50 percent of London bus fares in exchange for advice to the Caracas Mayoralty on urban matters, as it fits in the global economy, said Spanish newspaper El País.

     However, there is objection in the face of somebody like Venezuelan Hugo Chávez, who rules in an increasingly dictatorial manner and makes anti-imperialist foreign policy, the daily added. "The world is the other way around, because London, one of the global financial centers and the venue of the 2012 Olympic Games, will receive aid from Venezuela, whose GDP is not even a fourth of the UK GDP."

     In the newspaper opinion, the agreement is the result of "the oil diplomacy displayed by Chávez." The aid provided by the Venezuelan government "goes beyond the cooperation among governments and most probably caused a annoyed grimace in the new premier Gordon Brown."

08-24- 2007

PRESIDENT BUSH RECALLS VIETNAM IN IRAQ WARNING

   KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI  --  US President George W. Bush in a speech on Wednesday warned that a US withdrawal from Iraq could produce a catastrophe similar to what occurred in Southeast Asia after US forces left Vietnam.  The president charges that an early exit from Iraq would "pull the rug out" from under American troops just as their efforts are paying off. Bush's speech ties anti-war forces in the Vietnam era to the hundreds of thousands of people killed in the aftermath of the US pull-out, and hints at a parallel disaster in Iraq if US forces leave too soon.

    "Many argued that if we pulled out, there would be no consequences for the Vietnamese people," he said according to the advance transcript.  "The world would learn just how costly these misimpressions would be. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge began a murderous rule in which hundreds of thousands of Cambodians died by starvation, torture, or execution.  "In Vietnam, former American allies, government workers, intellectuals, and businessmen were sent off to prison camps, where tens of thousands perished.

   "Hundreds of thousands more fled the country on rickety boats, many of them going to their graves in the South China Sea," Bush said, pleading for patience with the US-led security crackdown in Iraq.  Bush delivered his speech to the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) group, which claims 2.3 million members, on Wednesday in Kansas City, Missouri.  He also said that US withdrawal from Vietnam was a key element of the anti-US talk of Al-Qaeda leaders.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER NICOLAS MADURO COMPLAINS ABOUT ANTI-GOVERNMENT "INSANE" PLANS

   BRAZILIA, BRAZIL  -- The canned food with a photo of Hugo Chávez AND OLLANTA HUMALA found in Peru and the scandal of the suitcase filled with USD 800,000 and seized in Argentina are part of "the same insane plot" against Venezuela, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro told reporters in Brasilia on Thursday. Maduro linked both cases and complained about "a global campaign to undermine President Chávez' leadership, characterized by candor and commitment against corruption," Efe quoted.

     With regard to an international bench warrant issued by Interpol against Venezuelan businessman Guido Antonini Wilson, the holder of the suitcase, Maduro said that "it forms part of the investigation" and held the Venezuelan government harmless from the affair.
 
     Last August 4th, on the eve of Chávez visit to Buenos Aires, the Argentinean customs seized USD 800,000 in cash that Antonini Wilson tried to bring in without declaring the amount. He landed in a private flight from Caracas. High-ranking officials with Argentinean state energy company Enarsa and senior staff with state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) were also onboard the plane.

HUGO CHAVEZ' REFORMS UNDERMINE VENEZUELA'S DEMOCRACY SAYS THE NEW YORK TIMES

      NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK  -- Constitutional amendments proposed by Hugo Chávez "to amass power and cling to it for as long as he can are undermining Venezuela's democracy," said Wednesday The New York Times. "Mr. Chávez's plan is just another step in the march to increase his government's control over Venezuela's politics and economy," said the daily newspaper in an editorial entitled "Chávez' power grab."

    According to the daily, "behind the Orwellian rhetorical tactics, his efforts to amass power and cling to it for as long as he can are undermining Venezuela's democracy." "Mr. Chávez remains, at least technically, a democrat. He has repeatedly beaten Venezuela's dysfunctional opposition in elections deemed fair by international observers," the editorial added.

     "But his government's veneer of democratic respectability is wearing thin. Every member of the National Assembly is an ally of Mr. Chávez. His allies also run the Supreme Court, all but two state governments and Petróleos de Venezuela, the state oil company."  "It is participatory democracy in which only Mr. Chávez and his friends get to participate," claimed the newspaper.

08-23- 2007

VENEZUELA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OKs HUGO CHAVEZ'S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Venezuela's National Assembly, dominated by allies of President Hugo Chavez, gave unanimous initial approval Tuesday to constitutional reforms that would allow him to run for re-election and possibly govern for decades to come.  Assembly President Cilia Flores said Chavez's proposed changes to the constitution, including the lifting of presidential term limits, were approved by all 167 lawmakers after about six hours of debate. Final approval is expected within two or three months, and voters will then decide whether to approve the changes in a referendum.

    The assembly has been solidly pro-Chavez since the opposition boycotted a 2005 vote and had been expected to sign off on the changes proposed by Chavez in Tuesday's first reading. The reforms, if approved, would extend presidential terms from six to seven years and allow Chavez to run again in 2013. Government opponents have attacked the reforms, saying they will weaken democracy by permitting Chavez to become a lifelong leader like his ally Fidel Castro of Cuba.

    Chavez, a former paratroop commander who was re-elected by a wide margin in December on promises to steer the country toward socialism, says the changes will give Venezuelans greater decision-making power and aid the transfer of billions of dollars from Venezuela's foreign reserves into social programs. Flores said government-friendly lawmakers have the right to approve the reforms without changing the proposal that Chavez presented last week. Earlier Tuesday, former Chavez mentor Luis Miquilena urged Venezuelans to reject the proposed constitutional changes. Miquilena, who headed a popularly elected, pro-Chavez assembly that drafted Venezuela's existing constitution, called his former ally's new reform proposal "a constitutional fraud" aimed at giving him "perpetual power."

EX MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR AND JUSTICE, LUIS MIQUILENA, LAMBASTES CHANGES TO THE VENEZUELA CONSTITUTION 

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Changes to the Constitution proposed by Hugo Chávez will "confer a legal status on all arbitrariness and outrage that the current government has committed all over these years," said Tuesday ex Minister of the Interior and Justice Luis Miquilena.

    The former senior official, who was a member of the national constituent assembly and helped draft the 1999 Constitution, noted that President Chávez "has violated and failed to comply" with the current Constitution. Miquilena claimed that the 1999 Constitution showcases the political project supported by him for Venezuela. However, "in the face of all arbitrariness, tort, unruly corruption, and all of the issues that hurt our homeland, the Constitution has been simply defenestrated."

     In his view, the changes submitted by Chávez, rather than a reform, are "a new Constitution" that shifts the country's structure.  "Sure enough, he (President Chávez) needs another Constitution because he has violated the 1999 Constitution; he needs grapevine leaves to cover all the obscenity, and has to play legal tricks."

GREEN CARDS NOW EASIER FOR CUBANS FOR ABROAD

      WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- A recent decision by federal immigration authorities will make it much easier for people born outside Cuba to obtain a U.S. green card if at least one of their parents was born in Cuba. Under the decision, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will no longer require that those born outside Cuba file documents specifically saying they are Cuban citizens. Cuban consular papers saying they are children of at least one Cuban parent will be enough to prove Cuban citizenship.

    The July 31 decision is likely to benefit thousands of foreign nationals born abroad of Cuban parents -- particularly Venezuelans whose parents fled Cuba shortly after Fidel Castro seized power in 1959. The Cuban expatriate community in Venezuela, numbering between 25,000 and 50,000 people, is one of the largest after the one in Miami. Increasing numbers of Venezuelans are leaving their homeland as President Hugo Chávez steers the South American country toward socialism.

    The new green card decision is based on a Miami case in which the application of a Venezuelan born of Cuban parents was rejected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in May 2006 on the grounds he could not conclusively prove he was a Cuban citizen.Venezuelan-born Armando Vázquez was elated at the decision.

08-22- 2007

THE $800,000 SAGA: DURING A LUNCH IN CARACAS, HUGO CHAVEZ ORDERED ALEJANDRO ANTONINI TO TAKE A briefcase with  MONEY TO BUENOS AIRES

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  --  The Key Biscayne Venezuelan stopped with $800,000 in cash when he arrived at a Buenos Aires airport claimed he was ordered to make the trip during a lunch with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Argentine news media reported.Venezuelan officials have steadily denied any government links to the Aug. 4 trip by Guido Alejandro Antonini, who has not explained the undeclared $800,000. He left the country after the incident.

    Horacio Verbitsky, a well-known Buenos Aires journalist, reported that an Argentine customs official told the judge investigating the case that Antonini claimed upon his arrival in Buenos Aires that he had been ordered to make the trip during an Aug. 3 lunch with Chávez in Caracas.  Argentine Customs officials and police agents at Jorge Newberry Airport in Buenos Aires questioned Antonini when he arrived on a chartered flight with oil company executives from Venezuela and Argentina.

    The Argentine television station America TV reported a version similar to Verbitsky's and attributed it to a statement by Daniel Ingross, a police officer at Newberry Airport. America TV reported that Ingross told the judge that a visibly cold Antonini, arriving in the middle of the southern hemisphere's winter, said he had not had time to pack winter clothes ``because when he arrived in Caracas from Miami he had to go to a luncheon with President Chávez and there he was told he would have to travel to Buenos Aires.'' Argentine Judge Marta Novatti has issued a national and international arrest warrant for Antonini on smuggling charges. Antonini, in his only public comments to date, has said that he has an explanation for the money.

THE $800,000 SAGA: VENEZUELA OPPOSITION DENOUNCES DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN HUGO CHAVEZ AND ALEJANDRO ANTONINI

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Luis Ignacio Planas, secretary-general of opposition Copei party, claimed Monday that there is a "serious" direct link between President Hugo Chávez and businessman Guido Antonini. Two weeks ago, the businessman was seized in Argentina a suitcase filled with an undeclared amount of USD 800,000 and presumably declared recently that he had met with President Chávez just before heading for Buenos Aires.

    "The President of the Republic was aware of the money that would be brought in Argentina and, even worse, he instructed Antonini to take that money to Buenos Aires," said Planas.

    The opposition leader prompted to query about the intended use of the cash and wondered if it would back political activities in other countries, such as the presidential campaign of Cristina Kirchner in Argentina.

COMPLAINTS IN PERU ABOUT CANNED TUNA WITH PHOTO OF HUGO CHAVEZ

      LIMA, PERU  -- A daily newspaper based in Lima accused Monday Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez of cashing in on the Peru disaster and making politics by donating canned tuna with a photo of him and Peruvian opposition leader Ollanta Humala on the label. The Venezuelan embassy to Peru rebutted the newspaper remarks.

    According to the claim, the food distributed in the razed underprivileged barrios of Pisco and Chincha, in central-southern Peru, bears a label which reads: "In the face of plundering, blockade, despair and chaos, solidarity with our fellow countrymen."

    Daily newspaper Expreso, quoted by AFP, released a picture where a resident shows a can with the photos of Chávez and Humala. No mention was made as to where the picture was taken. Venezuelan ambassador to Lima José Armando Laguna labeled the move as "vile, evil handling," and denied that the donations had come with such a label. "Our food came without political propaganda. I challenge the press to check the donations from my country that arrived in Pisco military airport, Laguna told local radio CPN.

08-21- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ BUYS SNIPER RIFLES FOR GUERRILLA WARFARE AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Amidst a cheering audience at Teresa Carreño Theater composed of congresspersons, local governors, high-ranking military officers, troops, reservists, Bolivarian students, community council representatives and Argentinean soccer star Diego Armando Maradona, who claimed to be a Chávez follower, Hugo Chávez not only confirmed the procurement of "some thousand" Russian sniper rifles, but clarified that they would not have a conventional military use.

    "They will be used for guerrilla warfare, from the mountains, from the hills," in retaliation for a potential armed attack by the US government. In this context, the head of state talked about the establishment of "jungle, indigenous, mountain battalions." While most of the edition No. 290 of the TV and radio show "Aló Presidente" was used to explain the proposed changes to the Constitution, President Chávez acknowledged negotiation of Dragunov sniper rifles. "Yes sir, yes, sir," he said while reading a press release from The New York Times on the Venezuelan government purchase of Russian arms.

    They are Russian rifles. I am not telling you about their range. And also we are inventing something here to extend their range.  I am not telling you about it either. They have telescopic sight. Any gringo who intends to enter through a little ravine up there, boom! And we are to buy hundred thousand night-time sight equipments. Yes, sir, I am going to see you in the light too," said a smiling head of state, and then wondered -"How do you feel about it?"

FIVE CUBAN CONVICTED OF SPYING FOR CASTRO APPEAL FOR THIRD TIME

   ATLANTA, GEORGIA  -- Almost nine years after their arrest, five Cubans convicted of spying on the U.S. government and South Florida exile groups will appeal today to judges in Atlanta, arguing that their sentences are excessive and they should be free. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal will hear the latest appeal -- the third time the case has come before that court. The so-called Cuban Five, who are called heroes on the communist-run island, were convicted in 2001 in Miami and handed sentences ranging from 15 years to life.

    Four years later, a three-judge appeals panel in Atlanta concluded the five did not receive a fair trial in Miami. But the full appeals court reversed that ruling last year, noting no Cuban Americans were part of the jury and that some of the defendants' evidence to show bias was flawed. So the original sentences still stand.

    Today, defense lawyers will take another stab at seeking lighter sentences. ''This court of appeals already has an immense task in front of it,'' said former Assistant U.S. Attorney David Buckner, who prosecuted the original case in 2001. ``The printed record is immense. It covers one long folding table, tens of thousands of pages.''

THE $ 800,000 SAGA: ALEJANDRO ANTONINI  VANISHES AFTER BENCH WARRANT SENT TO INTERPOL 

      BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  --"Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson is aware of an application for international arrest against him, and that the Interpol office in Washington received the application (…) However, neither before or after, he kept his promise to the Argentinean justice by means of his attorneys that he would give a full explanation," said Argentinean daily newspaper La Nación, two weeks after he tried to bring in the country an undeclared amount of USD 800,000.

    Antonini was traveling along with four senior officials with state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa). "In Venezuela, they claim that Antonini sought refuge eight days ago in Fort Lauderdale, where he contacted agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Some say that he joined the witness security program." However, neither version had been confirmed, added the newspaper.

     The bench warrant against Antonini, the daily stated, "is particularly sensitive, because Antonini has a direct, indirect or incidental link with the Venezuela of (President Hugo) Chávez and Argentina ahead of presidential election, and because he holds the US citizenship." Antonini never filled the application form for foreign currency at the authority responsible for enforcing the stringent exchange control prevailing in the Venezuela of Hugo Chávez. That was confirmed by Manuel Barroso, the chair of the Foreign Exchange Management Committee (Cadivi).

08-20- 2007

HURRICANE DEAN BLASTS JAMAICA; CAYMAN ISLANDS AND CUBA GET READY

   KINGSTON, JAMAICA  --  Hurricane Dean blasted into Jamaica on Sunday, its bursts of rain and wind downing trees, flooding streets and heralding the arrival of a fierce storm capable of inflicting casualties and extensive damage.  Torrential rain fell in Kingston, flooding the capital's streets. The wind built steadily, toppling trees one after the other and cutting power. Forecasters warned of sustained 145-mph winds before it was all over.

    ''Remain calm. Do not panic,'' the government urged residents early Sunday. ``Your ability to act logically is important during stressful events like a hurricane.'' Dean was predicted to pound the island and its residents -- some of whom refused to flee its vulnerable coast -- with brutal wind, up to 20 inches of rain and a nine-foot storm surge that could inundate parts of the shoreline. Its next likely stop: the even more vulnerable Cayman Islands.

     More than 5,000 tourists have left the Cayman Islands since Saturday, while the islands' 53,000 residents prepared for Dean's arrival, officials said. ''There is no doubt this hurricane poses a threat,'' said Governor Stuart Jack. ``Preparations are all but done now as we hunker down.'' The latest forecast track offered a glimmer of hope that Dean's fierce core might barely spare Jamaica and, on Monday, the Caymans, but there was no guarantee of that. ''It is imperative not to focus on the exact forecast track,'' hurricane specialist Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County said Sunday morning. ''Considering the margin of error of NHC predictions, the core of this large hurricane could easily be 30 to 50 nautical miles on either side of the forecast track during the next 12 hours or so,'' he said.

MAJOR GENERAL RICK LYNCH SAID THAT U.S. TROOPS ARE TRACKING IRANIAN FORCES AIDING SHIITE MILITIAS IN IRAQ

   BAGHDAD, IRAQ  --  Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, whose command includes the volatile southern rim of Baghdad and districts to the south, said his troops are tracking about 50 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in their area — the first detailed allegation that Iranians have been training fighters within Iraq's borders. "We know they're here and we target them as well," he said, citing intelligence reports as evidence of their presence. He declined to be more specific and said no Iranian forces have been arrested in his territory.

     "We've got about 50 of those," he said, referring to the Iranian forces. "They go back and forth. There's a porous border." The military has stepped up allegations against Iran in recent weeks, saying it supplies militants with arms and training to attack U.S. forces. Iran denies the allegations and says it supports efforts to stop the violence. The Bush administration is moving toward blacklisting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "terrorist" organization, subjecting at least part of the entity to financial sanctions, U.S. officials said this week.

     A decision has been made in principle to name elements of the corps a "specially designated global terrorist" group, but internal discussions continue over whether it should cover the entire unit or only the Guard's Al-Quds force, the most elite and covert of Iran's military branches, which has equipped and trained Muslim fighters outside Iran's borders.

08-19- 2007

IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS VOW TO 'PUNCH' THE UNITED STATES

   TEHRAN, IRAN --  Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said they would not bow to pressure and threatened to "punch" the U.S., in their first response to Washington's plan to list them as a terrorist organization, newspapers reported Saturday.  Local press in the Iranian capital of Tehran quoted Revolutionary Guards leader Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi saying that he could understand Washington's ire toward the group because of their "leverage" against the U.S. "America will receive a heavier punch from the guards in the future," he was quoted as saying in the conservative daily Kayhan. "We will never remain silent in the face of U.S. pressure and we will use our leverage against them." There was no elaboration on what Safavi meant by the punch or the organization's "leverage."

    Meanwhile, other Iranian officials continued to speak out against Washington's move to register the group as a terrorist organization, with a government spokesman calling the claims "baseless," on the Web site of the state broadcasting company. "The claims of the U.S. are baseless and have no takers around the world," he said Saturday, noting that "the U.S. has endangered the world many times under the excuse of fighting against terrorism."

 On Tuesday, an unnamed official in the Bush administration said the U.S. planned to list the Guards as terrorist group in order to squeeze Iran.  The move was seen as an effort to pressure businesses the corps is thought to control, from construction to oil sectors. It would be the first time the U.S. would put a foreign government's military agency on the list, which includes the al Qaeda network and the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Iranian armed forces spokesman Gen. Ali Reza Afshar hit out precisely against this attempt to declare a state body terrorist in an editorial Saturday in the country's largest circulation newspaper, calling it illegal.

HUGO CHAVEZ WILL TIGHTEN HIS GRIP ON VENEZUELA'S INTERNATIONAL RESERVES

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Under the proposed changes to the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez will keep tight rein on the Venezuelan international reserves -the account denominated in US dollars that allows for the payment of imports and guarantees the servicing of foreign debt. Article 318 of the proposal states: "International reserves shall be managed by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), under the administration and guidance of the President, as the administrator of the national treasury."

     Further, article 321 reads: "As the administrator of international reserves, the Venezuelan Head of State shall set, in coordination with the Central Bank and ending each year, the level of reserves required to support the economy, as well as the amount of excess reserves which shall be used for any funds as established by the National Executive." The money, this article adds, should be used for "productive investment, development and infrastructure, funding of social 'misiones' and, finally, comprehensive, endogenous, humanist and socialist development of the nation."

     Through several amendments to the Central Bank Law, the Chávez Administration has made it clear that Venezuela's economy requires a given amount of international reserves, which will be determined on a yearly basis. The remaining reserves are to be transferred to investment funds. Until now, the "excess" reserves calculation has been under control of the BCV board of directors, which has transferred USD 16.9 billion to the government in two years. But under the proposed changes to the Constitution, the bank is to share this function with the President, resulting in a likely higher amount of fund transfers out of the BCV account. As a matter of fact, the transfers made to the National Development Fund (Fonden) have already depleted international reserves following a 28.7 percent steep drop in the period January 2-August 15.

COLOMBIA EXPECTS HUGO CHAVEZ' HELP TO INFLUENCE THE COLOMBIAN REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES (FARC)

      BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  --The Colombian government hoped Friday that Hugo Chávez' involvement makes the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) listen to those who ask for the release of hostages. Colombian Minister of the Interior and Justice Carlos Holguín told the media in Bogotá that the hostages' situation has not been solved because FARC "does not hear the national and international clamor" to return them.

    "I wish FARC would pay attention to it," said Holguín after welcoming President Chávez' active part in the talks between the Colombian government and FARC to make a humanitarian deal on the captives, Efe reported. Colombian congresswoman Piedad Córdoba, on visit in Caracas, asked for President Chávez' involvement. Córdoba was commissioned recently by the government of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to approach FARC.

     The Venezuelan ruler expressed Thursday night in Caracas, during a meeting with the opposition parliamentarian, his readiness to cooperate. Córdoba reported Friday that both presidents would meet "by the end of August" to talk about the exchange of hostages for imprisoned guerrilla members.

08-18- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ IS NEGOTIATING AN AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA TO BUY 5,000 SNIPER RIFLES

   MOSCOW, RUSSIA  -- HUGO CHAVEZ is negotiating with Russian arm-dealer Roxoboronexport an agreement to buy about 5,000 Dragunov sniper rifles -a semi-automatic, large-barrel design with telescopic sight- reported Vladimir Farafohsin, the corporate deputy director. The potential use or distribution of the arms by the Venezuelan government has raised concerns in the United States.

     "Because sniper rifles are specialized infantry weapons and not typically issued to large numbers of soldiers, diplomats and military officers and analysts said, a purchase of several thousand Dragunovs would not seem to have a conventional military use for Venezuela's armed forces," disclosedThe New York Times. "Sales like this, and other sales of military equipment and arms to Venezuela, do not seem consistent with Venezuela's needs," David J. Kramer, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told the US newspaper.

     "It does raise questions about their ultimate use," he added. "We're not sure what their purpose would be." Mark Joyce, the Americas editor for Jane's Country Risk, part of Jane's Information Group, said that a purchase of thousands of sniper rifles would fit with the ongoing military reorganization in Venezuela under the government of President Chávez.  

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION INSISTS ON CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY TO IMPLEMENT CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Constitutional reform should be implemented by means of a constituent assembly, said Thursday national coordinator of opposition Primero Justicia (PJ) party Julio Borges. "For us, the way that should be taken is to call a constituent assembly, and everybody should get involved, vote, make proposals and endorse any changes," he said.

    During his appearance on "Al Descubierto," a show of private TV channel Venevisión, the dissenting leader explained that PJ would keep its agenda and ask the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) to issue an opinion on the need for a constituent assembly, quoted official news agency ABN.

    Borges added that PJ plans to disclose some issues that, in his view, should be discussed as part of constitutional reform. He listed, for instance, "right to property in our barrios; democratization of the oil ownership, right to property of agricultural plots of land and social security for all Venezuelans."

THE $800,000 SAGA:  ALEJANDRO ANTONINI WILSON PROMISES TO COOPERATE WITH ARGENTINEAN JUSTICE  

      BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA -- Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Antonini Wilson, whose international arrest is sought by an Argentinean public prosecutor and is currently in Miami, promised to cooperate with justice. Antonini is wanted for trying to bring a suitcase filled with USD 800,000 in Buenos Aires last August 4th.

     According to Argentinean daily newspaper La Nación, Antonini's attorney Héctor Vidal Albarracín appeared in court on his behalf. "There is no need to issue a bench warrant. He did not run away, but left the country as there was no restriction whatsoever. He was never summoned by the authorities, not even the public prosecutor," Vidal told the newspaper.

    Prosecutor Luz Rivas Diez asked Tuesday the judge in Criminal Economic Matters Diego Zysman for detention of Antonini. No ruling has been issued yet. According to the newspaper, Antonini phoned his attorney and asked him to tell the court that he was ready to appear whenever he is summoned.

08-17- 2007

THE $800,000 SAGA:  ARGENTINEAN GOVERNMENT TALKS ABOUT PDVSA VP "RESIGNATION"

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- The Argentinean government took for granted Thursday that Diego Uzcátegui Matheus, Vice-President with state-run oil corporation Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), quit because of the scandal of the suitcase filled with cash that Venezuelan businessman Guido Antonini Wilson  tried to bring in Argentina.

    "This resignation is the most conclusive evidence that we told the truth," said Alberto Fernández, the chair of the Argentinean ministerial cabinet, as part of his remarks published Thursday by local daily newspaper La Nación.

     However, Argentinean government sources inquired by Efe claimed to lack information in order to confirm or deny whether the Venezuelan government gave the news on the resignation of the official. Buenos Aires newspapers also took for granted the removal of Uzcátegui Matheus and quoted sources both of the Argentinean and Venezuelan government. However, they clarified that the Venezuelan government has not reported formally on the decision.

46 FOREIGN HOSTAGES TAKEN IN VENEZUELA THIS YEAR

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- The abduction of foreigners across Venezuela is increasing regardless of the authorities efforts at preventing this crime. The most recent targets were the two adolescent nephews of Gustavo Barreto, a dealer at northwestern Táchira state. They were kidnapped last Sunday in Táchira. Their whereabouts, and that of Barreto and his son, are a mystery. The minors have double citizenship, that is, they are Venezuelan-Portuguese.

    According to sources of the Ministry of the Interior, thus far this year, a total of 46 foreigners have been abducted. Only in April, three dealers of Spanish origin were held hostages in the states of Zulia, Cojedes and Bolívar. This seemingly isolated event attracted the attention of the intelligence agencies after the Spanish Consulate authorities voiced their concern. Manuel Negreira Trigo, 51, was kidnapped in the area of Perijá, western Zulia state. That very month, on April 21st, armed people abducted Nicolás Cid Souto, 72, when he was in a farm of his property, located in central-western Cojedes state. Days later, negotiations began.

     Dealer Francisco "Paco" Muradas Bugallo, 72, was taken by subjects who broke in his farm Monte Carmelo, located in southern Bolívar state, last April 28th. The three Spanish persons were released the following month, as soon as their relatives made a deal with the kidnappers. Investigators think that rebel groups and common criminals have opted to kidnap foreigners because the negotiations are faster and relatives usually refrain themselves form contacting the police.

HUGO CHAVEZ HAS DEPOSITED USD 29,000 MILLION ABROAD

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- For the first time since the government started to deposit money in overseas accounts, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) disclosed in a report on the second quarter of 2007, that the "external assets available" amount to USD 29,061 million.

    The money, placed mainly in external accounts of the National Development Fund (Fonden) and the Treasury, flows through pipelines in parallel to the budget and could act as a mattress cope with a potential drop in oil prices.

     "If these funds are taken into account, in addition to what the government has placed in national banks by means of deposits from public agencies, then the government has plenty of resources available to keep the expenditure policy, regardless of any decline in oil prices," said Asdrúbal Oliveros, managing director of think-tank Ecoanalítica. As far as the expert is concerned, "this government is very far from having fiscal troubles. Therefore, it could postpone any adjustment of the exchange rate until 2009."

08-16- 2007

THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION CRITICIZES CUBA, VENEZUELA FOR HINDERING PRESS FREEDOM

   ASUNCION, PARAGUAY --   The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) Executive Director, Julio Muñoz, Tuesday criticized from Asunción, Paraguay, the governments of Cuba and Venezuela for hindering freedom of the press and access to information.

    "The IAPA is most worried about those countries without press, where government abuses do not allow that citizen are informed, and, of course, the country most noted for this is Cuba, because in that country there is no press," said Muñoz.

    The high-ranking official accuses Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez of acting as  an arrogant person and a "tyrant" when "eliminating media" and thus the possibility that people are informed, reported Efe.

SPANISH GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDS PREVENTING VENEZUELAN-COLOMBIAN BORDER 

   MADRID, SPAIN   -- The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended on its website "avoiding at all costs" for security reasons the Venezuelan-Colombian border, where two Spanish minors and two Venezuelan relatives were kidnapped recently.

     When traveling to Venezuela, the ministry suggested taking the necessary precaution all over the country, particularly in Caracas and capital cities. However, it made special emphasis on the Venezuelan-Colombian border, Efe reported.
 
     The presumed abduction of two minors, 10 and 12 years old, their uncle David Barreto, 35, and his son, 10, occurred last Sunday evening on a road of northeastern Táchira state, when they traveled in their car. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that insecurity in Venezuela was "significant" and nowhere in the country where there were not troubles.

RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY TO USE PICTURES OF CHAVEZ, CASTRO

      MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --The Russian Communist Party plans to use the pictures of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Cuban ruler Fidel Castro, and Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko for the upcoming election campaign to the Duma, the Russian Chamber of Deputies, reported Tuesday communist leader Guennadi Ziuganov.

    The party made such a decision because these persons are "the most successful leaders," Ziuganov reasoned, Russian news agency Interfax quoted.

    The Russian Communist Party has good chances in the election for Parliament next December, particularly in Siberia, said Ziuganov during a press conference in Novosibirsk.

08-15- 2007

THE $800,000 SAGA:  ARGENTINA ASKS PDVSA AGAIN FOR EXPLANATION

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- The Argentinean government asked Monday again the authorities of state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) to clarify what the Venezuelan businessman who was seized an undeclared amount of USD 800.000 "meant to do" in Buenos Aires.

     The Argentinean Executive "has take prompt action and made its best to try to elucidate" what the Argentineans know already as the "portfolio scandal," said the Cabinet head Alberto Fernández, Efe reported.

    According to Fernández, Pdvsa should explain the reason why businessman Guido Antonini Wilson got into the private plane that last August 4th took back from Caracas senior officers of official Energía Argentina (Enarsa) and state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa). An investigation is being made in Argentina into Antonini Wilson for presumed "attempt at smuggling." The hearing attorney María Luiz Rivas Diez has not ruled out a bench warrant against the businessman.

THE $800,000 SAGA:  ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE BEGINS ENQUIRY ON THE PORTFOLIO CASE

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA   -- Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez Monday appointed two prosecutors to investigate facts surrounding seizure of USD 800,000 in Argentina.

    Rodríguez decided to launch the enquiry after receiving a response from Argentinean Attorney General Esteban Righi. Last Friday, Rodríguez made a request to Righ.

     In his response, Righi sent some of the data requested and voiced to his Venezuelan counterpart his disposition to send any information regarding the judicial investigation of prosecutor María Luz Rivas on the case, in which Venezuelan businessman Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson is alleged

THE $800,000 SAGA:  ATTORNEY GENERAL REQUESTED TO INVESTIGATE THE PORTFOLIO SCANDAL 

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Opposition Copei party asked Monday Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez to embark upon an investigation into President Hugo Chávez and Minister of Energy and Petroleum and CEO of state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) in connection with a portfolio containing USD 800,000 that were seized last week in Argentina.

    "We request particularly the Attorney General, not only to make an enquiry, but also the enquiry should involve Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramírez, the president of Pdvsa," said Monday during a press conference Copei secretary-general Luis Ignacio Planas. For its part, opposition Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) claimed Monday that the Pdvsa officials involved with the suitcase seized in Argentina, as well as the members of Pdvsa board, should quit their positions in order to make it easier for the investigation of the appropriate authorities.

    MAS spokesman José Antonio España noted at the outbreak of the scandal, the Argentinean government asked for resignation of an official with Energías Argentinas (Enarsa). Likewise, the official responsible for Pdvsa in Argentina and all of Pdvsa officials traveling in the chartered plane should quit.

08-14- 2007

SPAIN PSOE KEEPS WATCHFUL EYE OVER RADIO CARACAS TELEVISION CASE 

   MADRID, SPAIN     --    Elena Valenciano, the Secretary of International Policy, ruling Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), expressed concern about the "authoritarian drift" of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, particularly with regard to his government policy towards the media. Chávez' government has become "the axis of evil for most in Latin America" and even for some of the political party which composes the Spanish Congress majority, Valenciano told Efe during an interview.

    The PSOE leader, the political party led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, president of the Spanish Executive, is worried about the Venezuelan government "clear interference" with the media by regulating spaces in most cases with "absolute, tough government propaganda."

    She made reference to the case of private TV channel Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) Internacional and the need for the Supreme Tribunal of Justice to issue a final decree on the channel broadcasting in order to know if the Executive abode by the law. In her opinion, "democracy should be plural, the media should be respected, and the courts and the rule of law should work. Based on this, we approached the Venezuelan government to try to influence based on critical respect."

HUGO CHAVEZ'S OIL SLIPS $ 2.98

   VIENNA, AUSTRIA  -- The price of the Venezuelan oil basket shed USD 2.98 to USD 66.83 / barrel, compared with last week, as well as major benchmarks, due to growing concern in the stock market about the US economy performance.

    According to a report from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, the basket of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) slumped by USD 2.94 to USD 69.47 ending this week, quoted official news agency ABN.

    The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) went from USD 77.09 to USD 72.74, a drop of USD 4.35. As for Brent, the North Sea benchmark slid USD 76.03 to USD 71.78 / barrel.

LATIN AMERICA GETS 36 PERCENT OF HUGO CHAVEZ'S OIL SHIPMENT 

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- While Venezuelan exports of crude oil and byproducts to the United States showed a downward trend from 2002 to 2006, that is, from 1.24 million to 993,200 bpd, shipments to neighboring Latin American countries increased to 36.7 percent out of total exports last year. Such exports averaged 832,400 bpd, a hike of 151,000 bpd over the total supply to Latin America in 2005. These numbers came from the Annual Statistical Bulletin 2006, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The bulletin is mainly based on the data provided by OPEC member nations.

    Over the last 10 years, Latin America's status as the second largest recipient of Venezuelan hydrocarbons has remained unchanged, but has gained strength in total exports, which grew by 112 percent, or 440,800 bpd in 2004-2006.

    Other destinations, such as Europe, are having also a higher profile in the pie of Venezuelan oil exports. In 2002, 155,300 bpd of oil and byproducts were sent to that hemisphere. Last year, the amount averaged 257,700 bpd, a surge of almost 66 percent. As for the Asian Pacific, one of the strategic targets of the Venezuelan government, averaged exports soared from as few as 9,500 bpd in 2002 to 172,700 bpd in 2006, that is, 7.6 percent out of the total numbers this year.

08-13- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ PLEDGES TO MEET CARIBBEAN NATIONS' LONG-TERM OIL NEEDS

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA    --    Hugo Chavez pledged to meet Caribbean nations' oil needs for years to come, and urged the region to unite and seek greater independence from the United States. Chavez deepened past pledges to share his country's oil wealth as he addressed a summit on Saturday of nations taking part in Venezuela's Petrocaribe oil initiative, which supplies fuel under preferential terms.

       "If we truly unite ... the grandchildren of our grandchildren will have no energy problems," Chavez said. He predicted oil prices will soon hit US$100 (€73) a barrel but said "the Caribbean shouldn't have problems this century and beyond."

    "Venezuela puts this oil wealth at the disposition of our peoples of the Caribbean," Chavez said. "We're going to share it like Christ. ... It will be enough for everyone." Venezuela still counts the United States as its top oil buyer, although Chavez has sought to diversify his clientele amid tensions with Washington by selling more to Latin America, the Caribbean and as far away as China.

HUGO CHAVEZ WILL BUILD A REFINERY IN ECUADOR FOR HIS DEAR FRIEND RAFAEL CORREA

   QUITO, ECUADOR  -- Hugo Chavez offered to help Ecuador build a $5 billion oil refinery, as the socialist leader pledged to spread his government's oil wealth to another South American ally.  Chavez was on a four-country regional tour, seeking to expand his nation's influence by leveraging its vast oil reserves and create a ``grand South American alliance'' to counter U.S. dominance.

    Chavez and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa signed an agreement for construction of a giant oil refinery on Ecuador's Pacific coast expected to cost nearly $5 billion. Chavez stressed the importance of energy integration in South America and remarked in a news conference on the difference between his efforts and ``the savage hand of imperialism'' in Iraq, referring to the United States.

    The United States is like ``Count Dracula,'' he said. ``It wants to suck (the blood) of the world.'' Correa, an admirer of Chavez, said the Venezuelan leader was acting out of solidarity with countries in the region and had no interest in earning a profit from the cooperation.  ``Venezuela is the one that is pushing hardest for energy integration and it is one that least needs it,'' Correa said.

HUGO CHAVEZ PREDICTED OIL HEADED FOR $ 100 BARREL

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- World oil prices are headed for $100 per barrel, Hugo Chavez predicted on Saturday, and said he will cut supplies to the United States if the U.S. government "attacks" the South American nation again.

    "I've always said that oil prices are headed straight to $100 per barrel," he said during a televised speech. "We should prepare ourselves for those prices of one hundred dollars." Chavez said high oil prices were the sign of a "global crisis" in energy caused by voracious consumption that has vastly reduced available oil reserves.

    Chavez has accused the United States of plotting a bungled coup that ousted him for two days in 2002, though Washington denies the accusations, and has repeatedly made conditional threats to cut off oil sales to the United States that historically account for 12 to 15 percent of U.S. imports. "No one should think that we're going to stop sending oil to the United States, no - unless they attack us again," Chavez said during a speech to leaders of Caribbean nations meeting in Caracas for an energy summit. "If they attack us again like they did in April of 2002 ... there will be no oil."

08-12- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ LAMBASTES VENEZUELA OPPOSITION

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA    --   Hugo Chávez called Friday "Pharisees, hypocrite" Venezuelan dissenters at odds with the billionaire energy agreements executed during his South American tour of Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.

     "I am just going to tell you -no to the Venezuelan outlaw opposition that ruled already for half a century in Venezuela," he answered to a reporter.

     Chávez repeated the words of Argentinean First Lady, Cristina Kirchner. Queried in Europe about Argentinean matters she said: "Turn a deaf ear to foolish comments," AFP quoted.

THE $800,000 SAGA:  argentinean officials spent 60 minutes to count $800,000

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- After four days of informational reserve and only when Hugo Chávez left Buenos Aires, the Argentinean government provided feedback on the seizure of a suitcase containing USD 790,550 at the Argentinean customs. Venezuelan businessman Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson intended to take the undeclared sum of money to Argentina. He arrived in a plane chartered by Argentinean state company Enasar, along with Argentinean senior government officers and executive officers with state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa).

    Argentinean Minister of the Interior Aníbal Fernández alleged that local authorities let the Venezuelan leave Argentina without administering any testimony because they "had no right" to do so.

     "One is not entitled to stop a gentleman and tell him, 'Why did you do that?' the minister said, as quoted by daily newspaper El Clarín. Earlier, Fernández had praised the customs officers' action to hold the money, "as set forth in Argentinean regulations."

THE $800,000 SAGA:  VENEZUELA BUSINESSMAN PROMISES TO EXPLAIN THE SUITCASE ISSUE

  BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA   --  Businessman Guido Antonini Wilson has promised to "explain everything" that happened on August 4th, on the eve of the visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to Buenos Aires. On that occasion, Antonini Wilson intended to enter Argentina in possession of an undeclared sum of money amounting to USD 800,000.

     "I am very interested in all this; in trying to explain it," he told Argentinean daily newspaper La Nación. The whereabouts of Antonini Wilson is a mystery. While Argentinean authorities reported that he went to Uruguay last Wednesday, the businessman claimed to be in Buenos Aires and his attorneys said that he was in Miami.

08-11- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ LOWERS THE TUNE TO ENTER MERCOSUR

   MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY    --  "Oil and gas for the next 100 years," promised Hugo Chávez to the Uruguayan people. For his part, Uruguayan President Tabaré Vásquez made available to Venezuela "the intellectual endowment that Uruguay has had in a long time and has distinguished it globally," in the areas of agriculture, cattle-breeding and information technology. "Which people? Which government? Which president could be as generous as to make available to the Uruguayan people an oil field? I do not know of any example, at least, as far as Uruguay is concerned," Vásquez noted during his speech after entering into multiple agreements with Chávez, including an "Energy Security Treaty."

    "It is unprecedented indeed, because under this treaty Venezuela promises Uruguay to supply the oil and gas that Uruguay may need. It is not exaggeration at all. We gave this undertaking at any cost. And we started working on the joint venture between (state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela) Pdvsa and (Uruguayan counterpart) Ancap," Chávez answered during his speech delivered at the presidential residence and aired on official TV channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). The treaty, in addition to ratifying that Venezuela will take part in the expansion of Uruguayan La Teja refinery, provides for the purchase of 15 percent of the stocks of state-run company Alcoholes del Uruguay, in addition to a prior deal accounting for 10 percent of the shares.

    In addition to thank for the Venezuelan grant "for the University Hospital and the new cancer institute, as pro-tempore president of the Common Market of the South, the Uruguayan ruler undertook "to advance all the arrangements for full membership of Venezuela in Mercosur."  Chávez complained that "nobody," had explained the reason for the "unjustified" delay. He expressed again willingness to become a member of the trade bloc and blamed the US government for hindering the entry. "I have not given an ultimatum to anybody, nor can I disrespect Brazilian and Uruguayan institutions; we just wait for an answer in order to make a decision. Now, that some media, playing the role of the empire lackeys, make a tempest in a teacup, this is another story," said Chávez. "I have not set a deadline. No. We can wait a little more, yet we can hardly wait beyond this year, because this causes uncertainty for businesspersons, the people, and the government."

VENEZUELA CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM TO ESTABLISH MILITARY STATE

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Proposed changes in terms of national defense as part of the constitutional reform lead to a military state, said lawyer Hermann Escarrá during the submittal of a report by opposition Comando Nacional de la Resistencia (National Resistance Command, CNR).

    The expert in constitutional law is worried about the following changes: designation of the Bolivarian army in the absence of any explanation as to how the doctrine will change the army performance; grassroots involvement in defense, particularly against "imperialist states," and enforcement of law and order by the reserve, the territorial guard and social entities.

    Another change leading to the establishment of a military state includes the removal of the length of term for the exception state. Based on the proposal, the National Executive is the only one empowered to ascertain whether the reasons for stay of constitutional rights ended or not. According to Escarrá, military dictatorships during the 1970's in the Southern Cone implemented a similar provision.

THE $800,000 SAGA:  ARGENTINEAN OFFICIAL INVOLVED IN PORTFOLIO CASE FIRED

  BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA   --  The Argentinean government reported that official Claudio Uberti, an Argentinean public servant who was among the passengers of a chartered flight arriving last Sunday in Buenos Aires, was dismissed. The flight included a Venezuelan citizen who carried a suitcase containing an undeclared amount of almost USD 800,000.

    Argentinean Minister of Planning Julio De Vido told Argentinean Radio 10 that he asked Claudio Oberti to quit as the monitor of highway concessions, for letting Venezuelan businessman Guido Antonini Wilson get into the plane.

    "The aircraft was joined by people who were not part of the initial delegation. We view it as a mistake. He (Uberti) conceded it and obviously we asked him to give in his resignation, which he just handed in and I have just accepted," said De Vido.

08-10- 2007

RUSSIA RESUMES NUKE BOMBER SORTIES AS IN THE OLD COLD WAR DAYS

   MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  A Russian bomber flew over a U.S. military base on the Pacific island of Guam on Wednesday and "exchanged smiles" with U.S. pilots who had scrambled to track it, said Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov, head of long-range aviation in the Russian air force. "It has always been the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet [U.S.] aircraft carriers and greet [U.S. pilots] visually," Androsov told a news conference.

    "Yesterday we revived this tradition, and two of our young crews paid a visit to the area of the [U.S. Pacific Naval Activities] base of Guam," he said. President Vladimir Putin has sought to make Russia more assertive in the world. Putin has boosted defense spending and sought to raise morale in the armed forces, which were starved of funding in the chaos that followed the fall of the Soviet Union.

     Androsov said the sortie by the two turboprop Tu-95MS bombers, from a base near Blagoveshchensk in the Far East, had lasted for 13 hours. The Tu-95, codenamed "Bear" by NATO, is Russia's Cold War icon and may stay in service until 2040. "I think the result was good. We met our colleagues -- fighter jet pilots from [U.S.] aircraft carriers. We exchanged smiles and returned home," Androsov said. U.S. officials told CNN, however, that the two bombers came no closer than 100 miles to any U.S. aircraft and no closer than 300 miles to the Navy ships, and that there was no visual contact.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TO PAY OIL BILLS WITH HOTEL SERVICES

   SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  --   Leonel Fernández, the president of the Dominican Republic, is to land in Venezuela Thursday to take part in the Third Petrocaribe Summit. There, a proposal will be made to provide hotel services in exchange for cash as partial installment of a debt contracted for the Venezuelan supply of oil and byproducts, said official sources.

    During the meeting to be held on Friday and Saturday in Caracas, participants will assess the possibility to expand the extent of a supply agreement entered into by 14 Caribbean nations in 2005, said the Venezuelan embassy at the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic President's Office planned to disclose shortly Fernández agenda in Venezuela. However, Minister of Finance Vicente Bengoa said in advance that Fernández would discuss with the Venezuelan authorities the possibility of a Venezuelan state company to send tourists to the Dominican Republic in summer time.

    Bengoa said that he made the proposal to the Dominican hotels and they voiced agreement. The initiative, he alleged, would solve the problem of low turnout during the low season in the Caribbean island. The debt contracted by the Dominican Republic under the oil agreement should be honored starting next year, with USD 23 million to be paid in 2008-2009.

PETROLEUM MINISTER, RAFAEL RAMIREZ, SAID GROWING OIL OUTPUT IS SUPERFLUOUS  

  QUITO, ECUADOR  --  Global oil inventories are much higher than the average and there is no need to increase the production levels, Minister of Energy and Petroleum and CEO of state-run holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) Rafael Ramírez told Reuters on Thursday.

    Ramírez added that so far he did not fear any impending arbitration amidst the talks presently held by the Venezuelan government and ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil on the operations of heavy-oil improvers in southern Orinoco oil belt.

08-09- 2007

EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION IN PDVSA PRODUCED AT THE VENEZUELAN CONGRESS 

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --   Father José Palmar, editor of daily newspaper Reporte de la Economía, and journalist Leocenis García submitted to the National Assembly (AN) Committee on Science, Technology and the Media "the corruption trolley." In the case of alleged extortion by journalists José Rafael Ramírez  and Leocenis García from businessman Wilmer Ruperti, Palmar provided a set of papers to prove the businessman's presumed wrongdoing.

    The file included additional corruption cases at state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa). For his part, Deputy Luis Tascón, a committee member, vowed to summon the petitioners in order to talk about the charges of alleged corruption at Pdvsa. Tascón expressed readiness to investigate the case until finding the individuals responsible for it. He said that a questionnaire had been prepared to help the journalists with their evidence.

     "You will be summoned; do not worry; take it easy; we will receive you for you to substantiate your claim," said the congressman. Tascón noted that Minister of Energy and Petroleum and Pdvsa CEO Rafael Ramírez should appear at the AN. Ramírez "needs to clarify the country many things that had happened with regard to a very serious complaint." "He (Ramírez) should come here and the committee has the responsibility to summon him," he added.

HUGO CHAVEZ ENCOURAGES THE HEMISPHERE TO CHECK MEDIA CONCESSIONS 

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA    -- Hugo Chávez, on visit in Buenos Aires, urged "the peoples of this hemisphere to query about the expiration date of broadcasting concessions." The head of state cashed in on a question about the scope of the Venezuelan community media and the development of TV station Telesur to explain that his government did not shut down private TV channel Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), but the concession expired.

    "Be it known, citizens of this hemisphere, the radio spectrum is property of the peoples. This has been established in all constitutions; it is not the property of an elite that uses and abuses the spectrum to deliver messages that strike dead as a thunderbolt, many times, the peoples' conscience in their economic interests, generally. The Venezuelan case is a pathetic one," added Chávez during a press conference at the end of his two-day visit to Argentina and ahead of his tour including Uruguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.

    Chávez lambasted coverage of the Venezuelan media during the events of April 2002 and even the journalists' performance. "Nobody would dare to say that the journalists who were in a barrack interviewing the plotters are not guilty. If I were a journalist and were commissioned to air the sexual abuse of a child, and I would say, 'look what is going on,' then, I am a human beast. Not only the sexual abuser. Therefore, I am not entitled to hold the almost sacred degree of information media worker. This is food for thought," he told reporters.

HUGO CHAVEZ BOUGHT HALF A BILLION dollars iN ARGENTINE BONDS AND PLANS TO BUY another half a billion more, plus seeking SIMILAR deals with bolivia and ecuador

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- Hugo Chávez announced on a South American trip Tuesday his government has snapped up $500 million in Argentine bonds and is pursuing bond deals with leftist allies in Ecuador and Bolivia.  At a news conference before flying to Uruguay on a swing that also will include Ecuador and Bolivia, Chávez praised Argentine President Néstor Kirchner for their close ''friendship'' and said Venezuela intends to purchase another $500 million in Argentine bonds in the coming months.

    The new deals and negotiations are seen as a major push by Chávez to spread his petro-dollar influence and counter U.S.-backed free trade prescriptions. Chávez called it another step to help an allied nation free itself from the International Monetary Fund, which he likened to a vampire. ''Argentina is freeing itself from Dracula, breaking the chains of the International Monetary Fund,'' Chávez said at a televised news conference before heading to Uruguay to meet leftist President Tabaré Vázquez.

    Chávez said Venezuela has acquired $5.1 billion in Argentine bonds over two years. Chávez said other bond deals are being negotiated with Presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Evo Morales of Bolivia, with details to be announced ``in due time.'' Argentina defaulted on a record $100 billion in debt in 2001 but later renegotiated jilted creditors on terms of about 30 cents or less on the dollar. The Argentine economy has grown robustly since the 2001-2002 financial meltdown.

08-08- 2007

TALIBAN MILITANTS STAGE BRAZEN ATTACK ON U.S. BASE 

   GHAZNI, AFGHANISTAN  --   A group of 75 Taliban militants tried to overrun a U.S.-led coalition base in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a rare frontal attack that left more than 20 militants dead, the coalition said in a statement.

    The insurgents attacked Firebase Anaconda from three sides, using gunfire, grenades and 107 mm rockets, the coalition said. A joint Afghan-U.S. force repelled the attack with mortars, machine guns and air support. "Almost two dozen insurgents were confirmed killed in the attack," the statement said. Two girls and two Afghan soldiers were wounded during the fight in Uruzgan province, it said.

HUGO CHAVEZ AND NESTOR KIRCHNER MAKE ENERGY DEAL

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA    -- HUGO CHAVEZ AND NESTOR KIRCHNER initialed multiple energy agreements after a meeting held by Argentinean President Néstor Kirchner and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez. The Venezuelan head of state landed Monday in Buenos Aires metropolitan airport Jorge Newbery ahead of an official suite and talked to reporters. He noted that his government took "the initiative for a South American energy treaty to give a strategic solution to the crisis."

    Once in the White Hall at the Argentinean government headquarters, along with Kirchner and his wife, Senator and candidate for president Cristina Fernández, Chávez said, "There is the need to speed up the great South American alliance." Only by unity, he added, nations in the hemisphere will be "truly free," DPA. The agreement includes also the joint building of liquefied gas re-gasifying facilities to improve supply to Argentina.

    "I take pride in the re-gasifying plant because it will provide the country with 10 million cubic meters, which paves the way to complete the Southern Gas Pipeline," said the Argentinean head of state. Kirchner noted also the importance of the Northeast Gas Pipeline, which will help increase to 27 million cubic meters the gas coming from Bolivia. "It will give Argentina a very strong momentum, in addition to domestic investment in the sector."

HUGO CHAVEZ' GOVERNMENT DENIES LINKS WITH DETAINEE IN ARGENTINA

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  -- Venezuelan ambassador to Argentina Arévalo Méndez Romero denied Tuesday that an individual held at the Argentinean customs in possession of USD 800,000 was an official working with the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez or a member of his suite during his visit to Buenos Aires.

    "All of this has been said to try to make troubles and besmirch President Chávez visit to Buenos Aires. A campaign, both here (Buenos Aires) and in Caracas has been launched on the alleged detention of a Venezuelan government official onboard of a plane, carrying a portfolio with whatever amount of US dollars," the diplomat said. Méndez told the local and foreign media that he cast doubt on the accuracy of the news released since Monday night.

    "My government rebuts and denies definitely for any and all purposes that any Venezuelan government official was detained or was confiscated any money onboard of a plane. It is absolutely false that he was a member of President Chávez suite." The diplomat claimed that such reports are related to a "smear campaign" against President Chávez visit.

08-07- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ SAID HE WILL BE IN OFFICE AS LONG AS PEOPLE DECIDE

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  IN the opinion of Hugo Chávez, constitutional reform is a need; therefore, only the people by means of a referendum have the power to approve it. "People are the ones who may change it (the Constitution). I expect that they will approve it (the constitutional reform). Should I had lost the (recall) referendum, I do not know where I would be now. But I will be here until people decide otherwise."

    In the edition No. 289 of Sunday TV and radio show "Aló, Presidente", aired from Ayacucho Hall, Miraflores presidential palace, Chávez affirmed that he would propose continued re-election. "There is no threat whatsoever. It works in Europe and Asia. People will make the final decision on my incumbency. However, I have high expectation and faith that by increasing effectiveness, efficiency, and with the support of all countries, it will be possible," said the ruler.

    Chávez reported on the findings of a recent survey, according to which 72 percent of people back him. "These are the specific results of a work. There have been troubles. But if people felt that they were not taken due care of, after so many years, there would not be such a support."

THE PENTAGON IS CONCERNED BECAUSE 190,000 WEAPONS GIVEN TO IRAQ ARE MISSING

   WASHINGTON, D.C.   -- The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

    The author of the report from the Government Accountability Office says U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of an effort to train and equip the troops. The highest previous estimate of unaccounted-for weapons was 14,000, in a report issued last year by the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

     The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, the GAO said, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But the GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security training was led by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who now commands all U.S. forces in Iraq. The Pentagon did not dispute the GAO findings, saying it has launched its own investigation and indicating it is working to improve tracking.

AN AMERICAN AL-QAEDA MEMBER SAID "U.S. EMBASSIES PRIME TARGETS"

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- U.S. Embassies and American interests "at home and abroad" are prime targets for terrorist attacks, American al Qaeda member Adam Yahiye Gadahn said in a newly released al Qaeda-produced video.  “We shall continue to target you at home and abroad just as you target us at home and abroad ... ," Gadahn -- also known as Azzam the American -- says in the video provided to CNN by www.LauraMansfield.com, a Web site that analyzes terrorism.

     Later in the video, which is about an hour long and takes the form of a documentary, the self-proclaimed American jihadist makes explicit threats against the United States and U.S. interests, singling out embassies and consulates.

     FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told CNN that investigators are analyzing the video for any indication of Gadahn's whereabouts. "The increased messaging from al Qaeda could represent different things and our analytical personnel, working with (intelligence community) partners, review every message for clues and leads," Kolko said. He noted that the content of Gadahn's message is nothing new. "There is no shortage of al Qaeda making noise that they intend to attack the U.S. or its interests overseas," Kolko said. "We are concerned, but that is why we do our job every day."

08-06- 2007

THREE SUSPECTED OF SMUGGLING CUBANS FOUND DEAD IN CANCUN

   CAANCUN, MEXICO   --  The bodies of three people suspected of smuggling Cubans to the United States through Mexico were found gagged and blindfolded Friday in a natural sinkhole near Cancún.  The killings were the latest in a series of incidents related to the smuggling of Cubans into Mexico, where authorities have observed a marked increase in such attempts in recent months. At least four people linked to smuggling allegations have been killed this week in Cancún, which has become a popular landing spot for boats sneaking Cubans into the country.

    Police were led to the three most recent victims -- Jesús Aguilar, Edwin Park and a woman whose name was not given, all of whom are Mexican -- by red arrows painted on a highway leading to the sinkhole. Three days earlier, police found the bullet-riddled body of Luis Lázaro Lara Morejón, a Cuban American suspected of smuggling, on a roadside near Cancún. The woman found Friday was Lara's girlfriend.

   ''We believe these people were executed by those who are part of a Cuban-American mafia,'' Bello Melchor Rodríguez, attorney general of Quintana Roo state, told the Associated Press. ``They probably hired people to execute them. We don't know if the Cuban Americans themselves killed them.''

HUGO CHAVEZ TO VISIT ARGENTINA AND BOLIVIA THIS WEEK

   L PAZ, BOLIVIA  -- Chávez to visit Argentina and Bolivia this week to reinforce economic and energy cooperation agreements. Chávez is expected to arrive in Argentina next August 6, and next August 8 in Bolivia. Arévalo Méndez designated as Ambassador to Argentina
Arévalo Enrique Méndez Romero was designated as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Venezuela to Argentina, as published in the Official Gazette dated August 2.

    There was widespread upset in the Bolivian eastern city of Santa Cruz about the recent arrival of 70 Venezuelan troops, and an opposition NGO asked the Bolivian government for clarification as the visitors skipped migration control. The army command press office informed hours later that it was "an outpost" to ensure security of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and confirmed that the head of state would be in the central region of Cochabamba next Wednesday 8th. The following day he would proceed to La Paz.

    Senators at Paraguay have no plans to discuss Venezuela's application for full membership with the Common Market of the South (Mercosur). "We need additional technical reports on that country," said Friday Alfredo Ratti, the chair of the Senate's Committee on External Relations. "We will make our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide us with some significant technical data on Venezuela," commented the policy-maker of opposition Patria Querida party, without providing further details, AP reported.

NO CASH FOR PDVSA'S PRIVATE PARTNERS

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA   -- This week the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is expected to deliver to the Committee on Energy and Mines, National Assembly, the relevant documents agreed with the parties to Orinoco oil belt projects and shared risk and profit prospecting agreements to complete their conversion into joint ventures where the Venezuelan State is to hold a majority stake. Unofficial sources said significant progress has been made regarding the matters pending since June 26, the date when memoranda of understanding for migration to joint ventures were initialed.

    Regarding the major issue -compensations to be paid to private partners that were formerly majority operators and stakeholders and are now becoming minority shareholders-, an agreement has been reached. Under this accord, state firm Pdvsa will not paid them in cash or in "coupons" for participation in other oil businesses, such as the coupons delivered during conversion of operational agreements into joint ventures.

     Compensations for reduced shareholding will be entirely paid in crude oil at market price. The mechanism for such repayment is yet to be defined, as the rules governing joint ventures restrains oil exports by Pdvsa. Therefore, such deliveries should be made outside the Venezuelan territory. Private partners are also likely to use this crude oil for their activities in Venezuela. Regarding the two oil majors that rejected the terms of migration, namely US firms ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips, sources claimed they reduced their staff in the country to the minimum and are negotiating compensations, which are expected to be agreed upon without arbitration.

08-05- 2007

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS, NICHOLAS BURNS, SAID HUGO CHAVEZ IS A MAN OF THE PAST

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  HUGO CHAVEZ is a man of the past who is restricting his country's presence in the global world by pursuing alliances with countries, such as Iran and Belarus, said Friday Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, US Department of State. During an event on US relations with Brazil and Latin America, the diplomat No. 3 in the US government said that Chávez was stagnated in the Cold War era, Reuters reported.

    "I am afraid that people who narrow-mindedly position in the politics and ideology of the early 1960's, that people is to miss the ship, that is, the ship of globalization," said the official. "With due respect, President Chávez is somebody (…) a man of the past; somebody thinking about the past," Burns added during a ceremony held at Woodrow Wilson Center, a think-tank based in Washington D.C.

AT ODDS WITH VENEZUELAN MILITARY DEPLOYMENT IN BOLIVIA

    SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA  -- There was widespread upset in the Bolivian eastern city of Santa Cruz about the recent arrival of 70 Venezuelan troops, and an opposition NGO asked the Bolivian government for clarification as the visitors skipped migration control. The army command press office informed hours later that it was "an outpost" to ensure security of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and confirmed that the head of state would be in the central region of Cochabamba next Wednesday 8th. The following day he would proceed to La Paz.

    Bolivian President Evo Morales, a friend of Chávez, had announced on the eve his counterpart' arrival to enter into some energy agreements. We need a clear, specific answer from the government as to why they are coming and why aircraft with Venezuelans and Cubans are coming and they do not even pass by migration," said the chair of Santa Cruz Civilian Committee Branko Marinkovic.

     Dissenting Manfred Reyes Villa, Governor of Cochabamba, questioned also the visit. "Not because Chávez is making a check payable to the army by means of the government can we allow for such meddling," Reyes said in reference to a USD 5.5 million check written last week by the Venezuelan government for the Bolivian military high command.

HUGO CHAVEZ AWARDS HIMSELF A HIGH MILITARY DECORATION

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- "By disposition of the President of the Republic (Hugo Chávez)," the Ministry of Defense granted the Venezuelan ruler the Military Order of National Defense, in the degree of commander. The Ministry's resolution was published in the Official Gazette last August 1.

    "By disposition of the President of the Republic, in accordance with Articles 15 and 47, Organic Law of the National Armed Force, following endorsement by the Council of the Order and having met the relevant requirements, the decoration Military Order of National Defense, in the degree of Commander, is hereby awarded to lieutenant colonel (Army) Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías," read the resolution initialed by Defense Minister, Brigadier General Gustavo Rangel Briceño.

08-04- 2007

VENEZUELA HIGH COURT AUTHORIZES RADIO CARACAS TELEVISION TO BROADCAST ON CABLE TV 

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Cable and satellite television providers Inter, Supercable, Net Uno, DirecTV and Planet will not be forced to terminate the transmissions of Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional (RCTV Internacional) or the other 39 TV stations the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) ordered to enroll as domestic audiovisual producers to continue operating in Venezuela. Wednesday afternoon, the Constitutional Court, Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), admitted an action filed by the Venezuelan Chamber of Subscription Television (Cavetesu) seeking protection of constitutional rights against Conatel's order to remove RCTV Internacional's signal from cable and satellite companies.

     The ruling -drafted by the chair of the Constitutional Court and chair of TSJ, Justice Luisa Estella Morales- endorses the allegations filed by Cavetesu chair Mario Seijas, who claimed that neither the Radio and Television Social Responsibility Law nor any other legislation clearly establishes the concepts of domestic and foreign audiovisual producers.

     In the ruling -unanimously approved by the justices comprising the court- the Constitutional Court warned that "allowing subscription television providers to establish such a concept (i.e., defining which companies make productions for Venezuela and which for foreign countries) may curtail the users' rights to access cable television services." In an interview with local news television station Globovisión, Granier showed surprise at the unusually short time the TSJ took to make the decision. "I had never seen the TSJ issuing a ruling as quickly as this one.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY --  HUGO CHAVEZ WILL HELP BELARUS PAY DEBT TO RUSSIA

    MINSK, BELARUS  -- Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Venezuela is helping his country repay a debt to Russia on gas deliveries. Russian state monopoly Gazprom threatened to cut most gas shipments to Belarus on failure to meet payments. This ignited fears of gas shortage in the continent, AP reported.

    "Yes, we are going to repay our debt. We may empty our reserves, but our good friends, including (Venezuelan President) Hugo Chávez have vowed to grant us a loan under favorable terms," said Lukashenko.  "I instructed to withdraw the money from our reserves and pay USD 460 million, and let them live in peace," he added.

     Gazprom "within one month" will be paid the bill, he said, as quoted by DPA. In Caracas, Minister of Finance Rodrigo Cabezas said his office was not dealing with this issue, adding that "the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is handling this topic."

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY --  ARGENTINEAN GOVERNMENT THANKS HUGO CHAVEZ FOR MONETARY AID

   BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  --  Head of Argentinean Cabinet Alberto Fernández thanked Thursday Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez for his support to Argentina through the purchase of Argentinean government debt bonds, and said that a new deal was coming soon.

"He has been there whenever we have needed it. Chávez has cooperated always and has bought Argentinean bonds," Fernández told Buenos Aires radio station América, AFP quoted.

Over the past three years, Venezuela bought almost USD 4.3 billion in Argentinean notes. However, it has gotten rid of most of them. "Chávez lent his hand where international financial organizations failed to show up." According to Fernández, Argentinean Minister of Economy Miguel Peirano "is working" on renewed purchase by Venezuela of Argentinean notes.

08-03- 2007

HUGO CHAVEZ RECOMMENDS CATHOLIC CHURCH TO SEEK PARDON

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chávez urged representatives of the Catholic Church to apologize to the country for its involvement in the events of April 2002, where he was forced to step down for few hours.

     The ruler agreed with the remarks made on Tuesday night by Mario Silva, the anchorman of "La Hojilla." During the talk show aired on official TV channel Venezolana de Televisión (RCTV), Silva said that high-ranking members of the Venezuelan Catholic Church owed an apology for their role played on that occasion.

     "I wish somebody would come out and apologize for backing the coup led by (businessman Pedro) Carmona, the fatalities on that day, terrorism against the people and treason to Venezuela," said Chávez. "The cardinal (Ignacio Velasco) knew about the coup and would let the coup plotters to meet at his place."

THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN FIDEL CASTRO AND HUGO CHAVEZ PUMPS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO CUBA'S ECONOMY

    HAVANA, CUBA  -- The value of Venezuelan oil subsidies to Cuba climbed past $3 billion in 2006 and could swell to $4 billion this year -- almost double current estimates, according to a University of Miami report to be released today. Venezuela is propping up Cuba's troubled economy with shipments of 94,103 barrels of oil a day, experts at UM's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies (ICCAS) calculated, based on official Havana figures issued last week. That means Cuba last year got some $3.3 billion in oil products from Venezuela, up from $2.7 billion in 2005. Caracas has declined to explain the payment system, but experts believe Havana gets the energy assistance free of charge.

     As Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins his second year out of office and in the hospital, Cuba's reliance on Venezuela to keep the lights on and vehicles rolling has not waned. Experts say the high subsidies are reminiscent of Cuba's dependency on the Soviet Union, which provided an estimated $4-$6 billion a year in subsidies until it collapsed in 1992. Cuba's economy fell apart, and widespread shortages plagued the nation for years.

    ''Cuba is repeating chapter and verse what it did in the 70s and 80s with Russia,'' said ICCAS energy expert Jorge Piñón, who prepared the study. 'If Chávez gets hit by a truck crossing the street tomorrow, the [Venezuelan oil officials] . . . are going to say to Cuba: `Pay for it, and pay market price.' ''  Cuba's close relationship with Venezuela grew along with President Hugo Chávez's hold on power. As Chávez defeated efforts to topple him, he increased oil shipments to Cuba and solidified his bond with Castro.

BOLIVIA FINDS CUBAN, VENEZUELAN INTERVENTION IN HYDROCARBON NATIONALIZATION

   LA PAZ, BOLIVIA  --  Cuban and Venezuelan oil firms intervened in the Bolivian so-called hydrocarbon nationalization, as they took part in drafting one of the major instruments of the process, according to the investigations conducted by the prosecutor delving into this case Alaín Canedo, AP reported.

     The official explained that confrontations between former officials with Bolivian state oil firm YPFB showed that Cuban officials drafted the so-called Schedule D. According to the prosecutor, the enquiries found that Venezuelan state oil firm Pdvsa hired US law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP to help YPFB to draft the agreements with foreign energy corporations, including Brazilian state oil holding Petrobrás and Spanish-Argentinean Repsol YPF.

     Canedo said one YPFB CEO, Juan Carlos Ortiz, in his confrontation with his successor Manuel Morales Olivera, unveiled how foreign governments were involved in the nationalization of Bolivian hydrocarbons. "In his statements, Juan Carlos Ortiz said the law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost and associates drafted the agreements, and Schedule D was drafted by Cubapetróleo''.

08-02- 2007

NEARLY TWO DOZEN CUBANS DETAINED AT GUANTANAMO HAVE BEGUN A HUNGER STRIKE

   SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO  --  Nearly two dozen Cuban migrants detained at the U.S. Navy base in Guantánamo Bay have begun a hunger strike to protest their confinement, an exile group said Tuesday.  The 22 people who began their protest on Sunday are among 44 Cubans, including three children, who were intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard at sea but not repatriated because authorities deemed they had a credible fear of persecution, said Ramon Saul Sanchez, president of the Miami-based Democracy Movement. He said some have been at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba for more than two years.

    State Department officials are seeking to settle the Cubans in other countries besides the United States, but Sanchez said they should be released immediately to live with relatives in the United States. 'All of these people are dissidents,'' he said. ``They were actively involved in the democracy movement in Cuba.''

     The 22 Cuban men on the hunger strike have taken nothing but water since Sunday morning, Sanchez said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said the agency rejected the Democracy Movement's claims that migrants detained at the U.S. base were mistreated. She said there were 17 migrants -- not 22 -- on a hunger strike since Sunday and that Navy medical staff were closely monitoring their health. The United States adopted the so-called wet-foot dry-foot policy after tens of thousands of people fled Cuba by boat in a chaotic mass exodus in the 1990s.

HUGO CHAVEZ ENGAGES IN OFFSHORE EXPLORATION OFFSHORE CUBA 

    HAVANA, CUBA  -- The Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (CVP) and Cuban CUPET will start Wednesday the first project for offshore exploration in Cuba.

     According to a press release Tuesday from state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), subsidiary CVP and CUPET will start exploration in six blocs of approximately 10,000 square kilometers.

     "Ascertaining the presence of deposits of light crude oil in volumes able to keep a high production potential is expected," said Pdvsa, AP quoted. The company claimed that the exploration to be made in the Cuban coasts will be "the first experience of Pdvsa in such an environment."

CUBA BUYS SEED POTATOES FROM US GROWERS

   BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA  --  North Dakota will ship 100 tons of seed potatoes to Cuba, marking the first time the communist country has bought U.S. seed potatoes in decades.  The deal, announced Monday, calls for the seed potatoes to be sent to the island in time for farmers there to plant this year, North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.

    "It's a very small amount - only about $15,000 worth - but it is significant in testing the waters," Johnson said. The United States established a trade embargo with Cuba in 1962, but Congress passed a law in 2001 allowing cash sales of U.S. agricultural goods and medicine to Cuba. Johnson said he has traveled to Cuba six times in the last six years to push North Dakota farm products. He said the state has sold about $30 million worth of peas and lentils to Cuba since 2001.

     "Every single time I've been to Cuba they've asked about potatoes," Johnson said. Two Cuban inspectors toured seed potato fields in the state's Red River Valley last week and will return in the autumn when the potatoes are ready to be shipped, Johnson said. Cuba officials have said the country imports up to 40,000 tons of seed potatoes annually from Canada and Holland, but the country wants to find other sources.

08-01- 2007

U.S. SOUTHERN Commander, ADMIRAL JAMES STAVRIDIS, INVITES HUGO CHAVEZ TO RESUME TIES  

   QUITO, ECUADOR  --  The US Administration invited Hugo Chávez to appoint an official who acts as liaison with the Southern Command, said Eduardo Villavicencio, the coordinator of the Southern Command anti-drug operations, during an interview released Monday in Quito. "The post is vacant; the invitation is open; whenever the Venezuelan government wants to send an official, we will welcome him," the US military officer told Ecuadorian daily newspaper El Comercio.

     According to the official of Cuban origin, Chávez' government should have sent 15 months ago a substitute of the official responsible for such operations. "We have had always good military relations with Venezuela. This country had a liaison officer in Key West, Florida, until 15 months ago. However, no replacement was sent at the time of turnover," he said.

     The United States assures that Chávez' government does not fight drug traffic decidedly and has branded Venezuela as a country of transit of illicit drugs.   Venezuelan Minister of the Interior and Justice Pedro Carreño replied that the US should "take such actions formally." He added that the decision to send a liaison officer to the Southern Command should be assessed by Hugo Chávez together with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro.

DEADLINE FOR RCTV INTERNATIONAL EXPIRED AT MIDNIGHT

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  The National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) gave RCTV Internacional a deadline expiring Tuesday at midnight to enroll as domestic television producer. The Caracas-based private television station founded in 1953 started broadcasts on cable and satellite services last July 16, following discontinuance of operations last May 27, after President Hugo Chávez decided not to renew its license to broadcast on open signal. However, RCTV Internacional could go off the air once again, if it fails to comply with the registration Conatel is demanding, AFP reported.

    RCTV resumed operations last July 16 on paid television, through its Miami-based company Coral Pictures, organized in the 1980's to manage the TV network's international productions. RCTV became RCTV Internacional, with broadcasts reaching Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire and Trinidad-Tobago.

     RCTV refuses to comply with Conatel requirements, including an order to join presidential compulsory radio and television addresses. RCTV claims its situation is similar to multi-state television channel Telesur, which is based in Caracas and produces most of its programming in the Venezuelan capital city.

CUBA, VENEZUELA EXPLORE NEW ECONOMIC RELATIONS

   HAVANA, CUBA  --  Congress members of Cuba and Venezuela will discuss next August bilateral relations in the context of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and the Latin American situation, reported Monday Ricardo Alarcón, the chair of the Cuban Parliament.

    The Cuban-Venezuelan Third Inter-Parliamentarian Meeting will be held in Caracas, on August 2-3. "The parties will address the situation both in their countries and Latin America, in order to take joint action in the international forums where both States take part," said Alarcón, as quoted by Cuban news agency Prensa Latina.

     "This integration process involves not only a number of governments in the region, but also many social movements and large grassroots sectors" in Latin America, Alarcón added, AFP reported. The Cuban official put Nicaragua as an example. "Before the comeback of the Sandinist movement in January, many people were benefited already from the health and education programs contained in ALBA."