May 23,  2009

May 22,  2009

May 21,  2009

May 20,  2009

May 19,  2009

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May 14,  2009

May 13,  2009

FIDEL CASTRO ACCUSES MEXICO OF NON-DISCLOSURE OF THE SWINE FLU UNTIL AFTER PRESIDENT OBAMA'S VISIT

     HAVANA, CUBA-- The Health Ministry said a "young male" became ill during a vacation in Mexico and returned to his studies at a medical clinic in Matanzas province, east of Havana. A statement read on state television Monday night gave no details on his current condition. The former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, reacted hours later, writing in a column posted on a government Web site that "Mexican authorities did not inform the world of the presence (of swine flu), while they waited for Obama's visit."

    Obama stopped in Mexico en route to the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad last month, days before Mexican health officials closed schools and announced swine flu was spreading, prompting an eventual mass shutdown that brought many parts of the country to a virtual halt. Calderon recently said he may have to delay plans for a Cuba visit, quipping that the island's grounding of flights to and from Mexico may leave him with no way to make the trip. Cuba's 82-year-old former president blasted Calderon for that comment and chided Mexican authorities for failing to disclose the spread of swine flu sooner.

     "At this moment, we and dozens of other countries are paying the consequences and, on top of that, they accuse us of taking hurtful measures toward Mexico." He added that the measures that the Mexican president was complaining about "met established norms and had not even the slightest intention of affecting the brother country of Mexico."

SLAIN GUATEMALAN LAWYER ACCUSES PRESIDENT ALVARO COLOM FOR HIS DEATH

     GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA-- A lawyer slain by gunmen over the weekend appears in a video tape that emerged Monday alleging that if anything happened to him it would be at the behest of Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom. Colom's spokesman, Fernando Barrillas, issued a statement saying the government "categorically rejects any accusations made in tapes and statements being distributed to some news media."

    "This reveals the intention of creating a political crisis around a case that should be investigated and processed by the courts," the statement posted on the government's Web site said.  Lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg was shot to death by unidentified assailants while riding his bicycle Sunday, the newspaper El Periodico de Guatemala said.

    In the video distributed to local media, Rosenberg says: "If you are watching this message, it is because I was assassinated by President Alvaro Colom with help from Gustavo Alejos," the president's private secretary. Former interior minister Adela de Torrebiarte, who knew Rosenberg, said he was the man on the video. The director of El Periodico, Juan Luis Font, said the accusation was distributed to media in audio format at Rosenberg's funeral and later in the video. Rosenberg says on the tape that officials might want to kill him because he represented businessman Khalil Musa, who was killed along with his daughter Marjorie in March. Rosenberg alleged those killings were in retaliation for Musa's refusal to engage in acts of corruption that Colom purportedly invited him to participate in.

CARACAS MAYOR ANTONIO LEDEZNA: "WE WILL NOT LET THE GOVERNMENT TAKE AWAY FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION"  

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --A group of political leaders, headed by Caracas Metropolitan Mayor, Antonio Ledezma, announced that opposition parties are gathering to defend the interests of the people as they think that Venezuela's government does not respect pluralism.

     Ledezma advocated Venezuela's media and stressed that the government has made some "absurd" statements, such as accusing the media of being responsible for an earthquake.

    "The government believes that if they close some media, we would not have terrible reports such as the 278 people who were killed last week. The government believes that corruption is an invention of the media. They also want us to believe that the cost of life that hits the pockets of the Venezuelan people is also an invention of the media."  Ledezma added that "the opposition will not let the government take away the freedom of expression, our freedom to carry out any commercial activity, the freedoms that our children must have according to the values and principles of the Constitution."

May 12,  2009

president barack obama poked fun at vp joseph biden and secretary of state hillary clinton

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-- President barck Obama drew big laughs at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday, taking jabs at his administration, his Republican rivals and even himself. President Obama delivers some one-liners at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday.  "I would like to talk about what my administration plans to achieve in the next 100 days," Obama said. "During the second 100 days, we will design, build and open a library dedicated to my first 100 days." He added later, "I believe that my next 100 days will be so successful, I will be able to complete them in 72 days -- and on the 73rd day I will rest."
 
    Obama touched on a few gaffes during his short time in office, from Vice President Joe Biden's verbose tendencies to an unfortunate Air Force One photo op that frightened New Yorkers -- playfully pointing his finger at his young daughters. "Sasha and Malia aren't here tonight because they're grounded," he said. "You can't just take Air Force One on a joyride to Manhattan -- I don't care whose kids you are."  Watch celebrities mingle before dinner »
 
     As the world shakes off swine flu fears that started in Mexico, Obama noted his old rivalry with former Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who now serves as secretary of state. "We had been rivals during the campaign, but these days we could not be closer," the president said. "In fact, the second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug and gave me a big kiss -- told me to get down there myself."  Gallery of celebrity guests »  Obama even took on former Vice President Dick Cheney, who wasn't in attendance: "He is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, "How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People."

cuban parliament president RICARDO ALARCON dismisses president obama's overtures to cuba

     ONTARIO, CANADA--Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon dismissed President Barack Obama's recent overtures to Cuba and said Saturday for the first time that the new U.S. administration's stance is "the continuation of an illegal, unjustifiable and failed policy." Obama has suggested it may be time for a new beginning with Cuba, and the White House authorized unlimited travel and money transfers for Americans with relatives in Cuba. But his administration has said it would like Cuba to respond by making small political and social changes to its single-party communist system.
 
     "In other words Cuba must change and behave in accordance with Washington's wishes," Alarcon said at the close of a Cuban academic conference in Canada.  "That attitude is not only the continuation of an illegal, unjustifiable and failed policy, it is also the consequence of a profound misconception, a false perception of itself that lies as the foundation of the U.S. role in the world." The U.S. has long sought what it considers real change from Cuba in human rights, free speech, free markets and democratic government.
 
     Last month, Cuban dictator Raul Castro said Cuba was willing to discuss "everything" with the U.S., leading to hopes that a door was opening to a new relationship. But former dictator Fidel Castro insists that Cuba should make no concessions in return for better U.S. ties. The Obama administration has said it has no plans to lift the embargo which bans nearly all trade with Cuba. The island's government blames those sanctions for frequent shortages of food, medicine, farming and transportation machinery and other basics. Alarcon said Obama's gestures were dictated by growing domestic demand and don't amount to much. "Essentially he lifted newer restrictions that George W. Bush had imposed on Cuban- American travelers," Alarcon said.

HUGO CHAVEZ ACCUSES VENEZUELAN MEDIA OF INCITING REBELLION

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --Hugo Chávez accused Venezuela's media on Sunday of trying to undermine him and threatened to take swift and stern measures against television networks, radio stations and newspapers that cause trouble. Chávez said privately owned media are inciting hatred among Venezuelans and even conspiring against his government by trying to spur military rebellions and assassinations attempts. He appeared to be directing his comments at Globovision -- the last TV channel broadcast on the regular airwaves that remains fiercely critical of the government.
 
    The socialist leader said media outlets would ''get a surprise'' if such actions continue.  ''You are playing with fire, manipulating, inciting hate and much more. All of you: television networks, radio stations, papers,'' Chávez said during his weekly television and radio program, ``Hello President.'' ''Don't make a mistake with me,'' he added. Chávez’s accusations came three days after the state-run telecommunications regulator, Conatel, began investigating Globovision for allegedly ``inciting panic and anxiety within the population.''
 
     The investigations, which could result in a hefty fine or temporary shutdown, stems from the channel's coverage of an earthquake that rattled Venezuela's capital May 4. Unable to reach authorities at Venezuela's seismological agency immediately after the moderate pre-dawn quake, Globovision gave viewers information about the 5.4 magnitude quake it got from the U.S. Geological Survey. Meanwhile, the network's director, Alberto Federico Ravell, criticized what he called a sluggish reaction from government officials. Ravell denies any wrongdoing, saying the government investigation is meant to intimidate the media. He has called the investigation ''laughable,'' but also raised serious concerns that Globovision's days on the airwaves could be numbered.

May 10,  2009    (Mother's Day)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TO DELIVER SPEECH TO MUSLIM WORLD IN EGYPT ON JUNE 4TH

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-- U.S. President Barack Obama, who has pledged to rebuild U.S. relations with the Muslim world, will give a key speech on the issue in Egypt on June 4, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Friday. Many Arab and Muslim nations were angered by the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo, abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Bush's initial reluctance to pursue Israeli-Palestinian peace.  Obama's Egypt trip fulfills a promise he made during his presidential campaign to give a major address to Muslims from a Muslim capital during the first few months in office.

    The Muslim world will be watching to see his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most Muslims believed Bush's policies toward the region were biased in favor of Israel.  White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Friday the speech would be delivered in Egypt on June 4 but did not say whether it would be in the Egyptian capital Cairo.  The country has been a key partner for Washington in decades of efforts to secure Middle East peace and is one of the biggest recipients of U.S. military and economic aid.

    But the choice of Egypt, which has a poor human rights record, could potentially overshadow the substance of Obama's speech, and Gibbs found himself on the defensive over the issue at a White House news conference.  "It is a country that in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world," Gibbs said.  "The scope of the speech, the desire for the president to speak [to the Muslim world], is bigger than where the speech was going to be given or who's the leadership of the country where the speech is going to be given," he said.  Egypt's ambassador to the United States, Sameh Shoukry, said his country offered Obama a good venue because of its large population, intellectual traditions and "values of moderate Islam."

RUSSIA DISPLAYS MILITARY MIGHT ON VICTORY DAY

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA--Rows of missiles and tanks rumbled through Moscow's Red Square and dozens of combat jets streaked overhead in the Victory Day parade Saturday in the largest display of military might since the Soviet times. President Dmitry Medvedev warned sternly that Russia was ready to respond to any challenge and said its military has proven that in real action - a clear reference to the war with neighboring ex-Soviet Georgia.

    While Medvedev didn't specifically mention the war, he alluded to the five-day conflict, saying that the World War II taught a lesson which "remains acute today when again there are those who engage in military adventurism."

    The August war erupted when Georgian troops moved to restore control over the separatist province of South Ossetia, which hosted Russian peacekeepers and had close ties with Moscow. Russia responded with overwhelming might, sending troops and tanks that quickly crushed the Georgian military and drove deep into Georgia.  Medvedev said that among soldiers taking part in Victory Day parade, "there are those who have proven high capability of the Russian military in real action." "We are confident that any aggression against our citizens will be firmly repelled," he said.

VENEZUELA'S GLOBOVISION FACES CHARGES ONCE AND AGAIN

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --The Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) acknowledged receipt of a request made by the National Assembly (AN) at its Tuesday session and filed on Thursday a penalty proceeding against private TV news channel Globovisión for its coverage of the earthquake last Monday. Two officials of the agency that administers the electromagnetic spectrum visited the headquarters of the private TV network and notified its director about the filing of the third administrative proceeding in less than seven months.

    In a telephone conversation, Alberto Federico Ravell, the director of the TV channel, said that according to Conatel, Globovisión had fostered "fear, mistrust, anxiety and panic." At dawn on Monday 4th, after the quake, some reporters of Globovisión unsuccessfully tried to contact local authorities to report on the news. As no spokesperson was available, the director of Globovisión read out a report from the US Geological Survey.

    "They filed charges against Globovisión for presenting a report which was in the public interest (...). This is the first time that the government is going to punish a TV channel for broadcasting a report that was intended to reassure the people (...). We made the mistake of 'scooping' the government." Ravell said that should the former two legal proceedings end in a penalty that leads to the closure of the TV channel, the broadcasting license will be revoked."

May 09,  2009

CUBAN DICTATOR RAUL CASTRO DENIED ACCESS TO THE INTERNET TO HIS PEOPLE

     HAVANA, CUBA-- Cuba is further limiting access to the World Wide Web for its citizens, in what many believe is an effort to rein in a small but increasingly popular group of bloggers who are critical of the government. Only government employees, academics and researchers are allowed their own Internet accounts, which are provided by the state, but only have limited access to sites outside the island. Ordinary Cubans may open e-mail accounts accessible at many post offices, but do not have access to the Web. Many got around the restrictions by using hotel Internet services.

    But a new resolution barring ordinary Cubans from using hotel Internet services quietly went into place in recent weeks, according to an official with Cuba's telecom monopoly, hotel workers and bloggers. There was no official announcement of the change. Cuba has the lowest rate of Internet access in Latin America. "Internet use is only for foreigners for the time being," said a worker at the Hotel Nacional's business center. "According to a new order from ETECSA [Cuba's telecom monopoly] only foreigners can surf the web at hotels."

     An ETECSA official confirmed the change but said he was not authorized to comment. Internet access is a delicate issue for the communist state: About 200,000 Cubans, or less than 2 percent of the population, have access to the World Wide Web. Cuban officials say the U.S. trade embargo and economic limitations prevents the majority of Cubans from accessing the Internet. For Cubans, who only last year were granted the right to stay at tourists hotels and obtain cell phone contracts in their own names, the ban is one of many frustrations of life on the island. Internet use at hotels is pricey by Cuban standards: $5 for a half hour, $10 for an hour. The average monthly salary for many state workers is about $20.

russia to cooperate with hugo chavez in uranium production

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA--A cooperation agreement for the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes between the governments of Venezuela and Russia was passed by the National Assembly this week and published in the Official Gazette. The Gazette No. 368,817 published on May 4th, offers details of the agreement, which provides for the exploration and development of uranium and thorium (radioactive minerals) deposits and their use for "peaceful purposes."

    The agreement also includes the development of nuclear infrastructure, the safety of nuclear facilities and radioactive sources, industrial production of components and materials to be used in nuclear reactors, among others. The agreement will last 10 years, and will be automatically renewable for consecutive periods of five years.

    According to Julio César Pineda, a former president of the Inter-American Nuclear Energy Commission, "any agreement in this area has to be signed by completely democratic states, which respect pluralism and have good relations with all countries." "Any agreement with Russia, at a time when that country is eager to revive polarity and play an active role in global geopolitics, means that Venezuela could enter into a nuclear arms race that will be of great concern to neighbouring countries, especially Colombia and Brazil."

HUGO CHAVEZ MOVES TO SEIZE OIL CONTRACTORS' ASSETS

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Hugo Chávez said Thursday his government will seize the local assets of some international oil-service companies starting Friday -- a response to threats by several firms to stop their work in Venezuela because of nonpayment of bills owed by state-run oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela SA.

    Earlier Thursday, the National Assembly, dominated by supporters of Mr. Chávez, approved a law letting the government seize assets of oil contractors without following the usual procedures for expropriating businesses. Big oil-services firms such as Texas-based Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co. aren't expected to be affected by the move, but dozens of other firms are.

    The move is the latest sign of trouble in Venezuela's oil industry. Stung by lower prices for its crude-oil exports, Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, has run up a huge backlog -- roughly $14 billion at the end of 2008 -- of unpaid bills with service companies that do much of the legwork in the oil industry, from maintaining wells to operating tugboats. The move also came hours after Houston-based Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. said it has ceased work in Venezuela until it receives payment from the government. "We will limit our financial exposure," the company said in a statement.

May 08,  2009

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS POLITICALLY PERSECUTED PEOPLE IN VENEZUELA

     STRASBOURG, BRUSSELS--The European Parliament (EP) approved on Thursday a resolution in solidarity with "all those people suffering political persecution in Venezuela," currently embodied in former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, who was granted political asylum in Peru. The resolution, drafted by the Group of the European People's Party (EPP), (Christian Democrats), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) was endorsed by 29 MEPs in a vote in which the socialist group, after refusing to sign the text, finally abstained from participating.

    In the document, the European Parliament expressed "deep concern" for the "deteriorated situation and quality" of democracy in Venezuela, which – in its opinion – is in "serious danger of collapse as a result of the concentration of power in the hands of President Hugo Chávez and his growing authoritarianism." The resolution adopted in Strasbourg's plenary session stressed that under the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), for a democratically-elected government to exercise power, together with legitimacy granted in elections, the rule of law and the rights of political opponents should be observed.

    Furthermore, the EP urged Venezuelan authorities to direct their policies through dialogue and "give participation to the different political parties that have been elected and chosen by the Venezuelan society," in compliance with the Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Venezuelan diplomatic sources "categorically" rejected the resolution for "ignoring the legality" of the charges filed against Rosales, who "committed acts of corruption," as well as the sentence to prison of the Metropolitan Police chiefs, against whom there was plenty of evidence.

PRO-CHAVEZ BUSINESSMEN ACCUSED OF SPONSORING PERUVIAN PPRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OLLANTA HUMALA

     LIMA, PERU--Two Venezuelan businessmen linked with pro-government military officers might be funding the political activities of ex Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, according to an article released by daily newspaper Correo de Perú.

    The report published on Tuesday queried into "the origin of increasingly notable external signs of wealth of the retired military" and provided an in-depth analysis of the financial ties that date back to almost three years and link Humala's wife, Nadine Heredia Alarcón, with Venezolana de Valores (Veneval) and The Daily Journal.  The bank account movements show that "the stock exchange transferred USD 7,692 to the savings account of Humala's wife, on March 30th, 2007," stated the article.

    Also, reports from the Banco de Crédito, which were accessed by the Peruvian newspaper, show that "Humala's spouse gets USD 4,000 monthly from The Daily Journal, a Caracas-based newspaper edited in the English language which stopped operating on November 18th, 2008."  he Correo explained that the major partners of Julio Augusto López, a Venezuelan of Peruvian fathers, and the owner of The Daily Journal "might be retired General Jorge Luis García Carneiro, the former Minister of Defense and current Vargas state governor, and General Clíver Alcalá Cordones, the commander of the 41st Armored Brigade and Military Garrison in Valencia, the capital city of Carabobo state."

VENEZUELA OIL OUTPUT EXPECTED TO DROP BY 8 PERCENT IN 2009

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- The production of Venezuelan oil, the largest source of income in the country, could plunge in 2009 by 8 percent due to output problems and delinquent payments to foreign contractors, according to an analyst of Fitch Ratings.

     During the Reuters' Forum of Investments in Latin America, Fitch expert Shelly Shetty said in New York City that reversing the decline in production "will continue being difficult."  Venezuela's oil production never recovered to the levels reached before a strike staged at the end of 2002 in state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa), said Shetty.

    The strike ended in early 2003, with the government dismissing about 20,000 employees, or around half the labor force of Pdvsa, and hindering production.  "We estimate that Venezuela's oil production could drop by 8 percent due to a combination of the production structural deterioration (…) and the (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) OPEC cuts and operational delays caused by overdue payments to international contractors," said Shetty on Tuesday night.

May 07,  2009

US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SUPPORTS LIFTING TRADE EMBARGO ON CUBA

     WASHINGTON, D.C.--  The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says lifting the near five-decade long U.S. embargo on Cuba will bring significant economic opportunities to American and Cuban workers alike. He made the case Tuesday at a news conference in the U.S. Congress. The president of U.S. Chamber of Commerce says his group is supporting the efforts of some U.S. lawmakers to end the trade embargo on Cuba. Thomas Donahue says engaging with Cuba will help the communist nation move toward a more democratic society.

    "I would say that if you want to open up Cuba to the things that we value, then send a whole lot of Americans down there to talk about what life is really like, to talk about economic opportunity, to go down there and take along with them opportunities to trade and invest and develop," said Donahue. The U.S. imposed an economic embargo on Cuba in the early 1960s when it moved toward Communism and aligned with Russia during the Cold War. Donahue says lifting the embargo will give U.S. businesses significant opportunities to sell agricultural and manufactured goods to Cuba and to develop offshore oil fields. He says those opportunities are seized instead by other countries.

    Cuban American representatives in Congress strongly oppose any relaxing of restrictions on relations with Cuba. They say increased revenue from tourism and trade only would strengthen the government of President Raul Castro. Roger Noriega is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington and a former State Department official in the George W. Bush administration. He says Americans who call for unilateral concessions to Cuba are lobbying on behalf of a dictatorship. " What these people are doing when they go down and make their deals is aid and abet a regime that is keeping 11 million Cuban people in bondage," he said. "Why would any American businessmen want to keep in power a regime that has destroyed the Cuban economy." Noriega says maintaining sanctions will give the U.S. leverage to press Cuba's rulers to release political prisoners and grant their citizens political rights.

SPAIN GOVERNMENT ADVOCATES CORDIAL RELATIONS WITH HUGO CHAVEZ

     MADRID, SPAIN-- Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, Spain's Secretary of State for Ibero-America, defended on Tuesday the relations of "equality and respect" that Spain has with all the Latin American countries. De Laiglesia said that "dialogue is not tantamount to giving in," referring to the political stance regarding Cuba or Venezuela.  De Laiglesia, who was appointed secretary of state for Ibero-America last April 14, appeared on Tuesday before the Senate's Committee on Ibero-American Affairs to present his work plans.

    The new Secretary of State for Ibero-America said that he would continue to support a regional policy based on "the principles of universality, symmetry and respect." However, this does not imply that Spain will not take a critical stance or will not advocate the Spanish interests or companies, whenever difficulties arise, EFE reported.  "Dialogue is not tantamount to giving in," De Laiglesia said. The official also highlighted that "there will be no changes" in the rapprochement of Spain to Cuba.

    Regarding the disputes that Spanish companies have in countries such as Argentina or Venezuela, the Spanish Secretary of State would rather act with "discretion," which, in his view, "is not incompatible with clear actions."  In his view, "it is not a good diplomatic tactic" to respond to the decisions adopted by Latin American parliaments or governments, "not only because of the principle of respect for autonomy, but for reasons of efficiency."

CONSERVATIVE SPANISH PEOPLE'S PARTY CALLS HUGO CHAVEZ "TOTALITARIAN"

       MADRID, SPAIN-- Conservative Partido Popular (People's Party, PP), the main opposition party in Spain, accused on Tuesday President Hugo Chávez of being a "totalitarian," said Dionisio García Carnero, the speaker of the PP in the Senate's Committee on Ibero-American Affairs, as reported by EFE.

    Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, the Spanish Secretary of State for Ibero-America, appeared before the Committee on Tuesday to report on his projects after succeeding Trinidad Jiménez last April 20.  During the session, the PP senator accused the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of remaining silent despite the serious political decisions implemented by Chávez in recent months.

    "It is difficult to classify the democratic system existing in Venezuela. It is a populism that has increasingly fallen into totalitarianism," the conservative senator said.  García Carnero based his complaint in "facts," such as the measures taken by the Venezuelan president to control the National Assembly and the judicial and electoral powers. He added that Chávez has jailed opponents and has shut down media outlets that oppose him.

May 06,  2009

RAFAEL CORREA DENIES VENEZUELA-BOLIVIA-ECUADOR AXIS

     QUITO, ECUADOR--Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, re-elected in the presidential election held last Sunday, disclaimed any axis between Venezuela, Bolivia and his country.

    At the same time, he proposed the establishment of a Bank of the South to support national currencies. The institution would be financed with funds from the region. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, Correa also referred to the initiatives of his government to address the return of many of the Ecuadorian immigrants from Spain, Efe reported.

    At regional level, President Correa said that his country has excellent relations with all countries. "I have probably traveled more to Brazil than Venezuela. I have traveled many more times to Argentina. If you want to find axes, look and find them." "If there were an axis, Correa said, this would not be wrong. However, I have to reiterate that there is no axis. There is much talk and sometimes people confuse populism with popular (…)" Correa said.

VENEZUELA DENIES REPORTS THAT ARMY CHOPPER WAS SHOT DOWN BY THE FARC

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA-- The Venezuelan police denied having information that the Venezuelan Army helicopter that crashed on Sunday in the border with Colombia was shot down by mistake by the Colombian guerrilla. Eighteen Venezuelan soldiers died in the crash.

    Wilmer Flores, the head of the Scientific and Criminal Investigation Force (Cicpc), said that the investigation into the case is carried out by the military prosecutor office. He also said that the Ministry of Defense would make an official statement about the issue.

     "So far, we do not have any information, since the investigation is conducted by the Military Prosecutor's Office," Flores said in a press conference.  Flores was asked about reports on the Internet claiming that the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) was allegedly involved in the crash of the Army helicopter.

CUBAN GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE OF RADIO MARTI INCREASES

       HAVANA, CUBA-- Listeners of Radio Martí in the Mariel municipality of Havana say the government is interfering with the signal 24 hours a day for the first time. Various listeners throughout the area said the signal had been received with no or little interference until the end of last year.

    A man named Rafael, a constant listener to the U.S. government station, said, “They only lessen the interference when there’s a major league baseball game is being broadcast. If it’s broadcasting news or hot commentary it’s impossible to receive the signal. It’s as if the radio is going to break because of the vibrations.”

    A neighbor of Rafael’s nicknamed China said, “Wouldn’t it be better to use the money being wasted on interference to instead solve problems like the shortage of water, transportation, damage caused by hurricanes, the shortage of ambulances and other problems we face?”

May 05,  2009

RICARDO MARTINELLI WON PANAMA'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN A LANDSLIDE

     PANAMA CITY, PANAMA-- Conservative supermarket magnate Ricardo Martinelli won Panama's presidential election in a landslide Sunday, promising to guide the country through the world economic crisis and an ambitious expansion of the Panama Canal. The win by Martinelli, of the opposition Alliance for Change, marked a rare center-right election triumph in a region that has seen a wave of leftist leaders.
 
    Electoral Tribunal President Erasmo Pinilla called Martinelli the "indisputable winner" after preliminary results showed him with 61 percent support and governing party candidate Balbina Herrera with 37 percent. Former President Guillermo Endara was a distant third. The winner was announced with 87 percent of the votes counted.  The U.S.-educated, pro-business Martinelli, 57, who owns Panama's largest supermarket chain, said he would work for a national unity government because "that is what the country is counting on." "Tomorrow we will all be Panamanians and we will change this country so that it has a good health system, good education, good transportation and good security," he said.
 
     Herrera, a 54-year-old who served as housing minister under outgoing President Martin Torrijos, conceded defeat late Sunday and promised to respect the results. Thousands of Martinelli's supporters carrying the green flag of his party filled the streets of Panama City to celebrate. Martinelli vowed to attract foreign investment and promote free trade, particularly with Panama's main trading partner, the United States. Panama has agreed on a free trade accord with the U.S., but the pact has been held up in the U.S. Congress by concerns over Panamanian labor rights and banking rules that could help tax evaders. Martinelli, who has a degree from the University of Arkansas, lost in his first run for the presidency in 2004 and returned for Sunday's election at the head of a four-party conservative coalition.

FIDEL CASTRO SAID PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA "SHOULD BE ASHAMED" OF HIMSELF

     HAVANA, CUBA-- US President Barack Obama “should be ashamed” of the fact that Cuba was again put on the list of countries abetting terrorism. Fidel Castro expressed this opinion on Sunday in an article, circulated here through official channels.  “The man whose talent nobody denies, should be ashamed of the empire’s attachment to lies,” Castro noted in an article entitled “Cuba: A terrorist country?” For the US April 30 when the State Department made public a report where the Caribbean republic was again put on the list of states backing up terrorism, “was an unfavourable day”.
 
     Taking into account crimes committed by the US, “Obama personally might not spurn down these slanders”, notes the leader of the Cuban Revolution. He pointed out that a long list of terrorist actions by Washington against Cuba has formed over 50 years after the victory of the Cuban Revolution. They include “hundreds of abortive plans of assassinations of members of the Cuban leadership”.
 
      Castro backed statements by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez who resolutely turned down recent accusations by the US, which put the Caribbean republic on “the black list” of governments backing terrorism. The minister said, inter alia, that Washington “has no political or moral right “ to compile lists, dividing countries “into bad and good according to their behaviour”.  The US “is an international criminal on many issues, which it itself criticises”. In the meantime, Cuba repeatedly was a victim of terrorist actions by Washington, Rodriguez noted. According to the minister, “the island’s territory has never been used for financing or implementing” terrorist acts against the US, although the United States cannot say the same with respect to the Caribbean country.
 

CUBAN SINGER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ'S VISA REQUEST WAS NOT APPROVED

       HAVANA, CUBA-- Cuban singer Silvio Rodriguez says he missed Sunday's tribute to folk music legend Pete Seeger because U.S. authorities failed to approve his visa in time. Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris were among 40 musicians who performed at the show in New York, eventually joining Seeger on stage for an extended cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."
 
    Rodriguez said in a letter posted on a Cuban government-controlled Web site that he sought a visa from the U.S. consulate in Paris while traveling in France, but was told Friday that the request was still in progress. The U.S. Interests Section in Havana declined to comment Monday. Cuban musicians, actors and athletes often complain of seeking permission to travel to the United States only to have American authorities fail to respond in time.
 
     "I continue to feel as blockaded and discriminated against as I have under other" U.S. administrations, Rodriguez wrote. Cuban leaders routinely refer to Washington's 47-year-old trade embargo against the island as a "blockade." Seeger is celebrated in Cuba for making the song "Guantanamera" famous around the world when he took a traditional melody by Joseito Fernandez and recorded it with phrases from poetry by Cuban Revolutionary hero Jose Marti.

May 04,  2009

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: OVERTURES TOWARD CHAVEZ ARE PART OF A NEW US APPROACH

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded on Friday to concerns expressed by a retired officer of the US Department of State about Barack Obama administration's overtures toward Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

     She explained that the overtures toward Chávez are part of the search of a new tack to relations with the anti-US government after failed efforts made by the previous administration of George W. Bush who tried to isolate him. "I do not think in today's world ... that it is in our interest to turn our back on countries in our own hemisphere," Clinton said.

     Secretary of State said that the new US administration was studying how to deal with the most anti-US leaders in the region.  "I'm certainly open to both constructive criticism and (new) ideas," Clinton said after reviewing the overtures both she and President Obama made at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April. "We talked with Chavez about exchanging ambassadors again which I think we will do at some point," Clinton said.

PANAMA BRACES FOR NATIONAL, LOCAL ELECTIONS

     PANAMA CITY, PANAMA-- As Panamanians prepare to elect a new president Sunday, caravans of vehicles sponsored by the candidates blast political jingles and raucous music while wending their way from neighborhoods of luxury high-rise apartments to poor sections of the city. The country has been plastered with the faces, nicknames and slogans of the candidates in the national and local elections.

     Now, as the presidential race culminates, only two real contenders remain: Supermarket magnate Ricardo Martinelli of the Democratic Change Party, a former head of the Panama Canal Authority, and Housing Minister Balbina Herrera of ruling Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD).  Martinelli appears to have the broadest appeal in what is his second run for the presidency. According to a recent poll, he leads the race with 49 percent popular approval.

     Campaigning on a promise of change despite years of record economic growth under the current PRD president, Martin Torrijos, Martinelli has maintained a double-digit lead over Herrera since December. Should Martinelli win, Panama would buck left-leaning electoral trends in Latin America by voting in the more conservative of the two business-friendly candidates. ''It's not really a shift to the right as much as a rejection of Balbina Herrera,'' said Heather Berkman, an analyst for the consulting firm Eurasia Group. ``I think she was a candidate with a lot of baggage, and her dirty laundry was aired out to the public during the primary.''

HELICOPTER CRASH KILLS 18 SOLDIERS IN VENEZUELA

       MARACAO, VENEZUELA--  Eighteen Venezuelan soldiers died in a helicopter crash near Venezuela's border with Colombia on Sunday, President Hugo Chavez said. The soldiers were patrolling the 1,400-mile (2,300-kilometer) border separating Venezuela and Colombia when the Mi-25 military helicopter crashed near the town of El Alto de Rubio, the state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported. Two pilots and the entire crew were killed. Army Brig. Gen. Domingo Alberto Feneite was among the victims.

   Officials said the nearest military base lost radio contact with the helicopter shortly after midday. Chavez sent condolences to the families of the victims, saying, "They died while they were on duty and serving the fatherland." Chavez also referred to to U.S. allegations that his government has failed to prevent border incursions by Colombian rebels and right-wing paramilitaries.

     "They say that we don't fight terrorism, and 18 soldiers die patrolling the border," Chavez said. The U.S. State Department's annual assessment of terrorism released last week said Venezuela "did not systematically police" the border. It said both Colombian rebels and right-wing paramilitaries "regularly crossed into Venezuelan territory to rest and regroup as well as to extort protection money."

May 03,  2009

CUBANS MARCH TO CELEBRATE MAY DAY

     HAVANA, CUBA.-- Throngs of people who gathered in front of the government headquarters for the annual May Day celebration sent a clear orchestrated message Friday: The Cuban government isn't planning to go away anytime soon.  Raúl Castro, in a guayabera and straw hat, did not speak -- he let the event do the talking for him. The unspoken message was that no matter the hype about increased talks with Washington, the hemisphere's last communist government has no immediate plans for change.

    ''Let us raise our flags and voices so that -- from one pole to the other on this planet, from one continent to another -- the unwavering decision of these extraordinary and combative people to build socialism under the direction of the Communist Party of Cuba, of Raúl and Fidel, will resound,'' said Cuban government labor union leader Salvador Valdés, the only official speaker at the International Worker's Day parade.  But as Valdés, other top officials and 2,000 international guests assembled with tens of thousands of people at the Plaza of the Revolution, a photo taken from the crowd roared perhaps even louder: A beaming young woman in dark sunglasses went to the Cuban May Day parade waving an enormous U.S. flag.

    Friday's May Day celebration took place amid weeks of speculation that Washington and Havana could begin to bury their 50-year-old hatchet. When Obama lifted long-standing restrictions that kept people from visiting relatives on the island, he let Castro know that if he expected more moves like that one, Cuba had to make the next move. Both Castros have rejected that notion. ''Never should the adversary be under the illusion that Cuba will surrender,'' former dictator Fidel Castro wrote in his regular newspaper column, ''Reflections,'' published Friday. ''Today they are willing to forgive us if we resign ourselves to return to the fold, as slaves who after experiencing freedom once again accept the whip and the yoke,'' he said. `` . . . There are still some who believe that peoples can be manipulated like puppets.''

VENEZUELAN POLICE BREAK UP ANTI-CHAVEZ MARCH WITH VOLLEYS OF TEAR GAS AND BLASTS FROM WATER CANNONS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA-- Hundreds of Venezuelan police and National Guard troops broke up a huge protest march Friday with volleys of tear gas and blasts from water cannons that scattered a crowd of President Hugo Chavez's opponents. Officials said about 20 people were treated for minor injuries, mostly for inhaling gas, while one police officer and a demonstrator suffered small cuts when they were hit by hurled objects. Some marchers were carried away after being overcome by tear gas.

    People in surrounding buildings threw glass bottles at officers, and police responded throwing tear gas canisters at the buildings.  Some people stood in their windows and beat on pots and pans to protest the crackdown on the protesters. Others shouted "cowards" and "murderers" at the police. Police broke up the demonstration as thousands of opponents and supporters of Chavez held separate May Day marches, bringing together labor groups and partisan demonstrators.

    Officers in anti-riot gear pursued Chavez foes into side streets, including one group of several dozen who sat down in protest. Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, a leading Chavez opponent, rose and raised a copy of the constitution above his head before police dispersed them by spraying water and tear gas. "We've come here to defend the constitution," Ledezma told the crowd earlier. Ledezma criticized the government for deploying hundreds of police officers and National Guard troops across the capital to guard against the march. "The government wants to snatch away democracy with this escalation of authoritarianism," said Ledezma, who accused the president of violating the constitution by naming Jacqueline Faria, a vice president of his ruling party, above him to head the capital.

PERUVIAN PRESIDENT ALAN GARCIA TRIES TO PRESERVE TIES WITH HUGO CHAVEZ

       LIMA, PERU--  Venezuelan-Peruvian relations are growing strained once again. This time, the reason is the political asylum the government of President Alan García granted to Venezuela's major opposition leader Manuel Rosales.

    In a communiqué, Caracas announced its decision to recall its ambassador to Lima and "to initiate an evaluation phase of its relationship with the Peruvian government." Lima, in turn, is sending conciliatory signals.  Peruvian authorities have not acted in accordance with the diplomatic tradition of reciprocity. Rather, they kept Ambassador Luis Santa María in Caracas, and stressed they do no intend to harm the relations with Venezuela.

    "We have a position of friendship with the Venezuelan government and this decision will not disturb the ties with that country," said García in Río Branco, during a press conference following his meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

May 02,  2009

CUBA CALLS THE US GOVERNMENT "INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL"

     HAVANA, CUBA.-- Cuba reacted strongly on Friday calling the US government an “international criminal” after Washington said it was keeping Cuba on a list of countries that allegedly support terrorism. The US State Department released a report lumping Cuba with Iran, Syria and Sudan on a blacklist as sponsors of terrorism.

    “The author (of the report) is an international criminal” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. “We do not recognize any political or moral authorities from the government of the United States to create any list, on any subject, nor to certify good or bad behaviours” Rodriguez said at a press conference.  “In matters of terrorism, the government of the United States has had a long record of state-sponsored acts of terrorism, not only against Cuba” said Rodriguez.

    Among other things, Havana accuses Washington of “giving refuge” to Luis Posada Carriles, a one-time CIA operative that Cuba and Venezuela want in connection with the bombing of a Cuban passenger plane in 1976 that killed 73 people. Rodriguez also mentioned that the administration of former president George W. Bush “was certified by the world public opinion” as being “aggressive and warmonger” having violated international law and carried out torture.

VENEZUELA FOREIGN MINISTER: REPORT ON TERRORISM DISPLAYS OBAMA'S DOUBLE SPEECH

     HAVANA, CUBA-- Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro said on Thursday in Havana that the US report which poorly assesses Venezuela and accuses Cuba of sponsoring terrorism depicts the "double speech" of US President Barack Obama. "It clearly shows the contradiction nowadays in the US Administration. On the one hand, they lend a friendly hand and promise to change, but on the other hand, the truth is that it is imperial machinery which purports to set guidelines," said Maduro.

    The Venezuelan Foreign Minister, who is attending in Havana a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), said that President Obama's Administration should pay attention to "severe problems," such as the US economy and abandon its "double wording," AFP reported. "They are the ones who should be clear, whether they lend a respectful hand to Latin America, to Venezuela, or just let themselves be subject to the inertia of machinery which is still in the hands of the worst sectors which ruled that country over the last eight years," he added.

    Maduro regretted that a report released by the US Department of State on Thursday "is closely related to the way of former US President George W. Bush," no matter the promises of a new era in US-Latin America relations made by Obama.  "Venezuela could not be labeled under no circumstances whatsoever by any report from the US Department of State or any US agency," he added after accusing Washington of "exporting terrorism through the CIA."

HILLARY CLINTON VOICES CONCERN OVER IRAN, CHINA GAINS IN LATIN AMERICA

       WASHINGTON, D.C.--  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday described Iranian and Chinese gains in Latin America as “disturbing”, and said Washington could not afford to isolate leaders in that region. Clinton told Foreign Service officers at a State Department meeting, that the Bush administration’s efforts to isolate leaders from nations like Venezuela and Bolivia, only made them adopt “more negative” attitudes toward Washington, and receptive to other powers.

    “In fact, if you look at gains particularly in Latin America that Iran is making and China is making, it is quite disturbing. They are building very strong economic and political connections with a lot of these leaders,” she said, according to Reuters. Highlighting those concerns, Iran and Venezuela yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation. Earlier this month, the two countries set up a joint bank, to finance their common development projects.

    Clinton told diplomats and other State Department staff that Iran was building a “huge embassy” in Nicaragua’s capital, Managua. “And we can only imagine what it’s for,” she said, according to AFP. In late January, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused Iran of conducting “subversive activities” in Latin America. Clinton said today that the new administration was exploring how to build better relations with Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia. “I don’t think in today’s world… that it is in our interests to turn our back on countries in our own hemisphere,” she was quoted as saying.

May 1st., 2009

THE WASHINGTON POST SAYS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CONSOLIDATES HUGO CHAVEZ'S AUTOCRACY

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The Washington Post criticized the government of Barack Obama for "deliberately ignoring" the steps by President Hugo Chávez to "consolidate an autocracy" in Venezuela. In an editorial entitled "Courting Mr. Chávez," the newspaper describes as "shameful" that Obama administration has not congratulated the government of Peruvian President Alan García for having granted political asylum to the Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales, the former Maracaibo mayor who fled the country after President Chávez threatened to imprison him under "dubious corruption charges."

      The Washington Post says that Rosales is one of at least seven major Chávez opponents who have been "imprisoned or subjected to criminal or tax investigations during the past two months."  Under these circumstances, the newspaper finds it "reasonable to ask how the Obama administration is reacting to this major new campaign against what remains of Venezuela's democracy, especially given the president's friendly handshake with Mr. Chávez at the Summit of the Americas two weeks ago," in Trinidad and Tobago. "The answer: It isn't."

      "What doesn't make sense is to deliberately ignore steps by Chávez to consolidate an autocracy. In so doing, the administration encourages Latin American governments that have shrunk from confronting the Venezuelan strongman to continue in their own silence. It sends pro-Chávez governments in countries such as Bolivia and Nicaragua the message that they can persecute their own domestic opponents with impunity. And it makes it more rather than less likely that Venezuela, with the help of Iran and Russia, will become a threat to the United States." It also said that "Peru's democratic government is to be congratulated for its decision to offer Mr. Rosales asylum. It is shameful that the Obama administration won't say so."

TWO RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS ACCUSED OF SPYING IN NATO HEADQUARTERS

     BRUSSELS, BELGIUM--Two Russian diplomats will lose their accreditation to NATO's headquarters in Brussels, the country's envoy said Thursday — two months after Russia was accused of receiving alliance secrets from a spy. Russian envoy Dmitry Rogozin said the two diplomats had "no link to any spying scandal" and NATO's action was retaliation for the espionage case in Estonia. In February, an Estonian court convicted a former top security official of treason for passing domestic and NATO secrets to Russia in the Baltic country's biggest espionage scandal since the Cold War. Rogozin said he was told by NATO's Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Wednesday evening that the two diplomats — senior counselor Victor Korchakov and Vasily Chizhov — would have their accreditations withdrawn over "a spying scandal in Estonia."

    NATO spokesman James Apparthurai said he could not confirm whether any diplomat's accreditation had been withdrawn because he could not comment on intelligence matters. Rogozin threatened retaliation Thursday, just a day after NATO resumed relations with Russia following an eight-month freeze. He said there was "no reason or motivation" for the action against the diplomats and "the political leadership of NATO acted in a provocative manner just after we restored relations." "We will not be provoked, but the response will be harsh and decisive," Rogozin said. Expulsions of Soviet and NATO alliance diplomats were routine during the Cold War, but relations had warmed until NATO froze links with Russia after its military offensive in Georgia last summer.

    It was unclear whether the latest move would affect NATO-Russia cooperation in piracy and the war in Afghanistan, or a tentatively planned meeting in May between NATO foreign ministers and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Relations deteriorated to post-Cold War lows following the Russo-Georgian war, but ties had improved significantly since then. NATO heads of state approved the resumption of formal contacts this month at their summit in Strasbourg, France. Russia has allowed NATO nations to use its road and rail networks to transport military supplies to Afghanistan.

VENEZUELAN LABOR SECTOR ON ITS WAY TO SOCIALISM 

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA--  On Friday, May 1st, Venezuelan workers will celebrate their day in a very peculiar scenario, compared with previous years: the government is trying to pave the way to socialism. The trade union movement looks increasingly dispersed and its leaders have apparently no intentions to establish a unified organization.  Nowadays, there are several labor associations such as the Venezuelan Workers' Confederation (CTV), the National Union of Workers (Únete), and the Labor Solidarity Movement, as well as other labor unions. However, up to now there is no labor group that has managed to bind all the trends.

    In the case of pro-government unions, which are part of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the government has expected to bring together under the leadership of PSUV. However, there are several different ideological trends that have reached no agreements, Orlando Chirino, a Venezuelan labor leader said. This dispersion comes together with the expiration of collective bargaining agreements in several sensitive sectors, such as the public administration, the oil industry and the electric companies. Government sources said that President Hugo Chávez instructed the ministers to begin the discussions of collective bargaining agreements. But as the Minister of Energy and Petroleum and president of the state-run oil company Rafael Ramírez said in the case of the Venezuelan oil industry, the company can begin talks with oil workers, but Pdvsa can not increase salaries.

    The labor outlook has been affected by two new situations. On one hand, the collective bargaining agreement of the Caracas Subway's (Metro) workers was revised despite being previously approved. On the other hand, the government agreed to sign the contract of the education employees, which had a four year delay, in exchange for volunteer work that has been included in the agreement. Volunteer work outside of work hours is also part of the draft law on Social Ownership, which provides that workers of social units will cooperate with the communities where those facilities are based.