Latest  News of  DECEMBER 2005

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO IRAQ

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- A string of attacks killed 19 people, including two relatives of a senior Kurdish official, and Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit Sunday in which he suggested that Iraq 's recent elections were a major step toward withdrawing U.S. troops. Cheney 's visit, under heavy security, was so secret that even Iraq 's prime minister said he was surprised when he showed up for what he believed was a meeting with the U.S. ambassador only to see Cheney waiting to greet him.

    Cheney toured the country the same day President Bush scheduled a prime-time address on Iraq. "The participation levels all across the country were remarkable," Cheney told reporters after an hourlong briefing from the war's top military commanders. "And that's exactly what need to happen as you build a political structure in a self-governing Iraq that can unify the various segments of the population and ultimately take over responsibility for their own security."

    The vice president visited with Iraq 's leaders and military commanders in the Green Zone, saw an Iraqi troop training demonstration at Taji air base, lunched with soldiers who provided security for Thursday's election and gave a speech to troops.

COLOMBIAN REBEL COMMANDER, PEACE COMMISSIONER VOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TALKS IN HAVANA

     HAVANA, CUBA.-Colombia's peace commissioner and the military commander of the South American nation's second-largest rebel group met face-to-face Saturday in Cuba, discussing the logistics of how to move forward with exploratory peace talks.

    The Cuba-hosted talks, launched Friday, mark the current Colombian government's first formal peace negotiations with insurgents. "We are just beginning, and reaching agreement on how to move forward," Antonio Garcia, the guerrilla military commander of the National Liberation Army, told reporters after the meeting. "The climate is acceptable, and we are going to continue in conversations," he added.

    More meetings were scheduled for Sunday. The office of the peace commissioner, Luis Carlos Restrepo, earlier said the talks could last up to 10 days. Restrepo did not talk to reporters Saturday. Garcia said Saturday's encounter lasted about an hour, but that the quantity of time is much less important than "the essence of the themes, the course that we're going to follow." Representatives of the ELN also met Saturday in Havana with city officials from Bogota, Colombia's capital, and Medellin

RUSSIA: BLAST AT RUSSIAN NUCLEAR PLANT KILLS ONE WORKER AND SEVERELY BURNING TWO

     ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA.- Molten metal splashed from a smelter at a Russian nuclear power plant, killing one worker and severely burning two others, but authorities said Friday that no reactors were affected and no radiation escaped. While relatively minor, the accident Thursday occurred on the same day prosecutors announced a "catastrophic radioactivity situation" involving improperly stored materials at a chemical factory in the southern Russian region of Chechnya.

    The incidents were the latest to draw questions about how Russia stores, handles and disposes of nuclear materials and waste in the wake of the 1986 explosion of a reactor at Chernobyl that spewed out radioactivity for days in the world's worst civilian atomic accident. "The level of nuclear safety, although it has been significantly increased after the Chernobyl disaster, is still not sufficient," said Vladimir Slivyak at Ecodefense, a Russian environmental group. "They used to think that there is no need for extra safety measures and they still think that now."

    The smelter accident happened at the Leningrad electricity generating station in the closed nuclear town of Sosnovy Bor, 50 miles west of St. Petersburg. Russia's nuclear agency, Rosenergoatom, initially reported an explosion. It later changed course and described the incident as a "splash." A 33-year-old worker died of injuries Friday, and two others were injured, Yuri Lameko, chief doctor of the Sosnovy Bor hospital, told The Associated Press. The Emergency Situations Ministry said two of those involved suffered burns over 90 percent of their bodies. Rosenergoatom said the smelter - run by a scrap metal reprocessing company called Ekomet-S - is on the grounds of the plant's second unit, where a reactor was shut down for repairs in July. The plant has four reactors in all, including one of the same type that blew up in Chernobyl during the Soviet era.

IACHR CONDEMNS VENEZUELA ON DISAPPEARANCES

     SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA.- The Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the Venezuelan State violated the rights to life, physical integrity, personal freedom, legal guarantees and legal protection set forth under the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. Amid a natural disaster hitting coastal north central Vargas state in 1999, police corps performance resulted in the forced disappearance of Oscar José Blanco Romero, Roberto Javier Hernández Paz and José Francisco Rivas Fernández.

    IACHR assessed claims of abuses committed by police and military officers when cracking down on lootings and other vandal acts that took place amid chaos resulting from serious landslides in Vargas state in December 1999. Blanco Romero, Hernández Paz and Rivas Fernández were arrested by Army officers, handed over to the Directorate for Intelligence, Security, and Prevention (Disip) and then they disappeared. Relatives unsuccessfully file legal actions in Venezuela.

    IACHR ruled that Venezuela should conduct unbiased investigations to clarify these events and penalize the culprits. Venezuela also has the obligation to find Blanco Romero, Hernández Paz and Rivas Fernández, and in the event that they are dead, to deliver their remains to relatives. The Venezuelan State will have to compensate relatives with USD 45,000 (Blanco Romero), USD 47,000 (Hernández Paz) and USD 65,000 (Rivas Fernández) for lost profits

VENEZUELAN DELEGATION IN RUSSIA TO RECEIVE FIGHTER CHOPPERS

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA.- A Venezuelan military delegation arrived in Russia for an eight-day visit intended to receive three fighter helicopters out of 10 under an a bilateral agreement initialed last March, said Thursday Russian weaponry export firm Rosoboronexport, Efe reported. The group arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and is headed by Aviation commander general Víctor Sánchez. On Friday, they are to visit a pilot training center in Torzhok, northeast Moscow. They are to attend graduation ceremony of Venezuelan pilots who completed a course to pilot Russian choppers Mi-17v-5, a spokesperson for Rosoboronexport told Interfax.

    Those pilots are to comprise the crews of the first three Mi-17v-5 helicopters Venezuela is to receive next week in Kazan, capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, where the aircrafts are manufactured. On March 10 this year, Venezuela, Russia initialed in Caracas a sales agreement comprising nine gunned choppers and one transportation helicopter, for USD 120 million. This operation is part of a project the Venezuelan Defense Ministry has to purchase at least other 20 Russian aircrafts and 100,000 assault rifles.

U.S. TREASURY BLOCKS CUBA'S PARTICIPATION IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. government is shutting Cuba out of the inaugural World Baseball Classic, citing the standing embargo against the communist island nation. The Treasury Department told Major League Baseball of its decision Wednesday, said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for the commissioner's office. The sport's first World Cup-style tournament, originally to include 16 teams, was jointly organized by the commissioner's office and the players' union. It runs from March 3-20 in the United States, Puerto Rico and Japan.

    Organizers will work to have the decision reversed, said Paul Archey, the senior vice president of Major League Baseball International, and Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association. A permit from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is necessary because of U.S. laws governing certain commercial transactions with the Fidel Castro-controlled nation.

    "We are very disappointed with the government's decision to deny the participation of a team from Cuba in the World Baseball Classic," Archey and Orza said. "We will continue to work within appropriate channels in an attempt to address the government's concerns and will not announce a replacement unless and until that effort fails." In Cuba, top sports officials met late Wednesday to discuss the issue, but no statement was immediately issued.

IRAQIS TURN OUT IN LARGE NUMBER FOR ELECTION

  BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election Thursday, with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas and even a shortage of ballots in some precincts. Because of the large turnout, the Iraqi election commission met in emergency session and extended voting for one hour after long lines were reported at some sites, said commission official Munthur Abdelamir.

    Heavy participation by Sunni Arabs, who had shunned balloting last January, bolstered U.S. hopes of calming the insurgency enough to begin withdrawing its troops next year. The Iraqi election commission said results would be announced within two weeks.

    Violence was light overall and did not appear to discourage Iraqis, some of whom turned out wrapped in their country's flag on a bright, sunny day, and afterward displayed a purple ink-stained index finger -- a mark to guard against multiple voting. "The number of people participating is very, very high and we have had very few irregularities," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said. "It is a good day so far, good for us, good for Iraq."

MEXICAN POLICE FIND COCAINE ON FLIGHT FROM CUBA

  MEXICO CITY, MEXICO.- Mexican police at the international airport in Cancun seized a shipment of 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of cocaine found in a suitcase that arrived aboard a flight from Cuba, authorities reported on Tuesday. The drugs were packed into a suitcase that was being shipped from the Cuban resort of Varadero, and was apparently destined for Brussels, Belgium, the Public Safety Department said in a statement.

    Police sniffer dogs detected the drugs during a routine inspection of incoming luggage. No arrests were immediately reported in the case. Drug use in Cuba is relatively minor when compared with other Caribbean nations.

DIAZ-BALART APPLAUDS BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S DECISION TO DENY THE CUBAN DICTATORSHIP'S PARTICIPATION IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL'S WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Previously Urged Commissioner Selig to Rescind Invitation and Asked the Administration to Deny the License to the Dictatorship.

    Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Vice-Chairman of the Rules Committee, today applauded the decision by the Bush Administration to deny the Cuban dictatorship’s participation in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) upcoming “World Baseball Classic.” Last week, Congressman Diaz-Balart urged Major League Baseball to rescind its invitation to the Cuban dictatorship for the upcoming event and called on Commissioner Bud Selig to instead allow a team comprised of free Cuban players to represent Cuba in the World Baseball Classic.  The Congressman also asked the Administration to deny the license to the dictatorship.

    “The Administration has appropriately and correctly denied the Cuban dictatorship’s participation in the upcoming World Baseball Classic,” said Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart. “I sincerely hope that MLB now allows free Cuban players, who are currently in the major and minor leagues, to represent Cuba in the tournament.” 

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO WON'T LET 'LADIES IN WHITE' TRAVEL TO RECEIVE EUROPE TOP HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD

  HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba's communist government has not allowed a group of women demanding the liberation of Cuban political prisoners to travel to Europe in time to receive the EU's top human rights prize Wednesday. The group, the "Ladies in White," called the move "absurd" and proof that they are justified in opposing Cuban President Fidel Castro's government.

    "I feel stronger than ever, because this confirms that we've been right all along," said Miriam Leiva. "We've not been mistaken in judging the arbitrary and unjust actions of the Cuban government." Wives and mothers of Cuban political prisoners joined forces more than two years ago after a government crackdown in 2003 put 75 dissidents behind bars. Wearing all-white clothing and carrying flowers, the women hold a weekly, peaceful march to protest the imprisonment.

    The group, which became increasingly bold as it gained more international attention, was selected to share the 2005 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought with a Nigerian human rights attorney and an international media organization. Monday night was the latest the women could leave Cuba to make it to Strasbourg, France, in time for the award ceremony Wednesday at the European Parliament, but they did not receive the government documents needed for Cubans to travel.

TWO CUBAN EXILES PLEAD NOT GUILTY TO WEAPONS CHARGES

  MIAMI, FLORIDA.- Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat pleaded not guilty to weapons charges in Miami federal court on Tuesday while about 100 of their supporters protested the U.S. government's decision to try them in Fort Lauderdale. Chanting ''Libertad!'' on the Miami courthouse steps, they denounced the planned prosecution of Alvarez and Mitat in Fort Lauderdale, where a grand jury indicted them on charges of storing firearms in a Broward apartment complex that belongs to Alvarez, a Miami developer.

    U.S. government agents first learned about Alvarez in May when he helped Cuban exile Luis Posada Carilles emerge from hiding before his arrest for entering the country illegally. But the charges filed against Alvarez and Mitat are unrelated to Posada's past militant activities.  The protesters said Alvarez and Mitat -- both being held in solitary confinement -- should be tried in Miami federal court for one reason: U.S. agents seized almost all of the nine firearms cited in the indictment in Miami-Doade, where a government informant allegedly transported them to Mitat.

    They said the U.S. Attorney's Office is insulting the Cuban exile community by implying that the weapons case must be tried in Fort Lauderdale to avoid any bias in Miami. They said Miami is the only place where they can be tried by a jury of their peers. ''It's shameful that the U.S. Attorney's Office is showing such disregard for the rights of these defendants,'' said Cuban American National Foundation President Francisco ''Pepe'' Hernandez. Hernandez and hundreds of other protesters say the government's weapons case is motivated by politics and that the evidence is built upon an informant that they believe to be a ''spy'' for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

US CONGRESSWOMAN, EMBASSY, GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF PLOTTING AGAINST VENEZUELA

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- National Assembly president Nicolás Maduro and parliamentarian Cilia Flores, both members of ruling party MVR, Tuesday filed new evidence of a plan intended to "isolate" and "destabilize" Venezuela, and directly accused a US congresswoman of involvement. Flores disclosed a recording of an alleged conversation between two Venezuelan women, Patricia Andrade and Tamara Suju, tuning up details to report human right violations in Venezuela after December 4th parliament polls. According to Flores, Andrade and Suju had support from US Congress representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

    Flores added that they planned to offer a news conference "to demonstrate -based on all the maneuvers of Ms Patricia Andrade-" that "Venezuela has incurred in human rights violations. "For such purposes, this Ms Patricia Andrade has an alliance or a combination with the Cuban-US congresswoman, who is widely known because she allegedly works with all the cases of human rights violations.

    She insisted that "the US Embassy, President George W. Bush' administration, CIA, and stateless Venezuelans" are involved in this plan and are "plotting to destroy not only democracy but also the peace of Venezuelans." Flores said Andrade, who has lived in US over the last 10 years, "is an undercover agent with CIA. She has direct contact with destabilizing and terrorist sectors in Venezuela, those who participated in April 11 coup, and who conceived a plan (to prevent) December 4th (parliament polls), as we had previously reported."

10,809,810 PEOPLE REFRAINED FROM VOTING IN PARLIAMENT POLLS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-During December 4th election of deputies to the National Assembly, the Andean Parliament and the Latin American Parliament, 10,809,810 people -or 74.71 percent of registered voters- refrained from voting. The National Electoral Council (CNE) disclosed such figures in a preliminary report following count of 99.36 percent of ballot records.

    In percentage terms, abstention in December 4th election did not exceed a historic record marked in a trade union-related referendum held on December 3rd, 2003, when 76.2 percent of 11,784,831 registered voters did not participate in the election. In absolute terms, such a percentage amounts to 8,569,691 people. The abstention rate in the recent poll does not exceed either the figures recorded in municipal polls in 2000, when 8,968,352 people (76.2 percent of registered voters) decided not to cast their ballots.

    In the regions, the highest abstention rate was in southern Bolívar state (80.47 percent) and north central Miranda state (80.38 percent). The highest turnout was seen in Delta Amacuro state (58.91 percent), Cojedes state (62.51 percent) and Amazonas state (64.1 percent).

HUGO CHAVEZ BUYS RUSSIAN HIGH PERFORMANCE HELICOPTERS

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez is buying special, high altitude, helicopters from Russia. What makes these choppers special are the more powerful VK-2500 engines, which are being bought from Ukraine.  This makes it possible for the Russian made Mi-7MTV-5 transport, and Mi-35M attack helicopters, to operate effectively at altitudes of about 20,000 feet, in hot climates. For the twin engine helicopters, the more powerful engine makes it possible for the chopper to safely land, when flying at high altitude, if one engine quits.

    The new engines are also built to handle 9,000 hours of operation, compared to an earlier 7,500 hour warranty. Earlier this year, Venezuela had bought fifteen Russian helicopters (six Mi-17MTV-5s and eight Mi-35Ms and one Mi-26T heavy transport) for $201 million. Russian helicopters have always been very durable, although not as reliable as Western models.

    Over the last decade, new manufacturing and management techniques have increased the reliability of Russian aircraft, and apparently this Venezuelan sale will serve as a vivid demonstration of the higher quality of Russian equipment.

STATE DEPARTMENT RULES OUT GUARANTEE ON IRAN 

  WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Bush administration is ruling out a guarantee not to attack Iran to induce it to halt development of nuclear weapons. Iran must first act like a responsible member of the international community and stop violating its agreements, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Monday. "That would represent a sea change in its behavior," Ereli said. "Then maybe other kinds of notions might be more palatable."

     "But right now, I don't think people should be asking the United States, 'Why don't you do this or why don't you do that?"' the U.S. official said. Ereli's remarks appeared to dismiss a suggestion by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, who said Monday in Stockholm that he believed the United States would need to give Iran a security guarantee before a final agreement could be reached on Iran's atomic programs.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND COCA FARMER EVO MORALES PROMISES TO SHAKE UP BOLIVIA

     CARACOLLO, BOLIVIA.-  As a boy in Bolivia's bleak highlands, Evo Morales used to run behind buses to pick up the orange skins and banana peels passengers threw out the windows. Sometimes, he says, it was all he had to eat.  Now, holding the lead a week ahead of Bolivia's presidential election, he's threatening to be "a nightmare for the government of the United States."

    It's not hard to see why. The 46-year-old candidate is a staunch leftist who counts Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez among his close friends. Moreover, he's a coca farmer, promising to reverse the U.S.-backed campaign to stamp out production of the leaf that is used to make cocaine. With his Aymara Indian blood and a hatred for the free-market doctrines known to Latin Americans as neo-liberalism, Morales in power would not only shake up Bolivia's political elite, but strengthen the leftward tide rippling across South America.

    "Something historic is happening in Bolivia," Morales said in an interview. "The most scorned, hated, humiliated sector now has the capacity to organize." At a recent campaign stop in the western highland town of Caracollo, Morales and members of his Movement Toward Socialism party were mobbed by crowds who kissed them, showered them with confetti and draped necklaces of flowers and fruit around their necks. "I have no fear in saying - and saying loudly - that we're not just anti-neo-liberal, we're anti-imperialist in our blood," he told the rally.

THE WASHINGTON POST LASHES OUT AT HUGO CHAVEZ AND HIS FOES

  WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Washington Post Monday published an editorial criticizing both President Hugo Chávez and his opponents for failing to participate in December 4th parliament election, thus disregarding the rules of democracy.  “Venezuela’s democratic system which has been crumbling under pressure from President Hugo Chavez, has taken another lurch toward collapse.”  In elections for the National Assembly held Dec. 4, at least 75 percent of voters chose not to go to the polls, despite threats from government officials that state workers would lose their jobs if the did not.”

    A fifth of those who did turn out cast blank ballots rather than support pro-government candidates…”  "Like Mr. Chavez, some opposition leaders once backed a military coup. Its disastrous failure ought to have established the principle that only a movement clearly committed to democracy can hope to defeat Mr. Chavez's plans for a "21st-century socialist revolution."

    The newspaper questioned the opposition's allegations for refraining from taking part in the contest and the consequences such a move is having, DPA reported. This decision "renewed questions about whether its (the opposition's) commitment to democracy is any greater than that of the president." "Opposition leaders pointed to flaws in the voting system that might have prevented secret

AMERICAN DIPLOMAT HONORS CUBAN ACTIVISTS

     HAVANA, CUBA.- America's top diplomat in Havana saluted Cuban activists pushing for change on the communist-run island, highlighting what he called their bravery and perseverance in a Human Rights Day event Saturday. Michael Parmly, the chief of the U.S. Interests Section, at the same time accused the Cuban government of repressing its citizens in order to cling to power. "Sadly, Cuba has been left behind in the global march toward democracy and greater respect for human rights," Parmly told a crowd of about 100 at his residence.

    "The Cuban regime does not represent the people, nor does it have any interest in bettering their lives. Rather, the regime is obsessed with self-preservation." Government opponents at the gathering included the pro-democracy activist Oswaldo Paya, the former political prisoner Martha Beatriz Roque, and the "Ladies in White," a group of Cuban women who have been holding a weekly silent march for two years to protest the government's jailing of their activist husbands. Parmly praised them all for their leadership and vision.

    Saturday's event commemorated the United Nation's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Parmly pointed out that Cuba voted in favor of the declaration at the time, and said the island's government would one day be held accountable for its abuses. Parmly expressed particular disgust at the angry, sometimes violent rallies against dissidents by pro-government supporters that have occurred this year across the island. Paya, an internationally recognized activist for his Varela Project democracy drive, said those gathered at Parmly's residence appreciated "the solidarity of the United States." He added: "But we're the ones who have to be the protagonists of change in Cuba."

MICHELLE BACHELET LEADS IN CHILE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

  SANTIAGO, CHILE.- Voters in this conservative Andean country were on track to elect their first woman president Sunday in one of Latin America's most closely watched electoral races.  With 96 percent of voting stations reporting Sunday night, candidate Michelle Bachelet, who has led throughout the race, had won 45.87 percent of the vote, far ahead of second-place candidate Sebastian Pinera at 25.46 percent.  Chilean law requires a runoff if no candidate wins more than half of the first-round vote.

    Polls show Bachelet easily winning such a runoff, scheduled for Jan. 15, and the 54-year-old physician told supporters Sunday that Chileans were poised to solidify her historic presidency.  If victorious, she would become not only her country's first woman president, but also the second woman to be elected head of state in South American history. Guyana elected Janet Jagan, widow of longtime President Cheddi Jagan, in 1997.  "I am confident we will win because we are the majority," she said after voting Sunday morning. "If there is a second round, we will win."

    Yet Bachelet may have a tough time against Pinera's well-funded campaign, especially if Chile's fractured conservatives unite behind the millionaire businessman and former senator.  Pinera's chances improved Sunday night after third-place candidate Joaquin Lavin pledged to support him in the runoff. Lavin, a former mayor of central Santiago, had won 23.25 percent of the vote.  Both candidates hail from the conservative Alliance for Chile coalition. They accused each other throughout the race of dividing voters.  With new unity on the right, Pinera said Sunday night, the real presidential race would be fought in the run-off campaign.

AFTER SIGNING TRADE AGREEMENT, MAIN GOVERNOR CALLS FOR GRADUAL NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH CUBA

  HAVANA,CUBA.- Maine Governor John Baldacci signed a trade agreement with authorities in Havana on Sunday, and said the normalization of relations with communist Cuba must come "one step at a time." Baldacci, the sixth sitting U.S. governor to visit Cuba since the United States imposed trade sanctions four decades ago, said he wanted Maine to be a leader in expanding U.S. trade with the island.

    "We're working within the existing framework, trying to show other states the ability to trade with Cuba," Baldacci told a news conference. "We hope to demonstrate how important this is." In 2001, Maine became the first U.S. state to pass a resolution urging an end to the decades-old U.S. trade and travel sanctions against the Caribbean nation. A 2000 federal law allows American food to be sold directly to the island, but recent restrictions require Cuba to pay cash for goods before they leave U.S. ports. Cuban exports are not allowed.

    U.S. farmers and politicians have become some of Cuba's top lobbyists in the trade sphere, pushing for restrictions to be lifted. Baldacci said Maine farmers and businesspeople supported his trip. "All want to do business and build better relations with Cuba," he said. "If we continue to take these steps, we will become much closer. One step at a time." Baldacci arrived for his first visit in Havana early Sunday leading a trade mission of some 20 Maine delegates. The governor was to leave Monday morning, while the delegates would hash out the details of the contracts throughout the week.

JUDGE DENIES BOND TO TWO CUBAN EXILES CHARGED WITH FIREARMS

     FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA.- Two Cuban exiles indicted on firearms charges in Fort Lauderdale must be detained until trial, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge James Cohn upheld a magistrate judge's earlier decision that denied bond for Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat, concurring their alleged possession of weapons -- including machine guns and a grenade launcher -- amounted to a ''crime of violence'' and posed a danger to the community. Their lawyers argued that other defendants charged in unrelated firearms conspiracies have been released on bond while awaiting federal trial in South Florida.

    The arraignment is set for Tuesday. Prosecutors allege that Alvarez and Mitat hid machine guns, rifles, a silencer and a grenade launcher in a storage facility at the Inverrary Village Apartments during the past year -- leading to their arrests in Miami-Dade on Nov. 18 after a friend of the two men informed on them. That day, Alvarez unlocked the facility's inner room and removed a large, white cooler containing the firearms, according to the federal affidavit. In turn, Alvarez told the friend-turned-informant to haul the weapons-filled cooler to Mitat in Miami-Dade.

    Earlier this week, the two defendants' lawyers lobbied the Cuban exile community in a bid to rally support for their clients' demand that the case be tried in Miami. Hundreds of Cuban exiles packed a mass at San Juan Bosco Catholic Church in Little Havana Thursday night in a show of solidarity for Alvarez and Mitat. The case was filed in Broward federal court because the Fort Lauderdale grand jury handed down the indictment against Alvarez and Mitat, both friends of detained Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles.

UNITED STATES ENVOY BRINGS DIFFERENT DIPLOMATIC STYLE TO CUBA

  HAVANA, CUBA.- America's new top diplomat to Havana dislikes comparisons with his predecessor, the tough-talking former U.S. Interests Section chief whom Fidel Castro called a "bully" and who donned a pink robe to mock a Cuban cartoon portraying him as a fairy princess.

    But even Castro has mentioned the difference, describing Michael Parmly's diplomatic correspondence as "respectful." Yet Parmly, who has spent much of his career nurturing human rights and democracy in nations recovering from conflict, says he and predecessor James Cason differ only in style.

    He said there is no difference at all when it comes to carrying out American policies to promote change in Cuba's communist society. "The U.S. diplomatic corps gives a fair amount of leeway for personal style as long as you're carrying out American policy," Parmly told The Associated Press Thursday in his first interview with an international news organization since arriving in September. He and Cason, who was sworn in last week as the new U.S. ambassador to Paraguay, "just have different styles."

VENEZUELA TO ENTER MERCOSUR "WITH RIGHT TO SPEAK BUT NOT TO VOTE" 

     ASUNCIÓN, PARAGUAY.- The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) has started the slow diplomatic engines driving Venezuela to enter this trade bloc, in a move that is to allow an energy-thirsty region to partner with the world's fifth oil producer. Negotiators paved the way for the Presidents of the nations comprising the bloc to announce Friday that Venezuela is to become the first country to enter Mercosur as a full member since the organization was created by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 1991.

    For Mercosur, this move involves greater links with a giant oil producer that has been making efforts to cement closer regional ties through investments and oil sales under favorable conditions. Venezuela is to enter Mercosur "with a right to speak but not to vote" as a full member in the process of completing membership, said Eduardo Sigal, Mercosur assistant secretary of Economic Integration.

    Until May 2006, Caracas will have time to assess the common market legal framework, and then a joint committee is to determine -in a six-month period- the deadlines for Venezuela to accommodate the bloc regulations, including the thorny issue of Mercosur common foreign tariffs. Even though the founder countries took almost four years to harmonize their tariffs, their market still has a significant number of exemptions. Meanwhile, Venezuela is to have an intermediate status "higher than an associate member, but not as high as full members," said Sigal.

OFFICIALS DENOUNCE CIA PLOT AGAINST VENEZUELA  

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- A group of pro-government deputies headed by Pedro Carreño and Cilia Flores produced three recordings, including a telephone exhibit, as evidence of a conspiracy. According to the congresspersons, intelligence agencies aborted a plot to assassinate President Hugo Chávez and 15,000 Venezuelans in order to create chaos during elections for parliament.

    The deputies charged the US embassy and CIA with an alleged plot involving active and retired army officers, including some military who face trial for the 2002 events. "The CIA is behind this plot and we will continue looking for evidence to prove that new violent actions are being concocted," warned Flores, adding that the finding is "just a tiny part" of another disclosure next Saturday.

    Flores explained that General Oswaldo Sujú Raffo managed procurement of AT4, an anti-tank weapon to be used against the president and a number of high-ranking officials, in addition to institutions such as the National Assembly and public buildings.  Deputies vowed to file the complaint at the Army Attorney General regarding a national and international conspiracy to end with the government of President Chávez and spread chaos.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION: VENEZUELA COULD HAVE DONE MORE  

  BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.-The European Commission criticized Friday the Venezuelan government performance during the election for parliament last Sunday. "It could have done much more" in terms of transparency; however, there were significant steps, AFP reported. European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero Waldner made reference to the preliminary report of the UE electoral observation mission who was in Venezuela during the polls resulting in landslide victory of the ruling alliance.

    "On the one hand, the authorities took significant steps to make the process more transparent and restore confidence. But, on the other hand, the government could have done much more for independence of the National Electoral Council and the media," Ferrero Waldner reasserted. With turnout as low as 25 percent, the ruling alliance get the 167 seats in the National Assembly during the polls, where five major opposition parties were absent.

SECRETARY RUMSFELD: TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ COULD BE CUT IN 2006

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday raised the possibility of reducing U.S. troop levels in Iraq next year below the 137,000 baseline. Between meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Rumsfeld told reporters that if next week's elections in Iraq go well he expects U.S. troops levels, which were boosted to nearly 160,000 in advance of the election, to return to the 137,000 level. "If conditions permit, we could go below that," he said.

    Later he stressed that a decision to go below 137,000 would depend on conditions after the election and the recommendation of senior U.S. commanders. Rumsfeld went to Capitol Hill as part of the administration's effort to communicate more with Congress about the war in Iraq. Some lawmakers, including Republicans, had been pressing for more information on the war.

    Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had breakfast with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and then met with rank-and-file House Republicans. Rumsfeld and Pace also were going to the White House for a meeting with congressional GOP leaders. 

AT LEAST 20 EXECUTIONS RECORDED IN VENEZUELA IN 2005  

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- At least 20 people were slain by police and military officers and 13 cases of physical abuse were reported in Venezuela in 2005, according to an annual report from the Justice and Peace Support Network. Execution numbers are lower than the 38 cases reported in 2004 by the human rights organization. "Right to life is still the fundamental right most violated by security corps of the Venezuelan state."

    "Torture of personal integrity is the second violation in Venezuela," the report found in its report on cases of human rights abuses in 2005. "Additional rights violated in our country during 2005 include personal security or threats, home sanctity and personal freedom," the press release added. The Support Network claimed to have heard in 2005 a total of 45 cases involving police and military officers. Eighteen out of these cases took place in Caracas and neighboring Miranda state.

HUGO CHAVEZ' FOLLOWERS BLOCKED US AMBASSADOR

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- A group of demonstrators and government supporters forced Thursday US Ambassador to Venezuela William Brownfield to stay in his car for 25 minutes following an meeting with Nueva Esparta Governor. Demonstrators carrying placards that read "Respect Venezuela" and "Venezuela is not Iraq" blocked the access to the local government almost half an hour. They also chanted slogans in favor of President Hugo Chávez and his political project, and against alleged US meddling into Venezuelan internal affairs.

    As a result, Bownfield, who had met with Nueva Esparta Governor Morel Rodríguez, could not be on time for the opening of an Internet site with portals on the United States at the local Bar Association. The ambassador's agenda included also a meeting with local businesspersons and a visit to a rehabilitation center for illicit drug abusers.

December 8

TRIAL RESUMES WITHOUT FORMER IRAQI DICTATOR

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- The Saddam Hussein trial resumed Wednesday after a lengthy delay but without the ex-president, who had declared the day before that he would not take part in an "unjust" court. The seven other defendants and Saddam's lawyers were present in the courtroom when Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin convened the session at 3 p.m., about four hours late.
 
    Saddam's threat not to attend the Wednesday session came at the end of a daylong session in which five witnesses - two women and three men - related the events of a 1982 crackdown on Shiite Muslims. The most dramatic testimony came from a woman who spoke behind a beige curtain and with her voice disguised. She told of beatings, torture and sexual humiliation at the hands of security agents when she was a teenager.

    At the end of the Tuesday session, the judges agreed over defense objections to meet again the following day. Saddam shouted that "I will not come to an unjust court! Go to hell!" Saddam, dressed again in a dark suit and white shirt and clutching a Quran, complained that he and the seven other defendants were tired and had been deprived of opportunities to shower, have a change of clothes, exercise or go for a smoke. "This is terrorism," he declared.

CUBA DECISION TO HOST COLOMBIA TALKS SHOWS INTEREST IN PEACE, CUBAN OFFICIAL SAYS

  HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba's decision to host preliminary peace talks between the Colombian government and that country's second-largest rebel group demonstrates the island's interest in peace for Colombia, a top official said. Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, head of international relations for Cuba's Communist Party, told reporters late Tuesday that the decision represents "Cuba's willingness to contribute to Colombia's peace process."

    Speaking at a political event in the coastal city of Cardenas, Remirez de Estenoz declined further comment, saying "leave it to the Colombians." Colombian government peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo was expected to meet Monday in Cuba with Antonio Garcia, military commander of the National Liberation Army, or ELN. The meeting will be the first formal negotiations with insurgents for the current Colombian administration.

    Cuba also hosted Colombia's last talks with rebels in 2002. Then-President Andres Pastrana pulled out of negotiations, saying the ELN was not interested in peace. The ELN, which was inspired by the Cuban revolution, has a long history of peace talks with Colombian governments. Negotiations dating back to 1991 have been held in Venezuela, Germany and Mexico, as well as Cuba. "With the ELN, the problem is that we have tried this many times. But this time I hope we can advance," said Monsignor Nel Beltran, a Roman Catholic bishop in northern Colombia who has been helping with preliminary meetings.

MAINE LOOKS TO CUBA IN AGRICULTURE DEALS

  AUGUSTA, MAINE.-The state's agriculture industry is hoping to finalize agreements to export $10 million worth of Maine-produced seed potatoes, lumber and fish to Cuba. Gov. John Baldacci is planning to join a trade mission to Cuba this weekend in an attempt to finish the deals. Representatives of several Maine industries are also expected to attend.

    The governor's participation shows that the state takes seriously its opportunity to do business with Cuba, said Richard Daives, a staff aide. Maine's Legislature passed a resolution in 2002 to lift a trade embargo and normalize relations with Cuba. The U.S. embargo limits travel and trade with Cuba, but food and agricultural products can be sold to the country on a cash-only basis under an exception created in 2000.

    A year ago, a preliminary $10 million export agreement was signed by Robert Spear, then Maine's agriculture commissioner, and Pedro Alvarez Borrego, head of the Cuban import agency Alimport. Some contracts under that agreement have already been executed, including one that exported Maine cows to Cuba.

"Nations founded by tyranny and maintained 
by force  and terror, must fall with the noise of 
the geologic cataclysms."

 "The sovereignty and freedom of my native land 
is my only desire, I have no other aspirations. 
As a sovereign nation we shall secure our rightful 
privileges, we shall have dignity and the recognition 
due a free and independent people."

General  Antonio Maceo y Grajales
(1845 - 1896)

MILITARY PLANE SLAMS INTO BUILDING IN IRANIAN CAPITAL

     TEHRAN, IRAN.- An Iranian military transport plane crashed into a 10-story apartment building on Tuesday, killing 119 people, including 25 on the ground, state media and officials said. Tehran's mayor said that all 94 people aboard the plane were killed, and Tehran radio said 25 people were killed on the ground. The building was reported to be on fire, and fire fighters were on the scene working to save people trapped in the building in the Azari residential district.  

CUBA DOCTORS FORBIDDEN TO STAY AT SITE OF CONVENTION

  CIEGO DE AVILA, CUBA.- Cuban doctors attending an international medical convention at a tourist facility in Ciego de Avila province complain they were not allowed to stay at the same hotels as foreign participants.

    Instead, they were obliged to stay at nearby guest houses where they say they were well treated but not as well as foreign doctors were at the tourist hotels where they stayed. Under Cuban law, Cuban citizens are not allowed to stay at hotels which cater to foreign tourists.

    The event in question was the XVI International Congress of the Cuban Society of Orthopedics and Trauma, held recently held at the Polo Turístico Jardines del Rey in Ciego de Ávila. According to Cuban participants, registration fees for the congress were 400 pesos, the equivalent of two months salary for the average Cuban worker.

PROSECUTOR SEEKS TWO-YEAR SENTENCE FOR "INSULT" TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

  SANTA CLARA, CUBA.- A prosecutor has requested a sentence of two years imprisonment for former political prisoner Jorge Luis Artiles Montiel, accused of shouting denunciations against President Fidel Castro.

    According to a document submitted November 26 by prosecutor Maydolen Hernández González, Artiles Montiel made the remarks on June 12 in the privacy of his home.

    Artiles Montiel is a former trainer of the Villa Clara baseball team and a member of the dissident Democracy Movement. He served 18 months in prison after being caught trying to illegally leave the country in 1993 and served a similar sentence in 2002 for refusing to testify against two dissidents who had been state security agents.

SADDAM HUSSEIN SAYS HE IS NOT AFRAID OF EXECUTION

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- Eight defendants, including Hussein, are on trial in connection with the deaths of more than 140 men 23 years ago in the mostly Shiite town of Dujail. The killings are considered retribution for a failed assassination attempt on Hussein. Hussein called the testimony "laughable" and said, "I am not afraid of execution." Ahmed Hassan Mohammed, a resident of Dujail, told the court how he and others -- including women and children -- were rounded up and transported to intelligence headquarters in Baghdad, where they were tortured. The women, including young girls, were raped, sometimes before the eyes of the men, he said.

     He named his torturers and their relations to the defendants on trial and graphically and tearfully described what he saw. Of one man, Mohammed said: "They broke him. Broke his arm, his leg. This is during torture. They also shot at his foot, all of that during interrogation. He died under torture. They broke all his body parts." Mohammed described seeing Hussein's half brother and co-defendant, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, wearing a cowboy hat, red boots and carrying an assault rifle.

     The testimony prompted al-Tikriti, seated behind Hussein in the courtroom, to stand and call out, "That's a lie!" Hussein, listening with close attention, also interrupted the witness on several occasions. As Mohammed began, Hussein said, "Rest assured I will not touch you." He told Mohammed to tell the court what he had to say. The defendants and their attorneys accused Mohammed of being coached on his testimony.  "I question everything he said," al-Tikriti said. "I swear that everything he said is false."

PRESIDENT BUSH ADVISER HINTS AT IRAQ TROOP REDUCTIONS

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- The United States may be ready to reduce troops in Iraq next year if Iraqis continue making progress at the current rate, President Bush's national security adviser said Sunday. Stephen Hadley appeared on a round of Sunday talk shows to follow up on President Bush's speech on Iraq from the U.S. Naval Academy last week.

     Hadley echoed Bush's statement that decisions about troop withdrawals would be made when U.S. commanders there felt Iraqis were ready to govern and protect themselves without U.S. help, but said that could come as early as 2006. "We think that if trends continue and we continue to make the progress and the Iraqis continue to make the progress we're making, we'll be in a position sometime next year for us to - for the commanders on the ground to make their assessments," Hadley said on ABC's "This Week."

    "And it may be at that point they will come to the president and say, we want to make some adjustments." Hadley said the deaths in Iraq, now above 2,100, have been very difficult for the president. Still, he said Bush expects insurgent attacks will increase in the next couple of weeks before Iraq's Dec. 15 elections.

VENEZUELAN EMBASSY OFFICIAL MEETS REGULARLY WITH ECUADOREAN INSURGENTS  

   QUITO, ECUADOR.- A Venezuelan diplomat in Quito arranged to send members of a fledgling Ecuadorean rebel group for guerrilla training in Venezuela, two Ecuadorean military reports say. The reports added that the diplomat, political attaché Gustavo Bastardo, advised the newborn Alfarist Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym as ELA, that the Cuban Embassy in Quito also could help.

    Hugo Chávez has denied prior allegations that his supporters provided guerrilla training in Venezuela for Ecuadorean and other Latin American radicals ''Not one of those accusations has been proven . . . because they are absolutely false,'' Chávez declared in a speech last month, blaming the allegations on U.S. ``disinformation.''

    But if the Ecuadorean intelligence reports prove true, they would bolster U.S. allegations that Chávez is trying to destabilize Latin America by aiding subversive groups in the region. In turn, Chávez has accused U.S. officials of plotting to topple him because of his opposition to U.S. policies. Last month, reports by The Herald and the Quito newspaper El Comercio quoted a third Ecuadorean intelligence report as saying that three ELA members and 17 other Latin Americans underwent guerrilla training in Venezuela in April.

EXPLOSIONS BLEW UP TWO PIPELINES IN THE WESTERN STATE OF ZULIA

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Interior Minister Jesse Chacon said C-4 explosives were used to blow up A pipeline in the western state of Zulia and that officials believed the perpetrators were government foes trying to destabilize the country. Investigators found remnants of C-4 explosives at three spots on the pipeline, Chacon said.

    "We already know who is behind this situation, and we have made some detentions," Chacon said, without giving details. Chavez said the situation in the country was calm and that such acts had no effect on the voting process. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez blamed the same opponents who unsuccessfully tried to oust Chavez in a two-month strike that ended in early 2003.

    Chavez said traditional parties that withdrew would be responsible for their own demise, and he cited electoral figures showing that only 556 of more than 5,500 candidates had quit the race. "They are old parties that are already dead," Chavez said. He added that boycotting parties could emerge "not only delegitimized but also illegal." He did not elaborate.

VENEZUELANS HOLD CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS 

  CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Candidates aligned with President Hugo Chavez were widely expected to increase their legislative majority Sunday as Venezuelans voted for a new National Assembly in an election boycotted by several opposition parties. Chavez dismissed the boycott as a failed ploy to sabotage legitimate elections and avoid an embarrassing defeat, and officials later blamed a pipeline explosion on government opponents.

    "The whole world knows a true democracy is in motion here in Venezuela," Chavez said after voting at a school where cheering supporters greeted him outside. Although Venezuela's main opposition parties announced they were boycotting the vote, Chavez noted only 10 percent of candidates had formally dropped out.

    Officials and election observers said the voting proceeded peacefully Sunday, while thousands of soldiers were deployed to keep order. The military said it stepped up security at oil installations to prevent any possible sabotage in the country, the world's No. 5 oil exporter. Government officials reported several disturbances leading up to the vote, including blasts from small explosives that injured three people in Caracas on Friday and a pipeline explosion Saturday night in the western state of Zulia.

December 4

December 3

December 2

December 1st.