May 31,  2005

May 30,  2005

WASHINGTON AND VENEZUELA AT ODDS OVER LUIS POSADA CARRILES

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- The United States has rejected a Venezuelan request to detain anti-Castro activist Luis Posada Carriles, saying Venezuela had presented too little evidence to suggest that Posada had masterminded a 1976 Cubana airlines bombing, a State Department official said Friday. Venezuela was notified of the decision in a diplomatic note that was being delivered Friday afternoon, according to the official, who request anonymity in accordance with State Department rules.

     The move is likely to further deteriorate relations between Washington and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who says Posada is a terrorist. Chávez has threatened to break diplomatic ties with the United States if Posada is not handed over. The Cubana bombing killed 73 people. Posada, a former CIA operative, denies the charges. He is under arrest on separate charges of illegally entering the United States, and will face an immigration hearing June 13.

    The provisional arrest request by Venezuela normally precedes the formal filing of extradition papers, which have to better substantiate the charges that would underlie an arrest request, the official noted. ''The Department of Justice, in consultation with the Department of State, have determined that the provisional arrest request was not legally sufficient for the issuance of an arrest warrant in the U.S. because it did not contain sufficient information regarding the facts and circumstances of posada's involvement in the charged crimes,'' the official said. Venezuela can still file a formal extradition request.

May 28,  2005

CUBA'S PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER DEMANDS US EXTRADITE LUIS POSADA CARRILES WANTED BY VENEZUELA 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Cuba's parliament speaker demanded Thursday that United States extradite a Cuban exile wanted in Venezuela for his alleged role in plotting the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. Speaking to lawmakers in Venezuela's Congress, Ricardo Alarcón accused the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush of harboring terror suspect Luis Posada Carriles instead of promptly handing the Cuban exile over to Venezuela.

    "They must turn him over and hand over the proof" of Posada's terror-related activities," said Alarcón . "Enough of talking about bringing him to trial in a Central American nation or the United States!" "He must be extradited to Venezuela, where he must face justice," added Alarcón , who was in Caracas on a two-day visit. 

    Posada, a naturalized Venezuelan, is in U.S. custody awaiting a decision on whether he will be extradited to the South American country. He has denied involvement in the bombing. U.S. officials say that the United States has not received an official request from Venezuela for Posada's extradition. The 77-year-old Posada, a devoted opponent of Cuba's Fidel Castro, is expected to request asylum at an immigration hearing June 13. He was charged last week with entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico, which could lead to his deportation.

HUGO CHAVEZ BLAMES WASHINGTON FOR STRAINED VENEZUELAN-UNITED STATES RELATIONS 

     CARACAS,  VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chávez Thursday blamed the Unites States government for the continuing deterioration in relations between the two countries. He ensured that "in the United States there are many closed doors" for Venezuela. He added however that his government is trying to open them again.

    Chávez said he met with four US congressmen who visited Caracas. "We have very good relations with countries around the world. We only have problems with the Unites States, and we put the blame on them," he added.

May 27,  2005

JOSÉ VICENTE RANGEL: US RESPONSE ON POSADA LUIS CARRILES' EXTRADITION IS SHAMEFUL 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel labeled as "shameful" the recent remarks by Department of State Spokesman Richard Boucher, because "the legal takes precedence over the political" with regard to the extradition of Cuban anti Fidel Castro militant, Luis Posada Carriles.

    "Of course, it is legal and in this regard, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela relies on reason. But the emphasis on the legal character of the case to hide a political nuance is a despicable allegation. It is an immoral way of circumventing, for lack of allegations, the truth," Rangel underscored in a press release. In the Vice-President opinion, Boucher's remarks "reassert that the US government is trapped in a dual speech concerning terrorism and cannot find a way to overcome the plight where it is."

    The Washington spokesman reported Tuesday that his government would decide on the Venezuelan request for extradition of Posada Carriles in accordance with the laws. Previously, President Hugo Chávez had threatened to "revise" bilateral diplomatic relations if the US government failed to send Posada to face trial for the attack on the Cuban plane in 1976 resulting in 73 casualties. "Any action will rely upon legal grounds, rather than threats, on diplomatic discussions, rather that rough demands or rebuff," Boucher stated.

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS CUBA MUST MOVE ON HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY

     BERLIN, GERMANY.- Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that Cuba needs to make progress on human rights and democracy as European countries consider their relations with the communist island after last week's expulsion of politicians and journalists. Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Italy have all demanded that Cuba explain why it expelled a number of their citizens before an opposition rally last Friday in Havana.

    "I am not satisfied at all. We view the situation in Cuba very critically in terms of human rights and democratic freedom," Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said after meeting his Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose government has led recent European moves to increase dialogue with Cuba. EU foreign ministers are to review ties with Havana when they meet June 13.

    "We will analyze the situation very carefully in view of the decision we have in front of us in the EU, but it is clear that Cuba must move," Fischer said. "This is about human rights and basic democratic freedoms for which we stand; and this will without a doubt influence our relations either positively or negatively." The EU foreign ministers in January lifted sanctions against Cuba after authorities there released 14 of 75 political prisoners last year.

May 26,  2005

CUBAN EXILE ORGANIZATION OFFERS ONE MILLION DOLLAR FOR RAUL CASTRO'S INDICTMENT  

     MIAMI, FLORIDA.- A Cuban exile group wants the U.S. government to indict Raúl Castro -- Cuban defense minister and Fidel Castro's brother and designated successor. But José Basulto, head of Brothers to the Rescue, is going a step further: He says he'll donate a fortune to see it happen. On Tuesday, Basulto pledged $1 million for legal costs and information leading to the indictment of the younger Castro for the 1996 shooting down by Cuban MiGs of two Brothers planes in which four fliers died.

    ''The time for this action has arrived,'' Basulto said during an afternoon news conference at Opa-locka Airport, the place from which his rescue planes once flew to search for rafters. Basulto's purpose is twofold: He wants justice for the murder of the fliers. The group believes the Castro brothers gave the deadly orders to the MiG pilots.

    Basulto won a $1.75 million federal judgment against the Cuban government for the MiG attack, which occurred in international airspace over the Florida Straits. Once he gets the money, he said, it will be used to offer rewards for information and to pay for a team of attorneys. ''Getting the cash will be easier than getting the indictment,'' he said.

CAR BOMBING INJURED 18 PEOPLE 

     MADRID, SPAIN.- A powerful car bomb exploded in Madrid Wednesday after a warning call from the armed Basque separatist group ETA, police said, in the latest of a string of attacks since Spain's prime minister offered talks with the group if it renounces violence. Eighteen people were slightly injured. The explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. in a working-class district north of the Spanish capital.

    Police cordoned off the area where the bomb went off after an anonymous caller to the Basque newspaper Gara, which often serves as a mouthpiece for ETA, said a bomb would explode inside a Renault van. Television images showed a large column of black smoke rising from the area of the explosion. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, speaking in a previously scheduled Senate session shortly after the explosion, insisted that ''the only fate that the terrorist group ETA has is to lay down weapons and dissolve.''

    ''The explosion was really a big one,'' he said. Alonso said ETA remains ''alive, active and operative'' despite the arrest of more than 200 suspected members in recent years. The blast was the sixth blamed on ETA since Zapatero announced earlier this month he was willing to hold talks with the separatist group if it renounced its decades-old campaign of violence.

May 25, 2005

DISSIDENTS NOT AT MEETING STILL PLEASED IT WAS ALLOWED 

     HAVANA, CUBA.-  Several Cuban dissidents who did not participate in last week's rare mass opposition meeting said Monday they were nonetheless pleased the island's communist government allowed the event to take place. Manuel Cuesta Morúa, a government opponent who did not attend the meeting because of ideological differences with organizers, sent a statement congratulating them for putting on a successful event ``without mishap.''

About 200 people attended the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society on Friday when it opened in the back yard of veteran dissident Felix Bonne. The crowd was closer to 100 Saturday, when the event ended. Many were surprised that Fidel Castro's government did not break up the meeting. Authorities here refer to the dissidents as ''mercenaries'' and counterrevolutionaries.'' ''To not impede the celebration of this assembly is a step toward rationality, which should be encouraged among all those committed to Cuba,'' said Cuesta Morúa, spokesman for the dissident group Arco Progresista.

Eloy Gutiérrez-Menoyo, a moderate dissident who was not invited to the meeting, also applauded the event but said it was unfortunate that many international observers were not allowed to attend. ''The point of conflict was the expulsions,'' said Gutiérrez-Menoyo, a former exile now living in Cuba. At least a dozen Europeans who hoped to be observers at the event were deported from Cuba before the assembly took place. Event participants approved a declaration demanding the liberation of political prisoners in Cuba and calling for political and economic change.

CUBA'S DIVIDED DISSIDENTS DISAGREE ON IMPORTANCE OF MASS GATHERING  

     HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba's diverse dissident groups disagreed Tuesday about the importance and the possible consequences of last week's mass opposition gathering, which was all but ignored by the island's communist government. The dissidents can't even agree on why Fidel Castro's government didn't break up the gathering that drew more than 100 activists Friday and Saturday to a veteran opposition leader's backyard.

Oswaldo Paya called the meeting of the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society "a fraud." The assembly "doesn't represent the majority of the opposition, nor the most important groups," the internationally known activist and lead organizer of the Varela Project signature gathering drive said last week. For human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez, who like Paya did not attend the gathering, the meeting was nonetheless "transcendental."

"I thought they were going to crush the meeting," said Sanchez of the non-governmental Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation. "Obviously it was not a priority to apply repression. "Years in the planning, the meeting brought together representatives of scores of divergent groups from around the island to discuss their nation's future. While the gathering was not interrupted, at least a dozen European lawmakers, journalists and others who hoped to attend the meeting were expelled, creating an international uproar. Martha Beatriz Roque, a dissident economist and former political prisoner who was the assembly's lead organizer, declared the event a resounding success and an example of true democratic action among Cubans.

CUBA ASKS MEXICO FOR REPORT ON PASSAGE OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES 

     MEXICO CITY, MEXICO.- Cuba has asked Mexico for a report on the passage through Mexico of a Cuban exile sought by Venezuela for trial in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger jet, authorities announced Tuesday. Luis Posada Carriles, a militant opponent of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, has acknowledged entering the United States secretly through Mexico in mid-March. He was seized by U.S. immigration authorities in Miami last week.

    Mexico's Interior Department is handling Cuba's request and Mexico will eventually report back, said Ruben Aguilar, a spokesman for Mexican President Vicente Fox. "The safeguarding of our border to stop the transit of terrorists to the United States has been very efficient, as the very government of the United States has recognized before," Aguilar said.

    Venezuela wants to try the 77-year-old Posada on charges of murder and treason for the 1976 bombing, which tore apart a Cubana Airlines plane after it took off from Barbados, killing 73 people. Posada, a naturalized Venezuelan, is accused of plotting the attack in Caracas. Posada was acquitted twice of masterminding the bombing. He escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 1985 while prosecutors were appealing.

NORTH KOREA DOESN'T RULE OUT PRE-EMPTIVE ATTACK

     SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA.- North Korea on Tuesday refused to rule out a pre-emptive attack, even amid signs that it may be willing to return to the nuclear bargaining table. The North poured out anti-U.S. rhetoric - a tactic it has used in the past before entering negotiations - by claiming that Washington's "hostile policies" led it to develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent and warning against any attack to dislodge its leadership.

    "The United States should be aware that the choice of a pre-emptive attack is not only theirs," the North's official news agency quoted the state-run newspaper Minju Joson as saying. "To stand against force with force is our unswerving method of response." 

    Washington is awaiting a response to an overture it made May 13 - days after the North announced it had removed fuel rods from a reactor, a possible step toward extracting weapons-grade plutonium - reportedly at North Korea's office at the U.N. North Korea indicated a willingness to return to the talks - involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia - but said it is waiting for Washington to clarify conflicting statements on U.S. policy toward the reclusive communist state.

May 24, 2005

EUROPEAN UNION OFFICIAL ASKED TO BE TAKEN TO CARACAS 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Spanish official of the European Union (EU) Carlos Ayala Saavedra, who appeared in Venezuela after being allegedly kidnapped in Colombia asked to be taken to Caracas, reported a source at the Colombian secret service. The EU official was abducted in Colombia last April 15 and found Sunday by Venezuelan military officers in the sector of Los Pajaritos, Apure state. According to the Colombian media, Ayala was in the hands of the FARC.

    "Mr. Ayala is in the company of two officers of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) in Guasdualito, to whom Ayala said he wanted to be taken to Caracas and not to Bogotá due to security reasons, but it has not been yet decided which would be his final destination". Meanwhile, the EU office in Bogotá said that it is taking all the necessary steps to take Ayala to Madrid.

    EU Spanish official Carlos Ayala Saavedra is still in Venezuela after being released Sunday by kidnappers in Colombia, army Commander Oswaldo Bracho told AFP. Bracho disclaimed the reports from his own unit early Monday about Ayala Saavedra in Colombia giving testimony to DAS, the Colombian police. "He (Ayala Saavedra) is here in Venezuela in good health," clarified Bracho in a telephone conversation with AFP.

BRAZIL WAITING FOR VENEZUELAN PROPOSAL ON NUCLEAR AGREEMENT

     RÍO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.-  So far, the Brazilian government has not heard about any proposal from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez for a bilateral, nuclear agreement. However, it will be studied as soon as received. "No request for cooperation in this area has been recorded. Partnerships with Venezuela in other areas have been executed, and we will explore this one, in case of any petition," Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Eduardo Campos told daily O Globo.

    The official made reference to an announcement made Sunday by Chávez in his TV and radio show about potential development of nuclear energy and partnership with foreign countries, including Brazil. Chávez clarified that there is no intention to develop nuclear weapons, but diversifying energy sources and undertaking medical projects along with Latin America, Europe and Iran.

    The Venezuelan ruler claimed that nuclear research in Iran is not for military purposes. "For some years, Brazil has also had a peaceful-end program," he recalled. "We could make research along with Brazil, Argentina and other Latin American nations, and ask for the support of nations, such as European countries and Iran (...) but not to manufacture bombs and drop them on cities, as the United States did," he added.

ARGENTINEAN FIRM SAYS NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH VENEZUELA IS POSSIBLE 

     BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA.- Aldo Ferrer, director of the recently created Argentinean National Company of Energy, suggested it is possible to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement with Venezuela. Ferrer, former president of the Atomic Energy Commission, said that comments made by Hugo Chávez regarding this kind of cooperation are not wrong. 

These are the first statements from Argentina following Chávez' announcement on Sunday that he intends to develop nuclear programs with Latin American countries and even with European nations and Iran. The Venezuelan President explained that his nuclear efforts would seek peaceful progress in the energy, science, and health sectors.

AMBASSADOR ALVAREZ: VENEZUELA IS ENTITLED TO USE NUCLEAR ENERGY 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela, just like "any other country in the world," is free to exercise its right to make use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, claimed Venezuelan ambassador to the US Bernardo Álvarez. His statements came when he was championing his president's announcement to conduct research in this field,.

    "Poor peoples have the right to claim its use for pacific purposes. It is a source of energy that has to be used, and that cannot be denied to any country," Álvarez told Colombian W de Caracol radio station. In this connection, the diplomat said Venezuela is promoting contact with other countries, among them Iran, to start probes into nuclear energy. 

May 23, 2005

HUGO CHAVEZ: VENEZUELA WILL BREAK ITS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH WASHINGTON IF LUIS POSADA CARRILES IS NOT EXTRADITED 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela will break  its diplomatic relations with Washington if the United States does not extradite a Cuban exile who is wanted for allegedly plotting the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jet. "We can't rush things, but if the United States does not extradite Luis Posada Carriles we will be forced to reconsider our diplomatic ties," said Chavez, speaking during his weekly radio program "Hello President."

    "We will have to consider whether its worth having an embassy there, spending so much money, and them having an embassy here," Chavez added. Venezuela wants to try the 77-year-old Cuban militant with murder and treason for the 1976 bombing, which tore apart the Cubana Airlines plane after it took off from Barbados. Posada, an ex-CIA operative and a naturalized Venezuelan, is accused of plotting the attack in Caracas.

    Two men who worked for Posada allegedly planted the bomb and were sentenced to 20-year prison terms. Posada was acquitted twice and escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 1985 while prosecutors were appealing. A decision by U.S. authorities to charge Posada only with entering the country illegally has drawn sharp criticism from Chavez, who has accused the U.S. government of harboring a terrorist and trying to justify not turning him over.

PRESIDENT ALVARO URIBE: COLOMBIA GOVERNMENT PLANS TO BUY WEAPONS FROM CHINA  

     BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA.- Colombia's government plans to buy arms from China for its internal fight against leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups and drug trafficking, President Alvaro Uribe said in an interview published Sunday.

    "Colombia, due to terrorist threats, has to be constantly buying weapons in the international market," Colombia's leader said in the southwest city of Cali. "Now we are asking the Chinese government to sell arms to the Colombian army." Uribe did not provide details on the amount or type of weapons Colombia hopes to buy.

    The arms purchase plan follows a dispute between Colombia and Venezuela that began when Venezuela, led by leftist leader Hugo Chavez, said it planned to buy 100,000 assault rifles from Russia and other military hardware from Spain. Colombia's defense minister said the purchases would create a "military imbalance" in the region, and suggested the guns might end up in the hands of illegal fighters in Colombia. U.S. officials also criticized the plan, saying Venezuela's actions could destabilize the region.

VENEZUELA GOVERNMENT WOULD SUPPORT CUT IN OIL PRODUCTION  

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela would likely support a cut in oil production if fellow OPEC members favor a move to reduce oil world supplies, Venezuela's oil minister said Saturday. Rafael Ramirez said Venezuela, along with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, would have to consider the proposal to decrease oil output at a meeting next month.

    "During the June OPEC meeting we must evaluate a production cut," Ramirez said. He added that Venezuela would do "whatever is necessary to defend the price of oil." Earlier this month, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said OPEC-produced oil should be fetching between US$40 to US$60 a barrel on international markets.

    High oil prices are needed to help fund higher oil production and exploration by producer countries, OPEC's president said Saturday. Global demand for oil will rise to 85.5 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of this year and OPEC is making investments to bring production in line with that demand, said Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Kuwait's oil minister and current president of the Vienna-based cartel.

May 22, 2005

CUBAN DISSIDENTS GATHERED IN CUBA SHOUTING "FREEDOM, FREEDOM"

     HAVANA, CUBA.-  In what organizers are describing as the largest and most public gathering of Cuban dissidents since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, a much anticipated reunion was not disrupted by the communist government Friday. About 200 government opponents and other invited guests had an all-day gathering in Havana even as several Europeans who planned to attend, including diplomats and journalists, were swiftly detained and kicked off the island.

    The unprecedented reunion of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society was deemed a success by organizers and supporters, including a personal message sent by President Bush. The two-day conference, which ends today, was organized to join government opponents on and off the island and sketch out ideas for a future democratic society. ''There will be a before and after for May 20 in Cuba,'' Martha Beatriz Roque, one of the main organizers, told reporters in Havana. ''This is a triumph for all the opposition.'' May 20 is Cuba's independence day.

    By the time the assembly got started Friday morning, authorities had refused entry to two Polish lawmakers, deported two other lawmakers, detained half a dozen foreign visitors and harassed several would-be participants. Various delegates from Cuba's interior were summoned to police stations for unspecified interviews, precluding them from attending the conference. Others on the Isle of Youth were told they could not travel to Havana. Cuban officials did not issue a public statement on Friday about the meeting, but Castro has accused organizers of being U.S. mercenaries and warned of repercussions.

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO SAYS CUBA AND US ONCE SHARED INFORMATION ON TERRORIST ATTEMPTS 

     HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba and the United States in the late 1990s shared extensive information in terrorist attempts, dictator Fidel Castro said Friday, saying the past collaboration has been forgotten at this moment. 

    Speaking to several thousand government supporters, Castro read extensively from declassified Cuban documents that indicated frequent exchanges of information between the countries after the bombings of Cuban tourist installations in 1997. One explosion killed a young Italian man. Posada, now being held in the United States on immigration charges, at one point acknowledged to involvement in the hotel bombings, but later recanted.

    Castro said that in May 1998, his friend Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez personally delivered a message to then U.S. President Bill Clinton's advisers alerting them to plans by violent exile groups to plant bombs on flights between Cuba and the United States.

SPANISH GOVERNMENT DEMANDS EXPLANATION AFTER CUBA EXPELS THREE SPANISH POLITICIANS 

     MADRID, SPAIN.- Spanish officials have demanded Cuba explain why three politicians from Spain were expelled from the Caribbean country, the foreign ministry said Saturday. Cuba's ambassador to Madrid was called in to discuss the matter Friday, the ministry said. No details of the meeting were provided.

    Two former Spanish senators, Isabel San Baldomero and Rosa Lopez Garnica, were expelled from Cuba on Friday, and a deputy for the regional Catalan Convergence and Unity party, Jordi Xucla, was also been ordered to leave. No reason was given for the expulsions. 

    Six Poles - three journalists, a human rights worker and two students - were also expelled from the country on Friday. A day earlier, Cuba expelled two European lawmakers who had planned to attend a rare opposition political gathering.

May 21, 2005

      PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC.- The Czech Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Cuba's representative in Prague to protest the deportation of a Czech lawmaker from Cuba. Deputy Foreign Minister Petr Kolar summoned the Cuban Ambassador, Aymee Hernandez Quesada, to "strongly protest the action of Cuban authorities," the ministry said in a statement. Czech Senator Karel Schwarzenberg, a chancellor to former President Vaclav Havel, was taken by police from his hotel to the airport in Havana and put on a plane to Paris on Thursday, one day before a mass dissident assembly he wanted to attend. "The Czech Foreign Ministry considers the deportation ... unacceptable," the statement said. "The Cuban government is ... violating principles of international law and elementary diplomacy.

     ROME, ITALY.- The Italian government summoned Cuba's ambassador to Rome on Friday after an Italian journalist was detained in Cuba on his way to a meeting sponsored by opponents of communist President Fidel Castro. Cuba detained three Polish journalists sent to report on the event as well as the Italian reporter Francesco Battistini. Authorities also expelled European parliamentarians from the island hours before they were due to attend the meeting. Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini summoned the Cuban ambassador to Rome "for clarifications" on Friday, according to a ministry statement. Battistini boarded an airplane to Italy following the encounter and after Cuban authorities were contacted "to obtain the immediate release" of the reporter, who writes for Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the ministry said.

   BERLIN, GERMANY.- The German Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned Cuba's ambassador to explain why a politician was expelled from the communist island country earlier in the day, a ministry spokesman said. The ministry would like to talk with the ambassador to clear up any misunderstandings and get information on the incident, the spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity. Arnold Vaatz, a member of the opposition Christian Democrat Party in the lower house of parliament, was expelled Friday along with Czech Senator Karel Schwarzenberg. The two had planned to attend a dissident assembly in Havana. Schwarzenberg said the two had been seized by police Thursday afternoon and escorted to the airport.

HUGO CHAVEZ: JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR IS A "FASCIST" AND "IMBECILE"  

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist," saying Aznar once told him to forget about the poor nations of the world. Chavez recalled late Thursday that Aznar had urged him to get on "the train of the future" and distance himself from Cuba's Fidel Castro.

    Chavez, who met Thursday with Spanish Labor and Social Affairs Minister Jesus Caldera, said he once asked Aznar what he thought of the situation of poor African countries and Haiti. "He told me, 'Forget about them, those nations missed the train of history. They are condemned to disappear."' recalled Chavez, saying such ideas remind one of Adolf Hitler. "He is a true fascist."

    "That is the thinking of this gentleman who continues attacking us over there," said Chavez, who also called Aznar an "imbecile." The leftist Venezuelan leader has close ties, however, with current Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. During Zapatero's visit to the South American country in March, the two leaders announced a series of accords, including a deal for Venezuela to buy transport planes and patrol boats from Spain.

May 20, 2005

LUIS POSADA CARRILES CHARGED WITH ENTERING THE UNITED STATES TERRITORY ILLEGALLY

    MIAMI, FLORIDA.-  U.S. immigration officials charged Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles on Thursday with entering the United States illegally, which could lead to his deportation to another country. Venezuela wants Posada in connection with the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. Posada was being held at a U.S. detention center in El Paso, Texas, according to several Miami news reports. ICE would not immediately confirm that location.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials also said that Posada would be held without bond pending a hearing before an immigration judge scheduled for June 13. The precise location of that hearing was not specified. ''At such a bond hearing, ICE would present its arguments for holding him without bond,'' said an ICE statement. The government by law has 48 hours to bring immigration charges after a person is taken into custody.

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS IMMIGRATION CHARGE AGAINST LUIS POSADA CARRILES SHOWS U.S. HYPOCRISY  

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez lambasted U.S. officials for charging a Cuban exile with only an immigration violation, saying it demonstrates the American government's hypocrisy in its war on terrorism. Chavez demanded the U.S. government turn over 77-year-old Luis Posada Carriles to face justice in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger jet that killed 73 people. "The hypocrisy of the United States has been shown once more," Chavez said.

    The U.S. government "is protecting Luis Posada Carriles - one of the greatest terrorists," Chavez said. U.S. government documents have described Posada as an ex-CIA agent. "We demand that the United States ... send this terrorist, this international bandit" to Venezuela to face justice, Chavez said in a televised address from the eastern city of Cumana.

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR BLASTED FIDEL CASTRO AND HUGO CHÁVEZ 

    RÍO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.-  Former President of the Spanish government José María Aznar Thursday blasted a "friendship axis" between Cuban and Venezuelan presidents Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, respectively. He rejected populism and advocated for Cuban opposition.

    During a meeting of the political parties belonging to the International Democratic Union (IDU) held in Río de Janeiro, Aznar ensured that the world is going through a "period of expansion of freedom" that, however, is facing several risks, "such as populism (...) particularly in the Americas," reported Reuters.

    Aznar criticized populism, which he said "unfortunately is moving forward" in Latin America. When asked about this issue, he replied that an example of this trend are the policies of President Chávez, who, Aznar added, has established a "friendship axis" with Castro.

May 19, 2005

VENEZUELA AND RUSSIA SIGN CONTRACT FOR 100,000 ASSAULT RIFLES  

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA.-  Russia and Venezuela signed a contract for 100,000 Russian assault rifles to be provided to the Latin American nation, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. 

    The contract, signed on Tuesday by Venezuelan Defense Minister Jorge Garcia and Sergei Ladygin, the regional chief of Russia's state arms agency Rosoboronexport, provides for the AK-103 guns to be delivered between October and March, ITART-Tass said.  

President Hugo Chavez's plan to buy the new assault rifles from Russia has drawn sharp criticism from the U.S. government, which has suggested the guns could fall into the hands of other groups, such as leftist Colombian rebels.

VENEZUELA VOWS NO EXTRADITION OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES TO CUBA 

     MIAMI, FLORIDA.-  Vice-President José Vicente Rangel said that any decision made by Washington will disclose if US President George W. Bush' anti-terrorism efforts are real or a "double or triple speech."  In the event of extradition from the United States, the Venezuelan government undertook not to extradite Luis Posada Carriles to Cuba, as some US anti-Castro sectors fear.

    Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel reasserted Wednesday that if Posada is extradited to Venezuela, he will be prosecuted and sentenced in Venezuela. The Cuban-Venezuelan is allegedly involved in an attack on a plane of Cubana de Aviación in 1976. For Rangel, any decision made by Washington will disclose if US President George W. Bush' anti-terrorism efforts are real or a "double or triple speech."

May 18, 2005

LUIS POSADA CARRILES ARRESTED BY U.S. AUTHORITIES  ---  IF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT EXPELS POSADA FROM THIS COUNTRY, IT MAY REPRESENT ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE AGING CUBAN DICTATOR 

    MIAMI, FLORIDA.-  Acting under enormous pressure from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, U.S. authorities Tuesday seized Luis Posada Carriles, an anti-Castro militant, accused by Fidel Castro's government of masterminding a 1976 airliner bombing that killed 73 people. Posada had been seeking asylum in the United States. Posada, a 77-year-old former CIA operative and Venezuelan security official, was taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities, the Homeland Security Department, said in a statement.

      The department did not say what it planned to do with Posada, who is wanted by Venezuela and Cuba. But it said that generally, the U.S. government does not return people to Cuba or to countries acting on Cuba's behalf. The department said it has 48 hours to determine his immigration status. Posada’s whereabouts had been unknown until he surfaced in Miami in March and sent word that he was seeking asylum.  The request brought protests from Cuba. Earlier Tuesday, before he was taken into custody, Posada told reporters he was willing to abandon his asylum request and leave the United States for another country.

    "If my petition for political asylum created any problem to the government of the United States, I am ready to reconsider my petition," he said. "My only objective is to fight for the freedom of my country."  Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has demanded Posada's arrest by U.S. authorities for his alleged role in the airliner bombing and other anti-Castro violence. That demand was echoed by thousands in protests in Havana on Tuesday. 

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO LEADS A MARCH TO DEMAND ARREST OF LUIS POSADA CARRILES 

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Hundreds of thousands of Cubans answered Fidel Castro's call to file past the American mission early Tuesday in a "March against Terrorism," demanding that the United States arrest Luis Posada Carriles.  "Down with terrorism!" the 78-year-old Castro shouted in brief comments before he stepped off to lead the march outside the U.S. Interests Section. "Down with Nazi doctrines and methods! Down with the lies!"

    Wearing his traditional olive green military uniform and cap, the Cuban dictator walked six or seven blocks without assistance. Protesters were calling for the arrest of Castro's longtime foe, Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile who recently traveled to the United States, where he is seeking political asylum. Venezuela has requested the extradition of Posada in the 1976 airliner bombing that killed 73 people. U.S. Homeland Security officials have said they are not actively seeking Posada because there are no American warrants for his arrest.

    Marchers began gathering hours before dawn, recalling the scores of massive marches the communist government organized in 2000 during the island government's successful battle for the return of young Cuban castaway Elian Gonzalez. During a Monday night TV appearance, Castro complained that while Posada remains free, the United States continues to fund groups dedicated to subverting his government. 

EVO MORALES, A SOCIALIST COCA LEADER DEMANDS PRESIDENT CARLOS MESA TO "NATIONALIZE GAS" 

    LA PAZ, BOLIVIA.- Tens of thousands of Bolivians joined street protests on Monday to demand nationalization of the country's natural gas riches, defying President Carlos Mesa's push for an investment-friendly energy law. In one of the biggest protests this year, marchers carrying multicolored indigenous flags descended from the militant city of El Alto to a heavily policed Congress in the capital below.

     "We are demanding nationalization of our hydrocarbons without compensation (for companies)," said Edgar Patana, executive secretary of the El Alto labor association. The latest round of unrest in South America's poorest nation was triggered by Mesa's veto last week of an energy bill that introduced a 32 percent tax on foreign oil companies on top of an existing 18 percent royalty.

    Evo Morales, the radical coca farmer who leads the main opposition party Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), led another protest on Monday, a 120-mile (200-km) march from the Andean highlands to La Paz to demand a straight 50-percent royalty, which would preclude the possibility of tax breaks. "Every minute that goes by is one minute less for President Carlos Mesa in the government palace," the left-wing leader told local radio.

May 17, 2005

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS VENEZUELA HAS A SECRET PLAN IF HE'S KILLED; NATION WOULD STOP SENDING OIL TO UNITED STATES 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that if he is assassinated, his government has a contingency plan to prevent his enemies from taking control of the world's No. 5 oil exporter. "Some people might want to kill me, but they don't dare... because if they did, they fear what would happen the next day," the Venezuelan leader said in a television broadcast.

    Chavez, a firebrand nationalist who often accuses the U.S. government and domestic opponents of plotting to topple or kill him, and who survived a coup in 2002, said his ministers, the armed forces and his supporters would know what to do if he were ever assassinated. "We have a plan worked out in the event something happens to me. Those who are thinking about it should know this and that they won't have a good time of it if this happens," he said during his weekly "Hello President" TV and radio show.

    In a message to his supporters on Sunday, he said, "You can't let anyone come and seize our country". "The revolution should be intensified," he added in a four-hour broadcast in which he criticized the U.S. model of capitalism and expressed his preference for socialism. His critics say his statist and interventionist economic policies are turning Venezuela into a replica of Castro's Cuba. But Chavez denies this. "The Cuban model can't be copied. We don't want to copy it and we won't," he said Sunday.

NEWSWEEK IRRESPONSIBLE DESECRATION REPORT SPARKED DEADLY ANTI-U.S. PROTEST BY MUSLIMS

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- Newsweek magazine said on Sunday it erred in a May 9 report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article. Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

    The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 17 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League. On Sunday, Afghan Muslim clerics threatened to call for a holy war against the United States.

    “We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst,'' Whitaker wrote in the magazine's latest issue, due to appear on U.S. newsstands on Monday. The weekly news magazine said in its May 23 edition that the information had come from a ''knowledgeable government source'' who told Newsweek that a military report on abuse at Guantanamo Bay said interrogators flushed at least one copy of the Koran down a toilet in a bid to make detainees talk.

UNITED STATES WARNS NORTH KOREA NUKE TEST MAY LEAD TO PENALTIES 

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Bush administration warned North Korea on Sunday that conducting a nuclear test would be a serious act of "defiance" and would force the United States and its regional partners to consider new punitive steps against Pyongyang. "Action would have to be taken," U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

    Washington's warning, coupled with similar pressure from Japan, raised the stakes in the nuclear standoff after North Korea announced last week that it had removed fuel rods from its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, a potential precursor to building more weapons or testing one. Hadley acknowledged the difficulty of assessing whether North Korea was set to conduct a nuclear test, saying it was a "very difficult target" for U.S. intelligence agencies.

    But he said on Sunday: "We've seen some evidence that says that they may be preparing for a nuclear test. We have talked to our allies about that. Obviously that would be a serious step." Hadley said the United States had observed some activities by North Korea that are "consistent with possible preparations for a nuclear test." But he added; "We don't know for sure." "If there is a nuclear test, obviously that will be a defiance by North Korea of every member of the six-party talks, including China. And we think at that point we will have to have a serious conversation about other steps we can take," Hadley said.

ETA SUSPECTED OF SETTING OFF FOUR BOMBS IN SPAIN 

    MADRID, SPAIN.- Suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA set off four small bombs in the troubled northern region Sunday, officials said, two days after Spain's government made an unprecedented proposal for Parliament to endorse talks with ETA if it gives up violence.  Two policemen and a security guard were treated in a hospital and released after inhaling toxic fumes at a chemical plant where one of the pre-dawn blasts occurred. 

    The first explosions blamed on ETA in nearly three months threatened to undermine Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's proposal Friday for an unprecedented parliamentary motion endorsing negotiations with ETA if the group renounces its decades-old campaign of bombings and shootings. However, Zapatero insists such negotiations  would rule out concessions toward ETA's goal of Basque independence and focus only on its dissolution and the status of ETA prisoners.

   A vote on the motion is scheduled for Tuesday. It is expected to pass with help from leftist and regional allies of the ruling Socialists. But the main opposition Popular Party, which governed for eight years until March 2004 and waged a relentless crackdown on ETA, is dead-set against it, calling it a premature, unwarranted overture to an active terrorist group. 

May 16, 2005

COLOMBIAN AUTHORITIES SEIZE 15.1 TONS OF COCAINE WORTH $400 MILLION  

    BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA.-- Colombian authorities seized $400 million worth of cocaine that far-right paramilitaries had stashed on a jungle riverbank, the police said Friday, in their biggest drug bust in five years. Police and the Navy confiscated 15.1 tons of cocaine hidden on the banks of the River Mira, near the Pacific Ocean port of Tumaco in southern Colombia, in an operation lasting several days that ended early Friday.

   With a street value of about $25,000 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) in the United States, where police think the drugs were headed, the cocaine would sell for a total of about $400 million. "This is the biggest seizure in the country in the last five years," the head of Colombia's judicial police, Col. Oscar Naranjo, told Reuters. The drugs belonged to members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, an outlawed far-right militia known by its Spanish initials AUC that has killed thousands of people in its brutal campaign against Marxist rebels, Naranjo said.

    Armed agents made five arrests and seized nine assault rifles, communications equipment and eight boats in the operation. Working with the United States, Colombian authorities have significantly increased seizures in recent years, and confiscated 148 tons of cocaine last year. Both the AUC and Marxist rebels draw on cocaine money to buy weapons. But, while they are bloody rivals on the battlefield, the AUC often cooperates with the rebels in the drug trade. The paramilitaries probably bought the cocaine found on the River Mira from the FARC, Naranjo said.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE MAKES A SURPRISE TRIP TO IRAQ 

    BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Iraqi leaders on Sunday to discuss the battle against an escalating insurgency, and authorities said they found the bodies of 34 men killed by guerrillas. During her surprise visit, Rice said she wanted to move ahead the political process and undercut the insurgency. Guerrilla attacks have killed more than more than 400 people since the new cabinet was named on April 28.

    In talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, Rice discussed speeding up the training of Iraqi forces to take on greater security duties. Guerrillas have concentrated recent car bombings and assassinations on Iraqi soldiers and police. "We are fighting a very tough set of terrorists who are, it seems, determined to stop the progress of the Iraqi people," Rice told a news conference with Jaafari.

    National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Rice's trip was part of a U.S. effort to reach out to minority Sunni Muslims. Sunni Arabs dominated Iraq under dictator Saddam Hussein and make up the backbone of the insurgency. "Obviously, she is going to continue that process, because that is really the way forward over the long term to bringing a conclusion to this terrorist effort," Hadley said. Rice's visit came the same day that police found the handcuffed bodies of 13 people shot dead and left in a Baghdad garbage dump. The corpses of another 11 Iraqis, four of them beheaded, were found in Iskandariya, south of the capital in an area known as the "triangle of death."

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS UNITED STATES IS TRYING TO WEAKEN HIS GOVERNMENT BY SPURRING INFIGHTING 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-   Hugo Chavez accused the United States of trying to destabilize his government and spur infighting within the military, urging his supporters to respond by showing their unity. Chavez called the U.S. government "the imperialist adversary" in a televised speech Saturday, saying Washington is backing a series of subtle attacks against Venezuela. He accused "internal lackeys" of spreading false rumors among military commanders in an effort to create divisions.

    Speaking to supporters in the western town of Guanare, Chavez said rumors were being spread "to try to pit one general against another, or one commander against another." He said the false rumors included that he favored the army over other armed services. Chavez, a former army paratrooper and fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy, said he has new documents demonstrating that "the imperialist strategy continues to be overthrowing the Venezuelan government." He didn't elaborate but said he would present the documents to the public Sunday during his weekly radio and television show.

    U.S. officials have expressed concern about the health of Venezuelan democracy and Chavez's close ties to Cuba's Fidel Castro. Chavez, in turn, has accused Washington of trying to overthrow him in a grab for Venezuela's vast oil reserves. Chavez urged supporters "not to start fighting among yourselves," saying that is precisely what U.S. officials want. "To this, we should respond with unity," Chavez said. "Corruption, bureaucracy, inefficiency are mortal enemies of the revolution," Chavez said. "We must fight against that."

May 15, 2005

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD H. RUMSFELD PROPOSES CLOSING 180 MILITARY BASES IN THE UNITED STATES  

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Pentagon on Friday proposed shutting about 180 military installations from Maine to Hawaii including 33 major bases, triggering the first round of base closures in a decade and an intense struggle by communities to save their facilities. Underscoring the sweep of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's plan, the 33 major bases he would shutter are more than any of the previous four rounds of closings. He also would close or reduce the personnel at hundreds of smaller facilities that would remain open.

    Overall, Rumsfeld said his plan would save $48.8 billion over 20 years while making the military more mobile and better suited for the global effort against terrorism. Rumsfeld's proposal calls for a massive shift of U.S. forces, leading to a net loss of 29,005 military and civilian jobs, including personnel who would be moved home from overseas. He proposed cutting a total of 218,570 military and civilian positions from some bases while adding 189,565 positions to others, Pentagon documents show.

    The closures and downsizings would occur over six years starting in 2006. ''Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must give way to the new demands of the war against extremism and other evolving 21st Century challenges,'' Rumsfeld said in a written statement.

 CIA KILLED AN AL QAEDA OPERATIVE WITH A PEDRATOR DRONE AIRCRAFT

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- A key al Qaeda operative was killed earlier this week in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. A CIA-operated Predator drone aircraft fired a missile, killing Haithem al-Yemeni, whom U.S. intelligence had been tracking for some time. There had been hope he might lead authorities to Osama bin Laden or other top al Qaeda leaders, a sources said.

    ABC News first reported the Predator attack, saying it happened in Pakistan near the Afghan border. Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told CNN al-Yemeni was not killed in Pakistan. One pointed out the report could create political problems for the Pakistani government, which has been quietly cooperating with U.S. efforts to round up or kill al Qaeda operatives.

    ABC News reported al-Yemeni was in line to replace Abu Faraj al-Libbi as al Qaeda's global operations chief. Al-Libbi, the No. 3 man in bin Laden's terror network, was captured by Pakistani authorities last week in the frontier along the border with Afghanistan. Last week, Pakistani authorities arrested 18 people thought to be part of al-Libbi's group. Pakistani intelligence officials said after the arrest that they have been interrogating al-Libbi, and one said the prisoner was talking.

CUBAN EMERGENCY MEDICAL CENTER CLOSED FOR LACK OF DOCTORS 

    HAVANA, CUBA.- The emergency medical center next to the El Cerro bus station in Havana has been closed until further notice due to the scarcity of physicians occasioned by the wholesale shipment of doctors to other countries.

    Patients who used the medical post to seek treatment for asthma, hypertension and other ailments now have to go to the Antonio Maceo polyclinic or to the Salvador Allende or Joaquín Albarrán hospitals further away.

    After the Cuban government started sending physicians abroad as both a propaganda measure and as a source of hard currency, medical services just double up on the remaining physicians. Lately, the situation has become exacerbated by the shipment of what some say may be up to 10,000 doctors to Venezuela, to cooperate in President Chavez' neighborhoods program. In return, Venezuela has been shipping 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba.

May 14, 2005

FROM HAVANA, EVO MORALES CALLS FOR PROTESTS AGAINST ENERGY LAW IN BOLIVIA

   HAVANA, CUBA.- Bolivian opposition leader Evo Morales said Sunday that he will call for protests against a new energy law that he said has not gone far enough to protect the nation's resources. "We are going to call for social mobilization to defend the country against what I consider to be a looting by the multinationals," Morales said in an interview with The Associated Press.

     The leader of Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism, as well as of Indian coca farmers, Morales led protests that helped topple former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in 2002. He said he would return Monday to Bolivia from Cuba, where he has been recovering from an April 21 knee surgery. Morales said he was "indignant" that the new law approved Thursday by Bolivia's congress appears to accept the legality of contracts that had been declared unconstitutional by a Bolivian court. "Because of that, I believe it betrayed the Bolivian people," Morales said.

    Morales had been demanding a 50 percent royalty rate for extracted hydrocarbons. The new law sets that level at only 18 percent, but imposes a 32 percent direct tax - which might produce lower revenues for the state because of deductions and other factors. In addition, Morales said he would ask Bolivia to withdraw from the Organization of American States following the election of Chilean Jose Miguel Insulza as the OAS secretary-general. "As long as Mr. Insulza is heading the OAS, that organization will not be good for anything, and much less to the Bolivian people," he said.

AT LAST, JOHN BOLTON'S NAME GOES TO FULL SENATE, BUT THE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE DOES NOT ENDORSE HIM  

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- A divided Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday sent the nomination of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador to the full Senate. But it took the rare step of refusing to endorse the blunt-speaking conservative. The move kept the contentious nomination alive, leaving its fate in the hands of the GOP-run Senate. By not recommending that senators approve Bolton's nomination, the committee delivered a slap at President Bush in one of the first big battles of his second term.

    ''It doesn't appear that Mr. Bolton has the confidence of the majority of this committee,'' said Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the senior Democrat on the panel. ''And I would suggest that it may be worth the president's interest to take note of that.'' The panel acted after a pivotal Republican member, Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, voiced opposition to the nomination, calling Bolton arrogant and bullying. Yet Voinovich broke a committee impasse by agreeing to let the full Senate vote rather than joining Democrats' effort to kill the nomination in committee.

    All 10 Republicans voted to send the nomination to the floor and all eight Democrats voted no. Democrats vowed to try to defeat or block the nomination on the floor. Bolton, 56, who is now the top arms control diplomat at the State Department, has strong ties among political conservatives both inside and outside the administration.

LOUISIANA STATE SENATE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES RESOLUTION SUPPORTING DISSIDENT ASSEMBLY TO TAKE PLACE IN THE CITY OF HAVANA ON MAY 20

   BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA.- On Wednesday, May 11th, 2005, the Louisiana Senate unanimously adopted a historic Cuba Human Rights Resolution, sponsored by Senator Jay Dardenne from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  This resolution is an unprecedented declaration of solidarity and support for Cuba’s dissident movement, prisoners of conscience and for a rapid transition to a democratic, civil society in Cuba.  The resolution denounces the systematic abuses of the Castro regime against the Cuban people, including the denial of basic human rights and the regime’s ongoing violations of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

The resolution endorses and supports the May 20th Assembly to Promote a Civil Society in Cuba led by Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, Félix Bonne and René Gómez Manzano and all those individuals working peacefully for democratic change on the island.  Among those recognized were Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Oswaldo Paya, Vladimiro Roca, and all members of the “Ladies in White”.  In summary, the resolution demands that the Cuban regime promote, develop, and implement democratic institutions for the Cuban people, a free press, and a respect for those universal human rights, freedoms and individual liberties. 

May 13, 2005

THE WHITE HOUSE AND U.S. CAPITOL EVACUATED AFTER A SMALL PLANE ENTERED WASHINGTON RESTRICTED AIRSPACE   

   WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Capitol and White House were evacuated Wednesday after a small plane entered restricted airspace and came within three miles of the executive mansion. Military jets scrambled to intercept the aircraft and fired warning flares. Two men in the aircraft, which relatives and friends said was on its way to a North Carolina air show, were taken into custody and interviewed by authorities at a Maryland airport where the plane landed after a military escort.

    "This appears to be errant pilots," Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer. he said. He said officials were concerned because the plane appeared to be "on a straight-in shot toward the center of the Washington area." White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the plane came within three miles of the White House. President Bush was exercising in Maryland and not there at the time. The encroachment into restricted airspace sparked a flurry of emergency activity throughout the capital, which was targeted on Sept. 11, 2001 and has been under a heightened state of alert since then. Security officials in several other government buildings, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Supreme Court, ordered people to safer locations.

    The incident began at 11:28 a.m., when Federal Aviation Administration radar picked up the aircraft, a small two-seater Cessna 150 with high wings. Two Black Hawk helicopters were dispatched at 11:55 a.m. from Reagan National Airport. The plane was also approached by two F-16 fighter aircraft, scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base. They fired four warning flares. The military aircraft escorted the plane to the Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, Md. Armed security officers raced through the Capitol shouting for people to leave. "This is not a drill," guards shouted as they moved people away from the building.

NORTH KOREA REMOVES NUCLEAR RODS FROM REACTOR 

    SEOUL, SOUTH  KOREA.- North Korea said Wednesday it had completed removing spent nuclear fuel rods from a reactor at its main nuclear complex - a move that could allow it to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium - in the communist state's latest provocation amid a deadlock in disarmament talks. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country had "successfully completed" removing 8,000 fuel rods from the reactor at Yongbyon, according to a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

    The step comes after South Korean officials confirmed last month that the Yongbyon reactor was shut down, which would allow the rods to be removed and be reprocessed to extract weapons-grade plutonium. The North didn't specifically say Wednesday it would take such a step. "We are continuing to take necessary measures to increase (our) nuclear arsenal for self-defense purposes," the unnamed spokesman said.

   Experts have earlier said reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods could yield enough plutonium for between five to eight nuclear bombs, depending on the weapon design. To get the plutonium, the rods would first need to cool for a couple months and then be reprocessed, which also takes a couple months. North Korea kicked out international nuclear inspectors in late 2002, making it impossible to verify their latest claim. The North Korean spokesman noted Wednesday that the country had already announced plans to operate its 5-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon, some 50 miles north of Pyongyang, and resume construction on a bigger reactor there because the United States pulled out of a 1994 deal on the North's nuclear program. 

May 12, 2005

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO REJECTS CALLS TO HAND OVER AN AMERICAN TERRORIST PROTECTED BY HIS COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT  

   HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has rejected calls to hand over a fugitive that U.S. officials put on a terrorism list this month, saying she is an innocent victim of racial persecution. "They wanted to portray her as a terrorist, something that was an injustice, a brutality, an infamous lie," Castro said in a television address Tuesday night.

    While Castro did not identify the woman by name, he was clearly alluding to Assata Shakur - the former Joanne Chesimard - who was put on a U.S. government terrorist watch list on May 2. On the same day, New Jersey officials announced a $1 million reward for her capture. A member of the Black Liberation Army, Shakur, 57, was convicted in 1973 of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster as he lay on the ground. She escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba. "They have always been hunting her, searching for her because of the fact that there was an accident in which a policeman died," Castro said.

    Castro said the appeal for her expulsion had been raised with him several years ago by a woman who was both "a friend of Cuba" and a friend of former President Bill Clinton. "I transmitted my opinion to the president of the United States," he said, though he did not specify who raised the issue nor when she visited. The Cuban dictator called for a massive rally on May 17 in front of the U.S. Interests Section, or diplomatic mission, to demand the arrest of Posada.

SOUTH AMERICA AND ARAB LEAGUE AGENDA: TRADE TIES, SHARED RESENTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

    BRAZILIA, BRAZIL.- Ministers from 33 South American and Middle Eastern nations on Sunday began preparing the groundwork for the first-ever summit of leaders from the two regions. Their talks could lead to a commitment to negotiations for a South American-Arab free trade zone -- part of an effort to counter U.S. political and economic influence. Brazilian media stressed Sunday that the leaders of key U.S. allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be absent. But Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is scheduled to attend. The United States' request to observe the event was denied.

    While the stated goal of the gathering is to boost economic ties, the summit will bring together leaders from countries that resent America's forceful hand in everything from regime changes to globalization that critics say benefits only large multinational corporations. ''It's important for these countries to not be seen as being bullied by the West,'' said Amany Jamal, a Middle East political development expert at Princeton University. ``What better way to do that than reestablish dominance on another front?''

    Top government officials from the 11 South American nations and 22 Middle Eastern and North African countries attending the Summit of South American-Arab Countries met Sunday ahead of the two-day summit's opening on Tuesday. Leaders gathering in Brasilia will range from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a self-proclaimed revolutionary and constant U.S. critic, to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and the summit host, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

TALABANI ASKS CHAVEZ TO RECTIFY HIS WORDS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES 

    BRAZILIA, BRAZIL.-Hugo Chávez Tuesday once again strongly criticized US imperialism during his speech at the summit of Latin American and Arab countries taking place in Brazil, news agency DPA reported. Before delegations of 34 Latin American and Arab countries, Chávez accused the United States of wanting "to take possession of the entire world" and intending to "force us to embrace its model."  "Venezuela is threatened by US imperialism," he said. Chávez reminded the audience of the 2002 failed coup which, in his opinion, was "led by Washington." Chavez’s words made Iraq President  Jalai Talabani to ask him to rectify his words against the United States.

WORLD BANK: VENEZUELA IS ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES IN THE CONTINENT

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- Venezuela is one of the most corrupt countries in the continent, according to the World Bank

    In a report published on Monday, the World Bank (WB) said that Latin American governance and justice have not improved over the last eight years, and that hinders the region's potential economic growth. Despite this lack of general progress, Daniel Kauffmann, Director of the World Bank Institute for Global Governance, underscored there are huge differences in the region.

    On the one hand, Chile has had a high performance in terms of politics and human rights, comparable to that in industrial countries. It is followed by countries like Mexico and Salvador, says the WB report, which studies 209 countries. The situation in Venezuela and Cuba, on the other hand, has worsened. Venezuela is one of the most corrupt countries in Latin America. This applies also to Paraguay and Haiti, according to the report.

MORE THAN 20 PERSONS FOUND ON ELLIOT KEY  

    ELLIOT KEY, FLORIDA.- More than 20 people believed to be Cuban migrants were found Tuesday on Elliott Key, according U.S. Border Patrol said. At noon, the process of transporting the migrants to land was still underway, immigration officials said. It's unknown how the migrants where smuggled in and dropped off at the key, which is part of Biscayne National Park, officials said. The migrants will be processed later today. 

May 11, 2005

MARINES KILL 100 TERRORISTS IN SANCTUARY NEAR SYRIA  

   BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- U.S. forces punched through remote desert outposts Tuesday in pursuit of followers of Iraq's most wanted terrorist after meeting stiff resistance from militants hidden in basements, on rooftops and inside sandbag bunkers in a lawless region near the Syrian border. At least three Marines have been killed and fewer than 20 wounded in Operation Matador, one of the biggest U.S. offensives in Iraq since militants were driven from Fallujah six months ago, the U.S. military said.

U.S. forces said as many as 100 insurgents were killed in the first 48 hours of the operation - many of them trapped under rubble as fighter jets and helicopter gunships pounded the remote desert region. But Marine commanders told The Chicago Tribune that resistance had been unexpectedly intense. U.S. forces believe the main body of insurgents in Iraq have moved from their former strongholds in Fallujah and Ramadi to points north and west, Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday. They appear to be well-equipped and trained.

 "There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests, and there's some suspicion that their training exceeds what we have seen with other engagements further east," he said. U.S. soldiers built a pontoon bridge across the Euphrates River to push into the northern Jazirah Desert, believed to be a haven for followers of militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Intelligence reports indicated insurgents were using the vast region, a known smuggling route, as a staging area where foreign fighters crossing into Iraq from Syria received weapons and equipment for attacks in the key cities of Baghdad, Ramadi, Fallujah and Mosul, U.S. Marine spokesman Capt. Jeffrey Pool said.

CUBAN FREEDOM FIGHTER SEEKS POLITICAL ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES 

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- A Cuban freedom fighter long regarded as a strong opponent of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has applied for asylum in the United States, a government official said Monday. Luis Posada Carriles reportedly slipped into South Florida several weeks ago but the Bush administration says it cannot confirm his whereabouts.

    To be eligible for political asylum, Posada must prove that he has a well-founded fear of persecution in his native country, said a Department of Homeland Security official said. Castro has called Posada "the most famous and cruel terrorist of the Western Hemisphere."  Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon said Monday in Havana that Posada "learned to kill" during a Cold War-era stint with the CIA in the 1960's.

    The official said consideration of asylum requests includes national security and law enforcement criteria. A person who seeks asylum need not be in the presence of a U.S. government official when applying. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday that no extradition request from Venezuela for Posada had been received. "In terms of where he presently is, I think it's fair to say we don't know," Casey said.

POPE BENEDICT XVI NAMES NEW CUBAN BISHOP FOR CENTRAL CUBA'S MATANZAS

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Pope Benedict XVI has named a new bishop for central Cuba's Matanzas diocese in his first decision concerning the Roman Catholic church on this communist-run island, the Bishops Conference of Cuba said Monday. The Rev. Manuel Hilario de Cespedes y Garcia Menocal, great-great grandson of Cuban independence leader Carlos Manuel Cespedes, will fill the post left vacant by Bishop Mariano Vivanco's death, the bishops said in a statement. It said the Vatican sent official word over the weekend.

    De Cespedes, a priest, has been vicar general in the western province of Pinar del Rio. Born in Cuba on March 11, 1944, De Cespedes emigrated to Puerto Rio in the 1960s, where he studied electrical engineering. But in 1966, he entered a seminary in Venezuela to study for the priesthood.

    Ordained in 1972, De Cespedes developed his ministry in Venezuela for 12 years before returning to Cuba. In Pinar del Rio, he also served on the editorial board of Vitral, a sometimes outspoken church publication. Although Cuba was once officially atheist, the government of Fidel Castro never broke relations with the Vatican and in 1992 dropped all constitutional references to atheism.

May 10, 2005

PRESIDENTS BUSH AND PUTIN MEET, SET ASIDE DIFFERENCES

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA.- Changing the tone from tough talk to friendship, President Bush and Vladimir Putin went out of their way to take a unified stand on Middle East peace and terrorism Sunday. A smiling Putin even put Bush behind the wheel of his prized 1956 Volga, a pristine white sedan, and let him take it for a spin around the grounds of his private compound 25 miles west of Moscow. Putin also kidded the president about Laura Bush's recent comedy routine. The happy picture of the two presidents summed up a theme that aides on both sides described - powerful leaders who have a strong relationship and can discuss their disagreements.

    Bush and Putin seemed determined not to cast a cloud over Monday's celebration in Red Square of the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, a victory that cost the Soviet Union the lives of nearly 27 million soldiers and citizens. "It is a moment where the world will recognize the great bravery and sacrifice the Russian people made in the defeat of Nazism," Bush said, sitting alongside Putin in front of a fireplace. "The people of Russia suffered incredible hardship, and yet the Russian spirit never died out."

    "Russia's a great nation and I'm looking forward to working together on big problems," Bush said. "And I want to thank you for your help on Iran and the Middle East and there's a lot we can do together." In their private talks, Bush even complimented Putin on a speech that had raised eyebrows in Washington last month, when the Russian leader said the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.

CUBA CELEBRATES THE DEFEAT OF NAZI GERMANY AND SAYS THE UNITED STATES IS USING 'FASCIST' POLICIES TO DOMINATE THE WORLD 

    HAVANA, CUBA.- As world leaders celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany in Moscow's Red Square on Monday, Communist Cuba held its own parade and accused the United States of using "fascist" policies to dominate the world. The president of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon, denounced the world's only superpower for employing military force unilaterally in an apparent reference to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

    "They practice a fascist military doctrine and proclaim their right to attack anyone when they please, using their powerful military machine, without any justification," he said in a speech marking the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Germany's Third Reich. "The Fourth Reich will be defeated. The 21st century will see the final defeat of fascism," Alarcon said, using the occasion to lay into the United States, Cuba's longtime foe. The ceremony at a monument to Soviet soldiers outside Havana was attended by Lyubov K. Sliska, first deputy speaker of the Russian Duma, and Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro.

    Sliska and Raul Castro, dictator Fidel Castro's younger brother and designated successor, laid flowers at the monument. Cuba frequently uses references to Nazi Germany to attack the U.S. government. A large billboard opposite the U.S. diplomatic mission on Havana's waterfront shows scenes of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, with a large swastika and the words "Fascists: made in U.S.A."

BOLIVIAN SOCIALIST EVO MORALES EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT THE NEW OAS SECRETARY GENERAL AND PRAISES CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO

    HAVANA, CUBA.- A major Bolivian opposition leader welcomed a new energy law on Friday, expressed concern about the new leader of the Organization of American States and praised the path of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Socialist Evo Morales told a news conference here that he welcomed Thursday's approval of a new law raising taxes and royalties on petroleum to 50 percent. "We have to recognize that we have advanced," he said. But Morales said he worried that President Carlos Mesa might send the measure back to Congress with modifications that would undermine the ownership rights of the country's Indian communities - and that Congress would not muster a two-thirds majority to override the change.

    "That is the great fear that we have," he said, adding that an opposition meeting early next week would determine how to respond if Mesa modifies the law. Morales has been in Cuba for two weeks to have a knee operation and said he would soon return to Bolivia. He praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez for their defiance of the United States.  He said he was convinced that Castro, Chavez and their nations "are liberating forces and men for America and the world."

    An Indian, socialist and coca farmer, Morales led massive protests that helped topple former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in 2002 and that encouraged Congress to pass the new, higher taxes on energy extraction.  "The Indian peoples want very much ... to accompany that tough struggle against the empire," the United States, which he said "forces us into policies of hunger and misery." Morales - whose country has a long-standing land dispute with Chile - also joined Cuban President Fidel Castro in expressing doubts at the acceptance of Chilean Jose Miguel Insulza as head of the Organization of American States. "Bolivia loses with the naming of Mr. Insulza as secretary-general of the OAS," he said.

VENEZUELAN HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS OIL FIRMS THAT DO NOT PAY BACK TAXES MUST LEAVE THE COUNTRY 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela must pay taxes he insists they owe or else leave the country. "The companies must pay what they owe," Chavez said during his Sunday television and radio show. "If they don't pay, they must leave." Chavez said that many private oil companies have been evading taxes for years, and they must be charged retroactively with interest on any debts. Officials have said that many declare losses to avoid paying income tax.

    "It's not possible that an oil company can come here, pay 1% royalty and not pay income tax, and still declare losses," he said. According to Venezuelan law, oil companies must pay a 30% royalty, but companies producing heavy crude - which is expensive to produce - were allowed to pay 1% royalty until last year, when the government raised it to 16%. "All oil production gives earnings," he said. The speech by Chavez came one day after National Assembly president Nicolas Maduro said lawmakers will investigate international oil companies accused of evading taxes and other charges.

    Maduro, a pro-government lawmaker, was quoted by the state-run Bolivarian News Agency as saying lawmakers expect to find evidence of tax evasion, royalty debts, production over the limit set by the government. He said investigators would question top officials of the state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PVZ.YY), who negotiated agreements with foreign companies after Venezuela allowed them to enter its oil industry in the mid 1990s. During that time, 32 operating agreements were signed with companies including ChevronTexaco (CVX), BP PLC (BP), Total SA (TOT), Petrobras SA (PBR), Repsol YPF (REP), Royal Dutch Shell (RD, SC) and the China National Petroleum Corp. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez estimated last month that many of these companies have evaded taxes totaling $2 billion.

May 9, 2005

PRESIDENT BUSH THANKS RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN FOR HELP ON IRAN AND THE MIDDLE EAST

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA.- Despite contentions over Moscow's commitment to democracy, President Bush thanked Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday for help on Iran and the Middle East and said "there's a lot we can do together.'' The two leaders put an upbeat cast on talks at Putin's dacha at a walled compound in a birch forest 25 miles west of Moscow. The Russian leader even let Bush drive his white Volga sedan from one building to another for dinner with their wives.

    The two leaders ignored reporters' questions and kept their real discussions private, so there was no repeat of the contentious debate that flared publicly at a February news conference when they disagreed about Moscow's quashing of dissent and exertion of control in the country. "Russia's a great nation and I'm looking forward to working together on big problems,'' Bush said. "And I want to thank you for your help on Iran and the Middle East and there's a lot we can do together.''

    During a brief photo opportunity before their talks, the two leaders exchanged pleasantries as they sat alongside each other in front of an unlit, ornate fireplace. Putin said Bush's visit was "of special importance'' and he spoke of "a very large volume of cooperation between our countries.'' Bush said he looked forward to Monday's celebration in Red Square of the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, saying it will help the world "recognize the great bravery and sacrifice the Russian people made in the defeat of Naziism.'' 

WOMAN BARRICADES HERSELF TO PREVENT EVICTION

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Yudinela Caridad Castro barricaded herself in the home she occupied April 14 in the Párraga neighborhood of Havana, after Arroyo Naranjo municipal housing authorities threatened to evict her. Castro, 23, barricaded herself inside the home with her one-and-a-half year old son. She said she used to live nearby but her home had been declared uninhabitable seven years ago.

    After hurricane Charlie, in 2004, destroyed the roof, authorities placed her in the Vista Alegre transit refuge, and promised her that within six months they would find her a permanent place to live.Castro said her son suffers from asthma and heart problems. "At the transit home I had to pay 20 pesos every day for water, because there isn't any. There's constantly urine on the floors and you have to keep your door closed because of the shootings and the fights due to the consumption of marihuana in the place," she said from inside her barricaded position. "On April 14 I was told this house was empty and I broke the seals and got in. I did it for my son who is sick, because I could live under a bridge if necessary."

    On that same day, people from the housing authority came around and told Castro she would have to vacate the premises. "This is social indiscipline," she reported they said. On April 20, officials came around again and threatened to bring the police. Castro said she is desperate and ready to face the consequences to remain at the home. She threatened to hurt herself and her son if authorities tried to evict her.

May 8, 2005

HUGO CHAVEZ CALLS PRESIDENT BUSH 'MISTER DANGER,' SAYS VENEZUELA HAS REASON TO BE WORRIED

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lashed out at U.S. President George W. Bush, calling him "Mr. Danger" and saying wars from Iraq to Colombia show the American government is a menace to the world. Chavez paused during a televised speech Friday to read aloud Bush's comments to reporters at the White House a day earlier, when he said Venezuela's plans to buy 100,000 assault rifles from Russia raise concerns the guns could fall into the hands of Colombian rebels.
    "The rifles are defensive weapons," Chavez said, adding that Kalashnikovs are nothing to the array of weapons wielded by U.S. forces, such as "trans-Atlantic missiles." "If I were buying one of those devices, with which we press a button to travel, arrive at the White House, then they could worry," he said. "They have thousands of those devices."
    "We do have reasons to be worried, Mr. Danger, about the U.S. arms buildup, about U.S. threats, about the presence of U.S. soldiers in Colombia," Chavez said. He accused the U.S. government of having "an interest in having war in Colombia" and providing large amounts of weapons. "That's a reality, as it was in Central America, as it was in the Middle East. Who armed Saddam Hussein? Who gave Saddam Hussein weapons, ammunition, military technology? The U.S. government," said Chavez. "Who armed Osama bin Laden, and gave al-Qaida the great power it has? The United States," he emphasized.

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO REJECTS CRUISE SHIPS 

    HAVANA, CUBA.- The U.S. government has been trying to keep cruise ships out of Cuba for years. Now Cuba's government is telling the ships to stay away as well. Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said late Thursday that Cuba had discovered that the cruise ships weren't the sort of tourism it wanted. "Floating hotels come, floating restaurants, floating theaters, floating diversions visit countries to leave their trash, their empty cans and papers for a few miserable cents," Castro said during the four and a half hour broadcast.
    "We have told (fellow Caribbean states) that Cuba will not accept cruise ships," Castro said. He did not say if the measure had taken effect. Cruise ships have been visiting Havana at least periodically until late last month. Cuba had been promoting cruise ships as part of a steadily growing tourism industry that brought more than 2 million visitors to the island last year, making it a major source of foreign exchange revenue.
    The U.S. government has tried to discourage cruises to Havana as part of a general embargo of the communist government. With rare exceptions, U.S. officials bar ships that dock in Cuba from visiting U.S. ports. So most cruise ships that stop in Cuba are based in nearby Caribbean nations. Cruise ships have come under increasing scrutiny in several nations. Some analysts argue that they produce relatively little local revenue. Cuban received about 45,000 cruise visitors in 2002 and 60,000 in 2003, according to the state company Silares, that administers the cruise terminal here.  

VENEZUELA WILL BUY 300,000 RIFLES FROM RUSSIA, SAYS COLOMBIAN OFFICIAL

   BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA.- Colombian parliamentarian Jimmy Chamorro Friday ensured that Caracas plans to purchase 300,000 automatic rifles from Russia, rather than 100,000 as previously disclosed by the governments of Venezuela and Russia, news agency DPA reported. Chamorro's remarks came in the wake of a controversy sparked in Colombia after US President George W. Bush warned that these rifles were likely to end up in the hands of rebels of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC.)
    In this regard, he told Colombian radio station La FM that "at first, we were advised that the Venezuelan government would buy 100,000 rifles, but then reliable sources said Caracas would make a staggered purchase of 300,000 rifles over the next three years." He seized the opportunity to request Colombian President Álvaro Uribe to respectfully oppose the Venezuelan arms purchase. Minister

U.S. GOVERNMENT: A NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR TEST WOULD JUST BE ANOTHER PROVOCATIVE ACT 

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. spy satellites have detected what may be preparations for North Korea's first test of a nuclear weapon. Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said he didn't want to get into discussing intelligence matters. ''But what I would say is that if North Korea did take such a step, that would just be another provocative act that would further isolate it from the international community.''
   ''All countries in the region are committed to seeing a nuclear-free peninsula,'' McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One. At the State Department, spokesman Tom Casey said, ''We don't have any new assessment'' of North Korea. Casey said various North Korean statements had raised concerns and the United States was sharing them with other governments.

May 7, 2005

THE DIAZ-BALART FAMILY INFORMS OF THE PASSING OF DR. RAFAEL L. DIAZ-BALART 

    MIAMI. FLORIDA.-  On behalf of the Diaz-Balart family and with deep regret, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart conveyed the news today of the death of his father, Rafael L. Diaz-Balart. Attorney and Majority Leader in the House of Representatives during the Cuban Republic; founder in exile of the first organization created to fight the communist dictatorship ("The White Rose" Party); writer; doctor in comparative law; student of theology; member of the diplomatic corps of the sister Republic of Costa Rica for 14 years; legal advisor and entrepreneur in Spain; ceaseless fighter for the freedom of his country; and beloved father of four sons, including two U.S. Congressmen, Rafael Diaz-Balart died in Miami today from leukemia at age 79.
    "My father was my constant teacher and my best friend.  He taught me how to live, and now he has taught me how to die.  I will miss his brilliance and wisdom, his extraordinary generosity of spirit, his limitless love for his family, and above all his supreme love for Cuba.  His death constitutes another reason to continue the fight for Cuba's freedom, which was the ideal of his life, and of so many Cubans who have died longing for free Cuba," said Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
    By his side were his sons, Rafael, Lincoln, Jose and Mario, and his wife, Mercedes and her daughter Belén. A mass will be held tomorrow, Saturday May 7 at 2:00 p.m. at Saint John Bosco in Miami for the eternal rest of the soul of Rafael L. Diaz-Balart. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Rafael Diaz-Balart Law Scholarship Fund at Florida International University (FIU).

A VENEZUELAN ARMY GENERAL CALLS COLOMBIA AN "OUTLAW STATE" FOR NOT COOPERATING IN BORDER SECURITY

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- A Venezuelan army general criticized Colombia for not doing enough to cooperate on border security, calling the neighboring democratic country an 'outlaw state.' Appearing before the National Assembly on Wednesday, Gen. Melvin Lopez Hidalgo also accused the United States of trying to spark a conflict between Venezuela and Colombia through its military involvement in Colombia, the newspaper El Universal reported.
    Referring to Colombia, the general said: "We are unfortunately before an outlaw state that doesn't answer the demands Venezuela makes in the function of security." Meanwhile, Venezuelan and Colombian officials began a meeting in the border town of San Cristobal on Thursday to discuss security and other border issues. Officials said they were discussing topics including tourism, drugs and frequent kidnappings in border areas.
    Hugo Chavez, a staunch critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, also criticized the presence of U.S. troops in Colombia as worrying on Wednesday. "That is a problem we have here, that they are there inside Colombia," Chavez said, referring to U.S. troops. "It's a motive for us to worry, that the U.S. military is in Colombia." Lopez Hidalgo expressed similar concerns when he appeared before lawmakers. "We know what the U.S. government tries to do here through Plan Colombia is generate a conflict between Colombia and Venezuela to be able to intervene," Lopez Hidalgo was quoted as saying. "That may sound ugly, that may sound strange, but it's a reality."

PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR WINS HISTORIC THIRD TERM IN BRITISH ELECTIONS, LABOUR PARTY'S MAJORITY IS SLASHED

   LONDON, ENGLAND.- Prime Minister Tony Blair weathered a backlash over the Iraq war to win a historic third term as Britain's prime minister, but his Labour Party suffered a sharply reduced parliamentary majority that could weaken his mandate and force him to step aside before his term ends. Labour's majority in the House of Commons decreased from 161 seats before the election to about 60, according to the latest results. With the count still incomplete, but Labour's majority assured, Queen Elizabeth II confirmed Blair as the winner Friday morning. 
     On his return from Buckingham Palace, he acknowledged Iraq had been a setback. ''I know that Iraq has been a deeply divisive issue in this country,'' he said afterward. ''But I also know and believe that after this election people want to move on, they want to focus on the future in Iraqi, and here.'' Later Friday, Conservative Party leader Michael Howard said he planned to step down because ''I did not achieve what I set out to achieve.'' Labour needed at least 324 seats to form a majority in the 646-seat House of Commons. With 622 seats reporting, Labour had 353 seats, the main opposition Conservatives 196, Liberal Democrats 61, and independents and smaller parties 12.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: STALIN WAS A TYRANT WHO FAILED TO DESTROY THE "VIABILITY" OF RUSSIA

    BERLIN, GERMANY.-  In unusually critical comments, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Josef Stalin a tyrant in a newspaper interview released Thursday and then said separately at the Kremlin that the Soviet dictator's notorious purges failed to destroy the "viability" of Russia. Putin rarely criticizes Stalin, who is widely considered responsible for millions of deaths before and after World War II. Many of them took place during the Great Terror of the 1930s and during sweeping purges that decimated top Soviet military leadership.
    The comments come days before Putin hosts world leaders Monday for ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. In a joint interview with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder released in Germany, Putin was quoted as saying: "It goes without saying that Stalin was a tyrant, whom many call a criminal, but he was not a Nazi." The interview was to be published in Friday's edition of the popular German newspaper Bild. The newspaper released the comments Thursday. Putin's press service said it also would be posted on the Kremlin Web site Friday.

May 6, 2005

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO LASHES OUT AT JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, THE NEW SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ORGANIZATION O AMERICAN STATES (OAS)  

    HAVANA, CUBA,.- Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has bitterly criticized the Organization of American States and its new Chilean leader, accusing Jose Miguel Insulza of using "insolent, interventionist" language to suggest change was needed in communist Cuba. Castro used a three-hour appearance on Cuban state television late Wednesday to lambaste the United States and several other governments around the region that he said were servile toward the United States.  “This silly and figurehead man thinks he has the right to stick his nose down here, ” he added.
    Castro appeared to be also infuriated by Insulza's suggestions that "all of us want to promote important progress in terms of democracy" in Cuba. "The little gentleman lost control," Castro said, referring to the OAS as "that corrupt, putrefied, stinking institution." The Cuban dictator has made a target of the OAS since the early 1960s, when Cuba was suspended from the organization at the prompting of the United States, which was then actively trying to topple Castro.
    Castro noted that U.S. officials have now embraced Insulza's election and said that while he did not say the Chilean had sold out, his words were those "of someone who has a price posted in the shop window... 'Worth so much,' and I believe the price is not very high." Castro also suggested that Chile should give up disputed northern territories so that Bolivia could have an outlet to the Pacific Ocean.

PAKISTANI COMMANDOS NAB AL-QAIDA NO. 3, PRESIDENT BUSH CALLS THE OPERATION 'CRITICAL VICTORY' IN WAR ON TERROR L

    ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN.-Pakistani commandos nabbed a senior al-Qaida leader, described by U.S. officials as the group's No. 3 operative, after a shootout at one of his barren hideouts. President Bush hailed the capture of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, al-Qaida's alleged operational planner, as a ''critical victory'' that ''removes a dangerous enemy who is a direct threat to America and for those who love freedom." ''Al-Libbi was a top general for bin Laden,'' Bush said. ''He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al-Qaida network.''
    Al-Libbi, a native of Libya who's thought to use at least five aliases, is believed responsible for planning attacks in the United States, a U.S. counterterrorism official said. U.S. officials described the arrest as the greatest blow to al-Qaida in more than two years. Al-Libbi is a confidant of bin Laden and was behind only Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri and the al-Qaida chief himself in the terror organization's hierarchy, they said.
    Al-Libbi was also Pakistan's most-wanted man, the main suspect behind two 2003 assassination attempts against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf - and is likely to face the death penalty in Pakistan if convicted. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the arrest Monday has already produced a treasure trove of intelligence, and predicted more breakthroughs to come. ''This is a very important day for us,'' Ahmed said. ''This arrest gives us a lot of tips, and I can only say that our security agencies are on the right track'' in the hunt for bin Laden. 

JOSÉ VICENTE RANGEL, VENEZUELAN VICE-PRESIDENT, SAYS SECRETARY RICE'S LATIN AMERICAN TOUR WAS A "FAILURE" 

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela's vice president said Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's tour of Latin American last week was a "failure." Jose Vicente Rangel did not elaborate on his assessment of Rice's trip to Brazil, Colombia, Chile and El Salvador, but said that an effort by the U.S. government to "isolate" Venezuela in the region was unsuccessful because of the "huge support" for President Hugo Chavez.
    "I think that Condoleezza Rice's tour through some countries in the region ... was a failure, but I have hope that she is a smart woman and can catch the new signs from Latin America," Rangel told reporters. Venezuelan officials have accused the U.S. government of trying to damage Venezuela's relations with its neighbors by criticizing its policies. U.S. officials deny that they are trying to isolate Chavez, and say that they are concerned about the respect of democratic rights in the country.

TWO GRENADES EXPLODE AT BRITISH CONSULATE IN NEW YORK CITY, NO ONE WAS INJURED ATE

    NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.- Two small makeshift grenades exploded outside a building housing the British Consulate early Thursday, Election Day in England, causing slight damage but injuring no one, officials said. The blasts happened at 3:35 a.m. The grenades had been placed inside a cement flower box outside the front door of the midtown Manhattan building, police spokesman Noel Waters said. 
    The consulate is on the 9th and 10th floors of the building, the mayor said.  After piecing together the shrapnel, police determined the devices were toy grenades that had been filled with gunpowder. Officers estimated that one was the size of a pineapple; the other the size of a lemon. No timing device was used, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. The blasts shattered a panel of glass in the building's front door and ripped a one-foot chunk from the planter. The department's bomb squad was at the scene and streets were closed in the area.

May 5, 2005

U.S. DISPUTING CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO, SAYS WHEREABOUTS OF LUIS POSADA IS UNKNOWN  

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- A top State Department official denied on Tuesday Cuban allegations that the United States is providing a haven for a man Cuba accuses of perpetrating a terrorist bombing against a Cuban airliner in 1976. "I don't even know that he is in the United States," said Roger Noriega, the top State Department official for Western Hemisphere affairs. 
    Posada has denied involvement in the airline explosion, and was acquitted in two trials in Venezuela. At issue is the whereabouts of Luis Posada Carriles, who has spent much of his life trying to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Posada's Miami lawyer, Eduardo Soto, says Posada sneaked into the United States in March via Mexico and plans to ask for asylum. Noriega said Cuban claims about Posada's "may be a completely manufactured issue."
   The United States, he said, "has no interest in giving quarter to someone who has committed criminal acts." Unlike Cuba, Noriega added, "we are a country that respects the rule of law." Castro has launched a marathon of speeches on the case, demanding that the United States extradite Posada to Venezuela, where he holds citizenship and is wanted in the bombing. Cuban officials say that consent by U.S. authorities is the only possible explanation for what it claims is the presence of a renowned terrorist on U.S. soil.

CUBAN MILITARY PLAYED SECRET ROLE IN VIETNAM WAR 

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba has disclosed its military engineers took part in the widening of the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail in the midst of Vietnam's war with the US, according to an interview with a Cuban participant in the official paper Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth). Retired Cuban colonel, Roberto Leon, opened up about an episode touted as "one of the greatest secrets" of the 1965-1975 war, when he led a team of 23 Cuban military engineers and about 50 Vietnamese nationals in work on the trail over seven months.
    He said the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads and tunnels stretching thousands of kilometres largely through jungle, "enabled the advance to the south of Vietnamese troops in their fight for reunification of the country" thanks in part to help from Cuba starting in 1973.  Mr Leon said that construction of the trail started in 1959 and lasted 15 years, but that it was in September 1973, during Cuban President Fidel Castro's visit, that authorities asked him for technical help to expand the network.     A group of 43 Vietnamese nationals arrived in Cuba in November of that year as a result of the deal and, after training in Cuban military construction techniques, returned to their country with their Cuban trainers. The revelations come as Communist Cuba finishes commemorations to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the war. 

BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER, NOT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, THOUSANDS OF CUBAN HOMES RECEIVED FLORIDA'S TV

   SANTA CLARA, CUBA.-  Because of climatic conditions, television signals from South Florida have been received in some Cuban homes the past few days. Most of the channels are in English, like channels 10 and 7 from Miami, but Univision has also been coming in. Families have been enjoying musical programs, movies, soap operas, news programs and educational programs. The Cuban government forbids the reception of foreign telecasts, which can be readily picked up by TV dishes, but nothing can be done when the weather cooperates.

CUBA SIGNS DEAL WITH VERMONT STATE

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuba on Tuesday signed a general promise on Tuesday to buy food from Vermont, and an official said U.S. restrictions - not rivalry with Venezuela - are holding back larger American sales. Pedro Alvarez, head of the Cuban government food purchasing agency Alimport, signed the agreement with Vermont Sen. James Jeffords. It gave no figures for how many apples, milk or head of livestock Cuba might buy over the coming two years. Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela last week signed a US$412 million deal for fuel and other goods - some of which until now have come from the United States.

May 4, 2005

IT APPEARS THAT TODAY IS A VERY HAPPY DAY FOR HUGO AND HIS "BROTHER"  FIDEL...IT MAY BE NOT!
ROGER NORIEGA:  THE UNITED STATES HAS PLENTY PRIORITIES OVER VENEZUELA 

    WASHINGTON, D.C.- The United States is most interested in holding a serious, constructive dialogue with the Venezuelan government, but from now on it will change its strategy of permanent confrontation with Caracas and positive relations with remaining nations in Latin America will have precedence, DPA reported. "To be honest, we have many more priorities in Latin America" besides Venezuela, US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega told journalists in Washington.
    "We have a very positive agenda in Latin America. We have serious, constructive, friendly partners in Latin America and will keep our vision. We will focus our attention on such positive horizon, on this positive agenda. And I wish nobody can distract us from such positive agenda," he added. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice implemented already this strategy during the opening session of the 35th Conference of the Council of the Americas held Tuesday in Washington.
    Rice made a review of major hemispheric issues, such as the election of Chilean José Miguel Insulza as the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS); her tour last week to Brazil, Chile, Colombia and El Salvador; democratic consolidation and the challenge posed by a fair economic growth. Noriega also explained to the participants in the conference, including diplomats and businesspersons, that Washington has no problem to join efforts with leftwing or rightwing governments, but will not force anyone who decides to be isolated.

HUGO CHAVEZ POPULARITY REACHES 70.5 %; 54.8 % DO NOT APPROVE A CUBAN-STYLE SOCIALIST SYSTEM 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- ING TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY.-  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is enjoying his highest level of popularity in five years, but most Venezuelans, 54.8 %, do not want him to introduce a Cuban-style communist system, according to an opinion poll published Monday. The Datanalisis poll gave the left-wing leader a 70.5 percent approval rating, his highest level since the start of 2000, while 27 percent of those consulted disagreed with his rule over the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
    The poll, one of the few to appear this year, was carried out between Feb. 19 and Mar. 2 but was only published Monday. Datanalisis director Luis Vicente Leon told Reuters the factors behind Chavez's buoyant popularity were his populist policies to help the poor, his charismatic connection with Venezuela's masses and the absence of a credible opposition. The poll, which had a margin of error of 2.7 percent, testified to the president's seemingly unassailable political position following his victory in a national referendum on his rule in August. His government has been enjoying a windfall of oil income thanks to high world petroleum prices.
    Leon said the poll showed that although many people felt Chavez was not doing enough to solve unemployment and crime, they overwhelmingly supported his programs of free health and education and subsidized food products for the poor. "Chavez is giving people things they value as important to their lives ... there is a massive connection with his social agenda," Leon said. "He's a very charismatic leader,"

May 3, 2005

CHILEAN JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA ELECTED SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE OAS 

   WASHINGTON, D.C.-  Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza was elected Monday to a five-year term as secretary-general of the Organization of American States. Insulza is a former foreign minister who spent 10 years in exile in Mexico and Italy during the military government which ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. Insulza received 31 votes with two abstentions and one blank vote. 
    Insulza won after his U.S.-backed rival, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, withdrew his candidacy following a deal brokered last week in Chile by foreign ministers from Latin America and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The election ended a divisive deadlock in the Western Hemisphere's top diplomatic body which has been struggling to elect a new leader since last October, when Costa Rica's Angel Rodriguez resigned to face corruption charges at home. U.S. officials said last week that Insulza persuaded the United States he would be tough on the countries Washington is most at odds with in the region -- Cuba and Venezuela.

NEW JERSEY AUTHORITIES OFFER $ 1 MILLION REWARD FOR BLACK LIBERATION ARMY'S JOANNE CHESIMARD WHO WAS GRANTED POLITICAL ASYLUM BY CUBA 

   EDWING TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY.- Authorities posted a $1 million reward for an activist convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper 32 years ago Monday. Black Liberation Army member Joanne Chesimard was convicted of the murder of Trooper Werner Foerster, but she escaped to Cuba and was granted political asylum after three gunmen helped her escape from a women's prison in 1979.
    New Jersey officials have failed to pressure Cuba to hand over Chesimard, 57, who goes by the name Assata Shakur. Foerster responded as backup when another trooper had stopped Chesimard and two companions for a faulty tail light on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. Shots soon rang out and Foerster was hit. As he lay on the ground, authorities said Chesimard took his gun and mortally shot him in the neck and head. Her brother-in-law was killed in the gun battle and another man was arrested. Clark Squire is serving a life sentence in a Pennsylvania prison and was denied parole last August. Chesimard's name is to be added to the FBI's domestic terrorist list.

ASIAN NATIONS PLAY DOWN NORTH KOREA'S MISSILE TEST

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA.- Asian governments on Monday played down the significance of North Korea's latest missile test, saying it involved a short-range weapon unable to reach as far as Japan and with no link to the communist North's nuclear program. North Korea apparently test fired a missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday, raising new concerns about Pyongyang's nuclear intentions just days after a U.S. intelligence official said the secretive Stalinist state had the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear warhead.
    ''The missile that North Korea recently fired is a short-range missile and is far from the one that can carry a nuclear weapon,'' Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said in an interview with South Korea's Yonhap news agency. ''This isn't a case to be linked to the nuclear dispute.'' Song also commented on reports that Washington warned allies that Pyongyang might be ready to conduct an underground nuclear test as early as June, saying South Korea had not received no such warning.

HONDURAN PRESIDENT RICARDO MADURO SUFFERS MINOR INJURIES IN PLANE ACCIDENT

    TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS.-  A small plane carrying Honduran President Ricardo Maduro went down in the Caribbean Sea near the shore Sunday after its engine failed, and Maduro was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the president's spokesman said. "The airplane had a mechanical problem and fell into the sea," just beyond the end of the runway at Tela, a city on the Caribbean coast, said presidential spokesman Jorge Barrios. "It is believed that the plane's engine stopped when it was making its approach for landing."
    Maduro, 59, his daughter, Lorena, and the plane's pilot "were all unharmed" after they were plucked from the water by local residents, Barrios said. "The president is recovering at a hospital in Comayagua," a central Honduras city, he added. The three appeared to be the only people aboard the single-engine Cessna 206, which can hold between four and eight passengers, in addition to a two-man crew. The plane sank into the shallow waters where the mishap occurred.

May 2, 2005

THE WAY IS CLEARED FOR JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, THE CHILEAN CANDIDATE, TO BECOME THE NEW SECRETARY OF THE OAS 

   SANTIAGO.- The Chilean candidate to head the Organization of American States all but won Friday after his U.S.-backed rival withdrew in a deal that saw the Chilean echo Washington calls for support of democracy throughout Latin America, including Cuba and Venezuela. The agreement, brokered in part by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, made Chile's socialist Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza virtually certain to win the post of secretary general when the OAS meets Monday in Washington.
    Friday's agreement ended a stalemate between Insulza and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez that had threatened to split the 34-member bloc along regional and ideological lines. On April 11, Insulza and Derbez tied 17-17 through five rounds of voting. On April 11, Insulza and Derbez tied 17-17 through five rounds of voting. U.S. officials portrayed the deal not as a loss for the U.S.-backed Derbez but as a victory for Rice.
    Although Chávez and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro had portrayed the OAS contest as a clash between South American and U.S.-backed candidates, officials in Santiago said Chileans claimed to be ''mystified'' by concerns that Insulza was Chávez' favorite. In Washington, news of Derbez's withdrawal provoked optimism the OAS could finally move beyond the political maneuvering that had kept the organization from obtaining a firm leader.

JOSÉ MIGUEL INSULZA, NEXT SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE OAS, ISSUES STRONG STATEMENT IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

   SANTIAGO.- Chilean Interior Minister José Insulza issued a strong statement -- that officials said had been worked out with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez and other top diplomats – which included key concepts for the region long urged by the Bush administration. Rice delayed her departure Friday from Santiago to El Salvador -- the next stop in a five-day Latin American swing -- by several hours to seal the deal.
    ''It is indispensable to underscore also that I believe it is essential that governments that are elected democratically, govern in a democratic way,'' Insulza said, a statement that clearly referred to Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Rice has repeatedly stated her concerns over Chávez' increasingly undemocratic ways, and urged the OAS to be more forceful in keeping Latin American governments on the democratic path.
    Referring to Chávez's plans to buy 100,000 Russian assault rifles, which U.S. officials fear could lead to a weapons leakage to leftist guerrillas in neighboring Colombia, Insulza also said the OAS should give ''special importance'' to ensuring more transparency in small arms purchases. On Cuba, he said all OAS member nations “want to promote important progress in terms of democracy and human rights.'' Rice and many of the key players in the race for a new OAS secretary general were in Santiago Friday for a Community of the Democracies conference that brought in senior officials from 108 nations.

THE UNITED STATES WARNS OF POSSIBLE NORTH KOREA NUKE TEST

   WASHINGTON, D.C.- The United States is warning allies that North Korea may be ready to carry out an underground nuclear test as early as June, diplomats said Saturday. The reported U.S. warnings reflected growing fears in Washington that the North is going ahead with efforts to develop nuclear weapons after South Korean officials said Pyongyang had recently shut down a reactor, possibly to harvest plutonium that could be used in an underground test.
    On Friday, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill warned the communist state against conducting a nuclear test, saying such a move would be a "truly troubling" complication for suspended six-nation talks on halting Pyongyang;s nuclear program. The negotiations - among the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia - stalled last June after three inconclusive rounds.
    The U.S. intelligence community believes North Korea has one or more nuclear weapons, and has untested two- and three-stage missiles capable of reaching U.S. soil. But it has been unclear whether Pyongyang has yet developed the technology to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so it fits on a missile, and provide it with the guidance systems so it can hit a target. 

CUBA, IRAN AND CHINA EXPERIMENTING WITH ULTRALIGHT AIRCRAFT

    WASHINGTON, D.C.-  China, Iran and Cuba are taking a very serious interest in the security and military uses of ultralight aircraft.  These are essentially single seat powered flying machines weighing about 250 pounds, or less. They rarely move faster than a hundred kilometers an hour, but can stay up for several hours and reach altitudes of 5,000 feet or more. These aircraft evolved in the 1970s, out of attempts to equip hang gliders with engines.
    China displayed a number of ultralights at the annual Zuhai Air Show, and has incorporated them into some military exercises. Cuba and Iran seem to be a little behind China, but still in advance of the rest of the world when it comes to using ultra lights for things like reconnaissance and surveillance.
    Both countries apparently being interested in their use for border and coastal security. All three countries seem to have also been conducting experiments in the use of ultralights as strike aircraft or for commando operations. This is a particular matter of concern given that terrorist groups like Hizbollah, already known to be operating UAVs, have been experimenting with them as well.

May 1st., 2005

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS HE WILL NOT RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES UNTIL AMERICANS "LIBERATE" THEIR NATION

   HAVANA.- Declaring that U.S. citizens are oppressed by their own government, Hugo Chavez promised that he would not visit the United States again until Americans "liberate" their nation. Chavez, in Havana for trade talks, told an international gathering of activists here that before an earlier trip to Cuba, a U.S. State Department undersecretary he did not identify warned him not to go because he would no longer be received in Washington.
    He said he went ahead with that trip anyway, and later traveled to the United States to visit U.S. President George W. Bush, who he said greeted him with a Coca-Cola in his hand. "I have not returned, nor do I think about returning again, until the people of the United States liberate that nation," said Chavez, saying that Americans are "oppressed" by their government and U.S. media.
    Chavez considers Cuban President Fidel Castro a political ally and close personal friend, and Washington has grown increasingly alarmed by their deepening political and economic alliance. Chavez also criticized the current Latin American tour by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, referring to her as an "imperial lady" who is trying to divide and conquer the hemisphere's developing nations. Despite Chavez's anti-U.S. comments, his country is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a top crude supplier to the United States.

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO AND HUGO CHAVEZ FORGE ANTI-U.S. ALLIANCE

   HAVANA.- Oil exporter Venezuela drew closer to Cuba on Thursday by establishing subsidiaries of its state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and a government bank on the Communist-run island. Presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, who are seeking to build an alternative to the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas -- from which Cuba is excluded -- attended the launchings in an upbeat mood. "We are very pleased. This is a historic day," said Castro, 78, dressed in his customary military uniform. Said Chavez: "We have been building this brick by brick, like a house."
    Castro declared the FTAA dead in a three-hour speech in which he said the U.S. proposal for a single free-trade bloc of the Americas was an "anexionist plan" aimed at plundering Latin American resources. "What's left of the FTAA is just pieces, bilateral agreements," Castro said of the hemispheric free-trade plan, which has met with growing resistance in Latin American societies disillusioned with the promises of free-market capitalism.
    In the last five years, Venezuela has become a vital economic lifeline for Cuba's cash-starved government, partly filling the void left by the Soviet Union's collapse with vital supplies of oil on very favorable terms. The partnership is viewed with suspicion in Washington where Bush administration officials see a conspiracy against U.S. interests in Latin America.

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO AND HUGO CHAVEZ OPEN PDVSA OFFICE IN HAVANA

   HAVANA.- Cuban dictator Fidel Castro joined Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the opening of the South American nation's new oil company office here as the leaders further integrated their economies. The two leaders entered a restored building in historic Old Havana to inaugurate the new office of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PVZ.YY).
    Later Thursday afternoon, Chavez was to formally receive the operating licenses for the new Havana offices of Venezuela's state oil company and a Banco Industrial de Venezuela office, which was opened earlier in the day. Chavez then plans to lay a wreath at a statue to South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
    In the evening, he and Castro were to preside over an international gathering of opponents to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a U.S.-backed pact to join the economies of countries across the Western Hemisphere. There, they are expected to promote the Boliviarian Alternative for the Americas, which would tie together the region's developing nations without U.S. involvement. The alliance between the two leaders increasingly has alarmed Washington.

PRESIDENT BUSH RELEASES FROZEN FUND FOR CUBAN SPY’S EX-WIFE

    MIAMI.-   President Bush ordered the Treasury Department to pay nearly $200,000 in frozen Cuban government assets Friday to the unwitting former wife of a Cuban double agent. The $198,000 will be the first installment Ana Margarita Martinez will have received since winning a $27.1 million judgment in 2001 against Fidel Castro's government and her ex-husband, Juan Pablo Roque. Roque is accused of playing a role in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes flown by members of a Miami-based Cuban exile group.
    Martinez met Roque in 1992 after he claimed to have swam from Cuba to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba -- part of his ruse as a double agent to infiltrate anti-Castro groups in the United States. The two wed in 1995. Roque worked closely with Brothers to the Rescue and other exile groups but was actually spying on them.
    In 2001 a court awarded Martinez more than $7.1 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages. She said she has since waived her right to the $20 million award on the advice of her lawyers in hopes of speeding up the payment process. 

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