04 - 30 - 06

HUGO CHAVEZ REFUSES TO BACK DOWN IN DISPUTE WITH ALAN GARCÍA 

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  The Venezuelan government on Saturday denied Peru's accusation that it was meddling in its regional neighbor's elections and defended its right to defend itself from "vulgar aggression" by a presidential candidate. Venezuela was reacting to a diplomatic protest lodged by Peru, which said leftist-populist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's threat to cut off diplomatic relations if former President Alan Garcia is elected in a runoff vote constituted "blatant interference" in its electoral process.

    In the diplomatic note sent Friday, the Peruvian government said the leftist Chavez's support for nationalist-populist presidential candidate Ollanta Humala and the Venezuelan leader's criticism of his opponent in the runoff, Garcia, are "a violation of the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter." It went on to say that Chavez's actions represent "an unacceptable and repeated interference" in the sovereign right of Peruvians to elect their political authorities.

       This most recent crisis between Peru and Venezuela was sparked by Chavez's claim that his administration would withdraw its ambassador from Lima if Garcia wins the runoff vote.
The Venezuelan leader made the comments during an early May Day observance Friday in Caracas and was responding to Garcia's statement Thursday that Chavez is a "scoundrel" who asks that no one negotiate with the United States" while oil-rich Venezuela earns "$50 billion a year" selling crude to Washington.

ISRAEL'S SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY SENDS ITS FIRST IMAGES

       JERUSALEM, ISRAEL  --  Russia on Tuesday launched a satellite for Israel that the Israelis say will be used to spy on Iran's nuclear program. The Eros B satellite was launched from a mobile pad at the Svobodny cosmodrome in the Far East, said Alexei Kuznetsov, a spokesman for the Russian military space forces.

    About 20 minutes later, the satellite successfully reached orbit, Russian news agencies reported, citing the space forces' press service. "The Israeli satellite reached its target orbit and has been transferred to the client's control," Kuznetsov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

    The satellite is designed to spot images on the ground as small as 27 1/2 inches, an Israeli defense official said. That level of resolution would allow Israel to gather information on Iran's nuclear program and its long-range missiles, which are capable of striking Israel, he said. The satellite, which can remain in orbit for six years, can photograph the same spot on the Earth once every four days, according to ITAR-Tass.

04 - 29 - 06

PRESIDENT BUSH OPPOSES SINGING OF NATIONAL ANTHEM IN LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH

       WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  The national anthem should be sung in English - not Spanish - President Bush declared Friday, amid growing restlessness over the millions of immigrants here illegally. "One of the things that's very important is, when we debate this issue, that we not lose our national soul," the president exclaimed. "One of the great things about America is that we've been able to take people from all walks of life bound as one nation under God. And that's the challenge ahead of us."

    A Spanish language version of the national anthem was released Friday by a British music producer, Adam Kidron, who said he wanted to honor America's immigrants. When the president was asked at a Rose Garden question-and-answer session whether the anthem should be sung in Spanish, he replied: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English." "I think people who want to be citizens of this country ought to learn English," Bush said.

Large numbers of immigrant groups have planned an economic boycott next week to dramatize their call for legislation providing legal status for millions of people in the United States illegally. "You know, I'm not a supporter of boycotts," Bush said. " I am a supporter of comprehensive immigration ... I think most Americans agree that we've got to enforce our border. I don't think there's any question about that." His remarks followed release of the Spanish language version of the song, called "Nuestro Himno" or "Our Anthem."

IRAN'S NEW MISSILES PUT EUROPE IN FIRING RANGE

       JERUSALEM, ISRAEL  --  Iran has received a first batch of BM-25 surface-to-surface missiles that put European countries within firing range, Israel's military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, was quoted as saying in the Haaretz daily on Thursday. The missiles, purchased from North Korea, have a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Haaretz reported. Israeli security officials confirmed the Haaretz report. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

    Yadlin has warned of the new Iranian missiles in several recent interviews to the media. Iran already has missiles capable of reaching Israel, but the BM-25 missiles are a significant upgrade over its existing top of the line missiles - the Shihab-4 and Shihab-3. Those missiles spurred Israel to develop its Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile system, which can intercept the Iranian missiles. Israeli concerns have been heightened in recent months by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls to wipe Israel "off the map."

    Iran has also tested several long-range missiles in recent weeks, including a "top secret" missile capable of being fired from all military helicopters and jet fighters, the Iranian state-run television reported. American intelligence officials have said that Iran is at an advanced stage of developing a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead. On Tuesday, Israel launched a satellite meant to spy on Iran's nuclear program.

SISTER OF EX-PRESIDENT CESAR GAVIRIA KILLED AFTER BEING KIDNAPPED

       BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  --  Liliana Gaviria, sister of former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria was killed Thursday evening after being kidnapped, the nation's president said.  She was killed by unknown assailants in the province of Risaralda, 175 kilometers (110 miles) west of Colombia's capital, Bogota.

    President Alvaro Uribe announced a reward of US$434,000 (346,000 euros) for the capture of those responsible. Cesar Gaviria was president of Colombia between 1990-1994, before becoming secretary general of the Organization of American States. He is currently the leader of Colombia's main opposition political party, the Liberals.

    Kidnappings have fallen by more than 70 percent since Uribe took office in 2002 and increased the number of soldiers and police. Colombia, however, remains among the world leaders in abduction, with 800 kidnappings reported last year.

04 - 28 - 06

US COURT PAVES THE WAY TO RELEASE TWO VENEZUELAN DISSIDENT MILITARY 

       MIAMI, FLORIDA  --   US court dismissed appeals in connection with the case of two Venezuelan military officers charged in Venezuela with terrorism, in a move that paves the way for their release after they have been in custody in the United States for over two years. The ruling favors retired National Guard lieutenants José Antonio Colina and Germán Rodolfo Varela, who were accused of planting bombs at the diplomatic premises of Colombia and Spain in Caracas in 2003. The blasts left four people injured.

    Both Colina and Varela were among a number of dissident military officers who took Plaza Francia, in Altamira, northeast Caracas, and declared "civil disobedience."  Colina's defense lawyer Matthew Archambeault, told Efe that the ruling was "the decision we hoped to obtain." He labeled the ruling as "one of the last steps" for his client to "regain freedom" soon. Both officers have been under custody of US immigration authorities since December 2003, when they arrived in Miami airport and applied for political asylum.

    Colina said the ruling "is a defeat for the (Venezuelan) Government and judiciary system, as it has been shown that there is no rule of law in Venezuela, and people there do not have a system guaranteeing their fundamental freedoms."

CUBA AGREES TO BUY ANOTHER $20 MILLION IN FARM GOODS FROM US STATE OF ALABAMA  

       HAVANA, CUBA  --  Cuba agreed Wednesday to buy another $20 million (euro16.14 million) in agricultural goods from Alabama, among several U.S. farm states still pushing for more trade with the communist-run island despite tightened U.S. restrictions. Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks told a news conference that his southern state's relationship with Cuba in recent years had been "extremely important to the farmers of Alabama."

     The $20 million (euro16.14 million) in goods mentioned in Cuba's letter of intent was expected to include paper and wood, as well as poultry, said Pedro Alvarez, head of the Cuban food import firm Alimport. Cuba last week agreed to buy another $30 million (euro24.3 million) in food from Nebraska during a visit here by that state's Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and Agriculture Director Greg Ibach.

PRESIDENT ALVARO URIBE SAYS HE IS POLYGAMOUS, NOT BIGAMOUS  

       BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  --  Colombian President Álvaro Uribe replied Thursday to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez, who called him bigamous for dealing with both the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the United States. Uribe stated that he viewed himself as a polygamous, as sought trade treaties not only with Washington, but also with the rest of economic blocks around the world.

    "I read this morning that he (Chávez) accused Uribe of bigamy because Colombia has a treaty with CAN and, concomitantly, wishes to execute one with the United States. I think that personal mentions are not good, but he would rather charge me with polygamy." The head of state insisted on the need to find new markets for the purposes of economic steadiness, and reminded Chávez that Colombia, as opposed to Venezuela, lacks resources such as oil or gas.

ALAN GARCIA ASKS HUGO CHAVEZ "NOT TO BE BRAZEN" 

       PERU, LIMA  --  Peruvian presidential candidate Alan García said Thursday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, on the one hand, criticizes Peru for having negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, but on the other hand, sells them oil.He added that Bolivian President Evo Morales should not take sides with Chávez.

    "Please, stop acting so shamelessly. You ask Peruvians and Colombians to refrain themselves from negotiating their foreign trade with the United States, but you, Mr. Chávez, have 80 percent of your foreign trade with the United States," García said on CPN radio station.

    "You have an oil free trade agreement with the United States, you have secured USD 50 billion by selling your oil, but you do not want much poorer countries that need to work, to negotiate with Europe, China, the United States," García commented.

04 - 27 - 06

PRESIDENTS LULA, KIRCHNER AND CHAVEZ MEET IN SAO PAULO 

       SAO PAULO, BRAZIL --  The Presidents of Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Néstor Kirchner and Hugo Chávez, respectively, Wednesday met in Sao Paulo to address progress of South American integration plans. The rulers, whom Chávez Wednesday branded as "the three musketeers" of integration, are to address a number of initiatives for regional integration, particularly the construction of a 12,000 km, USD 20 billion gas pipeline taking Venezuelan gas to Brazil and Argentina.

    Chávez, Lula and Kirchner were joined by Brazilian, Argentinean and Venezuelan Foreign Affairs ministers Celso Amorim, Jorge Taiana, and Alí Rodríguez Araque, respectively. Since the integration project has a significant energy weight, the meeting is also attended by the Brazilian Mines and Energy minister Silas Rondeau; the Argentinean Federal Planning minister Julio De Vido, and the Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum minister Rafael Ramírez, who is also the CEO of Venezuelan state oil firm Pdvsa.

    Official sources said the three rulers are to address the crisis facing the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) following Chávez decision to leave the sub-regional bloc, which also comprises Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

CECILIA SOSA ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY AGAINST CHAVEZ

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  CECILIA SOSA has joined the list of opposition candidates running against Hugo Chávez in next December 3rd presidential election. Sosa, the former president of the extinct Supreme Court of Justice, said she is to participate in the competition, and her candidacy would be officially announced in the next two or three weeks. Sosa stressed her proposals are to be "in contrast to everything President Chávez represents, his attitude and his agenda."

    Further, she said her plans would focus on security, among other issues she is yet to fine tune. "My idea is to focus my proposals on security, but security in an ample sense encompassing personal security, security in education, housing, jobs and services. Venezuelans are eager to have security." Sosa also showed willingness to participate in primary elections or any other mechanism to select a single opposition candidate to face Chávez.

VENEZUELA DIPLOMAT CALLS US MILITARY MANEUVERS "INTIMIDATING"

       SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC  --  Humanitarian aid operations US military corps are conducting in the Caribbean Sea are an "intimidation," Wednesday said the Venezuelan Ambassador in Dominican Republic Francisco Belisario Landis. Following a meeting with the Venezuelan National Assembly Foreign Policy Committee, the diplomat ensured that Venezuela should be on alert in the face of such military maneuvers.

    He stressed he has a duty to advise both the legislature and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the information he has collected in the Dominican Republic, where some sources have warned the operation is unusual. "Obviously, the operation that will be deployed in the Caribbean is very conspicuous, disproportionate and therefore intimidating.

BOLIVIA, CUBA AND VENEZUELA TO INK PEOPLE'S TRADE TREATY

       LA PAZ, BOLIVIA --  The governments of Bolivia, Venezuela and Cuba next Saturday are initialing in Havana a pact to jump start the People's Trade Treaty (TCP), Bolivian President Evo Morales said, as reported on Wednesday by several Bolivian media. During an event of his party Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), late on Tuesday, Morales announced the treaty would allow the parties to trade goods free from tariffs.

    Official Bolivian sources told Efe on Wednesday that Morales is traveling to Havana on Saturday to meet with his Cuban and Venezuelan counterparts Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, respectively. In his address on Tuesday, Morales explained the deal would include trade of coca, as the plant has markets in Venezuela and Cuba.

    Morales said Cuba and Venezuela accepted his proposal to create the TCP to pave the way for ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas and the Caribbean President Hugo Chávez has proponed as an alternative to US-backed Free Trade Area for the Americas). Morales said Bolivian Foreign Affairs Minister David Choquehuanca was in Caracas to fine tune details ahead of the initialization of the TCP.

04 - 26 - 06

PRESIDENT BUSH DEFENDS BAN ON CUBA VISITS  

       IRVINE, CALIFORNIA --  President Bush defended his administration's travel ban to Cuba on Monday, telling a Cuban American who suggested that visits to the island would topple Fidel Castro that “trade with the country enables a tyrant to stay in power.'' The remarks came as Bush campaigned in California, urging Congress to revive a stalled immigration plan that would provide a means to citizenship for some illegal immigrants.

    The man who posed the question told Bush that he emigrated from Cuba as a 9-year-old, but wants to go home to “see my front door that was bullet-riddled when they were fighting Batista's guys.'' 'I don't understand, how can we trade with Vietnam -- we lost over 50,000 Americans there -- how can we trade with communist China, we can't even go to Cuba?'' said the man. “And I think if the borders were opened up with Cuba and American enterprise got to go down there, I think Castro would fall like a rock off a cliff.''

    Castro has got the capacity to arbitrage your dollars to the advantage of his administration,'' Bush said. ``You pay in dollars, he pays in Cuban money and collects the difference. So you go to a hotel in Havana, the money goes to the hotel, which has kind of got a deal with the government in order to be there in the first place, and the workers get paid in a currency that's worthless compared to the U.S. dollar. And he makes the balance. ''And so, in all due respect, I have taken the position that trade with the country enables a tyrant to stay in power, as opposed to the opposite,'' Bush said. “Honest disagreement of opinion -- I fully recognize -- but that's why I made the decision I made.''

SOUTHERN COMMAND STUDIES REPORTS ON PURCHASE BY VENEZUELA OF IRANIAN WEAPONS

       MIAMI, FLORIDA --  US Southern Commander John Craddock is keeping a close eye on recent versions spread by the Venezuelan media on the procurement of Iranian weapons, but clarified that based on his experience, similar reports have been mistaken.

    "We are carefully following the reports, the versions, the answers we are seeing now routinely on the sale of arms," Craddock said. "I have been with the armed forces for 35 years, and I have learned that the initial reports, in general terms, are usually wrong," AFP quoted.

    "We take these reports, add them to our database and then, obviously, we watch the progress. We look at second reports to see if these things bear fruit," the military officer said during a conference on Security and Governance in the Americas, held in the city of Miami. However, Craddock did no rule out the reports. "We take them very seriously and do not dismiss them. Sometimes, such remarks, such versions, such reports are well founded; sometimes, they are not."

JAMAICA TO RECEIVE CEMENT FROM CUBA TO FINISH CRICKET STADIUM

       KINGSTON, JAMAICA -- Jamaica will receive a shipment of cement from Cuba this weekend to help ease a shortage which is delaying renovations to 2007 World Cup cricket stadium Sabina Park. The 20,000 metric tons (22,046 tons) of cement will arrive this weekend, Jamaica's information minister Colin Campbell said on Tuesday. He did not disclose how much Jamaica was paying for it.

    The US$29 million (23.4 million) renovation of Sabina Park was three months behind schedule due to contractor delays and the cement shortage, said Robert Bryan of the local World Cup committee this month. Jamaica began negotiating with Cuba to supply cement after the main local producer, Caribbean Cement Company Limited, temporarily suspended production in March following claims of substandard product.

    An internal inquiry revealed the company had distributed 500,000 metric tons (551,155 tons) of faulty cement since November, said Trinidad Cement Limited, the company's major shareholder. The cement shortage has held up construction on cricket stadiums in other Caribbean countries as the region prepares to host the tournament for the first time from next March.

PRESIDENT BUSH HALTED PURCHASE OF CRUDE OIL FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S EMERGENCY RESERVE 

       WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Bush on Tuesday halted for the summer the purchase of crude oil for the government's emergency reserve. The move came as political pressure intensified on Bush to do something about gasoline prices that are expected to stay high throughout the summer. Bush said the nation's strategic petroleum reserve had enough fuel to guard against any major supply disruption over the next few months.

    "So, by deferring deposits until the fall, we'll leave a little more oil on the market. Every little bit helps," he said. Wholesale gasoline futures prices for June delivery dropped 8 cents a gallon to $2.10 on the New York Mercantile Exchange immediately upon Bush's remarks.

    Easing the environment rules will allow refiners greater flexibility in providing oil supplies since they will not have to use certain additives such as ethanol to meet clean air standards. The suspension of oil purchases for the federal emergency oil reserve is likely to have only modest impact since relative little extra oil will be involved.

04 - 25 - 06

IRAN LEADER: ISRAEL CAN'T CONTINUE TO EXIST

       TEHRAN, IRAN -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday renewed his criticism of Israel, calling it a "fake regime" that cannot continue to exist. "Some 60 years have passed since the end of World War II. Why should the people of Germany and Palestine pay now for a war in which the current generation was not involved?" Ahmadinejad said at a news conference. "We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot not logically continue to live," he said.

    The remarks by the hard-line leader came a day after interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged the international community to work against Iran's nuclear program, saying Tehran's ambitions threaten not only Israel but all of Western civilization. Israel has long identified Iran as its biggest threat, and these concerns have grown amid repeated calls by Ahmadinejad for Israel's destruction.

    "From the point of view of seriousness, this tops the state of Israel's list, it is potentially an existential threat," a government statement quoted Olmert telling the weekly Cabinet meeting. "The Iranian nuclear program should concern many countries, especially those with global responsibility," Olmert said, adding that the international front against Iran should include the United States, Europe and other Western countries.

THREE BLASTS ROCK EGYPTIAN RESORT CITY 

       CAIRO, EGYPT -- Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab at the height of the tourist season Monday night, killing at least 28 people and wounding more than 150 at just one hotel, according to the doctor who runs the Sinai peninsula rescue squad.

    Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts and that his casualty figures were for victims at the el-Khaleeg Hotel only. He said there were casualties from the other explosions but he had no details. Al-Jazeera television said one of the blasts hit a restaurant, and authorities said more than 20 ambulances and police cars were rushing to the el-Masbat section of the city.

HAITI PRESIDENT PAYS 24-HOUR VISIT TO VENEZUELA

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Haitian President elect Rene Preval Monday is paying a 24-hour visit to Venezuela and is meeting with President Hugo Chávez, Preval's Office informed. "This is a friendly visit. President Preval is to seize the opportunity to set the grounds for future discussions with President Chávez," the source told AFP.

    During the visit, both Preval and Chávez are to address Petrocaribe, an oil initiative Venezuela is implementing to sell cheap oil to Central America and Caribbean countries, and which Haiti has recently joined, the source added.

COLOMBIA, PERU SOLD TO THE US, VENEZUELAN OFFICIAL SAYS

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Colombia and Peru "sold their birthright to the United States for a mess of pottage," as Washington blackmailed them into signing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that are only to encompass their primary exports, Monday said Venezuelan Integration minister Gustavo Márquez.

    "For a mess of pottage, they sold out the possibility to have fruitful, productive trade with the Andean countries, and they purported to vanquish the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas" advocated by President Hugo Chávez as an alternative to US-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas, Márquez told official TV channel VTV. "Bottom line, the United States intends to impose de facto the neoliberal model of the FTAA through the FTA, thus eliminating any possibility to build the South American Community of Nations that is emerging from the consolidation of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur.)"

    Last week, President Hugo Chávez moved to withdraw from the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), following Peru and Colombia decision to initial FTAs with the US. Ecuador, the fourth member of the sub-regional bloc, is also negotiating a FTA with the United States.

04 - 24 - 06

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS VENEZUELANS WILL SPILL BLOOD TO DEFEND CUBA AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Venezuelans will spill blood to defend Cuba against a possible U.S. invasion, President Hugo Chavez said. "If the U.S. empire were to invade Cuba, Venezuelan blood would run in the defense of Cuba and its people," Chavez said Friday during a speech to government supporters in Venezuela's capital.

    Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, added that he believed that if the United States were to invade Venezuela, "Latin American blood, Caribbean blood as well as Venezuelan blood would also run." The Venezuelan leader has long claimed that Washington is plotting to overthrow his leftist government - accusations denied by U.S. officials. He repeated Friday that the U.S. "is preparing an aggression," though it was not clear which country he believed was the target.

    The comments came as he accused U.S. President George W. Bush's administration of maneuvering for a possible military attack on Iran. Calling Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "brother," Chavez accused the U.S. government of lying about Tehran's alleged efforts to build an atomic bomb, saying they were part of Washington's plan to build public support for a U.S.-led military strike against Iran. "I'm sure that Iran is not making an atomic bomb, it's an excuse by the empire to pressure, threaten, blackmail and impose its hegemonic position," he said.

PRESIDENT BUSH: NEW IRAQ GOVERNMENT MUST SHOULDER MORE OF SECURITY BURDEN

       WEST SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA --  President Bush said Saturday that the new political leadership in Iraq will shoulder the burden for securing the country, but he did not commit to a drawdown of American forces that now are playing the lead role. "There's going to be more tough fighting ahead in Iraq and there'll be more days of sacrifice and struggle," Bush said. "Yet, the enemies of freedom have suffered a real blow today, and we've taken a great stride on the march to victory.

    "This historic achievement by determined Iraqis will make America more secure," he said. Bush spoke hours after Iraq's president designated Jawad al-Maliki to form the new government. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called him a patriot and "somebody with whom we can work," even if he disagrees with the United States on certain issues.  "Formation of a new Iraqi government is an opportunity for America to open a new chapter in our partnership with the Iraqi people," Bush said. "The United States and our coalition partners will work with the new Iraqi government to reassess our tactics, adjust our methods and strengthen our mutual efforts to achieve victory in this central front in the war on terror."

    Squabbling among Iraq's political factions more than four months after national elections in December had weakened public approval in the U.S. for the war and fed the rising sectarian violence. Bush did not discuss al-Maliki directly in a brief statement to reporters after his helicopter landed in West Sacramento during a four-day trip through California. He said the agreement that led to al-Maliki's selection represented compromise, consensus and the will of the Iraqi people.

04 - 23 - 06

IRAQI PRESIDENT JALAL TALABANI RE-ELECTED

       BAGHDAD, IRAQ  --  After months of political deadlock, Iraq's parliament convened Saturday and filled top leadership posts, starting the process of putting together a new government aimed at pulling the country out of insurgency and sectarian strife.

M    President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, was elected to a second term, and the post of parliament speaker went to Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab. Al-Mashhadani's two deputies were to be Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite, and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd. Talabani then named Shiite politician Jawad al-Maliki prime minister-designate after his Shiite coalition nominated him Friday, breaking a deadlock that held up formation of the new government for months.

IRAN, RUSSIA REACH 'BASIC DEAL' ON JOINT URANIUM ENRICHMENT

       TEHRAN, IRAN  --  Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Saturday the Islamic republic had reached a "basic deal" with the Kremlin to form a joint uranium enrichment venture on Russian territory, state-run television reported. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, "spoke of a basic agreement between Iran and Russia to set up a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil," Iranian state television reported.

    "Only issues regarding technical, legal and financial matters remain to be resolved which need more deliberation and exchange of views," the television quoted Soltanieh as saying Saturday in Moscow. Soltanieh made the comment on the sidelines of an energy conference. Russia and state television gave no details on the deal.  In February, Iran and Russia announced that they had reached a "basic agreement" to establish a joint uranium enrichment venture in Russian, but details were never worked out.

    Iran has vowed it would never give up its right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel. The United States has accused Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build weapons. Tehran has rejected the charges, saying instead that its nuclear program is geared merely to generating electricity. The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until April 28 to cease enrichment of uranium. The council has the power to impose economic and political sanctions.

04 - 22 - 06

U.S. AVIATION AUTHORITIES RAISED VENEZUELA'S SAFETY RANKING

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- U.S. aviation authorities upgraded Venezuela's safety ranking on Friday, averting a ban that would have blocked most U.S. airlines from flying to the country. The U.S. Embassy in Caracas said in a statement that the "Federal Aviation Administration is raising the safety rating of Venezuela to Category 1."

    The decision came after an FAA team visited Venezuela late last month to examine Venezuelan airlines' planes and procedures within the country's aviation authority. The FAA had recognized the "efforts to improve the level of aviation safety oversight in Venezuela" made by the National Aviation Institute, or INAC, the statement said.

    The Venezuelan government had protested its lower Category 2 ranking, which prohibited Venezuelan airlines from flying their own planes to the U.S. or from launching new services such as expansions in routes. The restrictions, in place since 1995, forced Venezuelan airlines to rent planes and crew for flights to or from the United States.

HUGO CHAVEZ: COLOMBIA-US TRADE PACT KILLED THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY OF NATIONS

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Colombia initialed with the United States killed the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and has forced Venezuela into withdrawing from the bloc, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Thursday during a speech in Paraná, Brazil, where he entered 27 accords to reinforce bilateral integration. On Wednesday, Chávez claimed his country would leave CAN, saying that the bloc was "deadly wounded."

    In Brazil, on Thursday, the Venezuelan ruler argued that the pacts both Colombia and Peru signed with the United States amounted to a sort of small Free Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA) that harmed Andean integration. Chávez further said such agreements run counter regional trade conventions. Colombia rejected Chávez' assertions.  "Under the FTA, CAN is protected. The Andean legal framework prevails over the FTA, as expressly provided for in the final text of the FTA," said Colombia Commerce minister Jorge Humberto Botero in the document.

    Venezuela, however, did not include a similar provision when it officially sought its entrance to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) in 2005. Colombia claims it requested each partner under CAN to provide information on the products they deemed sensitive to the FTA. Regarding Venezuela, bilateral trade was protected by implementing a seven-year tax relief treaty for Venezuelan petrochemical exports to the United States, a 10-year tax relief treaty for Venezuelan iron and steel exports. Likewise, in the automotive sector, a number of special terms and trade preferences were set.

US AMBASSADOR: VENEZUELA IS SOVEREIGN ON ITS DECISIONS ON OIL

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- The US envoy explained his points of view on Venezuelan oil policy when asked about a warning issued by President Hugo Chávez, who threatened Wednesday to blow up oil fields in the event of a US invasion. "The oil policy is sovereign, and it is the Government which decides what it is going to do with the natural resources. What I ratify is that the trade and oil relationship between Venezuela and the US is productive and positive for both parties, because we are natural partners for geographical reasons," the diplomat said during a meeting to Santa Cruz de Baruta neighborhood, southeast Caracas.

    In any case, added Brownfield, it is a decision of the Venezuelan Government to maintain or change this policy toward the US. When asked about claims that the US administration intends to "intimidate" Venezuela by performing naval maneuvers under the operation "Partnerships of the Americas," in the Caribbean, the diplomat replied that the presence of aircraft carrier US George Washington "is no surprise or secret." The maneuvers were duly reported three weeks ago to the Venezuelan military.

    Brownfield ensured that they invited Defense minister Orlando Maniglia and Navy commander rear admiral Armando Laguna to visit the USS George Washington "in the course of the maneuvers, so that they could personally and directly see what the warships and the taskforce in the region are doing." In Brownfield's view, "Partnership of the Americas" is an operation intended to "fight illegal drugs, a humanitarian mission to face any natural disasters and bilateral maneuvers between the US Army and the security forces of other countries."

04 - 21 - 06

TEODORE PERKOFF, MODERATE LEFTIST, PREPARES TO CHALLENGE HUGO CHAVEZ

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuelan opposition leader and newspaper editor Teodoro Petkoff will launch his presidential bid this week to run against President Hugo Chávez, a campaign organizer said Wednesday. Petkoff will make the announcement in a pre-taped message to be shown on television Thursday night, the campaign organizer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to act as a spokesman. He said Petkoff will run as an independent and plans a nationwide tour starting this weekend.

    The center-left opposition leader was a Cuban-inspired guerrilla in the 1950s and 60s, but later split with the Communist Party. Today, he is one of Chávez's fiercest critics. Rumors of a Petkoff candidacy have been swirling for months. While he has yet to publicly confirm it, the newspaper El Nacional said on the front-page Wednesday: ``Petkoff announces presidential candidacy.''

    Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel said the government welcomed the candidacy of Petkoff, who ran for president twice in the 1980s with the left-leaning Movement Toward Socialism party and was soundly defeated. ''I think it's positive news that Teodoro Petkoff will announce today that he's going to be a presidential candidate,'' Rangel said. Petkoff, now 74, served as planning minister in the mid-1990s under President Rafael Caldera. As editor of the newspaper Tal Cual, Petkoff has criticized what he calls abuse of power by Chávez.

CUBA TO PURCHASE ANOTHER $30 MILLION IN FOOD FROM NEBRASKA 

       HAVANA, CUBA  --  Cuba agreed Wednesday to spend $30 million more on Nebraska food, strengthening trade relations with a U.S. farm state already selling corn, wheat, soybeans and other products to the communist-run island. Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and Agriculture Director Greg Ibach led the trade delegation, which included meat and other agriculture producers on the four-day trip.

    In August, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman visited Cuba and signed a separate deal to export $30 million in agricultural products in an 18-month period. Most of those deals have since been completed, said Pedro Alvarez, head of the Cuban food import firm Alimport.

    We've had a great commerce experience with Nebraska, and this shows the desire of many (U.S.) states to work for free trade with the United States," Alvarez said during a breakfast hosted by Farmland Foods Inc. that featuring Nebraska pork and other meat products. Sheehy said the new deal will include the export of pork, cattle, poultry, wheat, corn, soybeans, dry beans and dairy in the next 18 months.

BRIBES LET DRUG TRAFFICKERS USE CARACAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Among those pleased by efforts to end an air-traffic standoff between U.S. and Venezuelan officials are undoubtedly the drug traffickers working at the Venezuelan capital's Maiquetia International Airport. In the past month, the two sides have been squabbling over airline-safety regulations and threatening to cancel some commercial flights. But they now seem close to working out a deal that would avert a major slowdown in air traffic between the nations and, in turn, keep business as usual for Maiquetia's drug traffickers.

    At least one metric ton of cocaine per month, and smaller quantities of heroin, are exported through the country's principal airport, several European and North American counter-drug officials who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of their investigations told The Miami Herald.

    One of the officials also estimated that as much as $2 million is paid out monthly in bribes to airport officials, policemen and National Guard personnel who collaborate with the drug runners. One informant told another investigator that airport jobs go to those willing to participate in the scheme. Counter-drug officials also say private airplanes that traffic drugs from Colombia to such nearby destinations as the Caribbean islands regularly pass through Maiquetia, landing there to get a change in identification numbers and perhaps a new paint job.

04 - 20 - 06

U.S. OFFICIAL: BROAD BACKING FOR SANCTIONS ON IRAN

       MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Wednesday that a majority of the countries that are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Group of Eight members support possible sanctions against Iran in the dispute over the country's nuclear program. "Nearly every country is considering some sort of sanctions and that's new," Burns told reporters after two days of meetings in Moscow.

    He declined to specify which countries support possible sanctions. Russia and China, both of which are permanent Security Council members, are seen as the most likely to resist sanctions. "What is new is a greater sense of urgency given what the Iranians did last week," Burns said, referring to Iran's announcement that it had succeeded in enriching uranium. Being able to enrich uranium is a significant step toward being able to produce nuclear weapons.

    Iran has consistently resisted increased calls for it to abandon its enrichment program. Russia has proposed conducting uranium enrichment for Iran's nuclear facilities in Russia, a way of guaranteeing the uranium would not be enriched to the high level needed for nuclear weapons. But Iran hasn't accepted that proposal. Burns, echoing a statement Tuesday by U.S. President George W. Bush, did not reject the possibility of a military response. "Obviously, the United States always keeps all options on the table...but we're focused on diplomacy," he said

HAITI PRESIDENT RENE PREVAIL ANNOUNCES THAT HAITI WILL JOIN A VENEZUELAN OIL PACT

       PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI --  Haiti will soon join a Venezuelan oil pact that supplies Caribbean countries with fuel under preferential terms, President-elect Rene Preval said. Preval made the announcement Tuesday after returning from a five-day trip to Cuba, where he met with Fidel Castro to discuss Cuban aid to his impoverished nation and underwent back surgery.

    Preval, who takes power next month, said he also met with Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba and discussed Haiti's desire to join the Petrocaribe pact, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's initiative to sell oil directly to Caribbean countries with generous financing. "During our stay, we discussed the subject (of Petrocaribe) with the Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba, who happens to be the brother of President Hugo Chavez," Preval told reporters at the airport in Port-au-Prince, the capital. "The country will soon become a part of Petrocaribe."

    Haiti would join 13 Caribbean countries that signed the oil-supply agreement last year. The deal requires Caribbean countries to pay a portion of the cost up front but allows them to finance the remainder through low-interest loans over 25 years. High oil prices have been especially punishing for Haiti, where many communities have little or no electricity because of a lack of fuel needed to run the country's aging power grid.

04 - 19 - 06

U.S. GOVERNMENT SAYS ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVIST LAUNCHED COMMANDO RAID ON CUBA

       MIAMI, FLORIDA  -- A prominent Cuban exile facing federal weapons charges allegedly ran a commando raid against Fidel Castro's government in 2001 and maintained an arsenal in the Bahamas for future attacks, U.S. prosecutors said in court documents. A lawyer for the man denied the accusations. Santiago Alvarez allegedly helped plan and pay for an April 2001 "armed incursion" that was intended "to commit acts of violence against the government of Cuba," but the plot failed when the commandos were arrested and imprisoned in Cuba, according to the documents filed over the past two weeks in U.S. District Court.

    After Alvarez's arrest last year, an informant told the FBI that Alvarez had a large cache of weapons on Guinchos Cay, an island in the Bahamas about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from Cuba. In August 2005, the Coast Guard discovered numerous guns, grenades, grenade launchers and about five pounds (2.25 kilograms) of powerful C-4 plastic explosives, the documents said. Alvarez and co-defendant Osvaldo Mitat "have been involved in planning and staging insurgent paramilitary operations against Cuba," prosecutors said. "The weapons seized in this case have been acquired and stored by the defendants in support of these past, present and future efforts."

    Cuba announced in April 2001 that it arrested three heavily armed men linked to Miami exile groups for plotting acts of sabotage against the Castro government. It was not clear Friday whether they remain in custody or whether they were the same commandos referred to in the new court documents. Although both men are avowed opponents of Castro's communist government, their attorneys said Friday that the government's new allegations about paramilitary activities are based mainly on an informant's claims and that there is little supporting evidence. They also say the informant is a double agent who worked for Cuba and the FBI. "None of that is provable," Alvarez attorney Kendall Coffey said. "He's not charged with any of that."

NGO SUMATE LEADER MARIA CORINA MACHADO SUBMITS PROPOSAL FOR OPPOSITION PRIMARY ELECTIONS

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  NGO Súmate leader María Corina Machado brought forward a schedule of primary elections for a single opposition candidate against President Hugo Chávez next December. Based on the schedule, enrollment of candidates would end on May 19th; from May 21st to July 14th, the nominees campaign would take place, and manual voting would be held on Sunday, July 16th.

    According to the proposal, all voters should be Venezuelans enrolled in the register of voters by March 2006. Scrutiny will be by simple majority, as established in Venezuelan rules and regulations, including manual vote and public count. "All Venezuelans are entitled to witness it," Machado stated.

    Physical notebooks printed out in paper would be used to record voters. "Upon completion of the scrutiny and when all the parties are in agreement with the results, they would be destroyed." The move is to ensure the lack of any electronic or physical list of the Venezuelans who voted in the primary elections.

HUGO CHAVEZ LABELS U.S. MILITARY EXERCISES IN THE CARIBBEAN AS "THREATS"

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Hugo Chávez Tuesday branded military exercises and maneuvers performed regularly by the US government in the Caribbean Sea as "threats."

    During an academic event held in Paraguaná, western Falcón state, Chávez accused the US of trying to daunt Venezuela with aircraft carrier and military hardware movements. "They use Caribbean areas against us," the president said. "This is a threat against us, not only Venezuela, but also Cuba," Chávez affirmed.

    He reiterated his remarks about an alleged incursion of US ships near Venezuelan coasts in 2002.  Chávez insisted on saying that he is not afraid of the US government. "We are not afraid of them, and if they return, we are going to defeat them here," he stated.

04 - 18 - 06

BLAST RIPS TEL AVIV RESTAURANT KILLING NINE PEOPLE

       TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- AVANA, CUBA -- A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a fast-food restaurant in a bustling area of Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday Monday, killing nine other people and wounding dozens in the deadliest Palestinian attack in more than a year. The new Palestinian government, led by Hamas, called the attack a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression." Israel said it held Hamas ultimately responsible -- even though a different militant group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility -- and would respond "as necessary."

    "We shall, of course, continue to use all means at our disposal to prevent every other attempt," Israeli Prime Minister-designate Ehud Olmert said. Israeli defense chiefs were to consult later Monday, but security officials said a possible reoccupation of Gaza, the base of the new Hamas government, was not being considered. The White House strongly condemned the attack, calling it "a despicable act of terror for which there is no excuse or justification."

    A security guard posted outside the restaurant, the target of a suicide bombing in January, prevented Monday's bomber from entering the building, police said. It was the first suicide attack in Israel since the Hamas militant group took over the Palestinian government 2 1/2 weeks ago. Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in attacks, has largely observed a cease-fire since February 2005.

AN INDEPENDENT LIBRARY INAUGURATED IN THE ISLE OF PINES

       NUEVA GERONA, ISLE OF PINES, CUBA -- An independent library was recently inaugurated in Nueva Gerona, capital of the Isle of Pines. The new library called 28 of January, located at Street 22 No.103, between 1st and 3rd, in Sierra de Caballo, Nueva Gerona. It has 252 books on History, Economy, Politics and Literature.

    The new library's director Noel DelaPhena Rivera emphasized: "We are committed to promote reading without censure amongst the population in the Isle of Pine, taking into consideration the demand for alternative information for we are isolated from the rest of the island". During a telephone conversation with the Coordinator of the Independent Library Project in Miami Carlos Alberto Oyarce, he recognized the exemplary work of the Independent librarians in the Isle of Pines.

    Oyarce expressed to the Agency Lux-Info-Press and to the Information Bridge Cuba Miami that the Independent Libraries Movement has founded 152 in the island since its inception.

INDEPENDENT PRESS BUREAU IN CUBA DENOUNCES DETENTION AND PERSECUTION OF DIRECTOR 

       HAVANA, CUBA -- The Information Bridge Cuba Miami Independent Press Bureau denounced to the international Public opinion that on April 9th, Carlos Serpa Maceira, an Independent journalist with Lux-Info-Press and director of the Information Bridge Cuba Miami Independent Press Bureau was at the Nueva Gerona Maritime station set to travel by boat to Havana from the Isle of Pines when Agents of the National Revolutionary Police detained him under orders of an official of the State Security that was present at the station.

    The independent journalist was transported to the local police station where he was subjected to a physical search and all his personal belongings were also searched. They confiscated a DVD equipment Serpa was carrying, a cassette containing recorded News programs of TV Martí and a text denouncing human rights violations in his region. The journalist was released an hour later, making it impossible for him to go in the boat Río Las Casas.

    The Information Bridge Cuba Miami Independent Press Bureau demands a cease of the political persecution and harassment against those of us who are committed with freedom of the press, liberty and democracy for Cuba to the last consequences.

CUBAN MIGRANTS FOUND ASHORE IN HOLLYWOOD BEACH

       HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA --  Nineteen Cuban migrants, including three children, were found ashore this morning at the 3500 block of North Ocean Drive, said Hollywood Police Capt. Tony Rode. It appears that at about 6 a.m. a boat dropped them off. Police are investigating the possibility that the migrants were brought in through a smuggling operation. ''We'll confirm that as we get more information,'' Rode said.

    The migrants -- four women, three children and 12 men -- were in good physical shape, he said. U.S. Border Patrol agents were on their way to interview the migrants.

04 - 16 - 06

CUBA SAYS AT LEAST 50 WORLD LEADERS EXPECTED AT NONALIGNED MOVEMENT SUMMIT

       HAVANA, CUBA -- No fewer than 50 leaders of developing nations are expected to attend September's Nonaligned Movement summit in Cuba, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Friday. In remarks reported by Cuba's National Information Agency, Perez Roque said invitations so far had been personally delivered by Cuban envoys to 95 of the 114 countries belonging to the Nonaligned Movement, the largest grouping of the world's nations after the United Nations.

    Perez Roque made his comments during a visit to Cuba by Congo Foreign Minister Rodolphe Adada. The summit will be held in Havana on Sept. 11-16, when Malaysia will turn over chairmanship of the Nonaligned Movement to Cuba.

    The summits are held every three years, with the last one held February 2003 in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. The Nonaligned Movement is a group of nations that tried to act as a buffer between East and West during the Cold War. It includes thriving economies like Singapore and Malaysia, poor countries like Afghanistan and Somalia, and often-shunned states like Myanmar and North Korea.

04 - 15 - 06

IRAN'S PRESIDENT SAYS ISRAEL WILL BE ANNIHILATED

       TEHRAN, IRAN -- The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.

    "Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm." Ahmadinejad provoked a world outcry in October when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

    On Friday, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: "If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?" The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, "will be freed soon." "The existence of this (Israeli) regime is a permanent threat" to the Middle East, he added. "Its existence has harmed the dignity of Islamic nations."

04 - 14 - 06

US NOT TO DEPORT FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS TO VENEZUELA

       MIAMI, FLORIDA -- US authorities will not deport two former military officers acused of perpretrating the bomb attacks against Spain and Colombia embassies in Caracas in 2003, which left considerable material damages. The former military officers, José Antonio Colina and Germán Varella - who remain in custody in the US since late 2005, according to the legal representative of one of them-arrived in that country in December 2003 to request political asylum.

    A migratory judge rejected the asylum petition but prohibited their deportation claiming that they could be tortured or persecuted. The military officers are acused of perpretrating the bomb attacks against Spain and Colombia embassies in Caracas in 2003, which left considerable material damages.

    The former military officers, José Antonio Colina and Germán Varella - who remain in custody in the US since late 2005, according to the legal representative of one of them-arrived in that country in December 2003 to request political asylum.

MARIO VARGAS LLOSA BLAMES CHAVEZ FOR AUTHORITARIANISM

       SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez fosters with a stream of petrodollars radical, anti-democratic and authoritarian movements in Latin America, Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa regretted Thursday in Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic, Efe quoted. Such a situation is destabilizing a lot the Americas, the writer said during an interview published in newspaper Listín Diario.

    However, he thinks that populist, anti-democratic cases are the exception to the rule and the system encouraged by Chávez will hardly prevail. "I deem it an anomaly that should not last longer than the exceptional, current boom in Venezuela thanks to high oil prices," the author told the newspaper. The Peruvian writer views corruption as a major problem for democracy in Latin America. In his opinion, it has not been denounced or punished enough.

HAITIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT RENE PREVAL VISITS CUBA

       HAVANA, CUBA  -- Haitian President-elect René Préval left for Cuba on Wednesday in an unannounced trip aimed at rekindling relations between the Caribbean neighbors. Préval, a former president who is due to take power next month, will meet with Cuban President Fidel Castro during the three-day trip and is expected to discuss Cuban aid for his impoverished country, Préval spokesman Volce Assad said.

    Relations between Haiti and Cuba were warm during Préval's 1996-2001 presidency, but ties have suffered since a U.S.-backed interim government was appointed to replace former president JeanBertrand Aristide, who was ousted in a February 2004 revolt. ''President Préval had a good relationship with Cuba so he's going there to restart the relationship,'' Assad said. ``Cuba has done a lot to help Haiti, and the president wants to see how we can make the relationship better.'' About 600 Haitians are currently receiving medical training in Cuba.

ATTORNEY GENERAL CONFIRMS DETENTION OF FILIPPO SINDONI'S MURDERER

       MARACAY, VENEZUELA --   Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez confirmed Wednesday in Maracay, the capital city of central Aragua state, the detention of retired National Guard colonel Juan Carlos Saavedra. The army officer is charged with murder of Italian businessman Filippo Sindoni last March 29th, in Lara state. Rodríguez made the remarks on leaving a special session held at Girardot Town Council during the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the events of April 2002.

    The senior military officer was captured last Tuesday in western Cojedes state. His whereabouts are unknown for security reasons and to safeguard his life, official Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias (ABN) reported.

    The Attorney General explained that as part of the enquiry, the Scientific, Penal and Criminology Investigation Agency (Cicpc) checked 46,000 telephone cells in six telephone lines in the states of Aragua, Lara and Cararobo. The action helped to identify the people responsible for Sindoni's assassination. Investigations point to a plot to kidnap Sindoni and them take him to Colombian gangs to make a billionaire deal in exchange for the businessman.

ITALY THANKS VENEZUELA FOR DETENTION OF FILIPPO SINDONI'S MURDERER

       ROME, ITALY --  Italian Foreign Deputy Secretary Giampaolo Bettamio expressed Thursday "sincere gratitude to Venezuelan authorities" for having captured the murderer of  Italian businessman Filippo Sindoni.  He expected "the enquiry to continue until total clarification of this dramatic, shady story." The official, who just paid a visit to Venezuela, noted that the crime sped a bilateral agreement to prevent and curb kidnapping of Italian and Italian-Venezuelan citizens.

    The Deputy Secretary met with Venezuelan authorities to discuss numerous and usually bloody abductions of Italian-Venezuelans. "Sindoni's sacrifice has not been in vain. The murder of one of the most renowned and dear businesspersons in Venezuela, a friend of President Hugo Chávez, has moved deeply the Venezuelan people."

    "The case has resulted in strong awareness of senior political levels about the absolute urgency to take prompt, effective steps," he added. Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez confirmed Wednesday in Maracay, the capital city of central Aragua state, detention of National Guard ex officer Juan Carlos Saavedra, charged with murder of the Italian entrepreneur. Sindoni was the owner of local newspaper El Aragüeño, TVS channel and a number of food manufacturers.

04 - 13 - 06

EDITOR OF THE VENEZUELA DAILY NEWSPAPER EL SIGLO SENT TO JAIL

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --   Verónica Castro, the hearing judge of the Second Trial Court in central Aragua state, convicted journalist Ada Mireya Zurita, the editor of daily newspaper El Siglo, to 18 months in prison for slander and libel.

The journalist was found responsible for publication of an ad on June 23rd, 2003, whereby Deputy Commissioner Terry Rojas, the Investigations head of the Scientific, Penal and Criminology Investigation Agency (Cicpc), was accused of being responsible for a missing lot of heroine. Defence attorney José Luis Tamayo promised to appeal the decision. "This is certainly a preconceived conviction, with no legal grounds," he commented.

NATIONAL GUARD REBUTS INVOLVEMENT IN SINDONI CASE

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA Major General Marcos Rojas Figuera, the National Guard (GN) general commander, denied a notice published in daily newspaper Últimas Noticias on a bench warrant against a GN retired colonel for being the alleged perpetrator of the murder of businessman Filippo Sindoni.

Rojas Figuera clarified that both the GN and the Scientific, Penal and Criminology Investigation Agency (Cicpc) found that a former GN officer is viewed as a presumed member of the criminal gang. The suspect is Juan Carlos Saavedra. "He served in our ranks for four years and went on retirement." Rojas Figuera conceded that the GN ex officer wanted is "a key person."

ANTI-GOVERNMENT GRAFFITI APPEARS IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA

       HAVANA, CUBA  --  Anti-government graffiti saying "Down with Fidel" and "Down with the Dictatorship" appeared in Santiago de Cuba last week.

    Independent journalist Guillermo Espinosa Rodríguez said he saw the graffiti on March 29 on San Pío Street. He said the authorities immediately removed the graffiti. He said the messages "were even clearer" after the cleansing. Espinosa Rodríguez said several dissidents were subsequently arrested on suspicion of being the authors of the graffiti.

04 - 12 - 06

ADAN CHAVEZ: US IS THE "TRUE AXIS OF EVIL"

       HAVANA, CUBA  --  According to Venezuelan Ambassador to Cuba and brother of President Hugo Chávez, Adán Chávez, Venezuela will not tolerate Washington to violate national sovereignty and the US Government is "the true axis of evil." Chávez backed the remarks of the Venezuelan ruler last weekend, and insisted on saying that should the United States continues interfering in Venezuela, US Ambassador to Caracas William Brownfield will have to "pack his suitcase."

    In his view, the US ambassador "has taken a provoking stance and if they keep trying to trespass our sovereignty, then, they will have to go home." "The United States must realize that we stopped being their backyard. We are sovereign and will not let them interfere. We ask for respect," the ambassador told reporters.

    In his opinion, any suspension of Venezuelan oil sales to the United States in the event of conflict would not be a stumbling block for the Venezuelan Government. "We can sell the oil anywhere else in the world. There is no way to blackmail us."

THOUSANDS OF DENUNCIATIONS AGAINST COMMUNIST MILITANTS FILED AWAY IN CUBA 

     HAVANA, CUBA  --  Activists of SOS Justice have collected 4,563 denunciations of crimes committed by members of the communist party and the Communist Youth of Cuba (PCC and UJC) in 6 of the 14 current provinces of the country. In accordance with the procedures established by SOS Justice since May of 2005, these denunciations will remain stored in safe sites within Cuba until there is an independent judicial system able to administer justice and to penalize those delinquents according to the nature of their criminal acts.

    Murders, physical and mental tortures in police stations and prisons, coercion, threats, aggression and injuries, denial of access to advanced studies and to employment in certain companies or positions, sexual harassment, as well as job terminations for political and religious beliefs are the main types of violations denounced by the victims, who until now have been able to overcome the terror imposed in Cuba by the communist militants.

    Due to contradictions or not having all questions answered in the denouncement forms, SOS Justice rejected 261 of the cases by plaintiffs.  The increasing number of denunciations during this year, 2,113 to date (46% of the total) is indicative of the abusive state in which the majority of the Cuban society is in, and confirms the SOS Justice theory that most of the Cuban people will oppose the recycling of the Communists when it is possible to declared it freely, and will actually denounce additional crimes committed by them, and will demand the enforcement of the Law. The activists of the SOS Justice perform their duties concealed for security reasons since it is well known that the PCC and their satellites organizations assassinate even those that try to escape their regime of oppression.

THE COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT ALVARO URIBE DENIES PLOT BY THE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE TO KILL HUGO CHAVEZ

     BOGOTA, COLOMBIA -- Colombian President Álvaro Uribe refused Tuesday charges of alleged plot by the intelligence service (DAS) to kill Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. "I would not go to Caracas, I would not meet with President Chávez to follow up our agenda, and at the same time foster an attack on him," Uribe told Bogotá's RCN radio, AFP quoted.

    "This would run counter to my beliefs and my own way, and this would be a major hypocrisy because it would have a very harmful impact on our democracy," the ruler stated. "Now, then, if the Solicitor or the Attorney General Office were to tell me that the official of a Colombian agency was plotting against President Chávez, I would be the first one to send him/her to jail." "In that case, I would tell President Chávez and the Venezuelan people, publicly: I offer apologies for what happened and should not happen. But impunity will not prevail," he added.

    Uribe was making reference to the remarks made by Rafael García, a DAS ex officer presently in jail, and published in the Bogotá press. According to him, DAS former director Jorge Noguera presumably joined paramilitary and Venezuelan opposition members in an attempt to assassinate Chávez.

NICARAGUAN LIBERALS COMPLAIN OF ALLEGED FUNDING BY HUGO CHAVEZ

     MANAGUA, NICARAGUA -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is to fund indirectly the campaign of Sandinistas in the election for president next November by selling oil at preferential prices, Nicaraguan Liberals claimed. However, Sandinistas replied that all is about a trick of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) to get US funding for its own campaign.

    Chávez' support would include delivery of oil to Nicaragua so that 87 out of 153 mayoralties under the Sandinistas' control throughout the nation can process it and sell byproducts at a much lower price than traditional oil companies, Leonel Téller, the Liberal speaker, told AP Tuesday. Venezuela would sell then oil at preferential prices, to be paid within 25 years with a grace period of three years and no interest.

04 - 11 - 06

OLLANTA HUMALA RUNNING FIRST, ACCORDING TO EXIT POLLS, AS A DEEPLY DIVIDED PERU VOTED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION

       LIMA, PERU -- Ollanta Humala, a polarizing former army colonel who has shot to prominence by castigating Peru's business and political leaders, led the first round of presidential balloting here Sunday, exit polls showed, and will face off in a May or June runoff against either former President Alan García or former congresswoman Lourdes Flores.

    The exit polls -- taken as citizens left voting places -- showed the leftist Humala winning 29 percent to 30 percent of the votes. García, a centrist, had 26 percent, a slight advantage over Flores -- a conservative free-market supporter -- who had 25 percent. Seventeen other candidates trailed. Given the closeness of the race, it was too early to put García in the runoff with Humala.

    A victory by Humala in the runoff election would continue the wave of leftist presidential candidates winning office in South America over the past year. It would also create another political ally for Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, Washington's chief headache in South America, after the election of Bolivia's Evo Morales in December.

WHITE HOUSE DOWNPLAYS TALK OF MILITARY STRIKE

     TEHRAN, IRAN  --  While stressing that diplomacy is the first course for dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions, the White House is not ruling out a military response and says "normal defense and intelligence planning" is under way.    The White House, sensitive to President Bush's image as a war hawk, is trying to play down the possibility of a military strike on the country that Bush included among nations forming the "axis of evil."

    "The president's priority is to find a diplomatic solution to a problem the entire world recognizes," Bush counselor Dan Bartlett told The Associated Press on Sunday. "And those who are drawing broad, definitive conclusions based on normal defense and intelligence planning are ill-informed and are not knowledgeable of the administration's thinking on Iran."

    Bush and other administration officials have said repeatedly that the military option is on the table. Several reports published over the weekend said the administration was studying options for military strikes, and an account in The New Yorker magazine raised the possibility of using nuclear bombs against Iran's underground nuclear sites.

HUGO CHAVEZ THREATENS TO EXPEL U.S. AMBASSADOR WILLIAM BROWNFIELD

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the U.S. ambassador was "provoking the Venezuelan people" and threatened Sunday to expel the American diplomat, whose convoy was chased by pro-government protesters on motorcycles. "I'm going to throw you out of Venezuela if you continue provoking the Venezuelan people," Chavez said in a nationally televised speech addressed to Brownfield. Chavez's incendiary comments came after Washington warned of "severe diplomatic consequence" if a similar incident repeats itself.

    "If the Washington government takes some measure against Venezuela motivated by provocations, you will be responsible, you will have to leave here, sir. I will declare you persona non grata in Venezuela," Chavez responded Sunday in the address to Brownfield. Chavez accused Washington of seeking to escalate tensions and threatening Venezuela.

    "With your imprudence and provocation, you could one of these days cause a grave incident because (you walk) around with people who are armed, with security forces," Chavez said. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Salome Hernandez said the embassy refused to respond to "hypothetical" scenarios but added, "the ambassador will continue to travel and we will not be intimidated."

PERUVIAN CANDIDATE OLLANTA HUMALA TRAPPED IN POLLING STATION BY PROTESTERS CHANTING 'ASSASSIN'

     LIMA, PERU  --  Ollanta Humala's relaxed smile quickly melted into an expression of concern Sunday when hundreds of protesters, a few hurling stones, confronted the nationalist presidential candidate as he and his wife went to vote. The former army officer, who has pledged an economic overhaul that would favor Peru's poor majority, was trapped with his spouse for more than 50 minutes in a classroom at Ricardo Palma University, where they casts ballots.

    Police reinforcements were dispatched to the university in Lima's upscale Surco district, as several hundred people stood on three levels of balconies looming above the classroom, chanting "Assassin!" Humala 43, huddled in consultation with Lloyd Axworthy, a former Canadian foreign minister leading the Organization of American States' observer mission, then smiled defiantly as Axworthy led the couple out through the crowd, protected by a cordon of riot police who held clear plastic shields over their heads to protect them from flying rocks and plastic bottles.

     The "assassin" chants were an apparent reference to allegations that Humala committed human rights abuses in 1992 when he commanded a counterinsurgency base under the nom de guerre "Captain Carlos" in Peru's eastern jungle. He denies any wrongdoing. The protesters also shouted: "You're the same as (Hugo) Chavez" - a reference to Humala's alliance with the Venezuelan president, who has polarized his country along class lines.

04 - 09 - 06

CHAVISTAS PELT U.S. AMBASSADOR'S CAR WITH THE BLESSING OF HUGO CHAVEZ GOVERNMENT

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  The U.S. ambassador to Venezuela has grown used to facing protests and shouts of "Yankee go home!" But supporters of President Hugo Chavez appeared to cross the line when they pelted his car with eggs and tomatoes, then chased after his convoy on motorcycles. The incident Friday drew a strong response from Washington, which summoned Venezuela's ambassador and warned him of "severe diplomatic consequence" in the event of a similar incident.

    U.S. Embassy spokesman Brian Penn said Venezuelan police escorts did nothing to intervene as a car carrying Ambassador William Brownfield was pounded, kicked and pelted. No one was hurt. "We were under attack by these motorcyclists throwing fruits and vegetables," Penn said. "They were pounding on the cars, including pounding on the ambassador's car while they were driving. There was no one stopping them."

    It was the third time in three weeks that Brownfield has been met by protesters; other times, demonstrators have burned tires and torched an American flag. Emotions have run high among Chavez supporters as the Venezuelan leader has accused the United States of plotting against him. American officials have denied it while accusing him of stifling democracy. The U.S. Embassy released a video taken from inside a convoy car, its windows splattered with broken eggs, showing motorcyclists racing up to the four-car convoy and then dropping back. At one point, Brownfield said, the car was stuck in traffic and the motorcyclists surrounded him, banging on the vehicle.

U.S. AGENTS FOUND UNDECLARED RACEHORSES AND CASH ON VENEZUELAN MILITARY AIRCRAFT AND OFFICERS AT U.S. AIRPORT 

       MIAMI, FLORIDA -- Federal authorities at Miami International Airport last week briefly detained six crew members of a Venezuelan Air Force C-130 cargo plane after finding $37,000 in cash aboard, U.S. officials said. In November, another Venezuelan C-130 landed in Puerto Rico with 12 undeclared racehorses. In the Miami incident, officials said the crew was undergoing routine questioning March 30 after agents found two counterfeit $100 bills on two crew members when a further search revealed cash in several bags that totaled $37,000.

    The crew members at first said the money was for official business, then claimed ''it was to go shopping,'' one official said, requesting anonymity because relations with Venezuela are a delicate matter. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Zachary Mann confirmed the incident but said he could provide no further details because the case remains under investigation. No criminal charges were filed and the crew and plane have returned to Venezuela. The crew or the Venezuelan government can request the money's return.

    Venezuela has strict limits on access to U.S. dollars, which forces many of its people going abroad to carry cash. U.S. laws require anyone entering or leaving the country to report to U.S. Customs and Border Protection if they are carrying more than $10,000. In a third incident, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at MIA on Tuesday detained Venezuelan Capt. Alberto Ramón Soto Camaute, 31, after he failed to declare $21,190.72 when he arrived on a commercial flight from Caracas.

04 - 08 - 06

CUBAN-AMERICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CONDEMN CASTRO FOR MOST RECENT MURDER

       WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Congressmen Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) today issued the following joint statement regarding the Castro regime's murder yesterday of a United States resident:

        "We do not condone alien smuggling and if, in fact, these individuals were involved in alien smuggling it is completely unacceptable and they should face any charges under the rule of law in the United States.  However, such an action does not justify murder.  The Castro regime's murder of a U.S. resident on the suspicion of alien smuggling is repulsive and condemnable.  We call on the U.S. government through the United States Interests Section in Havana to immediately insist on meeting with the two detained U.S. residents and to conduct a through investigation of this crime." 

THREE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN FADDOUL BROTHERS CASE SUBMITTED TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  Three individuals involved in the Faddoul case, and alleged members of the group that held hostages the brothers and their driver Miguel Rivas in Yare, central Miranda state, have been submitted to the Attorney General Office, Minister of the Interior and Justice Jesse Chacón reported. Two additional people are to complete the group of five kidnappers. "There are enquiries into two people who, based on the investigation, took direct part in execution of the children and the driver."

    The Minister explained that the three detainees are Venezuelan and the Scientific, Penal and Criminology Investigation Agency (Cicpc) made the relevant enquiry into the weapon used. He repeated that the investigation is well in advance. The authorities estimate that over the next few hours remaining criminals will be found.

    According to the investigations, Chacón said, a group was responsible for the capture. Then, the three teenagers and Rivas were taken to other people who held them hostages. The latter are presumably common criminals. With regard to the murder of businessman Filippo Sindoni, Chacón commented that an additional person would be taken soon to the court. He was captured during a police break-in last Thursday.

CUBAN OFFICIALS SAY THEY WANT TO WORK WITH U.S. TO FIGHT DRUG TRAFFICKING 

       PUNTA DE MAISI, ORIENTE --  Cuba wants to cooperate with the United States to fight drug trafficking and would even sign an agreement to make it official, a top official in Cuba's Interior Ministry said. Lt. Col. Miguel Landera, the No. 2 man in the ministry's international relations department, told reporters Thursday during a two-day government tour that "we are willing to contribute, we are willing to help with all the modest resources we have."

    Landera spoke to international media during a stop in Punta de Maisi, Cuba's easternmost point, while touring several provinces to show how the government keeps an eye out for traffickers with planes and helicopters, land patrols along unpopulated beaches and sea patrols in the Florida Straits. Cuba has agreements for anti-drug trafficking cooperation with more than 30 countries and regularly shares information with all other countries in the region about suspicious boats and aircraft.

    But despite being only 145 kilometers (90 miles) from southern Florida, Cuba has no formal anti-drug agreement with the United States, which has for 45 years has used a trade embargo in a bid to isolate the Caribbean country and the communist government of dictator Fidel Castro. Nevertheless, "Cuba is open to cooperation with the United States and any other country that can participate in this battle" against drugs, said Col. Jorge Samper, No. 2 chief in the Cuban military's elite border guards.

U.S. AMBASSADOR FORCED TO LEAVE CEREMONY

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  An alleged official of the Metropolitan Mayoralty asked US Ambassador William Browfield to leave a ceremony of donations for a junior baseball team in Coche, a development located in southeastern Caracas. The diplomat was making a donation for a team backed by the Baltimore Orioles at Miranda Sports Center, when a group of people refused his participation, calling him persona non grata.

    A presumed security chief of the Metropolitan Mayoralty showed up and argued that the ambassador was not authorized to stay there. The National Guard went to the premises to safeguard Brownfield and cleared the exits of Coche market to help the diplomat leave the area. However, a group of 20 motorcyclists chased the diplomatic caravan across the Valle-Coche highway in an attempt at harassment.

04 - 07 - 06

THE KILLING OF THREE VENEZUELAN BOYS ROCKS THE NATION

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Protests erupted across the Venezuelan capital Wednesday, with hundreds shutting down a main highway, after the execution of three young brothers by kidnappers unleashed an outcry against violent crime and police corruption. The bullet-ridden bodies resting in fetal position of the three Faddoul brothers -- John, 17, Kevin, 13, and Jason, 12, with dual Canadian-Venezuelan citizenship -- were found on Tuesday just outside of Caracas, more than a month after they were kidnapped at a bogus police checkpoint on their way to school.

    In a country hardened by rampant crime, the killings drew widespread mourning and a sudden outburst of frustration at the anxiety Venezuelans feel about their security. Dozens of vehicles in downtown Caracas had ''mourning'' scrawled across their windows. Some 200 protesters gathered in front of the Justice Ministry demanding the police forces be purged and accusing authorities of incompetence.

    The Faddoul brothers were abducted Feb. 23 when unidentified men dressed as police stopped their car at a roadside checkpoint on their way to school. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the kidnappers could be active police officers. The Venezuela-born Faddoul brothers lived with their Canadian father and Venezuelan mother, both of Lebanese descent, in a gated community in an upper-middle-class neighborhood in Caracas. Officials said the kidnappers demanded more than $4.5 million, which the family's lawyer, Santiago Georges, said the family was not able to pay.

CUBAN COAST GUARD KILLED ONE OF THREE ALLEGED MIGRANT SMUGGLERS

       PINAR DEL RIO, CUBA -- Three men believed to be Cuban Americans smuggling Cuban migrants were shot -- one of them killed -- by the Cuban Coast Guard, the communist daily Granma reported today. The Cuban government said the three, who were known to smuggle migrants out of Cuba through Mexico on a 40-foot Florida-registered fast boat, were spotted two miles from Ensenada de Bacunagua in western Pinar del Rio province at 5:10 a.m. Wednesday. The boat, named Tiburon Azul -- Blue Shark --is owned by a Cuban American named John Roberto, the paper said.

    Coast Guard officers ordered the boat to stop, but the ''traffickers responded with a defiant attitude and with aggressive actions including a violent attack,'' Granma said. ''The (Cuban Coast Guard) chief of operations ordered to open fire against the aggressor boat. It was paralyzed and boarded immediately,'' the paper said. One of the men died Wednesday afternoon in Pinar del Río hospital. He has not been identified.

     The two survivors in custody were identified as Rafael Mesa Fariñas and Rosendo Salgado Castro. The Cuban government said the men carried U.S. passports showing they visited the Mexican state of Quintana Roo last month. Quintana Roo is known as an entry point for illegal Cuban migration. The Cuban government notified the U.S. Interests Section in Havana of the incident at 2 a.m. today. The Cuban government said 39 would be migrants apparently intercepted still on land - 20 men, 12 women and seven children -- were sent home after being questioned by authorities.

venezuelan press photographer murdered by a police in caracas

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  Venezuelan press photographer Jorge Aguirre, 60, was murdered Wednesday in Caracas during coverage of a demonstration against insecurity. Aguirre, of daily newspaper El Mundo, was shot dead by a presumed police officer during a demonstration to repudiate the crime of Faddoul brothers, who were kidnapped and subsequently murdered along with their driver. Aguirre was shot in the chest when he tried to take a picture of the alleged police officer who intercepted his vehicle. He managed to capture the image of the murder fleeing and on his back after shooting him.

    According to Julio César Canelón, Aguirre's driver, their vehicle was intercepted by an unidentified man in a motorcycle who ordered them to stop. "He said he was a police officer, but since he had no identification, I did not stop," Calderón said. He added that some minutes later, the man appeared again and made some shots, wounding Aguirre. The victim was taken to the Hospital Clínico Universitario, where he was promptly attended, but physicians could not save his life.

    As reported by Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez, special protection for Canelón was requested Wednesday night from the Directorate for Intelligence, Security and Prevention (Disip) as he is viewed as a pivotal witness in the enquiry into the photographer's murder. Two special public prosecutors, Cristian Quijada and Víctor Barreto, have been appointed to lead the investigation.

04 - 06 - 06

U.S. NAVY CARRIER STRIKE GROUP  MAKES HUGE CARIBBEAN DEPLOYMENT

       MIAMI, FLORIDA -- A U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group will deploy from the U.S. east coast to the Caribbean Sea to conduct Operation Partnership of the Americas from early April through late May 2006. Carrier Strike Group Ten, which includes Norfolk, Va.-based Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington with embarked air wing, Cruiser USS Monterey, Destroyer USS Stout, and Frigate USS Underwood will deploy to the region in support of U.S. Southern Command objectives for enhanced maritime security. The deployment will focus on enhancing military-to-military relationships with regional partner nations, improving operational readiness, and fostering good will.

    Some defense analysts suggested that the unusual two-month-long deployment, set to begin in early April, could be interpreted as a show of force by anti-American governments in Venezuela and Cuba.  The mission was sought by the US Southern Command, which has its headquarters in Miami and is responsible for all military activities in Latin America south of Mexico.  The Navy was last in the region in force in January 2003, when it used the bombing ranges at the Puerto Rican island of Vieques for the final time.

    Led by the aircraft carrier George Washington, the deployment also will include the guided missile cruiser Monterey, guided missile destroyer Stout -- all from Norfolk -- and the guided missile frigate Underwood, based in Mayport, Fla.  “The presence of a US carrier task force in the Caribbean will definitely be interpreted as some sort of signal by the governments of Cuba and Venezuela,” said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a pro-defense think tank in Washington.  The objective of the deployment is to support the Southern Command’s maritime security in its area of responsibility, the Navy said, which includes 32 countries: 19 in Central and South America and 13 in the Caribbean.

VENEZUELA STUDENTS PROTEST U.S. ENVOY PRESENCE

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Several dozen university students burned tires in protest as the U.S. ambassador visited eastern Venezuela Tuesday. No injuries or arrests were reported. About 40 students from the University of the East tried to set up a barricade of burning tires in the city of Cumana outside the hotel where U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield was meeting with leaders in local business and non-governmental organizations.

    State police quickly brought the situation under control, according to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. Yet the students protested for several hours against U.S. "imperialism," including Washington's efforts to set up a free-trade pact in the region. Hugo Chavez says U.S.-backed trade liberalization exploits poorer countries.

    Brownfield has faced protests at other public appearances amid increasing tensions between Venezuela and the United States. U.S. officials charging the Venezuelan government poses problems in the region and that its ties to Cuba were dangerous to democracy in Latin America. Chavez insists his government is democratic and accuses Washington of conspiring against him.

APPEARANCE OF ANTI-GOVERNMENT SIGNS SPARKS REPRESSION

       PALMA SORIANO, CUBA --  The recent appearance of anti-government signs here in Palma Soriano and in the towns of Palmarito, Mella, San Luís , Alto Songo, La Maya and the city of Santiago de Cuba has brought a wave of repression against dissidents. Anilla López, president of a block committee in Palma Soriano, last week publicly blamed dissident Orlando Pérez Aguilera for signs saying "Down with Fidel" and "Freedom for the 75" that appeared in town. Pérez Aguilera was physically threatened.

    Last week in the municipality of Mella members of the National Revolutionary Police broke into the home of dissident Yunier Santos de la Cruz. The agents said they were looking for paint and paint brushes used to make anti-government posters.

    During the search, they took a shortwave radio and literature from the European Union. Santos de la Cruz was taken to Santiago where he was told he could be helped if he agreed to be a government informant. He was held for three days.

04 - 05 - 06

MOUSSAQUI ELIGIBLE FOR DEATH PENALTY 

       ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA --  A federal jury found al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui eligible Monday to be executed, deciding that his lies to FBI agents led directly to at least one death in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  "You'll never get my blood, God curse you all," Moussaoui said afterward. He had sat in his chair and prayed silently as the verdict was read. The only person to face charges in this country in the nation's worst terrorist assault, Moussaoui now faces a second phase of his sentencing trial to determine if he actually will be put to death. That phase is to begin Thursday morning.

    The nine men and three women of the jury will hear testimony on whether the 37-year-old Frenchman, who was in jail at the time of the attack, deserves to be executed for his role. The testimony will include families of 9/11 victims who will describe the human impact of the al-Qaida mission that flew four jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

    Court-appointed defense lawyers, whom Moussaoui has tried to reject, will summon experts to suggest he is schizophrenic after an impoverished childhood during which he faced racism in France over his Moroccan ancestry. "By this verdict, the jury has found that death is a possible sentence in this case," court spokesman Ed Adams said. On the key question before the jurors, they answered yes on whether at least one victim died Sept. 11 as a direct result of Moussaoui's actions. Had the jury voted against his eligibility for the death penalty, Moussaoui would have been sentenced to life in prison.

HUGO CHAVEZ: THE US EMPIRE WANTS VENEZUELA TO BE DISARMED

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- During a ceremony to deliver the army the first three Russian choppers bought by the Venezuelan Government, President Hugo Chávez charged the "US empire" with "threatening governments, companies and countries, trying to disarm Venezuela." "I can assure you right away that also in this battle we will defeat the US Empire. For this purpose, we have good fellows and allies around the world, that acknowledge sovereignty of countries," Chávez said during a speech before army officers.

    He hailed the Russian Government and people "impersonated in such a good, honest friend as Vladímir Putin," and recalled that only a year ago the agreements to purchase Russian helicopters was signed. The president noted that there are 33 helicopters, "and could be more," and anticipated the arrival of new versions. "There is assault aircraft and combat aircraft, MIG 35."

04 - 04 - 06

CUBAN OFFICIAL BLASTS CANADIAN BANK FOR CUTTING SERVICES TO EMBASSY

       HAVANA, CUBA.-- Cuba's parliament speaker on Monday criticized the Jamaican branch of a Canadian bank for denying services to Cuba's diplomatic mission in Kingston. In comments carried by Cuba's National Information Agency, National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon said the Jamaican branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia recently informed Cuban Ambassador Gisela Garcia it could no longer offer services to the embassy there "in accordance with the United States Patriot Act."

    Passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Patriot Act gave U.S. law enforcement a vast array of new investigative and prosecutorial powers, including the warrantless monitoring of international communications by people on U.S. soil. It also increased reporting and monitoring requirements by American banks as well as foreign banks doing business with the United States to prevent transfer of U.S. funds that could be used for terrorism.

    Cuba, under a 45-year U.S. trade embargo, remains on the U.S. State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cuban officials say their country's inclusion on the list is unfounded. "Now we discover that this instrument also has an aggressive end toward Cuba," said Alarcon. He said refusing bank services to Cuba by a non-U.S. bank violated Jamaican and Canadian law.

VENEZUELA PDVSA TAKES OVER ITALIAN ENI-DACION AND FRENCH TOTAL OIL FIELDS 

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA -- Oil output in eastern Venezuela grew 100,000 bpd following termination of operational agreements with Italian firm ENI-Dacion and French company Total. Energy and Petroleum minister Rafael Ramírez said Venezuelan state-owned oil giant Pdvsa took over the operations of the fields of the two foreign corporations, amidst efforts to comply with the new Hydrocarbons Law, the official news agency ABN reported. Pdvsa drills 1.2 million bpd in eastern Venezuela. Output is to increase with exploitation of Dacion fields, south Anzoátegui state, and Jusepín, in Monagas state, Ramírez told local El Tiempo daily.

    This move was made amid legal changes leading to termination of 32 operational agreements Venezuela entered into during the so-called oil opening process in the 90's. The Venezuelan State, has therefore taken control of some 600,000 bpd, for a total estimated output of 3.3 million bpd. Under the new rules, former service agreements became joint ventures between foreign firms and the Venezuelan State. Most private companies accepted the new conditions, with the exception of ENI and Total. Both corporations refused to initial last March 31st the memoranda of understanding to migrate to joint ventures.

    The foreign firms that initialed the agreements were Repsol, Suelopetrol, BP, Teikoku, Vincler, Inemaka, Open, Petrobras, CNPC, Chevron, Shell, CGC, Tecpetrol, Perenco, Harvest and Hocol.  Under these agreements, the Venezuelan State is to hold at least a 60 percent stake. The relevant authorities thus claim they have full sovereignty over the country's energy resources.

HUGO CHAVEZ PROPOSES US$50 A BARREL OIL PRICE TARGET

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA --  Hugo Chavez, in an interview to be broadcast Monday, says he would like to see oil prices stabilized at US$50 a barrel. "We're trying to find an equilibrium. The price of oil could remain at the low level of US$50. That's a fair price, it's not a high price," Chavez said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. Light, sweet crude was trading above US$66 a barrel Monday.

    "In the future Venezuela won't have any more oil - but that's in the 22nd century. Venezuela has oil for 200 years," Chavez said in the interview with the BBC's "Newsnight" program. Chavez's latest reported remarks contrast with his prediction in September that oil prices could hit US$100 a barrel. "The problem is the oil reserves are running out," Chavez had told reporters at a United Nations summit.

04 - 03 - 06

COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FALLS IN LOVE WITH CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO, HER MEETING WITH THE TYRANT WAS "A WONDERFUL" EXPERIENCE, INVITES HIM TO VISIT HER COUNTRY

       HAVANA, CUBA.-- Colombia's foreign minister said Saturday she met with President Fidel Castro the previous evening and invited him to visit her country. Foreign Minister Carolina Barco arrived in Cuba on Friday for an official two-day visit to thank the communist government for hosting talks between her government and Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN.

    In brief comments to media during a tour of Old Havana, the Colombian foreign minister characterized her Friday night talks with Castro as "constructive and frank and WONDERFULl." She met earlier Friday with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. Colombia's peace envoy and the ELN did not reach an agreement in talks held in Havana in February, but will meet here again in April in hopes of further progress.

     The ELN has been fighting Colombia's government since the 1960s for social changes, but has seen its forces dwindle to fewer than 3,500 fighters after a military offensive by President Alvaro Uribe. More than 3,000 Colombians are killed every year in a conflict among government troops, leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitary fighters. 

TOP DIPLOMATS, RICE AND STRAW, MAKE SURPRISE TRIP TO BAGHDAD

       BAGHDAD, IRAQ --  The top U.S. and British diplomats told Iraqi leaders on Sunday they cannot afford to "leave a political vacuum" and must work quickly to form a new unified government. The surprise visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw highlighted the allies' growing impatience with the Iraqis' failure to set up a governing coalition nearly four months after elections.

    Rice told reporters she and Straw conveyed the same message to each of the leaders they saw: that each must do his own job in resolving the political stalemate and do it quickly. "Whatever role that is, it's time to play it because the Iraqi people are losing patience," Rice said. "What is more, your international allies want to see this get done because you can't continue to leave a political vacuum."

    One of those leaders, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, said Rice and Straw made clear "there is a sense of urgency to form this new Iraqi national unity government" and that "there is a sense of impatience back in Washington and London about the delay." En route to the Iraqi capital from England, Rice said she and Rice were going urge that negotiations wrap up. Straw said the choice of leaders is up to Iraqis alone. But neither he nor Rice disguised the blunt nature of their mission.

04 - 02 - 06

BRAZIL'S FIRST ASTRONAUT REACHES NEW HOME 

       KOROYOV, RUSSIA -- Brazil's first man in space floated into the international space station with his country's flag and a beaming smile Saturday, as his Russian and American crew mates began a six-month mission orbiting the Earth. After two days' cramped journey in a Russian-built Soyuz capsule, Pavel Vinogradov, Jeffrey Williams and Brazilian Marcos C. Pontes entered the station as applause and tears broke out among the Brazilian, American and Russian observers watching at Mission Control Center in Korolyov, outside Moscow.

    "This is the international space station," a Mission Control announcer intoned after the air locks opened around 9:40 a.m. The TMA-8 capsule, which blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Thursday, latched on to the station some 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the Earth just after 8:19 a.m. (11:19 p.m. ET). The capsule's docking was guided automatically by computers. Floating into the station's main compartment, Pontes grinned and quickly unfurled a Brazilian flag -- to the delight of Brazilian spectators at Mission Control.

    A 43-year-old father of two whose interests on the ground range from weightlifting to watercolor painting, Pontes is a Brazilian Air Force lieutenant colonel who has logged over 1,900 flight hours in more than 20 different aircraft, including both American and Russian-made fighter jets -- but only a few dozen hours in space. "I think it's safe now to call him a cosmonaut," said Nikolai Sevastyanov, the head of the state-controlled RKK Energiya company that built the Soyuz craft.

HUGO CHAVEZ CALLS U.S. IMMIGRATION MEASURES 'FASCISM'

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez sharply criticized bills in the U.S. Congress that seek to crack down on illegal immigration, saying they resemble fascism. Chavez made the remark in a televised speech Friday, while thousands of students marched in California, Texas, Nevada and other U.S. states to protest the immigration bills.

    Chavez asked how U.S. President George W. Bush could justify supporting a "horrific" immigration law "against millions of human beings." "It looks like fascism," Chavez said. He did not elaborate, but critics in the United States have taken strong issue with House legislation that would make illegal immigration a felony and expand walls along the Mexico-U.S border.

    "It's not just the law but also that now they're building a wall ... so that we Latin Americans don't cross," Chavez said. "Look at the behavior of the American empire." Many Mexicans, however, have praised a proposal approved this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee that would legalize more than 1 million undocumented migrant agricultural workers and provide temporary work visas. Chavez, a constant critic of Bush, said he is sure the 21st century will mark "the end of American imperialism."

04 - 01 - 06

MESSAGE TO EXXOMOBIL: SHARE PROFITS OR GET OUT

       CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela had a blunt message this week for ExxonMobil, one of the world's most powerful oil companies: Get off my crude-rich turf. Venezuela is tightening its squeeze on the oil industry, telling oil companies to give the state a greater share of profits -- or get out. Oil Minister Rafael Ramírez on Wednesday said ExxonMobil was one of the companies that would ''prefer to leave . . . rather than adjust'' to recent policy changes.

    ''We said we don't want them to be here then,'' Ramírez told the state TV broadcaster adding, if “we need them, we'll call them.'' ExxonMobil indicated Thursday it had no plans to pull out. ''ExxonMobil de Venezuela continues to have a long-term perspective of its activities in Venezuela,'' it said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

    The flap helped push the price of oil above $67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday as the market reacted to the latest sign of tighter state-control of energy around the globe. Venezuela is taking on Big Oil at a time when rising oil prices, political instability in the Mideast and Nigeria and new buyers in Asia have put the world's fifth-largest oil exporter in a winning position.

MUSLIM GETS 30 YEARS FOR PLOT TO ASSASSINATE PRESIDENT BUSH

       ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA.-An American Muslim was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for joining al-Qaida and plotting to assassinate President Bush. Prosecutors had asked for the maximum - a life sentence - for Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen who was born to a Jordanian father and raised in Falls Church, Va. "The facts of this case are still astonishing," prosecutor David Laufman said. "Barely a year after Sept. 11 the defendant joined the organization responsible for 3,000 deaths."

    But U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said 30 years was sufficient punishment. He compared the Abu Ali case to "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, who received a 20-year sentence. Abu Ali's actions "did not result in one single actual victim. That fact must be taken into account," the judge said. Abu Ali, wearing a green prison jumpsuit, declined to speak before his sentence was imposed. Defense lawyers said they plan to appeal.

    Ali was convicted in November of conspiracy to assassinate the president, conspiracy to hijack aircraft and providing support to al-Qaida, among other crimes. The charges carried a mandatory sentence of at least 20 years behind bars. Abu Ali gave the Saudis a statement in which he said that he joined al-Qaida and discussed with some of the most senior al-Qaida members terror plots, including Bush's assassination, and plans to establish an al-Qaida terror cell in the U.S. The jury in the three-week trial saw a videotaped confession Abu Ali gave to the Saudis in which he said he joined al-Qaida because he hated the United States for its support of Israel.