January 31

AL-ZAWAHRI CALLS PRESIDENT BUSH A 'BUTCHER' IN VIDEO

    CAIRO, EGYPT.- Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri said in a videotape aired Monday that President Bush was a "butcher" and a "failure" because of a deadly U.S. airstrike targeting the bin Laden deputy. Al-Zawahri, shown in the video wearing white robes and a white turban, said the Jan. 13 airstrike killed "innocents," and he said the United States had ignored an offer from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden for a truce.

    "Butcher of Washington, you are not only defeated and a liar, but also a failure. You are a curse on your own nation," he said, referring to Bush. "Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses." The airstrike hit a building in the eastern Pakistan village of Damadola, killing four al-Qaida leaders. Thirteen villagers also were killed in the strike, angering many Pakistanis.

STATE DEPARTMENT: U.S. NOT CONSIDERING PLACING VENEZUELA ON LIST OF TERRORIST NATIONS

    WASHINGTON, D.C.-The United States is not considering placing Venezuela on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, the State Department said Monday. Spokesman Adam Ereli said there are objective criteria the U.S. uses in compiling the list,"but is there any particular effort under way with regard to Venezuela or any imminent change in our classification. Not that I'm aware of."

    The questioner wanted to know if relations would suffer after reports from Venezuela last week about alleged U.S. embassy involvement in a spying case in which several Venezuelan naval officers were said to have passed sensitive information to the Defense Department. Ereli would not comment on the allegation.

PERU PRESIDENTIAL POLL SHOWS FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN LEADING EX-ARMY OFFICER

    LIMA, PERU.- A conservative former congresswoman holds a considerable lead over a nationalist retired army officer ahead of Peru's presidential election in April, according to a poll released Sunday. The nationwide survey by the University of Lima showed Lourdes Flores with a 28.1 percent to 16.8 percent lead over retired Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala, an ally of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's new socialist President Evo Morales. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

    The poll adds to evidence that Flores remains firmly on top after rapid polling gains by Humala that rattled Peru's financial markets. A survey released Thursday by the CPI company showed Flores with a 28.8 percent to 18.2 percent lead over Humala.

January 30

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS 'DOWN WITH U.S. EMPIRE', CALLS FOR END TO WAR IN IRAQ

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez urged activists around the world Sunday to protest against U.S. dominance and the war in Iraq, saying: "Down with the U.S. empire!" Chavez condemned U.S. President George W. Bush while speaking to activists invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the World Social Forum.

    "Enough already with the imperialist aggression!" Chavez said, listing countries from Panama to Iraq where the U.S. military has intervened. "Down with the U.S. empire! It must be said, in the entire world: Down with the empire!" "In this century, we have to bury the empire, and may there never again be empires in the world," he said to rousing applause from an audience of supporters and international activists.

    He spoke with his arms wrapped around the shoulders of visiting American peace activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, and Elma Beatriz Rosado, the widow of slain Puerto Rican nationalist Filiberto Ojeda Rios. All three joined in condemning the government of U.S. President George W. Bush.

MANUEL ZELAYA INAUGURATED AS HONDURA'S NEW PRESIDENT

    TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS.- Manuel Zelaya was inaugurated Friday as Honduras' new president with promises to fight corruption and help criminal and gang members become useful citizens. "Today, we start we start governing Honduras so that the poor have options," he said.

    The 56-year-old Zelaya replaces outgoing President Ricardo Maduro, who led a government crackdown on the country's flourishing gang problem, throwing thousands of gang members in overcrowded jails. The policy was both praised by Hondurans tired of rising crime and copied in neighboring El Salvador. But human rights groups criticized Maduro, saying he should do more to rehabilitate gang members.

    His voice breaking with emotion as he took office, Zelaya said he would help small businesses, improve agricultural production, and create 400,000 jobs in four years in Honduras. Zelaya also supports a free trade agreement with the United States. The former congressman and bank director was virtually tied with contender Porfirio Lobo Sosa of the ruling National Party in polls leading up to the November 27 elections.

COCA GROWER WILL BE IN CHARGE OF FIGHTING ILLEGAL COCA LEAF IN BOLIVIA  

    LA PAZ, BOLIVIA.- Bolivia's new leftist government swore in a coca grower as Minister of Social Defense, a post that oversees the fight against drug trafficking and illegal coca leaf planting in this impoverished Andean nation. Felipe Caceres, former mayor of Villa Tunari town in Bolivia's coca-growing Chapare region, was inaugurated as minister late Friday in a ceremony led by Alicia Munoz, Bolivia's first female interior minister.

    Caceres, who made no public comments after his inauguration, joins the Cabinet of President Evo Morales, himself a coca grower who was elected last month as the nation's first Indian president. Morales opposes U.S.-backed efforts to eradicate coca crops in Bolivia and the appointment of Caceres is seen as a bow to the coca growers who helped carry Morales to power. Caceres owns a small coca farm in Chapare.

    The leftist president has offered to join the United States in the fight of illegal drugs but rejects the U.S.-backed program to fully eradicate coca leaf. "There will be no zero coca or zero coca farmers. There will be zero cocaine," Morales has said.

January 29

HUGO CHAVEZ WARNS UNITED STATES HE WILL JAIL ANY U.S. OFFICIAL INVOLVED IN ESPIONAGE

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez threatened Friday to arrest American officials if they are caught gathering intelligence about the Venezuela's military. Chavez's warning came hours after his vice president, Jose Vicente Rangel, claimed that officials at the U.S. Embassy were involved in a spying case involving the arrest of several Venezuelan military officers, allegedly for passing sensitive information to the Pentagon.

    "We've just discovered a case, one more espionage case," Chavez said, for the first time speaking about the accusations. "I warn the U.S. government: the next time we detect a soldier or civilian official - but above all American soldiers - trying to obtain information about our armed forces, we're going to put them in prison." Chavez has repeatedly accused the U.S. government of spying and plotting to oust him, while U.S. officials have firmly denied the allegations.

    Chavez also criticized the United States Friday during a rally of thousands of cheering activists at the World Social Forum, calling the U.S. government a vile "empire." "It's the most perverse, murderous, genocidal, immoral empire that this planet has known in 100 centuries," Chavez said to applause.

THE WORLD SOCIAL FORUM HELD IN CARACAS CALLS FOR RADICALIZATION OF REVOLUTIONARY FIGHTS  

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez, reveling in his role as leftist icon, brought together tens of thousands of activists from across the world to promote Latin America's fast-growing anti-globalization movement.  Leftist leaders are increasingly popular across Latin America, while Chavez's own "Bolivarian revolution" has become an inspiration for like-minded activists everywhere.

    Activists on Wednesday urged powerful countries to take decisive actions aimed at reducing poverty and discussed alternatives to free trade. Some pointed to cooperation agreements between Chavez's government and other Latin American nations as steps in the right direction. Many participants demanded an immediate end to the war in Iraq, while others sang a communist hymn with fists raised in tribute to El Salvador's Shafik Handal, a guerrilla commander who fought U.S.-backed troops during the country's 12-year civil war and died of a heart attack at age 75 Tuesday.

    The participants’ views span a wide spectrum, but most participants appear united by strong opposition to the U.S. government and the war in Iraq. The forum began with an "anti-imperialist" march Tuesday through the streets of Caracas, with protesters aiming their chants against President Bush.  "Venezuela has become an epicenter of change on the world level," Chavez said Friday, referring to the event in a speech. "That's why (U.S.) imperialism wants to sweep us away, of course ... because they say we are a bad example. But they haven't swept us away and they won't."

January 28

CAMCO CELEBRATES WITH HOPES OF LIBERTY THE BIRTHDAY OF THE APOSTLE OF CUBAN INDEPENDENCE, JOSÉ JULIÁN MARTÍ Y PÉREZ  (January 28, 1853 - May 19, 1895) 

    MIAMI, FLORIDA.- The Apostle said: "You take your rights, you do not beg for them; you do not buy them with tears but with blood.

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR 15 CUBAN MIGRANTS MISSING AT SEA

    MIAMI, FLORIDA.-A boat with about 15 Cuban migrants has gone missing in the waters near the Florida Keys, and the U.S. Coast Guard has launched a search, the Coast Guard said Thursday. The 15- to 20-foot long rustic vessel, filled with people, was spotted by a Customs and Border Protection Blackhawk helicopter about 46 miles southeast of Marathon Wednesday evening. But the helicopter lost track of it at 7 p.m. after poor visibility and bad weather forced the helicopter to return to base.

    Shortly after, Coast Guard vessels and a CBP ''High Endurance Tracker'' airplane arrived on the scene, but did not locate the boat. ''The CBP Blackhawk crew reported the wooden vessel had no engine,'' the Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday. ``The sea-state at the time was 4-6 foot seas and getting worse. It was also reported all people on the vessel appeared to be wearing life jackets.''

    The search continued through the night. At dawn, a Coast Guard Falcon jet from Air Station Miami, a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter and a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., were launched to help in the search. The Coast Guard said it has searched 1,400 square miles in the Florida Straits. Anyone with information on the migrants can call the Seventh District Command Center at (305) 415-6800. The all-out search comes at a time when the number of Cuban migrants picked up at sea has hit a 10-year high, and tempers are still flaring in Miami over the Coast Guard's repatriation earlier this month of 15 Cuban migrants found standing on a piling of the old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.

January 27

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO VISITS AT NIGHT MYSTERIOUS CONSTRUCTION SITE NEAR THE U.S. INTEREST SECTION IN HAVANA

     HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuban dictator Fidel Castro visited a mysterious new construction site outside the U.S. Interests Section on Wednesday night, but kept mum over what was being built in front of the mission - a growing flashpoint for U.S.-Cuba relations. Dressed in his olive green uniform and surrounded by security men, Castro made the nighttime visit one day after directing a massive march past the building to protest recent U.S. actions aimed at Cuba, including a new electronic sign streaming news and human rights messages.

    "If I tell you, it will ruin the surprise," Castro told reporters who asked what workers were building. The dictator said he was there primarily "to greet the workers." Castro indicated he had no intention of breaking already limited relations between the two countries. "It is (the Americans) who will decide what happens to this Interests Section," he said. The American mission said in a statement that it was informed by the Cuban government after the march Tuesday that the parking lot in front of the building could no longer be used until further notice.

    "The regime appears to be building a permanent structure that, we believe, seeks to obstruct Cubans' view of the uncensored messages and information posted on our streaming billboard," the U.S. statement said. "The regime's reaction is not surprising: building walls to isolate Cubans from the rest of the world is what the regime knows best. Why cannot the regime allow Cubans to make up their own minds as to what they want to think, read and say publicly?" 

US ELECTRONIC BILLBOARD AT THE U.S. INTEREST SECTION IN HAVANA MAY BE BLOCKED

    HAVANA, CUBA.- The electronic billboard that displays news and human-rights messages from the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana may be losing its audience: The Cuban government Wednesday began building a structure that will block it from view. The Cuban government marched more than one million people past the U.S. Interests Section in a protest against the Bush administration Tuesday. Just as leader Fidel Castro began to speak, American diplomats turned on the ticker-tape machine. Castro called the Americans ``cockroaches.''

    On Wednesday, Cuban authorities told U.S. diplomats they would no longer be allowed to use the parking lot in front of the building on Havana's seafront Malecón avenue, according to a U.S. Interests Section statement. Construction work started on the adjoining property soon afterwards, the statement said. 'The regime appears to be building a permanent structure that, we believe, seeks to obstruct Cubans' view of the uncensored messages and information posted on our streaming billboard,'' the statement read.

    "The regime's reaction is not surprising: building walls to isolate Cubans from the rest of the world is what the regime knows best.'' News agencies reported bulldozers emblazoned with Cuban flags arrived early Wednesday at the area, officially known as the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Plaza.

CHAVEZ, CATHOLIC CHURCH OPEN THE DOOR TO JOINT PROJECTS

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chávez and the board of directors of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference met Wednesday for almost three hours at the presidential palace of Miraflores. "We have seen a positive stance and the doors are open for us to continue to meet, talk and find new topics of common interest," said the president of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) Monsignor Ubaldo Santana.

    Monsignor Santana read a document they presented President Chávez stating that the leaders of the Catholic Church in Venezuela are to remain "autonomous and preserve their independence to make criticisms." hey agreed to create a number of committees comprising representatives from the Church, the Vice-President's Office and the Interior and Justice Ministry. They are "to address topics such as school religious education and the Church cooperation with some social projects."

    The parties did not talk about Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara's criticisms against Chávez' administration, but in their document CEV demanded "stopping disqualifications" against their statements and against some bishops.  Vice-President José Vicente Rangel described the meeting as "a highly positive, relaxed dialogue."

January 26

CUBA STARTS BUILDING PROJECT OUTSIDE AMERICAN MISSION IN HAVANA

     HAVANA, CUBA.- Cuban construction workers launched a building project outside the American mission in Havana on Wednesday, a day after President Fidel Castro directed a massive march past the U.S. offices to protest recent U.S. actions aimed at Cuba. The state employees said they were expanding the open-air Anti-Imperialist Plaza, which sits directly in front of the U.S. Interests Section on the city's famed Malecon coastal highway. Details on the project were not immediately available.

    Workers started drilling and transporting materials early in the morning, closing down several streets around the site. The plaza includes a stage used for music concerts and political events attended by Castro and other Communist Party leaders. The American mission irked Castro last week when it installed an electric sign on the facade of its main building with streaming text of sayings about freedom and excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory.

    Castro characterized the new U.S. messages as "provocations" and said they appeared to be aimed at breaking off the limited contact between the two governments, which have been without diplomatic relations for 45 years. The U.S. has an interests section under the Swiss Embassy in Havana to handle consular affairs such as visa processing. Cuba has a similar office in Washington.

US DIPLOMAT: CHAVEZ IS MEDDLING IN OTHER COUNTRIES' AFFAIRS

    JUANJUI, PERU.- US ambassador to Peru James Curtis Struble Wednesday said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez "is meddling a lot in other countries' affairs." "He should let presidents take care of their countries, and the best thing for the region is Chávez taking care of managing his country," Curtis said when asked about recent diplomatic tensions between Venezuela and Peru.. Curtis added that Chávez "feels resentment against all the countries that want to make their own decisions regarding their future, particularly political choices," Efe reported.

    "While South America has an interest in improving its ties, most leaders have chosen an integration different from Chávez' proposal," he asserted. "Venezuela is a concern for the United States because it is a member of the community of the Americas, where all have signed the Democratic Charter, except for Cuba." "We want to strengthen democracies, rather than witness the return of authoritarianism to this continent."

COLORADO GOVERNOR BILL OWENS: FIDEL IS A MASS MURDERER WHO WISHES ONLY HARM ON OUR COUNTRY

    DENVER, COLORADO.- "You do have to look at who you're dealing with. They have blood on their hands. The state of Colorado won't be part of it. If I went, I'd have a private dinner with Fidel Castro, I'd be in the presidential palace, I'd see things I'd love to see. But I don't want to be part of what he represents,” said Bill Owens, the Governor of Colorado.

     "I don't believe Fidel is a kindly avuncular cigar-smoking guy in fatigues we look at as a bit of an irritant. And I don't regard Che Guevara as a romantic figure. Fidel is a mass murderer who wishes only harm on our country. The fact he hasn't been able to doesn't mean we should forget it. As a young man during the Cold War, I decided the greatest challenge facing us was communism. As far as I'm concerned, Castro is only a step or two removed in capability and in lust for power from people like Stalin, Mao and others. He is the person who tried to get the Soviet Union to launch nuclear weapons against us during the Cuban missile crisis. He's the same guy who was putting people against the wall and shooting them. I'm not willing to be a part of any effort to help his economy so long as he's in power."

January 25

U.S. DIPLOMATS IN HAVANA FLASH MESSAGES TO CUBAN PROTESTERS OUTSIDE AS THE TYRANT INSULTS PRESIDENT BUSH

     HAVANA, CUBA.- The Havana billboard war rages on today: the U.S. Interests Section turned on its new electronic message sign -- just as tens of thousands of protesters marched by in a rally against the American government. Blinking today's news and quotes from the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi, the sign was first posted on Martin Luther King Day. It was turned on this morning just as President Fidel Castro began speaking to masses of people called to protest against the U.S. custody of accused terrorist Luis Posada Carriles.

    The sign was activated as Castro began speaking in front of the building Tuesday morning, relaying global news and quotes including Abraham Lincoln's: "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."  “To those who want to be here, we respect your protest, to those who don’t want to be here we feel sorry for your discomfort.  If it is a war of ideas why you cannot dissent from the government.” ''They turned on their little sign; how brave the little cockroaches are,'' Castro said. “Looks like Little Bush gave the order.''

    The U.S. Interest Section says it only makes sense: ''if the point is to reach people, why not turn it on when a million people are cruising by?'' a U.S. official said. The government-sponsored march took place just as the 90-day detention period for Posada is set to expire. The anti-Castro militant is being held in Texas on immigration charges, while Cuba and Venezuela seek his extradition on charges that he blew up a Cuban airliner in 1976.

NO HOTELS AVAILABLE FOR CUBANS IN PROVINCIAL

    PINAR DEL RIO, CUBA.- There are no hotel rooms for Cubans in the provincial capital of Pinar del Río, a city of 200,000; travelers and those looking for a place to have an intimate tryst must find other solutions since the three hotels open to Cubans were diverted to other uses. "If you need a hotel... even for one night, your only option is the bushes in the outskirts of the city," said one young man accompanied by his girlfriend.

    Young people feel doubly left out, since the existing hotels had modest discotheques where they could get together. Now, they say, they have even fewer entertainment options. The three hotels that used to allow Cubans to enter, El Globo, Italia, and La Marina, have been reassigned to other uses.

    Italia and La Marina now house people who lost their houses to one of the recent hurricanes, and El Globo has been taken over by "social workers," in reality young people from outside the province who are auditing government enterprises for fiscal irregularities, as part of the government's effort to eradicate administrative corruption. There are other hotels in the city, but their rooms must be paid for in dollars, and Cubans are denied access to them no matter what currency they may be willing to pay in.

January 24

THE CUBAN DICTATOR CALLS FOR MARCH AT U.S. MISSION TO PROTEST NEW ELECTRONIC SIGN HE CONSIDERS A "PROVOCATION"

     HAVANA, CUBA.- Fidel Castro called Sunday for a march outside the American mission to protest new electronic signs on the building facade and accuse the U.S. of protecting an exile suspected of anti-Castro bombings. The mission a week ago turned on signs with streaming text of sayings from Martin Luther King Jr. and excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory.

    In a three-hour appearance on state television Sunday, the Cuban dictator said that, after abuse scandals at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, the U.S. has no moral authority on human rights. "They should put those signs inside, not outside," Castro said.

    The signs on the oceanfront building are the latest salvo in an ongoing billboard war between the two countries. Cuba more than a year ago erected signs outside the mission with photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners and a huge swastika with a "Made in the U.S.A" stamp. Castro characterized the new U.S. signs as "provocations" and said they appeared to be aimed at breaking off the limited contact between the two governments, which have been without diplomatic relations for 45 years.

VENEZUELA VICE-PRESIDENT JOSE VICENTE RANGEL SAID THAT U.S. SEN. JOHN McCAIN "CAN GO TO HELL"

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela's vice president said Monday that U.S. Sen. John McCain "can go to hell" for suggesting that "wackos" run the South American country. Jose Vicente Rangel was reacting to McCain's statement on Sunday that America must explore alternative energy sources to avoid depending on Iran or by "wackos" in Venezuela - apparently a reference to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

    "It looks like they have nothing else to do in the United States," Rangel said, adding that the Americans have "so many problems, 40 million poor people, 30 million drug users, and an American senator is paying attention to us. He can go to hell." McCain, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2008, said recent actions by Chavez and by Iran's leaders make it clear that the United States will be vulnerable as long as it remains dependent on foreign energy.

    "We've got to get quickly on a track to energy independence from foreign oil, and that means, among other things, going back to nuclear power," the Arizona senator said on Fox News Sunday. "We better understand the vulnerabilities that our economy, and our very lives, have when we're dependent on Iranian mullahs and wackos in Venezuela."

MORE THAN TEN THOUSANDS OF DEMONSTRATORS MARCHED THROUGH CARACAS TO DENOUNCE LEFTIST HUGO CHAVEZ

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- More than ten thousands demonstrators turned out for a rowdy but peaceful demonstration against President Hugo Chávez's government on Sunday, signaling a revitalized opposition at the start of a presidential election year. Chávez ''has divided this country,'' said Evelin Suarez, a retired dental assistant. After months without mustering a significant demonstration, Chávez opponents staged the noisy march through the capital of Caracas in honor of the 48th anniversary of Venezuela's democracy, saying Chávez threatened freedoms gained since the 1958 overthrow of Gen. Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Venezuela's last dictator.

    ''The opposition has understood its job is to mobilize to fight in the streets for what the government is denying us,'' said Henry Ramos Allup, leader of the Democratic Action party. Government officials estimated the crowd's numbers at 1,500, though reporters at the demonstration put it at several thousand. Several demonstrators hoisted an effigy of the president with a noose around his neck as they called for unity to ''save'' democracy in Venezuela.

    One protester held up a mock 10,000 bolivar bill with the face of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, a reference to fears that Chávez is leading Venezuela toward Cuban-style communism. Protesters called for transparency in December's presidential vote and demanded the release of ''political prisoners.'' After opposition parties boycotted congressional elections last month complaining of alleged irregularities, Chávez allies swept all 167 seats in congress.

January 23

SENATOR JOHN McCAIN SAYS U.S. ENERGY CAN'T BE DEPENDENT OF "WACKOS IN VENEZUELA"

     WASHINGTON, D.C.-Sen. John McCain, a top Republican lawmaker, said Sunday that America must explore alternate energy sources to avoid being held hostage by Iran or by "wackos" in Venezuela - an apparent reference to Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's populist president. McCain, a potential presidential contender in 2008, said recent action by "Mr. Chavez" and by Iran's leaders make it clear that the United States will be vulnerable as long as it remains dependent on foreign energy.

    "We've got to get quickly on a track to energy independence from foreign oil, and that means, among other things, going back to nuclear power," McCain said. "We better understand the vulnerabilities that our economy, and our very lives, have when we're dependent on Iranian mullahs and wackos in Venezuela," said McCain, who challenged President George W. Bush for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.

    Iran is OPEC's second-largest producer. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, with the largest proven oil reserves outside of the Mideast. Chavez, a frequent U.S. critic, accuses foreign oil companies of having looted Venezuela. He has promised that his socialist "revolution" is freeing the country from "imperialist" interests and restoring its sovereignty.

ISRAEL HINTS AT PREPARATION TO STOP IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

     JERUSALEN, ISRAEL.- Israel's defense minister hinted Saturday that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action.  "Israel will not be able to accept an Iranian nuclear capability and it must have the capability to defend itself, with all that that implies, and this we are preparing," Shaul Mofaz said. His comments at an academic conference stopped short of overtly threatening a military strike but were likely to add to growing tensions with Iran.

    Germany's defense minister said in an interview published Saturday that he is hopeful of a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program, but argued that "all options" should remain open. Asked by the Bild am Sonntag weekly whether the threat of a military solution should remain in place, Franz Josef Jung was quoted as responding: "Yes, we need all options."

    French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Saturday that Chirac's threats reflect the true intentions of nuclear nations, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "The French president uncovered the covert intentions of nuclear powers in using this lever (nuclear weapons) to determine political games," IRNA quoted Asefi as saying.

IRAN MOVES CURRENCY RESERVES OUT OF EUROPE

     TEHRAN, IRAN.- A defiant Iran announced Friday it has begun pulling its foreign currency accounts out of European banks to protect its assets from possible U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program. As analysts estimated the amount of those funds at up to $50 billion, Iran also called for a reduction in OPEC oil production - raising the possibility that the country would use oil in its standoff with the West. Iran pumps about 4 million barrels of oil a day, making it the second largest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia.  

    The currency withdrawal signaled that Iran was willing to weather U.N. punishment rather than abandon its nuclear ambitions, which the United States and some in Europe say are to develop atomic weapons. Tehran insists its program is for peaceful purposes only.  Friday's move also deprives Europe of an important lever to influence Iran and could weaken its resolve to push Iran to give up key parts of its nuclear program, analysts said.  

    The announcement of the withdrawal of Iran's foreign currency accounts from Europe came from the country's Central Bank governor, Ebrahim Sheibani.  "We transfer the foreign exchange reserves to wherever we deem fit," Sheibani was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency. He would not say how much money was involved or where Iran would move it.   Iran's assets in the United States were frozen shortly after the 1979 revolution that toppled the pro-Western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and installed a clerical regime.  

January 22

CUBAN FANS ELATED THAT PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH ALLOWED THE TEAM TO PLAY IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

     HAVANA, CUBA.-- On Friday, Cuban fans were happy to be showing up at all after team World Baseball Classic. The first application for a license was denied in mid-December by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Because part of the tournament is in U.S. territory, the license is required under the 45-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, which aims to undermine Fidel Castro's government by cutting off supplies of U.S. currency.

    Major League Baseball's commissioner's office and the players association reapplied for the license after Cuba said it would donate any profits received to victims of Hurricane Katrina, thus ensuring none of the money goes to the communist-run government. There was no immediate reaction to the news from Cuban sports authorities, who reportedly were tied up in meetings Friday afternoon. But in the streets of Cuba, where baseball is beloved as the island's national sport, fans were overjoyed.

HUGO CHAVEZ EXPECTS LULA TO CONVINCE THE UNITED STATES TO LIFT VETO ON AIRCRAFT SALE

     BRAZILIA, BRAZIL.- The heads of state of Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela held a meeting in Brasilia in order to discuss the energy integration and deal with the laying of a huge South American gas pipeline to carry Venezuelan hydrocarbons to the South. During the meeting, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said he would leave in the hands of the Brazilian government the efforts to smooth objection by the United States to sale Venezuela Supertucanos training planes.

    "If Brazil cannot make the United States to change its mind, then regretfully we will have to buy the planes in Russia, India, China or anywhere else," President Chávez said in Brasilia, following his meeting with his counterparts of Brazil and Argentina, Reuters reported. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva "has said that they are dealing with the United States. Let's hope so. Because there is no reason (for the veto.) It is absurd. These are training planes for our cadets; for them to learn how to fly."

    The US veto on the sale of Spanish military aircraft to Venezuela made the National Assembly (AN) to open fire to the empire. A paper, read out by Carlos Escarrá and unanimously approved, refuses "the US Government attempts at implementing a material blockade by trying to prevent our nation from purchasing planes from Spain. It is renewed meddling into the internal affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and sovereign acts." The deputies requested the White House "to respect the principles of International Law," and praised "dignity of the Spanish Government President when keeping and honoring his commitments."

January 21

DIAZ-BALART INVITES CUBAN PLAYERS IN THE "WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC" TO SEEK ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES

    MIAMI, FLORIDA.- Miami, FL - Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) expressed his deep disappointment today with the Bush's Administration decision to allow a team of Castro's choosing to participate in the "World Baseball Classic" (WBC), and invited the Cuban players who participate in the WBC to seek asylum in the U.S.

    "The Bush Administration's lamentable and unfortunate decision today will permit the Cuban totalitarian regime to utilize a sporting event for propaganda purposes while Castro's security agents keep a watchful eye on the Cuban players to prevent their escape to freedom. While recognizing the extraordinary difficulties they will face, I hope that the Cuban players will use this opportunity to escape totalitarianism and reach freedom in the U.S. I will be ready to assist any Cuban player who decides to seek freedom in the U.S.", said Diaz-Balart.

January 20

FLORIDA GOVERNOR JEB BUSH SAYS VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ WILL TRY TO INFLUENCE PERU ELECTIONS

     LIMA, PERU.- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday chided Venezuela's Hugo Chavez for trying to influence Peruvian elections and suggested that the leftist leader's populist policies are doomed to failure. "I believe President Chavez will try to influence elections, not only here but in other places," Bush said, when asked at a breakfast for Peruvian business leaders if he thought Chavez would negatively affect Peru's electoral process.

    "But I believe Peruvians are proud to be Peruvian and do not want to receive instructions, either from the United States or Venezuela," he said to applause. "The situation with populism is that it cannot deliver. It can promise the world, the sun and everything else, but it does not deliver." Bush was in Peru leading a delegation of Florida business and government officials on a mission to solidify business ties, promote free trade and lobby for Miami as a future headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

ACCUSED CUBAN SPY COUPLE PLEADED NOT GUILTY

     MIAMI, FLORIDA.- A Florida International University professor and his wife, an FIU counselor, pleaded not guilty today in an arraignment hearing in federal court. The couple are accused of operating as covert agents for Cuba's communist government for decades, using shortwave radios, numerical-code language and computer-encrypted files to send information about Miami's exile community to top Castro intelligence commanders.

    Carlos M. Alvarez, 61, and his wife, Elsa, 55, were denied bond before trial on Jan. 9 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea Simonton. The couple is facing a charge of failing to register with the federal government as foreign agents. Simonton said she believed that the gravity of the charges -- admitted by the couple last summer to the FBI -- their past academic trips to Cuba and their contacts in Fidel Castro's government made them a flight risk if allowed to return to their South Miami home.

    The indictment, which included no mention of top-secret U.S. government information being disclosed, came months after the couple's admission because of additional investigative work in the case, interim U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said. The case of the longtime FIU employees marks the biggest Miami spy-related case since 1998, when five men were charged with infiltrating the exile community and laying the groundwork for the shootdown of four Brothers to the Rescue pilots by the Cuban Air Force in 1996.

DEMAND FOR PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS RISES IN CUBA, SAYS STUDY

     HAVANA, CUBA.- The demand for psychotropic drugs has increased in Cuba, according to a recent report to the Center for Mental Health and Hygiene. The report described an across-the-board increase in prescriptions to treat anxiety, depression, and ailments such as high blood pressure. The report was based on an internal study for the Center, to which an activist with the Cuban Liberal Movement said he had been given access by a source he didn't care to name.

January 19

RAMÓN SAÚL SÁNCHEZ ENDS HIS HUNGER STRIKE

     MIAMI, FLORIDA.- Cuban Exiled activist Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Democracy Movement, ended his hunger strike today, 11 days after it began. Sanchez ended his strike following confirmation from the White House that the Bush administration was willing to discuss the issue of the wet foot-dry foot policy with members of the Cuban exile community.

   Sanchez began his strike following the detention and repatriation of 15 Cuban rafters that arrived at the old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys. This was only the most recent case of repatriated rafters that has caused controversy in the Cuban exile community and has sparked debate about immigration policy towards Cuba, particularly on the wet foot-dry foot policy. This agreement between the United States and Cuba established that any Cuban that touches dry land can stay in the United States, while rafters intercepted at sea will be repatriated.

 After finishing his strike, Sanchez was taken to Coral Gables Hospital, since his health has visibly deteriorated. He will remain there until he regains his strength and his overall health improves.  

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OKAYS CHANGES IN VENEZUELA FLAG AND COAT OF ARMS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-

Parliamentarians have approved in first session the reform of the Law on Flag, Coat of Arms and National Anthem. The step was taken in connection with a call made by Hugo Chávez, who within a month referred three times to the need to add one star to the flag and modify the position of the horse in the coat of arms. It is the first law passed in first session since the beginning of regular meetings last January 5th.

    As for the rationale for an additional star, they stated: "In the Bolivarian spirit to re-found the Republic, the Liberator's provision to include the eight star in representation of the Guayana province will be taken into consideration." Guayana was freed and joined Venezuela in 1817.  Also, "the third quarter shall be blue, occupy the bottom portion in the coat of arms and feature an indomitable, white horse at a gallop leftwards, with its head straight and looking forwards, the emblem of independence and freedom."

    Four historians and university teachers attended the session and agreed on saying that the symbols accompanying the "Bolivarian process, are as important as redrafting of history after reincorporating emblematic figures who were willingly relegated by the elite."

BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND VENEZUELA ENVISAGE AMBITIOUS BLUEPRINT

     BRAZILIA, BRAZIL.- Presidents of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Argentina, Néstor Kirchner, and Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, are to discuss this week a full-extent, billionaire plan to lay a hemispheric gas pipeline as part of a project still in "a very preliminary" stage. While the ministers of Energy of the three nations met in Caracas last January 13th, there are no details about construction and funding. State oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) sources estimate the project at USD 20 billion.

    During their meeting next Thursday in Brasilia, the heads of state are to make some decisions on the project, but no specific details are expected, according to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, AP reported. The three presidents will meet in the morning at Granja del Torto, the Brazilian official residence. However, no joint declaration to the media is anticipated.

January 18

HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS VENEZUELA SHOULD FOLLOW CUBAN EXAMPLE TO DEFEND AGAINST U.S. THREAT

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chavez said Monday he is readying Venezuelans to defend their country against a U.S. threat the way Fidel Castro's communist Cuba has resisted an almost half-century of hostilities with Washington. "Why have the gringos invaded half the world but never invaded Cuba? Because among other things ... in Cuba everyone is trained to defend hand-to-hand Cuba's territory and the revolution. We are going in the same direction," Chavez said.

Chavez says Venezuela must be prepared and has embarked on a military build-up. It has signed a US$2 billion (euro1.7 billion) deal with Spain to purchase military planes and boats and is set to receive new helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles from Russia this year. "If the North American empire has the insanity to come here to try and stop our revolution by way of an invasion, then we will be forced to crush them," Chavez said to cheers at an event marking the send-off of Venezuelan students to study medicine in Cuba.

    Chavez, speaking with Castro by cell phone during the event, said that Cuba was readying to accept another 10,000 Venezuelan students by September to study medicine on the island. Cuba opened the medical school in Havana in 1998 to provide free education to low-income students in the region.

HUGO CHAVEZ VERY PLEASED WITH BISHOPS' POSITION

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chávez claimed to be very pleased with the top Catholic representatives, who distanced themselves from the remarks by Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara against the government. "I am really happy that the president of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV,) Monsignor Ubaldo Santana; Caracas Archbishop, Monsignor (Jorge) Urosa Sabino; as well as Monsignor Tulio Chirivella, from Barquisimeto; and especially the top leader of our Catholic Church, the Papal Nuncio, representative of His Holiness the Pope, have distanced themselves from the declaration and embarrassment caused by that retired Cardinal."

    Last Saturday, Rosalio Cardinal Lara Castillo said that president Chávez' government "has lost its democratic character and is beginning to show gleams of dictatorship." Castillo voiced his opinion during a homily devoted to the Divine Shepherdess, begging her to "save Venezuela." The CEV representatives described Castillo Lara's remarks as inconvenient since no religious act should be turned into a political one.

FATHER FREITAS TAKES SIDES WITH CARDINAL CASTILLO LARA

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- As opposed to Caracas archbishop Jorge Urosa, the rector of the Venezuelan College to Rome, Father Pedro Freitas, thinks that the remarks made by Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara during a homily to commemorate the appearance of the Divine Shepherdess were timely. "I consider and ratify that it was a big chance that he (Cardinal Castillo Lara) could not miss. The country is longing to be listened to and for a solution to its problems," he told Unión Radio.

    Father Freites expressed that Cardinal Castillo Lara capitalized on the occasion to "speak up as a prophet and tell courageously the truth: That we are in an extreme situation as few times in our history." "Did the Cardinal lie? Is it a lie what he said about clues in dictatorship?" he wondered. Freites did no understand the reasons for such a fuss and asked the government to provide evidence of alleged conspiracy.

January 17

HUGO CHAVEZ DEMANDS FULL APOLOGY FROM BISHOPS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chávez has asked the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV) to apologize publicly following a homily last Saturday by Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara. During a mass to honor the Divine Shepherdess, the priest begged the patron of western Lara state to "save Venezuela. We are going through a serious situation. The government has lost its democratic character and is beginning to show gleams of dictatorship." During the 244th edition of his TV and radio show "Aló, Presidente," the head of state charged bishops with being part of a group seeking to destabilize the country and plotting to overthrow him.

    "We have evidence of their contacts. Some priests have gone to the border to take money to (Colombian) paramilitary. I told Nuncio (Giacinto Berloco) about that. But despite giving names, the Catholic hierarchy fails to act. Priests continue doing this here and in Rome. I ask the Catholic hierarchy to take distance from this individual. You, Monsignor (Ubaldo) Santana, (Jorge) Urosa and (Mario) Moronta cannot remain silent. Silence gives consent. They should at least refuse it and I think they ought to do it."

    He recalled that he learned about the event in Barquisimeto, the capital city of Lara state, by his daughter. Then, he had a telephone conversation with the Pope's ambassador, in addition to Santana and Urosa, CEV president and second vice-president, respectively. In his opinion, "they were taken by surprise by the Cardinal's tough words and regretted what had happened." However, the ruler was not pleased with the explanation. "A private excuse is not enough. They cannot say that this is a personal insight." After playing excerpts of the mass recording, he warned Bishops: "Do not try to ignite the country again. Do not make a mistake."

VENEZUELAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCE (CEV): "WE ARE NOT BOUND TO CLARIFICATION"

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Monsignor Ubaldo Santana, the head of the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV), said this is not the first time that Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara gives his view of the domestic situation, and added that CEV does not have to provide any explanation.

    Monsignor Santana claimed to be taken by surprise when Cardinal Castillo Lara used the celebration of the Divine Shepherdess in Barquisimeto, the capital city of western Lara state, for his remarks. "I would like to clarify that the Cardinal has already made such opinion elsewhere. Then, some bishops and others stated that the Cardinal is a retired priest and he does not belong to CEV as such. He is giving an opinion just like any ordinary citizen in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and he is free to make any judgment," Monsignor Santana pointed out.

    The CEV top representative reiterated that they continue open to a dialogue with the government and all national sectors.  Last Saturday, Cardinal Castillo Lara blamed the government of fostering political persecution and division among Venezuelans. He also lashed out at the judiciary and the electoral branch.

CEV: CARDINAL CASTILLO'S REMARKS ARE INCONVENIENT 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Caracas archbishop, Monsignor Jorge Urosa, reiterated that the religious acts "should never be turned into political acts of any trend whatsoever,"  that is why he considers as "inopportune and inconvenient"  that  Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara has expressed his personal political opinions at the homily devoted to the Divine Shepherdess -patron of Venezuelan western Lara state.

    Monsignor Urosa set clear that "Monsignor Castillo Lara (...) does not belong to the Venezuelan Bishops' Conference (CEV); his political opinions are only his and the CEV is not responsible for them." However, he emphasized that Cardinal's personal opinions "do not form part of any conspiracy at all," as President Hugo Chávez has claimed.

January 16

PRESIDENT BUSH AND THE NEW GERMAN CHANCELLOR MADE AN EFFORT TO MEND FENCES

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- President Bush rejected a suggestion Friday from new German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba be closed. But their gently worded disagreement during a joint news conference did little to dampen the warm spirits they displayed toward each other during Merkel's first visit to the White House since she began her new job.   

     The United States and Germany are seeking to improve relations that had soured because of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's fierce opposition to the Iraq war and bad blood between him and Bush. Merkel was on a mission to make nice but also to show her independence, particularly regarding Bush's detainee prison at Guantánamo, which is wildly unpopular in Western Europe. She raised this issue during her 45-minute Oval Office meeting with Bush and acknowledged it publicly in a subsequent news conference. Merkel outlined her opposition to the prison in a German magazine interview before arriving in Washington.

    ''Yes, she brought up the subject, and I can understand why she brought it up, because there's some misconceptions about Guantánamo,'' Bush said after their meeting. ''Guantánamo is a necessary part of protecting the American people,'' Bush contended, ``and so long as the war on terror goes on, and so long as there's a threat, we will inevitably need to hold people that would do ourselves harm in a system . . . in which people will be treated humanely.''

SENATOR BOB MENENDEZ STATEMENT ON BUSH ADMINISTRATION REPATRIATION OF CUBAN REFUGEES

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- Jersey City, NJ - U.S. Representative Robert Menendez made the following statement today on the Bush administration's decision to repatriate 15 Cuban refugees who landed in the Florida Keys last week:  

    "The decision by the Bush administration to return 15 refugees to Cuba shows a shocking disregard for their safety and well-being as well as a disturbing willingness to jeopardize Cuban lives by wrongly interpreting a technicality of law.  These 15 refugees, including a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, have now been returned to Castro's Cuba, where they will face political repression and possible jail time, even though they landed on U.S. soil, because the administration has decided that they do not qualify under the wet-foot, dry-foot policy.  That decision is dead wrong, and it is also dangerous.  With this decision, the Bush administration shows once again that it lacks the understanding that these people are fleeing from persecution to freedom."

January 15

U.S. FORMALLY VETOES AIRCRAFT SALE TO HUGO CHAVEZ

     MADRID, SPAIN.- US ambassador in Madrid Eduardo Aguirre advised Miguel A. Moratinos and José Bono, Spanish Foreign Affairs minister and Defense minister, respectively, and the firm manufacturing the aircrafts EADS-CASA of the US decision. The United States has formally denied authorization for Spain to sell 12 transportation and maritime surveillance airplanes equipped with US technology to Venezuela, authorities said.

    The aircraft sale was agreed in a USD 2 billion deal under which Spain is to supply ships and planes to Venezuela. The source confirmed a report published in El País daily claiming that Washington thought the sale of aircrafts to Venezuela has a potential to complicate things in South America. Washington has opposed the Venezuela-Spain deal for months.

PERU TO ALLEVIATE TENSIONS WITH VENEZUELA IN MORALES' INAUGURATION

     PERU, LIMA.- The Peruvian government intends to mitigate diplomatic tensions with Venezuela during the inauguration of Evo Morales as the new Bolivian President next January 22nd, official sources said. Since Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo expects to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez, Peruvian ambassador to Venezuela Carlos Urrutia is to remain in Lima until the two rulers meet.

    Last week, Chávez voiced his support for presidential candidate and retired army commander Ollanta Humala. Peru labeled this move as "an interference in internal affairs" and immediately recalled Urrutia from Caracas for diplomatic consultations. Chávez also claimed that presidential candidate Lourdes Flores was the "candidate of oligarchy."

    Several Peruvian personalities have reacted to Chávez' remarks on the Peruvian domestic politic affairs. Author Alfredo Bryce Echenique asserted that Chávez "is catastrophic and is ruining his country." According to Bryce Echenique, "the fact that Chávez is ruining his country is still not apparent, as he has a significant amount of oil revenues."

SPAIN VOWS TO PROCEED WITH SALE OF AIRCRAFT TO HUGO CHAVEZ

     MADRID, SPAIN.- The Spanish government does not share the US Government reasons to ban the sale of aircraft with US technology to Venezuela, and thinks that the agreements should be observed in any case. "The Bush administration has decided to deny the clearance to build the aircraft that Spain decided to sell Venezuela and has done it for a number of reasons that the Spanish government does not share," First Vice-President María Teresa Fernández de la Vega said, after the first ministerial council in 2006, as quoted by AFP.

    "This having said, obviously some agreements have been executed with other nation, in this case Venezuela, that should be certainly performed. The company will find a replacement technology," De la Vega added. The official insisted on saying that the aircraft "is not offensive in nature and will create almost 1,000 new jobs in Spain over the next few years for such an important sector as dockyards and the aeronautic sector."

January 13

January 12

HUGO CHAVEZ: U.S. HINDERS MILITARY PURCHASES FROM BRAZIL

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chávez said that Venezuela "has an obligation to fight a war against US imperialism." He added that such a battle has already started in "political and ideological arenas."  Further, Chávez stated that the United States has prevented Brazil from selling Supertucanos warplanes amidst "plans to stop modernization of the (Venezuelan) Armed Forces." Upon inauguration of the new military academic year for the Chiefs of Staff, Chávez urged the military not to worry. "We do not know what is going to happen with Brazil. Apparently, they are facing some restraints. They need authorization from the United States, because they are using US-made technology.

    This is the same thing that happened when they (Washington) tried to stop Spain from building ships, patrol boats and cargo planes for us. Now they are doing the same thing regarding (warplanes) F-16. They have refused to provide major maintenance; they are delaying shipments of spare parts. Let us not worry. I have sent a special taskforce to Moscow. If we have to substitute the fleet of F-16s with modern MiG planes, we will do it." He added he is to wait "some time and see if Brazil can solve this issue. Otherwise, China is also a manufacturer of training planes, fighter aircrafts and warplanes."

    He reminded that Venezuela has already purchased Russian choppers and rifles, adding that such equipment is to arrive soon in the country. "Washington also made a fuss about that too. I mean, this is all part of war. They are trying to stop us from having well-equipped ships, planes and Armed Forces. If we depend on them, they are willing to sell us anything. If we are independents, they want to neutralize our military power. You may be sure that I will not stop in my efforts to beef up the Armed Forces." 

TOLEDO: CHAVEZ IS DESTABILIZING LATIN AMERICA

     LIMA, PERU.-Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Wednesday accused his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez of making "serious mistakes that tend to destabilize Latin America," as Chávez has interfered in Peru internal affairs in an "inadmissible" way. "Make no mistake about it, Hugo Chávez is the President of Venezuela; he is not the president of Latin America. I think he may have as many petro-dollars as he wants, but it does not mean he has a right to destabilize the region," Toledo stressed.

    For the second time in a week, Chávez on Tuesday made reference to the upcoming presidential election in Peru.  Bilateral relations deteriorated last week when Chávez publicly praised nationalist presidential candidate Ollanta Humala. Tensions escalated on Tuesday, when Chávez called Social Christian presidential candidate Lourdes Flores "a candidate of oligarchy.

"THE SITUATION MUST CHANGE," SAYS FORMER CUBAN MILITARY OFFICER

     HAVANA, CUBA.-"The situation must change," said a former military officer referring to the country's political and economic situations. "Otherwise, we must prepare for a violent end." The former officer is now 70 and drives a taxi to make ends meet. Although he doesn't have the required licenses, he said his credentials as a retired member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces still have some clout and allow him to evade the occasional fine and possible confiscation of his automobile for using it in an illegal enterprise.

    The former military, who said he had participated with Cuban forces in conflicts abroad, expressed disappointment. "I thought my old age would be different, but I was wrong. The dreams have become nightmares," he said. "The revolutionary process has been a failure," he said. "Almost half a century thrown overboard. I think I realized it too late."

U.S. DISMISSES CHAVEZ' CLAIMS ON PLOT AGAINST EVO MORALES

     LA PAZ, BOLIVIA.-The United States labeled as "ridiculous" Hugo Chávez' claims that Washington is plotting against Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales. "US respects democracy and thinking otherwise is ridiculous," a spokeswoman of US Embassy in La Paz who spoke under condition of anonymity. "Bolivians have elected Evo Morales and have decided that he will be their president. We are going to respect such a decision," she said.

    Chávez Tuesday declared he was sure that "the US Embassy to Bolivia has already started to plot against Evo (Morales.)" The Venezuelan ruler claimed that plans are under way to overthrow the leftist indigenous leader who is to take office next January 22. Chávez' remarks sparked several reactions in Bolivia, and the Bolivian government replied cautiously. "We shall evaluate (Chávez' claims)," said Julio Pimentel, the spokesman for the presidency. " Meanwhile political analyst Helena Argirakis asserted that Chávez intends "to drag Bolivia into his own conflict with the United States."

RUSSIA DENIES NEGOTIATIONS TO SELL FIGHTER PLANES TO VENEZUELA

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA.- Russian Defense Ministry Wednesday clarified that "for now" it is not negotiating sales of Russian fighter planes MiG-29 to Venezuela, Efe reported. "This issue of supplying Russian fighter aircrafts to Venezuela is not included in today's agenda," said the Ministry spokesman Viacheslav Sedov when commenting on President Hugo Chávez' remarks in this sense on Tuesday.

    Another representative for the Russian Defense Ministry said, however, that Russia is actually willing to sell the modern MiG-29s to Caracas. "The Russian defense industry has enough potential to meet any needs of the Venezuelan Air Force concerning the modern light fighter aircrafts MiG-29s," the representative, who requested anonymity, told official Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

    He added that a deal in this sense "may be achieved in the event that Moscow received an official petition from Caracas." On Tuesday, Chávez threatened to purchase Russian or Chinese warplanes to replace US-made F-16s Venezuela purchased from Washington in the 80's. Chávez argued that the United States has failed to comply with maintenance agreements for such aircrafts.

January 11

EVO MORALES, CHINESE PRESIDENT MEET

     PEKIN, CHINA.- Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales on Monday met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and called China an "ideological ally," a day after he invited the communist country to develop Bolivia's vast gas reserves. Morales' visit to China came at a propitious time for Beijing, which is also eager to develop links with Latin America. China sees nations like Bolivia as new sources of fuel and raw materials as well as new markets for its exports.

     The left-leaning Morales, who is on a world tour that includes stops in Europe and South Africa, told Hu he made visiting China a priority because he considers China to be a "political, ideological and programmatic ally of the Bolivian people." "I have a new responsibility. It's a new experience for me, so I hope to count on the help of your government and your party," Morales told Hu after the two leaders shook hands and posed for photos at the Great Hall of the People, China's legislative seat.

    Hu promised to encourage "strong and prestigious" Chinese companies to invest in Bolivia, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The Chinese leader also said the two governments should expand cooperation in technology, medical services and education, the report said. On Sunday, Morales met with State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, a senior Cabinet official, and invited China to help with his country's gas industry after it carries out plans to nationalize its reserves.

FINANCE MINISTER: VENEZUELA IS TO PURCHASE ANY ARGENTINE DEBT BONDS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Venezuela is to "purchase any debt bonds" Argentine President Néstor Kirchner may offer, said Venezuelan Finance minister Nelson Merentes in an interview published Tuesday in Argentine daily Clarín. "We are providing financial support for our friendly countries, but we have nothing to do with the International Monetary Fund: we do not impose political or economic conditions," Merentes underscored. Merentes also insisted in a Venezuelan proposal to create "a strong Latin American capital market" intended to fund countries in the region without resorting to "the big international financial institutions."

    Last year, Venezuela purchased USD 1.6 billion in Argentine debt bonds, and then sold USD 600 million to local banks, in an operation that was previously okayed by Buenos Aires. According to Merentes, with Argentina, "everything" is made in a "coordinated way." Kirchner intends to sell more debt to Venezuela, to total USD 2.5 billion, according to official sources. Merentes stressed that his country "has set no cap" on the new purchases of Argentine debt, Efe reported.

January 10

HARRY BELAFONTE CALLS PRESIDENT BUSH 'GREATEST TERRORIST IN THE WORLD'

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- The American singer and activist Harry Belafonte called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. Belafonte led a delegation of Americans including the actor Danny Glover and the Princeton University scholar Cornel West that met the Venezuelan president for more than six hours late Saturday. Some in the group attended Chavez's television and radio broadcast Sunday.

    "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people ... support your revolution," Belafonte told Chavez during the broadcast. The 78-year-old Belafonte, famous for his calypso-inspired music, including the "Day-O" song, was a close collaborator of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and is now a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. He also has been outspoken in criticizing the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

    Belafonte accused U.S. news media of falsely painting Chavez as a "dictator," when in fact, he said, there is democracy and citizens are "optimistic about their future." Dolores Huerta, a pioneer of the United Farm Workers labor union also in the delegation, called the visit a "very deep experience."  Belafonte suggested setting up a youth exchange for Venezuelans and Americans. He finished by shouting in Spanish: "Viva la revolucion!"

CHINESE LOCOMOTIVES, BUSES ARRIVE TO CUBA 

     HAVANA, CUBA.- Twelve new locomotives and 80 buses purchased from China to help improve local transportation in Cuba have arrived in Havana, state-run media reported Monday. The value of the locomotives, which were bought last year with credit, plus the cost to transport them was more than US$15 million (12.4 million), the Communist Party daily Granma said. The 80 buses are part of a 1,000-bus deal worth more than US$100 million (82.8 million) , the newspaper said.

    The new locomotives are believed to be the first such engines to come from China to Latin America. Cuba's internal transport system steadily deteriorated after the island's crushing economic crisis of the early to mid-1990s caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's longtime backer. The government began recovery efforts early last year, repairing 60 locomotives and 1,800 railway cars. Railway cargo transportation in 2005 increased by 13 percent from the previous year, while the amount of food being delivered increased 60 percent from 2004, Granma said.

January 9

TWELVE DEAD AFTER MILITARY HELICOPTER CRASHES IN IRAQ

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down in northern Iraq, killing all 12 Americans believed to be aboard in the deadliest crash in nearly a year, while five U.S. Marines died in weekend attacks, the military said Sunday.  U.S. military officials said the UH-60 Black Hawk crashed just before midnight Saturday about seven miles east of Tal Afar, a northern city near the Syrian border that has seen heavy fighting with insurgents.

    "All (those killed) are believed to be U.S. citizens," military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said. He did not say what caused the crash, but bad weather has wracked most of Iraq. The Black Hawk was part of a two-helicopter team providing support for the 101st Airborne Division and was flying between bases when communications were lost, the military said. After a search, the helicopter was found about noon Sunday, the military said.

    It was the deadliest helicopter crash in Iraq since a CH-53 Sea Stallion went down in bad weather in western Iraq on Jan. 26, 2005, killing 31 U.S. service members. In Saturday's crash, records indicated that eight passengers and four crew members were aboard. Three Marines were killed Sunday by small arms attacks in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. Two other Marines were killed Saturday by roadside bombs in separate incidents, the military said.

January 8

AL QAEDA NO. 2: BUSH MUST ADMIT DEFEAT IN IRAQ

     CAIRO, EGYPT.- An Arabic language news network has aired a video of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, in which he called on U.S. President George W. Bush to admit defeat in Iraq. Al-Jazeera said the video, which is about a minute long, was made in December. Ayman al-Zawahiri offers his condolences to Pakistan for the October 8 earthquake before congratulating fellow Muslims for what he says is a victory in Iraq. The video, which had been edited, shows the gray-bearded al-Zawahiri seated, wearing glasses, a white headdress, a white sash, a gray shirt and a clip-on microphone.  

    Al-Zawahiri said:  "You remember, my dear Muslim brethren, what I told you more than a year ago, that the U.S. troops will pull out of Iraq. It was only a matter of time. "Here they are now and in the blessing of God begging to pull out, seeking negotiations with the mujahedeen. And here is Bush who was forced to announce at the end of last November that he will be pulling his troops out of Iraq. He uses the pretext that the Iraqi forces reached a high level of preparedness. But he doesn't have a timetable for the pullout.

    "If all of his troops -- air force, army -- are begging for a way to get out of Iraq, will the liars, traitors and infidels succeed in what the world superpower failed to achieve in Iraq?  "You have set the timetable for the withdrawal a long time ago and Bush, you have to admit that you were defeated in Iraq, you are being defeated in Afghanistan, and you will be defeated in Palestine, God willing." Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor with a $25 million reward on his head, released five audio and video statements last year, including several claiming responsibility for the July attacks on London's transit system.

LOSING PATIENCE, OAS, U.N. PROD HAITI ON ELECTION

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- Amid mounting violence and frustration over repeated delays in international efforts to restore democracy to Haiti, the U.N. Security Council and the Organization of American States Friday called on Haitian authorities to hold the first round of national elections by Feb. 7. The two statements come after electoral officials last week postponed the election -- then set for Sunday -- for the fourth time since October, blowing a constitutional deadline to have a new government in place by Feb. 7.

    Interim Haitian Prime Minister Gérard Latortue is pushing to hold the first round of balloting on that date, but the fractious nine-member Provisional Electoral Council has yet to make the official call. U.N. and OAS electoral advisors in Haiti say Feb. 7 will give them enough time to wrap up the final preparations, distribute voter ID cards and train poll workers for the first balloting since an armed rebellion ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004 and sent this country into a state of near-anarchy.

    While the advisors hope the election will bring a strong representative government to Haiti, the approach of elections has stoked the same divisions and intransigence that paralyzed the nation before Aristide's ouster. ''Nothing has changed, it's the same old stuff,'' said Robert Fatton, a Haiti expert and political science professor at the University of Virginia. ``The election might polarize the situation even further.'' Leading the polls so far is René Préval, a former president who was often depicted as Aristide's puppet and is now backed by many of Haiti's urban poor -- the same people who brought Aristide to power.su participación en Haití.

January 7

ELEVEN U.S. TROOPS KILLED IN THURSDAY ATTACKS

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ.- Eleven U.S. troops -- eight soldiers and three Marines -- were among about 140 people killed in attacks across Iraq Thursday, military officials said. It was the deadliest day in Iraq in nearly four months. A U.S. soldier and a U.S. Marine were killed in a major suicide bombing targeting an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ramadi, the military said Friday. Both were assigned to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

    Their deaths bring the number of people killed in the Ramadi attack to at least 82, along with about 70 wounded. In addition, two U.S. Marines were killed by small arms fire in separate attacks during combat operations in Falluja, the military said. The Marines were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

    Also, a roadside bomb killed two Task Force Baghdad soldiers on patrol in the Baghdad area of operations, the military said Friday. That incident was under investigation.  And five other Task Force Baghdad soldiers died in a separate roadside bombing near Baghdad.  The names of the soldiers and Marines were withheld pending notification of relatives. Since the war began, 2,193 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.

OFFICIAL SAYS VENEZUELA'S OIL SALES TO CUBA FLAT AS ISLAND'S DOMESTIC SUPPLY GROWS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.-Venezuela plans to keep oil sales to Cuba steady at roughly 90,000 barrels a day this year because the island has discovered petroleum of its own, Venezuela's oil minister said Friday. "We expect to keep that level of sales unchanged given that Cuba is discovering more oil and that's a good thing," Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said

    Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, increased oil sales to communist-led Cuba to 90,000 barrels a day last year, up from roughly 53,000 barrels during previous years. Since taking office in 1999, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has moved to strengthen ties with Cuba. Cuban President Fidel Castro's government buys Venezuelan crude under preferential terms and, in exchange, sends thousands of doctors to treat the poor in this South American nation of 26 million.

    Chavez, Castro's closest ally in the Americas, also has given Cuba an important role in organizing sales of Venezuelan fuel to Caribbean nations through a regional initiative called Petrocaribe. Venezuela plans to store and possibly refine oil in Cuba for redistribution to other Caribbean countries under the initiative, which aims to cut energy costs in the region.

PRISON SHOOTOUT IN HONDURAS KILLS 13; MORE THAN 2 DOZEN INJURED

     TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS.- At least 13 inmates were killed and another 30 wounded in a shootout between rival groups inside Honduras' biggest prison, the latest bloodshed to hit the country's overcrowded and aging jails. The clash Thursday came inside a cellblock housing 200 of the most dangerous prisoners doing time at the National Penitentiary, where least 27 inmates were murdered in 2005, most by their cellmates.

    "The confrontation was between two rival groups of prisoners who fired shots at each other in a territorial dispute," Honduran Security Minister Armando Calidonio said. He said officials had yet to determine how inmates got guns into the prison located on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa but said police are "intensively investigating" the clash. It clash, however, did not appear to involve the feared "Mara" street gangs who have taken part in violent prison riots in the past.

    Police and guards restored control at the facility, and soldiers were also posted outside the prison amid fears that criminal groups might have started the gun battle to cover a larger uprising or mass escape. "The situation has been controlled by the authorities, and police patrols have been established around the penitentiary to avoid problems or mass escapes," Calidonio said. Honduras' cramped and crumbling prisons have frequently been the scene of riots and fights between the country's 13,000 prisoners.

January 6

PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON FIGHTS FOR HIS LIFE

     JERUSALEN, ISRAEL.- Doctors said Thursday that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be kept in a coma-like state for up to three days to prevent further damage from a massive stroke. His sons held a bedside vigil and state media broadcast mournful songs. Hadassah Hospital's switchboard was flooded with get-well messages and the nation's top rabbis called on Israelis to rush to synagogues and pray for the 77-year-old ex-general, whom many saw as the best hope for peace with the Palestinians.

    The Web site of the respected Haaretz daily quoted hospital officials as saying Sharon suffered vast brain damage. But Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, Hadassah Hospital director, sought to quash widespread rumors that the prime minister was brain-dead. Sharon's pupils were responding to light, "which means the brain is functioning," he told reporters. "We are fighting for the life of the prime minister, with no compromise," he said.

    Dr. Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon at Israel's Tel Hashomer Hospital who is not involved in Sharon's treatment, said the test results appeared encouraging. "I think this is good news. This information that the prime minister is reacting and they got reactions from him to stimulation is really a situation that can show that he is waking up after the operation," Feldman told Channel 2. "This is the first time that we have a positive indications regarding his condition." However, other neurosurgeons not involved in Sharon's treatment said a full recovery was unlikely after such a massive stroke. Sharon aides said they assume he would not return to work."

PERU RECALLS AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA

     LIMA, PERÚ.- Peru recalled its ambassador to Venezuela late Wednesday, in a drastic reaction to President Hugo Chávez' support for Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, a former nationalist military officer. "Given the statements yesterday (Tuesday) by the President of Venezuela, which represent an interference with Peru domestic affairs, the Peruvian government has decided to recall its ambassador to Venezuela, Carlos Urrutia, for consultations," said the Peruvian Foreign Affairs Ministry in a communiqué.

    Lima claimed that Chávez "made a series of statements regarding the political process facing Peru that do not observe the international law and the principles of the Inter-American system of nations, under which democratic countries have an obligation to refrain from interfering with other countries' domestic affairs."

    Further, Peruvian nationalist presidential candidate Ollanta Humala was the target of harsh criticisms in his country following his meeting with Chávez, and Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales in Caracas. The Peruvian press highlighted Humala's visit to Caracas. El Comercio daily asserted "Chávez ratifies sponsorship for Ollanta," and claimed that the Venezuelan ruler "sees in Humala a sort of clone in a country that, despite lacking oil, has a strategic and enviable coast over the Pacific."

COPEI THINKS THAT GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY UNDERMINES THE COUNTRY

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Opposition Copei party Secretary-General in central Vargas state Rubén Contreras put the blame Thursday on the government for the collapse of Viaduct No. 1 on Caracas-La Guaira road. "We, Vargas residents, are suffering the plight of an inefficient, inconsistent government," the official regretted. He noted that the government has had seven years to recover the Caracas-La Guaira old road and the Carayaca road, but nothing has been done. In a press release, Contreras criticized the government arrogance for refraining itself from asking for help of true experts.

    "The engineers of democracy built this country with works such as El Guri and Santo Domingo dam; buildings such as Parque Central; bridges such as Lake Maracaibo or Ciudad Bolívar. Rather, the improvised bureaucracy of President Hugo Chávez has destroyed what they received, giving million dollars abroad, buying vilely the conscience of irresponsible leaders."

January 5

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY DEFENDS EAVESDROPPING, URGES US PATRIOT ACT RENEWAL

     WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday defended the administration's authorization of domestic eavesdropping and reiterated the White House's call for a renewal of the Patriot Act. Cheney said the two measures are vital in protecting the U.S. from terrorists, and gave assurances that the White House is adamant about protecting civil liberties. President George W. Bush "has made clear from the outset, both publicly and privately, that our duty to uphold the law of the land admits no exceptions in wartime," Cheney said.

    Cheney said the Patriot Act has helped break up terror cells by removing the barrier between law enforcement and intelligence officials. "We look forward to a renewal of the Patriot Act in 2006, because that law has done exactly what it was intended to do - and this country cannot afford to be without its protections," he said. Cheney defended the legality of the program and said that had it been in place on Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. might have been able to pick up on two hijackers who crashed a jet into the Pentagon.

    "They were in the United States, communicating with al-Qaeda associates overseas. But we didn't know they were here plotting until it was too late." Four years after that attack, Cheney said some politicians may be downplaying the threat of another terror incident, "perhaps a natural impulse, as time passes and the alarms don't sound." But he warned against that complacency because "the enemy that struck on 9/11 ... is still lethal and planning to hit us again." "Either we are serious about fighting this war or we are not."

BOLIVIA TO PAY DIESEL FUEL WITH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Hugo Chávez and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales executed an instrument to further bilateral relations and make progress in the economic and social areas, particularly hydrocarbons and energy. Chávez informed that in the short term, Venezuela would supply the 150,000 barrels per month of diesel fuel imported by Bolivia at an approximate cost of USD 150 million. "I will not accept you paying us a cent. You are going to pay us in agricultural products," Chávez told Morales.

    In advance to those who criticize that he is "giving what does not belong to him," Chávez noted that his government does not make presents, but fulfills an integrationist commitment. He announced that the Southern Fund -fueled by the investment of Venezuelan state banks- would donate USD 30 million for social causes in Bolivia, such as the missions fostered by the Venezuelan government. Branches of state oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa,) Venezuelan Industrial Bank, and National Development Bank will open in Bolivia in order to facilitate the cooperation agreed upon.

PERUVIAN INDIGENOUS LEADER OLLANTA HUMALA ATTENDED MEETING BETWEEN HUGO CHAVEZ AND EVO MORALES

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Peruvian indigenous leader Ollanta Humala attended the protocol ceremony of the Bolivian president-elect and Hugo Chávez at Miraflores presidential palace  During the ceremony Chavez said: "We are going to change Bolivia.” “We are convinced that in Peru, grassroots movements will also be vindicated," said Morales in Miraflores’ Ayacucho Hall, and enthusiastically saluted Humala. Chávez also made reference to Humala, and called him a valuable soldier.

    Humala, who met on Monday night with Chávez, told reporters that Peruvians view as "important the ongoing process here in Venezuela, a process that is to start in Argentina, and now in Bolivia. It is the nationalist, indigenous and leftwing trend that is giving a new face to Latin America." Humala visited Caracas at the invitation of ruling MVR party MVR and is to return to Peru on Wednesday.

RADIOACTIVE DEVICE STOLEN IN EAST VENEZUELA

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- The local chapter of Civil Protection in eastern Anzoátegui state warned against the danger poised on the community due to the theft of a radioactive cap containing Celsius 137, a component used for soil survey. The operations head in Barcelona, Wolfgang Castillo, prevented the community from handling the harmful device.

    As reported by Commissar Sergio Galiano, from the Scientific, Penal and Criminology Investigation Agency (Cicpc), last December 30th, representatives of company B.J. Servicios de Venezuela filed a complaint at the police agency and reported on a nuclear densimeter missing. He explained that the device had been installed in a non-conventional truck used to measure the pressure of oil wells. As stated by the staff, last December 20th, a supervisor ordered to disconnect and keep the device in a company warehouse. A week later, on December 27th, employees found that the nuclear densimeter was not any more in the site.

January 4

HUGO CHAVEZ: WE ARE CREATING THE AXIS OF GOOD , THE NEW AXIS, THE AXIS OF THE NEW CENTURY

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA.- Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales arrived in Venezuela as part of a tour before his inauguration next January 22nd. Coming from Cuba, where he made his first stopover, Morales will proceed to Spain, France, Brussels, South Africa, China and Brazil. Hugo Chávez and ministers welcomed the leader of the Bolivian Movement for Socialism (MAS) at Simón Bolívar Maiquetía International Airport.

    Earlier, Chávez commented that the triumph of the indigenous leader mirrors people's awareness to retake the historical background. Chávez dismissed the claims of an evil axis composed of Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela and accused Washington of being the core of such axis. He claimed that the United States and allies are responsible for threatening, invading, killing and murdering. "We are creating the axis of good, the new axis, the axis of the new century."

    On arriving in Maiquetía, the new ruler claimed to be certain that the Latin American integration would come true. Morales emphasized that Bolivia will join "the anti-neoliberal and anti-imperialist fight." "Latin America is facing new times, in a new millennium, a millennium for the people and not for the empire, to solve the social and economic troubles of national majorities," Morales reasserted. He noted that the movement is not only in Bolivia, but is championed also by Fidel Castro in Cuba and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.

AFRO-CUBAN PRIESTS WARN OF DISEASES AND CRIME IN 2006

    HAVANA, CUBA.- Priests of the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria called on islanders Monday to be wary of diseases, broken agreements and corruption as they issued their much-anticipated predictions for the New Year. Although the annual "Letter of the Year" is vague enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways, Cubans anxiously look forward it each January.

    The "10 de Octubre" group of nearly 900 priests, named for the Havana municipality where it is based, issued the warning about disease, ruptured accords and increased corruption. The group said that the Santeria orishas, or gods, ruling 2006 will be Obatala, god of wisdom and justice represented in the Roman Catholic faith as Our Lady of Mercy, and Ochun, the goddess of maternity and newborns, whose representation is Cuba's patron saint, the Virgin of Charity.

    The priests predicted that Cubans will need to watch out for cerebrovascular problems, stomach disorders, hormonal ailments and unknown diseases. Society as a whole can expect an increase in crime, particularly corruption; broken agreements, including international accords, and a risk of drought and other natural disasters. A different Santeria group, the Yoruba Association, which is more closely allied with Cuba's communist government, had similar predictions with some variations and said that the orishas ruling 2006 would be Oggun, associated with St. Peter in Roman Catholicism, and the Virgin of Charity.

January 3

EVO MORALES TO VISIT VENEZUELA

     COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA.-- Bolivian elect president Evo Morales is to arrive in Venezuela on Tuesday to pay a short visit to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez and begin from Caracas a tour that will take him to Spain and other countries, Morales' speaker reported. "The invitation was materialized and on January 3rd, instead of going directly to Madrid, Morales will go to Caracas for a meeting with President Chávez," journalist Alex Contreras said.

    He clarified that the itinerary including Spain, France, Belgium, and then South Africa, China and Brazil, will remain as scheduled, except for Morales' departure a few hours before to meet with the Venezuelan president at Miraflores presidential palace. Morales returned to Bolivia from Cuba last Saturday, following a visit to Cuban ruler Fidel Castro, as part of his first official visit abroad after getting a landslide victory of 53.7 percent in the elections held last December 18th. According to the speaker, the visit to Caracas will be made at the request of President Chávez, who contacted Morales during his stay in Havana.

January 2

PUERTO RICO GETS DISCOUNTED HUGO CHAVEZ'S CHEAP OIL

     SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO.-Some 250,000 barrels of discounted Venezuelan crude oil have arrived in Puerto Rico, part of a bid by this U.S. Caribbean territory to lower energy costs, an official said. The transaction was a "test run" with Venezuela's state oil firm, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, Edwin Rivera Serrano, head of the Electric Energy Authority, or AEE, said late Friday in a statement.

    Rivera didn't say how much AEE paid for the oil, only saying it saved 1.5 percent in the deal. PDVSA's Citgo unit operates gasoline stations in Puerto Rico but the issue of AEE buying oil from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government caused a stir here when talks were announced in September.

    Some conservative politicians questioned if Puerto Rico should strike an oil deal with Venezuela, citing political tensions between the South American country and the United States. Tensions have run high recently between U.S. President George W. Bush and Chavez, a self-styled socialist who assails American-style capitalism and has branded Bush a "madman." However, other Puerto Rican leaders saw it as an opportunity to buy oil under preferential terms from Venezuela - a deal the country has made with some Caribbean and South American nations.

RUSSIA CUTS GAS TO UKRAINE

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA.- Russia's state-owned natural gas monopoly Gazprom has begun shutting down supplies of natural gas to Ukraine, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Gazprom said it would begin shutting off Ukraine after Ukrainian officials said they would not sign a new gas price agreement proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Gazprom, which supplies around one third of Ukraine's natural gas, has increased the price of gas from around $50 per 1000 cubic meters of natural gas to $230 per 1000 cubic meters of gas -- a four-fold increase. Ukrainian officials balked at the price increase, and see the increase as Russia's attempt to penalize the former Soviet republic for its western-leaning foreign policy.

    Putin offered a last minute compromise, offering to freeze gas prices at the old level for the first quarter of 2006 if Ukraine agreed to price increases after that. Gazprom officials said they were told by Ukraine that they would not sign the compromise agreement. That offer expired with the coming of the new year. Ukraine Gas officials have said that they have enough gas for the immediate future. Ukraine announced last week it had signed an extension of its agreement with Turkmenistan, which supplies about half of Ukraine's natural gas supply.

January 1st