07 - 31 - 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ RECEIVED IRAN'S HIGHEST NATIONAL MEDAL

     TEHRAN, IRAN  --  Iran awarded Hugo Chavez its highest state medal on Sunday for supporting Tehran in its nuclear standoff, while the fiery leader urged the world to rise up and defeat the United States, state-run television in both countries reported.

    Chavez said U.S. President George W. Bush is so evil he must talk to the devil, and he condemned Israel for what he called the "terrorism" and "madness" of its attacks in Lebanon, Venezuelan state television reported. Iran awarded the medal to Chavez to show its gratitude for his "support for Iran 's stance on the international scene, especially its opposition to a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency," the Iranian station said.

    In February, Venezuela opposed an IAEA decision to report Iran  to the U.N. Security Council over its disputed nuclear program. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented Chavez with the Islamic Republic Medal in a ceremony at Tehran University. "He is the one who has resisted imperialism for years and has defended the interests of his and other Latin American countries," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

RUSSIA AND VENEZUELA:  'RELIABLE PARTNERS'  

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  Hugo Chávez said that Russia had helped his country break a U.S.-imposed ''blockade'' by agreeing to sell Caracas fighter planes and helicopters worth billions of dollars. Neither Chávez nor Russian leader Vladimir Putin gave details about any new deals signed Thursday, but Russia's defense minister said last week that Moscow had agreed to sell the oil-rich South American nation about 30 Su-30 fighter jets and some 30 military helicopters.

    Putin said Thursday that Moscow and Caracas would prove ''reliable partners'' and -- in comments clearly aimed at Washington -- said their cooperation should not be viewed as being ``aimed against any third country.'' The head of Russia's state arms-trading agency, Sergei Chemezov, said Venezuela over the last 18 months had signed contracts for arms purchases including 24 military planes and 53 helicopters for more than $3 billion, the Interfax news agency reported. The helicopter and fighter plane deal announced last week by Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will cost Caracas $1 billion.

    Chávez, who has become an increasing thorn in Washington's side because of his anti-U.S policies, is also hoping to set up Kalashnikov weapons plants and ammunition plants in Venezuela. The Venezuelan leader spoke Thursday of the ''astonishing progress in military-technical cooperation'' -- a euphemism for arms sales -- and repeated his thanks to Putin for supplying Caracas with weaponry. ''We would like to thank you for delivering us from a blockade,'' Chávez told the Russians. ``We were almost disarmed.''

CHILEAN PRESIDENT MICHELLE BACHELET SAID ARGENTINE GAS HIKE MAY STRAIN TIES

     SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE  --  President Michelle Bachelet said she sent a letter to her Argentine counterpart saying Argentina's decision to sharply increase the price of natural gas it sells to Chile had badly damaged the ''relations of trust'' between the two countries.

    Minutes before flying to Peru to attend the inauguration of President-elect Alan García, Bachelet told reporters that Chile is prepared to continue to work in ''common tasks'' with Argentina but ''hard work will be needed to restore relations of trust and the strategic relationship'' between the two neighbors. Chile imports more than 600 million cubic feet of gas from Argentina daily.

07 - 30 - 2006

ALAN GARCIA INAUGURATED AS PRESIDENT OF PERU

     LIMA, PERU -- Given a second chance to govern 16 years after he left Peru in a mess, President Alan García began another five-year term Friday by promising to cut politicians' salaries, build more roads and reduce illiteracy.  Long gone was the García who took office 21 years ago promising a confrontation with the international lending community and Washington by vowing to limit Peru's foreign debt payments. He left office in 1990 with Peru suffering from galloping inflation, spiraling Shining Path guerrilla violence and ordinary people having to wait in line to buy bread.

    García on Friday preached tolerance, humility and the need to welcome more foreign and domestic investment. At the same time, the 57-year-old García borrowed a page or two from the campaign book of retired Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala, the ultra-nationalist political outsider he narrowly defeated in the presidential election six weeks ago. García pledged to lead the fight against bloated pay and benefits for elected officials, a major theme of Humala's campaign and said he would reduce his own salary from $12,000 a month to less than $7,000.

    In all, García said he would re-direct millions of dollars previously spent on public officials and their aides to rural areas that need more paved roads, electricity and running water, especially in southern Peru, where poverty is most severe and where Humala soundly out-polled García. ''The country voted against frivolity and scandal,'' García told a congressional chamber packed with eight Latin American presidents, 120 members of Congress, supporters, family and journalists.

ANTI-U.S. LEADERS CHAVEZ AND AHMEDINEJAD PLEDGE MUTUAL SUPPORT IN TEHRAN MEETING

     TEHRAN, IRAN -- Anti-U.S. leaders Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad met in Tehran on Saturday, pledging mutual support for one another, state media reported. Chavez' two-day visit came as Iran faces renewed international criticism for its nuclear program and as a backer of Hezbolla guerrillas, engaged in fighting with Israel since they captured two Israeli soldiers July 12.

    The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council on Friday reached a deal on a resolution that would give Iran  until the end of August to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions. Following talks, Chavez pledged that his country would "stay by Iran at any time and under any condition," state television reported.

    Ahmedinejad said he saw in Chavez a kindred spirit. "I feel I have met a brother and trench mate after meeting Chavez," Ahmedinejad was quoted as saying by state-run television. "We think Iran and Venezuela should share all experiences of each other, stay by each other and they have to be supporters of each other."

hugo CHAVEZ SAYS VENEZUELA COULD SELL GUNS TO BOLIVIA, OTHER LATINOAMERICAN COUNTRIES

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuela could eventually export guns and ammunition to Bolivia and other allies once it opens a factory to make Kalashnikov rifles, President Hugo Chavez said during a tour of the Middle East. Speaking in Qatar early Saturday, Chavez mentioned his plans for a Kalashnikov factory to produce the Russian weapons and ammunition under license. "In Bolivia, the rifles that battalions of assault troops are using are North American," Chavez said in comments carried by state television.

    Chavez accused the United States of "threatening" to stop supplying replacement parts for the weapons to leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales' government. If the U.S. follows through, Chavez said, "we could supply Bolivia... and other friendly countries that also require a minimal level of defense." "Maybe in the future we'll become an (arms) exporting country," Chavez said.

    Washington has raised that as a concern and urged Russia not to sell arms to Venezuela, but Russia has gone ahead with deals to sell 100,000 Kalashnikov AK-103 rifles, warplanes and helicopters. Before traveling to the Middle East, Chavez met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and sealed a deal to buy 24 Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets and 53 Russian helicopters.

07 - 29 - 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BLAIR CALL FOR MIDEAST CEASE FIRE 

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   --  President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Friday their support for a U.N. cease-fire resolution to end the Mideast crisis and a multinational force to stabilize southern Lebanon. The leaders said the force would help Lebanese troops take control of the south, where the Hezbollah militia is firing rockets into Israel and Israeli soldiers are striking Hezbollah positions. "We want a Lebanon free of militias and foreign interference, and a Lebanon that governs its own destiny," Bush told reporters after meeting with Blair at the White House.

It's unknown whether Hezbollah would participate in the proposed cease-fire and Blair said the multinational force wouldn't "fight their way" into the region. "This can only work if Hezbollah are prepared to allow it to work," the prime minister said. Bush said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would travel to the region Saturday, and that "her instructions are to work with Israel and Lebanon to come up with an acceptable U.N. Security Council resolution that we can table next week."

Both men challenged Iran and Syria -- which hold much influence over Hezbollah -- to take part in the process. Bush said his "message to Syria is: You know, become an active participant in the neighborhood for peace." The prime minister said, "Iran and Syria have a choice ... They can either come in and participate as proper and responsible members of the international community, or they will face the risk of increasing confrontation."  Like Bush, Blair has said a cease-fire will work only if conditions are first put in place to ensure that both sides keep it.

HUGO CHAVEZ DOES NOT NEED TO STEP DOWN BEFORE DECEMBER ELECTION

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Under a decision made by the Constitutional Court, Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), President Hugo Chávez will not have to resign for the purposes of re-election next December 3rd. The Court overruled a petition made by the National Electoral Council (CNE) to review a ruling of the Electoral Court. According to the judgment made in March 2006, public servants applying for a seat by means of popular elections should quit their current position.

    The ruling at issue made particular reference to the attempts by the projects director in Catatumbo municipality, western Zulia state, at becoming a mayor. Based on a historical-legal analysis and comparative law, hearing justice Luisa Estella Morales Lamuño did not find that President Chávez should stop ruling in order to run for re-election.

VP RANGEL: VENEZUELA HAS THE RIGHT TO RESTOCK THE ARMED FORCES

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuelan Executive Vice-President José Vicente Rangel replied to US ambassador to Venezuela William Brownfield, who said his government is asking for "transparency" in Venezuela purchase of military equipment from Russia. In a press release published on Friday, Rangel reminded the US diplomat that Venezuela "has the right to restock the National Armed Force and has no problem to account for this to the international community."

    Rangel stressed that the United States "could actually have some problems (of accountability), given its systematic violation of the international order." The official said the US foreign policy is "wrong and chaotic," and is characterized by the contradictions of its spokespeople.

07 - 28 - 2006

VENEZUELA SLAMS SECRETARY RUMSFELD FOR TRYING TO SWAY CHILEAN VOTE FOR UNITED NATIONS' SECURITY COUNCIL

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuela slammed U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for trying to sway Chile to vote against its bid to join the U.N. Security Council. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel vowed that Washington's campaign to have Guatemala win a regional seat on the Security Council instead of Venezuela would fail.

    "It seems insolent that (Rumsfeld) is dictating guidelines and behavior to a nation like Chile," Rangel told reporters. "Chilean officials should react to this unusual affront by Rumsfeld." On Tuesday, Rumsfeld reiterated Washington's concerns about Venezuela gaining a rotating seat during a meeting with Chilean Defense Minister Vivianne Blanlot at the Pentagon. U.S. officials were concerned "because they consider Venezuela to be a clearly disruptive element," Blanlot was quoted by local media as saying after the meeting.

    The Security Council has five permanent members with veto power - the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France - and 10 non-permanent members that serve two-year terms but have no power to veto resolutions. Chile has not yet announced which country it will back.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SUPPORTS VENEZUELA ENTRY INTO UNITED NATIONS' SECURITY COUNCIL 

      MOSCOW, RUSSIA  -- Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday said Moscow supports Venezuela attempts to join the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, Efe reported. "We applaud Venezuela aspiration to occupy a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council," Putin said during a meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in the Kremlin.

    Putin added at the end of his meeting with Chávez that "Venezuela-Russia cooperation is not aimed against anybody." "The most promising sector is oil cooperation. But also have good perspectives in financial investment, machinery manufacturing, metallurgy, transportation and technical-military cooperation," the Russian ruler said.

PROCUREMENT OF SPANISH AIRCRAFT NULLIFIED  

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuela will not buy ten Spanish planes due to the US veto on the operation, a government source said Thursday.  Procurement of C-295 and CN-235 aircraft "was cancelled because the United States cancelled it," General Alberto Müller, Staff advisor to President Hugo Chávez, reported.

    Earlier this year, Washington denied Spain clearance to sell Venezuela ten planes containing US parts, by arguing that the sale could disrupt military balance in South America. "They (Spain) needed to replace the aircraft parts, which were made in the United States, with other components, and it seems that this alters significantly the planes value," Müller explained.

    Despite the US veto, Venezuela and Spain had continued negotiations during the first half of 2006 and even contacted other European companies to try to replace the US parts.

SADDAM HUSSEIN PREFERS FIRING SQUAD TO GALLOWS 

     BAGHDAD, IRAQ  --  A thinner but combative Saddam Hussein said Wednesday he would rather die by firing squad like a soldier than hang "like a common criminal," as the defiant ex-president made his final appearance before the tribunal until it renders a verdict. The prosecution has asked for the death penalty for Saddam and two of the other seven defendants for their role in the deaths of Shiites in a crackdown following a 1982 assassination attempt against the Iraqi ruler in Dujail.

     Saddam, dressed in a white open-collar shirt and dark jacket, was in court to hear his court-appointed attorney read a final summation, arguing that prosecution witnesses and documents failed to link the ex-president to any of the atrocities in Dujail. But that did not sit well with the 69-year-old Saddam, who denounced the lawyer as his "enemy" and claimed the summation was drafted by foreigners he accused of manipulating the trial since it began Oct. 19.

07 - 27- 2006

UNITED STATES ASKS RUSSIA TO RECONSIDER WEAPON SALES TO VENEZUELA

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  The US Government urged Russia to think it over concerning sale of military aircraft to Venezuela, the US Department of State reported Tuesday, AP quoted. "We have expressed our concern to the Russian Government and encouraged them to reconsider the sale," US Department of State Spokesman Tom Casey said about the deal amounting to USD 1 billion.

    Casey recalled that the US administration told the Russian Government "repeatedly" that the Venezuelan purchase goes beyond its defensive needs and does not help hemispheric stability, Efe reported. The official underscored that, bearing in mind that each aircraft to be bought by Venezuela costs USD 30-45 million, there is room to wonder about the Venezuelan Government true priorities.

    Russian government authorities, he added, will necessarily take a decision, but they should know in advance the Washington position. However, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, on official visit to Russia started Tuesday, expects to ink an agreement on provision of 60 Russian strike planes and choppers.

RUSSIA GUARANTEES WEAPON SALES TO VENEZUELA

      MOSCOW, RUSSIA  -- Russian Defense minister Serguei Ivanov Wednesday said his country is to meet agreements to sell warplanes and helicopters to Venezuela, thus rejecting US calls to reconsider such sales, AFP reported. "Review of the agreements is absolutely ruled out," Ivanov stated, as quoted by Russian news agencies.

    Washington wants Russia to reconsider arm sales to President Hugo Chávez, who is initialing in Moscow a number of pacts to purchase Russian warplanes, Tuesday said the US State Department Assistant Spokesman Tom Casey.

HUGO CHAVEZ: first russian warplanes will arrive in venezuela "by the end of the year" 

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  Hugo Chávez Wednesday said the first Russian warplanes Su-30 are arriving in Venezuelan "by the end of the year" and thanked Moscow for breaking the "blockade" the United States imposed on weapon sales to Venezuela. In Izhevsk, Ural Mountains, during Chávez' second day in his three-day official visit to Russia, the Venezuelan ruler told reporters that on Thursday in Moscow, where is meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, he is initialing an agreement to purchase "the best airplane in the world."

    While Chávez would not disclose the number of warplanes Venezuela is to buy from Russia, a few days ago Russian Defense minister Sergei Ivanov said Caracas is purchasing 30 Su-30 warplanes and a similar number of helicopters, in an operation exceeding USD 1 billion, Efe reported. "Tomorrow (Thursday) in Moscow, we are going to initial an agreement for construction in Venezuela of a plant manufacturing Kalashnikov rifles and another plant to manufacture ammunition," Chávez said, as quoted by Russian news agency Interfax.

    Chávez said the foundation stone for the Kalashnikov manufacturing plant would be laid in two weeks in Maracay, central Aragua state. Chávez estimated that this plant would be completed in some two years. "I believe the State has a responsibility to equip and train the nation's military, and that is exactly what I am doing, nothing else." He added that the plant would be another step towards Venezuela-Russia unity, "to defeat the empires." He claimed that "the United States is trying to disarm Venezuela for subsequent invasion."

CHILE REPRIMANDS AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA 

     SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE  --  The Chilean Foreign Affairs Ministry forwarded a written warning to Chilean ambassador to Venezuela, Claudio Huepe, who endorsed Venezuela candidacy to the United Nations Security Council as non-permanent member.

    Chile has not officially expressed support for any candidate to the non-permanent seat and has said it has made no decision on whether it would support Venezuela or Guatemala, the other candidate to occupy such a position for Latin America. On July 21, in an interview published in Santiago, Huepe suggested Chile should support the Venezuelan candidacy.

    The warning letter sent to the Chilean diplomat in Caracas was signed by Foreign Affairs minister Alejandro Foxley. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet also expressed discomfort at Huepe's statements, and claimed that Chilean "foreign policy is determined by the President of the Republic."

07 - 26- 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ, BELARUS IN "STRATEGIC ALLIANCE"  

     MINSK, BELARUS   --  HUGO CHAVEZ and Belarus have launched a "strategic alliance" focusing particularly on military cooperation, Tuesday said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez during his visit to the Minsk military academy. "We have created a real strategic alliance between Venezuela and Belarus. Cooperation between our countries will be through several ways, including technical military mechanisms," the Venezuelan ruler added.

    "We have to defend our motherlands and reject any foreign threat," added Chávez, who is concluding his two-day visit to his Belarusian counterpart Alexandre Lukachenko, whom Washington brands "Europe's last dictator," AP reported. Chávez urged the Belarusian Government to "face a false democracy that is a de facto democracy of elites and multinational oligarchs."

    Meanwhile, official Belarusian media praised "the axis of good" comprising Minsk and Caracas and created during Chávez' visit to Belarus. "Axis of good and construction," "A heartfelt friendship," read the headlines of newspapers Narodnaia Gazeta and Respublika, respectively. The independent press made no comments on Chávez' visit. As they are published abroad, Belarusian opposition newspapers are published a week later. Chávez Tuesday is starting a visit to Russia that is taking him to Volga. On Wednesday, the Venezuelan ruler will arrive on Ijevsk and in Moscow.

HUGO CHAVEZ, BELARUS SIGNED SEVEN AGREEMENTS

      MINSK, BELARUS   --   Hugo Chávez and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko Monday signed seven agreements, including military cooperation, the Venezuelan official news agency ABN reported. The rulers initialed a joint statement at the headquarters of the Belarusian Presidency, following a meeting where Chávez expressed interest in bilateral integration.

    Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding for political consultations, and inked pacts on military cooperation, scientific and technological cooperation, a pact on petrochemicals and energy, and an agreement on agriculture.

    Lukashenko said he was in sympathy with Chávez' Government. The Venezuelan President became the first Latin American ruler to visit Belarus since 1991, when it declared independence from the former Soviet Union.

GUATEMALA SET TO GAIN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT OVER VENEZUELA

     GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA  --  Guatemalan President Oscar Berger said his country has 98 out of the 128 votes it needs to occupy a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, as Latin America is not to present a consensus candidate because Venezuela is also fighting to obtain such a position. "I will not disclose names, but we have support from 98 countries, out of 128 votes required," Berger said.

    According to the Guatemalan country, the endorsement Guatemala needs to become a member of the UN Security Council will be gained through "a diplomatic offensive" it is to deploy this week. Such a move will be headed by Vice-President Eduardo Stein and Nobel Award winner Rigoberta Menchú. Guatemala and Venezuela, the latter ensuring support from the fellow members of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, are running for a two-year non-permanent seat at the Security Council to replace Argentina, whose term expires next October.

    Venezuela has also support from the 15 member countries of the Caribbean Community and Market (Caricom), while Guatemala has the votes of the Unites States, Mexico, Colombia and most Central American countries. In the region, Chile has not offered support for any of the two countries so far. Last July 21st, Chilean ambassador to Venezuela Claudio Huepe told newspaper La Segunda that Chile was about to support Venezuela to occupy a seat at the Security Council, adding that President Michele Bachelet would have the last word on this issue.

07 - 25- 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ PROPOSES BELARUS PRESIDENT A "STRIKE TEAM" 

     MINSK, BELARUS   --  During his first meeting with Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko, branded Europe's last dictator by the United States, Hugo Chávez proposed the organization of a "strike team," AFP reported. "I have found a new friend here and we ought to make a team. It will be a strike team," Chávez said Sunday at the beginning of his visit to Belarus, during a meeting with Lukashenko.

    "We could organize a team of soccer, jockey or basketball," Lukashenko kidded. The two heads of state are regarded as outcasts by the United States. Washington has accused them of leading authoritarian regimes, and imposed economic sanctions on both countries. "You are very knowledgeable about economic and military matters," Lukashenko told the Venezuelan ruler. "This is a good signal for our future cooperation," he added.

COLOMBIAN REBELS OFFER TO FIGHT FOR VENEZUELA AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

      BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  --  Colombia's leading rebel group offered to fight for Venezuela if the United States invades the neighboring country. "Count on us if the hawks of Washington come to attack the brave people, those who embody the hopes our continent in their revolution," said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, in a statement addressed to the Venezuelan communist party's congress.

    The FARC has been fighting the government and far-right paramilitaries for more than four decades. Colombian officials and politicians in the past have accused the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of aiding the rebels by not tightening security along their 2,219 kilometers (1,380 miles) of border. Army generals have said that FARC rebels have camps inside Venezuela, from which they have launched attacks on the Colombian military.

    Chavez is popular among Colombian leftists and rebels for his combative attitude toward Washington. He has spoken frequently of his country's preparations for any invasion by the U.S., though U.S. officials repeatedly deny plans for such an attack. Estimates of the FARC's strength vary from 12,000 to 17,000 combatants.

LESS OIL TO THE UNITED STATES FROM VENEZUELA

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Oil exports to the United States have been eroded this current year. From January to May 2005, 1.58 million bpd of oil and byproducts were placed in US territory. However, for the same period this year, 1.48 million bpd have been sent on average, a loss of 100,000 bpd, or 6.3 percent.

    Based on the numbers provided by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical agency of the US Department of Energy, the supply of Venezuelan oil to the United States last May raised by 77,000 bpd, or 5.5 percent versus April, from 1.39 to 1.47 million bpd. Thus, the downward trend recorded the prior months was reverted. However, as compared to May 2005, when 1.57 million bpd were sent, there was a fall of 104,000 bpd, or 6.6 percent.

    This is basically the result of a light drop in exports of Venezuelan oil to the United States, by 2,000 bpd, or 0.17 percent, in May as compared to the previous month. Such trend was offset by increasing supply of byproducts, including gasoline and diesel, among others. Venezuela kept the fourth position among the largest oil suppliers to the United States. In May, almost 1.17 million bpd were sent. Nevertheless, again, as compared to the same period last year, this amounts to 104,000 bpd; or 8.16 percent less.

07 - 24- 2006

SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR: PRESIDENT BUSH TOO 'PASSIVE' WITH VENEZUELA OVER OIL

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- Sen. Richard Lugar, the influential head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has criticized the Bush administration for the lack of planning for possible disruptions of oil imports from Venezuela and what he called a ''passive'' energy diplomacy. He also said more should be done to enter into an energy dialogue with the government of President Hugo Chávez, an outspoken critic of President Bush.

    The recommendations are contained in a July 20 letter by the Indiana Republican to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Miami Herald obtained a copy of the letter as well as a written exchange between the lawmaker and the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez. The letter follows the release of a June 27 report by the Government Accountability Office that warned that a Venezuelan oil boycott to the U.S. market -- repeatedly threatened by Chávez -- would raise oil prices by $11 per barrel over a six-month period and reduce U.S. GDP by $23 billion.

    Most analysts believe such a boycott is unlikely because it would hurt Caracas more. Lugar's letter said the ''inadequate preparation'' to address potential supply disruptions -- be they politically motivated or due to Venezuelan production difficulties -- was ``particularly disturbing.'' The letter warns the Bush administration is relying too much on the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to offset the impact of a Venezuela-induced oil crisis. The reserves, he says, are too small to cope with a tight oil market and growing political uncertainties in the Middle East and elsewhere. He said the U.S. government should ``create country-specific contingency plans.''

HUGO CHAVEZ TO GET WARM WELCOME FROM EUROPE'S LAST DICTATOR IN BELARUS 

      MINSK, BELARUS  -- Hugo Chavez begins a major international tour on Sunday with a visit to the isolated former Soviet nation of Belarus and talks with its authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed 'Europe's last dictator' by Washington. Chavez, a leftist former army lieutenant colonel who accuses the United States of seeking to invade his oil-rich South American nation, is also to go to Russia, a key arms supplier, and to Iran, Vietnam, Qatar and Mali.

    Chavez was to fly into the Belarusian capital Minsk late afternoon Sunday and head straight into talks with Lukashenko, the Foreign Ministry said. Chavez's older brother Adan last month visited Minsk and proposed forming a common front against the U.S. as well as holding an international conference to set up a court to try U.S. President George W. Bush . Adan Chavez, Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba, described the United States as a "common enemy."

    Chavez was flying to Belarus from Argentina, where he participated in a South American trade summit. Lukashenko, a former collective farm director who is an open admirer of the old Soviet Union, has been in power since 1994, quashing dissent, jailing opponents and extending his time in office through votes widely considered illegitimate. The United States and European Union slapped financial sanctions and a visa ban on Lukashenko and other top officials to protest his victory in March presidential elections, which the opposition denounced as fraudulent.

07 - 23- 2006

FIDEL CASTRO, HUGO CHAVEZ RALLY THOUSANDS OF LEFTIST SYMPATHIZERS AGAINST U.S. TRADE POLICIES 

     CORDOBA, ARGENTINA  -- Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez rallied thousands of leftist sympathizers after a South American trade summit in Argentina, railing against U.S.-backed free market policies they blame for many of Latin America's woes. Addressing 15,000 people, Castro praised Venezuela's entry into Mercosur, a move that gave the South American trade bloc a hard push to the left.

    "Ole! Ole! Fidel!" the crowd chanted Friday night, as some waved red flags emblazoned with the image of Argentine-born Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who spent several boyhood years in Cordoba before joining Cuba's revolution. "Mercosur once was just four countries. Now it is improved and is expanding," Castro declared on a stage beneath a banner reading "integration is our flag." Flags of Cuba, Venezuela and Argentina flapped nearby.

    Castro vowed his communist nation would continue to survive a more than four-decade-old U.S. trade embargo. He added that "in the neoliberal world everyone is talking about globalization, about the globalization of goods and services. But nobody is talking about the globalization of solidarity" among nations. Chavez, who openly admires Castro as his leftist ally and political mentor, urged Mercosur to put aside internal squabbles and stand against the U.S.-backed free-market policies he says have enslaved the region. He said a Free Trade Area of the Americas, A U.S.-backed proposal blocked by Venezuela and the Mercosur nations last year, was "dead."

FIDEL CASTRO TAKES HUGO CHAVEZ ON LEFTIST PILGRIMAGE TO 'CHE' GUEVARA'S BOYHOOD HOME

      ALTA GRACIA, ARGENTINA  --  Fidel Castro took ally Hugo Chavez on an emotional pilgrimage Saturday to the boyhood home of Castro's fallen comrade and legendary guerrilla, Ernesto "Che" Guevara. "Fidel! Fidel!" and "Hugo! Hugo!" the crowd of about 2,000 chanted as Castro, wearing his trademark green military fatigues, got out of his limousine. Chavez was by Castro's side as they entered the house amid a crush of security agents who kept bystanders back.

    While Castro made no public comments, he smiled broadly and shook several hands Chavez told reporters the two were delighted by their tour. "Fidel invited me to come and get to know the house," he said. "For me, it's a real honor being here." Castro, 79, first visited Argentina in 1959 after the Cuban revolution and returned this week to attend a summit that inducted Venezuela into the Mercosur trade bloc, had never before visited the home of the guerrilla leader. Guevara spent much of his childhood in central Argentina, where his family hoped a mild climate would ease the boy's severe asthma.

    Guevara was killed in 1967 while leading a guerrilla movement in Bolivia. His remains were taken three decades later to Cuba, where they are entombed under a massive monument. The house entrance bore the iconic photograph taken in 1960 by Alberto Korda of "Che" in a beret that helped converted Guevara into a guerrilla symbol. On their tour, Castro and Chavez viewed Guevara's birth certificate, handwritten letters and a vintage motorbike like the one he rode across South America.

GUNMAN WOUNDS VENEZUELAN CONGRESSMAN; GOVERNMENT CALLS ATTACK POLITICAL MOTIVATED

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  A lawmaker allied with Hugo Chavez was wounded on Saturday in a "political" assassination attempt, Venezuela's vice president said. Congressman Braulio Alvarez was wounded in the mouth early Saturday when an unidentified man fired multiple shots at his car in the northwestern state of Yaracuy, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said.

    Rangel called it a "crime of a political nature intended to eliminate a leader in the agricultural sector," and said the government had ordered a full investigation. Alvarez suffered a superficial wound where a bullet grazed his lower lip and left cheek, the state-run Bolivarian News Agency reported. Alvarez survived a similar assassination attempt last year, Rangel said. "There is a real offensive by people who have powerful agriculture interests in Venezuela" and who hope to "paralyze" agrarian reform, he added.

    The government has been seizing farms deemed unproductive or where officials determine ownership records are inadequate. Information Minister Willian Lara said the attack would not "intimidate the farmworker movement or the Venezuelan government" as it pushes forward with its land reform program. Alvarez is involved in National Assembly commissions that are investigating past killings of farmworkers and others, the government said in a statement. He is also a member of the campaign committee in Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement party.

07 - 22- 2006

BELARUS: CHAVEZ VISIT WILL NOT FOCUS ON CLASHES WITH THE UNITED STATES

     MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  Belarus Foreign Affairs Ministry Thursday denied claims that President Hugo Chávez visit will focus on Venezuela and Belarus "confrontation" with the United States. "The Belarus party will not put any stress in confrontation," said Andrei Popov, a spokesman for the Belarus Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a news conference, as quoted by Interfax.

    Chávez is paying his first official visit to Belarus next July 22-24, amidst a two-week international journey that is also taking the Venezuelan ruler to neighboring Russia. "We are going to discuss bilateral cooperation issues in the context of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement," the spokesman added.

    Chávez will meet in Minsk with Belarus President Alexandr Lukashenko to initial a number of bilateral economic agreements. Bilateral trade in 2005 amounted to USD 15.6 million, a 1.3 percent increase compared to 2004.

VENEZUELA FOREIGN MINISTER HOSPITALIZED FOR HEART PROBLEMS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez has been hospitalized for heart problems, which kept him from accompanying President Hugo Chavez on a world tour Wednesday. Rodriguez, a former secretary general of OPEC. He was taken into a medical clinic north of Caracas because "he felt a little bad," Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Rondon told The Associated Press.

    "They told him it was nothing and that they would conduct some tests," said Rondon. The 68-year-old minister will remain hospitalized in intensive care until the tests are carried out Thursday, Rondon said. Due to the health complications, Rodriguez did not accompany Chavez, who departed later Wednesday for a two-week tour, including stops in Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, Qatar, Iran , Vietnam and Russia, Rondon said.

Rodriguez headed OPEC from 2001 to 2002, when quit his job as OPEC chief to become president of Venezuela's state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela. He later became foreign minister under the leftist Chavez.

INCOMING COLOMBIAN DEFENSE MINISTER JUAN MANUEL SANTOS READY TO GET CLOSER TO VENEZUELA

        BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  --  The new Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, known to be a harsh critic of the Government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, expressed Thursday his willingness to improve relations. "Rest assured. I will strive to keep the best relations possible with President Chávez and his Defense Minister. This is both in our and their interest," he said, as quoted by DPA.

    Santos has criticized on many occasions the Venezuelan Government and its plans to streamline the army. Some days ago, the ex Finance minister declared, "Chávez poses a threat to stability in the hemisphere and Colombia." The ruler, he added, "finished off democracy and freedoms in Venezuela.

07 - 21- 2006

CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO ARRIVES IN CORDOVA, ARGENTINA, FOR MERCOSUR

           CORDOBA, ARGENTINA  --  Cuban dictator President Fidel Castro traveled to Argentina Thursday to attend the 30th Summit of Heads of State of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), with which he is expected to sign an economic collaboration agreement.

     Fidel Castro is in Cordoba, central Argentina, accompanied by Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Perez Roque, according to a note on Cuban TV networks. Ministers and prominent figures of Cuba also make up the top level Cuban representation that will attend the two-day sessions.

     This is the fourth time the leader of the Cuban Revolution has visited Argentina, with tours in May 1959, October 1995 (Ibero American Summit), and May 2003 (inauguration of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner). Cordoba, venue of the MERCOSUR Summit, witnessed the first great university reform on our continent. It is also one of the cities where legendary Argentine-Cuban guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara lived between 1941 and 1947.

US CAMPAIGNS AGAINST VENEZUELA ENTRY INTO UNITED NATIONS' SECURITY COUNCIL  
     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  --  The United States is engaged in an intensive campaign to prevent Venezuela from gaining a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, as Washington fears that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez may harm US interests in the international organization.

    Diplomats from 15 countries, however, said the US campaign may rather damage the chances of Guatemala -the other country running for the Security Council seat reserved for Latin America- when the General Assembly meets in October, AP reported. Senior officers in George W. Bush administration have rejected the Venezuelan candidacy. Washington sent an official letter to US Embassies around the world explaining why such candidacy should be opposed.

    The document asserts that the Security Council next year is to discuss transcendental issues, including Iran and North Korea nuke programs, as well as the Sudan situation. "Unfortunately, Venezuela has shown to be more interested in disturbing international events than in working to achieve common goals," said the document, a copy of which AP obtained. 

cUBA, VENEZUELA RELAUNCH TRADE THROUGH CUSTOMS AGREEMENT 

     HAVANA, CUBA  --  José Gregorio Vielma Mora, head of the Venezuelan National Integrated Service of Tax and Customs Administration (Seniat) said Cuba and Venezuela have initialed an agreement to relaunch bilateral trade exceeding USD 3.5 billion a year. The deal "is the backbone of all of the agreements Presidents Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro have signed to activate bilateral trade," said Vielma Mora, as quoted by Cuban TV, AFP reported.

    Vielma Mora signed the agreement with the head of the Cuban General Customs, Brigadier General Pedro Ramón Pupo. Under the pact "the parties are to exchange know-how and expertise," said Prensa Latina without elaborating. Vielma Mora stressed that the agreement "includes not only Venezuela and Cuba, but it also will encompass Bolivia and Ecuador."

    Last April, Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia inked a number of integration agreements under the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), which they oppose to the US-endorsed Free Trade Area for the Americas (FTAA) and Free Trade Agreements (FTA). Last year, Cuba-Venezuela trade amounted to USD 3.67 billion. In the first quarter this year, it added up to USD 1.2 billion, Cuban President Fidel Castro said last May 1st.

BRAZIL, VENEZUELA ESTABLISH OIL JOINT VENTURE

     BRAZILIA, BRAZIL  --  Brazilian Petrobras executed Thursday an agreement to organize a joint venture with the Venezuelan Government, whereby oil drilling will be under the state control, a press release from Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (CVP) said.

    The new deal forms an integral part of the plan started by the Government early this year to supersede the operational agreements executed from 1990 to 1997. Under the new legislation on hydrocarbons, effective from 2001, these instruments were made null and void. As quoted by AFP, CVP and Petrobras entered into a conversion agreement to organize Petrowayú, a joint venture that will operate in La Concepción field, western Zulia state.

    La Concepción yields 12,300 bpd of oil. According to CVP, "there is the potential to increase this volume." This is the first out of four conventions to be executed by CVP and Petrobras in order to drill oil in Venezuelan soil, CEO Eulogio del Pino said.

07 - 20- 2006

VENEZUELA'S CHAVEZ SAID PRESIDENT BUSH'S 'FASCIST' CHARACTER REVEALED IN PRIVATE WORDS TO BLAIR 

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that private comments by George W. Bush that were captured by a live microphone revealed the "fascist personality" of the U.S. leader. "That is the real Mr. Danger," Chavez said employing his oft-used nickname for Bush during a speech inaugurating a new subway line in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

    "His cynicism, his class and his fascist personality were unmasked before the world," Chavez added. "He doesn't care about the world, whether everyone dies." Chavez, a fierce critic of the Bush administration, has strongly condemned the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, blaming U.S. backing of Israel for inflaming tensions in the Middle East.

    Earlier Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez condemned as "unacceptable" that Washington had blocked an Arab-backed U.N. Security Council resolution demanding Israel halt the offensive. The U.S. was alone among 15 nations in voting against the resolution last week - the first Security Council veto in nearly two years. Rodriguez, whose country is campaigning for a rotating seat on the Security Council, said it must not be allowed for "one country among 192 to block a matter as delicate as the aggression against Palestine and Lebanon from being debated in the Security Council."

VENEZUELA DEBUTS IN MERCOSUR LOOKING FOR POLITICAL REDEFINITION

   CORDOBA, ARGENTINA   --  The Common Market of the South (Mercosur) is to start Thursday its first summit following Venezuela's incorporation. The event will be featured by the attempts at redefining the bloc political profile and settle multiple bilateral conflicts.  The meeting will gather seven leftwing Latin American presidents and could include Cuban ruler Fidel Castro. This possibility has captured the attention just few hours before the event, Reuters reported.

    Hemispheric leaders praised Venezuela's membership. However, analysts warned that it puts the economic bloc in a different scale of the global political radar due to President Hugo Chávez' anti-US stance.

    "Sure enough, there will be sectors very interested in demeaning some of the developments in our region, particularly the cases of Venezuela and Bolivia. We should keep a watchful eye and have our own tools to defend democracy," Mercosur Standing Committee Chair Carlos Álvarez told reporters.

07 - 19- 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH: SYRIA TRYING TO INFLUENCE LEBANON 

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  President Bush said Tuesday he suspects Syria is trying to reassert influence in Lebanon more than a year after Damascus ended what had effectively been a long-term military occupation of its smaller, weaker neighbor. "It's in our interest that Syria stay out of Lebanon and this government survive," Bush said in a reference to the young, Lebanese government.

    Bush spoke at the White House after briefing members of Congress about his recent trip to Russia for an economic summit that was overshadowed by fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah. "Everybody abhors the loss of innocent life," Bush said. "On the other hand, what we recognize is that the root cause of the problem is Hezbollah. And that problem must be addressed ... by making it clear to Syria that they've got to stop their support to Hezbollah."

    He said there are suspicions that instability caused by Hezbollah's attacks will cause some in Lebanon to invite Syria to return to the nation. "Listen, Syria is trying to get back into Lebanon, it looks like to me," said Bush, who also noted the backing Hezbollah receives from Iran. "In order to be able to deal with this crisis, the world must deal with Hezbollah, with Syria and to continue to work to isolate Iran," Bush said.

BAHAMAS OPENS EMBASSY IN CUBA

   HAVANA, CUBA  --  The Bahamas opened a new embassy here after talks Monday between Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and his Bahamian counterpart, Frederick Mitchell. Perez Roque said Bahamas was the eighth member of Caribbean Community trade bloc to open an embassy in Cuba.

    All 15 member states of the Caribbean Community, have diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the communist-run nation has maintained good relations with Caricom for more than three decades.

    Cuba and the Bahamas have had diplomatic relations since 1974, and share several cooperation programs. About 1,200 Bahamians have received free eye operations in recent months through Cuba's Operation Miracle program.

07 - 18- 2006

G-8 LEADERS BLAME EXTREMISTS FOR MIDEAST VIOLENCE, SAY ISRAEL ACTING IN SELF-DEFENSE 

     ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA  --  World leaders blamed extremists for escalating violence in the Middle East and recognized Israel's right to defend itself - although they called on the Jewish state to show restraint. Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations blamed Hamas and Hezbollah for the fighting and backed demands for Hezbollah to be disarmed.

     The statement, issued on Sunday during the G-8 summit, reflected a significant swing of support toward Israel's argument that it has been acting in self-defense in its conflict in Lebanon. While the United States has been vocal in its support of Israel's right to defend itself, other world leaders had criticized its response; French President Jacques Chirac had called it "totally disproportionate."

     Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had led the effort to reach compromise language on the violence in Lebanon. "Under no circumstances can one abduct people and carry out rocket strikes on the territory of one state from the territory of another," Putin said. 

CUBANS USING HONDURAS AS EXIT ROUTE

   TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS  --  Honduran authorities are devising a plan to halt what they say is an organized smuggling operation, fearing an ''avalanche'' of illegal landings by Cuban migrants who are using Honduras as a gateway to the United States. ''What we are witnessing is the trafficking of human beings,'' Germán Espinal, Honduran director general of international migration, told The Miami Herald. ``We need to find a mechanism that will distance us from being accomplices to human trafficking.''

    A record number of Cubans have landed on Honduran beaches this year: at least 380 over the past six months, compared to 179 in all of 2005 and 47 in 2002. Soon after arrival, the Cubans usually leave Honduras by land to make their way to the U.S.-Mexico border and become beneficiaries of the U.S. wet-foot/dry-foot policy upon stepping on U.S. soil.

    The number of Cuban migrants illegally entering the United States across the U.S.-Mexico border also reflects the trend. For the first time in recent memory, Cubans now rank among the most often apprehended along the border, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Honduran authorities say they hope to reach some kind of accord with the U.S. and Cuban governments that will dissuade those trying to flee the island from using the Central American nation as a stopover to El Norte.

VENEZUELA EVACUATES CITIZENS FROM LEBANON, CITING ISRAELI ATTACKS

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- The Venezuelan embassy in Beirut has begun evacuating citizens from Lebanon as the result of Israeli attacks against Hezbollah militants, Venezuela's foreign ministry announced Sunday.

    "The Foreign Ministry announced that Venezuela's diplomatic mission is working to facilitate the departure of our citizens," the ministry said in a statement. The announcement was made as Insrael lobbed missiles at targets across Lebanon, killing six people and wounding 33, stepping up reprisals after Hezbollah rockets slammed into new targets deep inside Israel.

    "The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shows its solidarity with its nationals who have relatives in Lebanese territory, but calls for calm," the statement added.

Nicaragua does not endorse oil deal between its mayors and hugo chavez

     MANAGUA, NICARAGUA  --  President Enrique Bolaños' Government is not supporting an agreement the Association of Nicaraguan Municipalities (Amunic) initialed in Caracas with Venezuelan state oil holding Pdvsa. Nicaraguan Foreign minister Norman Caldera said the deal would not benefit all Nicaraguans, but only 87 mayoralties under the control of the opposition Sandinist Front for National Liberation.

    Under the pact signed in April by Amunic and Pdvsa, Venezuela would provide 10 million barrels of oil on a yearly basis and under preferential terms. Sixty percent of the oil bill is payable in cash within a 90-day period, while the remaining 40 percent is financed to 25 years, with a two-year grace period and an interest rate of 1 percent.

     Caldera added the Nicaraguan Government intends to continue to use diplomatic ways to try to enforce the Caracas Energy Agreement in order to obtain oil under preferential terms, and to make Venezuela pardon its USD 31.3 billion.

07 - 17- 2006

G-8 LEADERS DEMAND HALT TO MIDEAST ATTACKS

     ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA  --  President Bush and other world leaders struggled Sunday to prevent Mideast violence from exploding into a wider war. They urged Israel to show "utmost restraint" and blamed Islamic militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas for igniting the escalating five-day-old crisis.

    The annual summit of eight major powers set aside other world problems to urgently address Israel's punishing attacks in Lebanon and Hezbollah's missile strikes on civilian targets in Israel. The leaders concluded that the violence was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas in a raid from Lebanon, and by Hamas' rocket attacks in Gaza and the abduction of a third Israeli soldier.

    "These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos and provoke a wider conflict," the G-8 leaders said in a statement. "The extremists must immediately halt their attacks."  Forged in delicate negotiations, the statement represented a consensus by the leaders of the United States, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan. But the wording allowed leaders to read the document in different ways, reflecting varying alliances by summit partners with players in the Middle East and conflicting views over whether Israel was using excessive force.

MASS PROTEST MARCH DEMANDS RECOUNT IN MEXICAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE 

   MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for a civil resistance campaign to demand a manual recount in the presidential election that he claims his conservative opponent won with fraud, speaking on Sunday to a sea of supporters overflowing the capital's central square. Before a tide of yellow banners, the former Mexico City mayor addressed a crowd of about 300,000 from across the country that converged to jam the plaza and surrounding streets as far as 1.5 miles (2.2 kilometers) away. They chanted "vote by vote!" - the slogan of the recount campaign.

    "To defend democracy, we are going to be beginning peaceful civil resistance," a stern-faced Lopez Obrador told the crowd of grandmothers, students, and entire families who pushed baby carriages plastered with stickers saying, "No to the damn fraud." Followers of the leftist candidate packed the plaza for the second weekend in a row.

    In official returns, Felipe Calderon, of President Vicente Fox's conservative National Action Party, led the July 2 election by about 244,000 votes - or roughly 0.6 percent - although by law, he cannot be declared president-elect until the electoral court rules on challenges to the election. Lopez Obrador is demanding a full recount of the election - vote by vote - rather than relying on tallies from each polling place from election night, as is usual.

07 - 16- 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ LASHES OUT AT THE UNITED STATES OVER MIDEAST CONFLICT

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez said Friday that American support of Israel is responsible for flaming tensions in the Middle East. Israel launched its attack on Lebanon after Hezbollah carried out a brazen cross-border raid Wednesday, capturing two soldiers.

    "The fundamental blame falls again on the U.S. empire. It's the empire that armed and supported the abuses of the Israeli elite, which has invaded, abused and defied the United Nations for a long time," Chavez said. The Venezuelan president said Israel was using excessive force - destroying critical civilian infrastructure and killing and injuring civilians.

    An ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, Chavez frequently lashes out at President Bush and U.S. policy. "The U.S. empire's desire to dominate has no limits and that could take this world to a real Holocaust," Chavez said.

COCAINE FROM VENEZUELA SEIZED IN MEXICO 

   MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Federal agents seized at the international airport 220 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela, the Mexican Solicitor General Office reported Friday. The drug arrived from Caracas in a commercial flight and was located in 220 packages inside four suitcases, the agency said in a press release, as quoted by AP. No detention was made.

    Over the last weeks, heroine from Venezuela has being intercepted also. Ending June, according to the Solicitor General, only in a few days, over 30 kilograms of heroine had been confiscated.

     Federal authorities had informed at the end of 2005 on the finding of a new route to trade heroine from Venezuela to Mexico, and from there to New York City.

UNITED STATES TO HELP BUILD HONDURAS BASE

     TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS  --  The United States is helping Honduras establish a new military base to combat international drug trafficking, according to a senior military official quoted in a Honduran newspaper on Saturday. The base, planned for the northeastern province of Gracias a Dios near the Nicaraguan border, will allow Honduras to house aircraft and a fuel supplying system, according to the newspaper, La Prensa.

    Honduran army and navy forces are already in the area, but "it's a zone where there is conflict and problems, therefore we need to have greater presence," Gen. Romeo Vasquez, head of the joint chiefs of staff of the armed forces, told the newspaper. He said that task force would initially consist of Honduran soldiers, who would be joined by U.S. forces if needed.

    The base is "a long-term project, but it is being studied formally by both governments," said Col. Leonardo Munoz, spokesman for the armed forces. The project will coincide with other U.S.-funded initiatives in the area, including bridges and a 50-mile highway between the cities of Mocoron and Puerto Lempira. The United States also has maintained the Enrique Soto Cano air base, known as Palmerola, in Honduras for 23 years. The base, 28 miles northwest of the capital of Tegucigalpa, houses about 350 U.S. soldiers.

07 - 15 - 2006

IRANIAN PRESIDENT WARNS ISRAEL AGAinst attacking syria 

     TEHRAN, IRAN   -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Israel against extending its offensive in Lebanon to neighboring Syria and said such a move would equate to an attack against the Islamic world, the official Iranian news agency reported Friday. Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon, striking bridges, airports and the main highway leading to Syria to put pressure on the government and force Hezbollah to free the two Israeli soldiers it captured Wednesday.

    Syria and Shiite Muslim Iran are the top backers of the Shiite Hezbollah guerrilla in Lebanon. "If the occupying regime of Jerusalem attacks Syria, it will be equivalent to an attack on the whole Islamic world and the regime (Israel) will face a crushing response" Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

    Ahmadinejad made the comments in a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar Assad to assure him of his support, the agency said. The Iranian leader called on Muslim countries to create a united front against Israel. "The Islamic world, especially countries in this region, need more unity and integrity, particularly in the context of Lebanon and Palestine," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

us:  vENEZUELA's inclusion in the un security council  would be negative

   WASHINGTON, D.C.  -- The US State Department declared Thursday that Venezuela's inclusion in the United Nations (UN) Security Council could have a negative impact on the battle against international terrorism. Previously, a congressman stated that the country was close to be considered a promoter of terror, AP quoted.

     According to Franc C. Urbancic, number two in the State Department coordination office against terrorism, the Government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is "unfortunately a regime not in line with the world.  "We should use all the tools available, in cooperation with our increasing network of partners, to build long lasting solutions beyond violence," he added.

The remarks was made after Ed Royce, the chair of the House subcommittee on international terrorism and non-proliferation, pointed out that a "thin line" separated Venezuela from being

07 - 14 - 2006

HUGO CHAVEZ BLASTS U.S. REPORT ON CUBA

     CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Hugo Chavez rejected a U.S. government report accusing Venezuela of funding efforts by Cuba's Fidel Castro to subvert democracy in Latin America, saying it indicated Washington's aggressive intentions toward Havana. "They've launched what I consider a new imperialist threat," Chavez said Tuesday in a televised speech. "They've publicized a plan of transition, they think Fidel is going to die."

    "This is what I say to U.S. imperialism: Now is when Venezuela will support the Cuban revolution," Chavez added. "Long live Fidel - brother, comrade and partner!" Chavez was responding to Monday's release of a report by the Presidential Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba that accused Havana of forestalling a transition to democracy in the communist country and charged that Chavez is using Venezuela's vast oil revenues to prop up Castro.

    "There are clear signs the (Cuban) regime is using money provided by the Chavez government in Venezuela to reactivate its networks in the hemisphere to subvert democratic governments," the report said. Denouncing moves by the Castro government to strengthen its grip on power, it said "the current regime in Havana is working with like-minded governments, particularly Venezuela, to build a network of political and financial support designed to forestall any external pressure to change."

VENEZUELA-OWNED CITGO TO STOP SELLING GASOLINE TO 1,800 U.S. STATIONS CANDIDACY

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA  -- Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp. has decided to stop distributing gasoline to 1,800 independently owned U.S. stations, shedding a lackluster segment of its business while forcing the owners of those stations to find other suppliers. While it may create some logistical headaches for gasoline retailers in the short term, the move should not have any impact on the nation's overall fuel supply.

    Citgo, which is wholly owned by Venezuela's state oil company, currently has to purchase 130,000 barrels a day from third parties in order to meet its service contracts at 13,100 Citgo-branded stations across the U.S. This is less profitable than selling gasoline directly from its refineries. Instead, the Houston-based company has decided to sell to retailers only the 750,000 barrels a day that it produces at three U.S. refineries in Lake Charles, La., Corpus Christi, Texas and Lemont, Ill., according to a statement late Tuesday.

    As a result, the Citgo brand will disappear entirely from 10 states and be less common in four additional states by March 2007, when the change goes into affect, Citgo spokesman Fernando Garay said Wednesday.  The states where Citgo will stop selling gasoline are: Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Dakota. A limited number of stations in Illinois, Texas, Arkansas and Indiana will also be affected.

07 - 13 - 2006

WORLD POWERS AGREE TO REFER IRAN TO UNITED NATIONS

     PARIS, FRANCE  --  World powers agreed Wednesday to send Iran back to the United Nation's Security Council for possible punishment, saying the clerical regime has given no sign it means to negotiate seriously over its disputed nuclear program.

    The United States and other permanent members of the powerful U.N. body said Iran has had long enough to say whether it will meet the world's terms to open bargaining that would give Tehran economic and energy incentives in exchange for giving up suspicious activities.

    "The Iranians have given no indication at all that they are ready to engage seriously on the substance of our proposals," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on behalf the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China, the five permanent Security Council members, plus Germany and the European Union. Expressing "profound disappointment," the ministers said, "we have no choice but to return to the United Nations Security Council" and resume a course of possible punishment or coercion that the powers have set aside in hopes of reaching a deal.

PRESIDENT PUTIN JABS TO VICE-PRESIDENT CHENEY UNDERSCORES G-8 TENSION

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --   President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of Russia "an unsuccessful hunting shot," a caustic comment that underlines tensions ahead of the Group of Eight summit this weekend. Under fire from critics who say his country does not deserve to be in the G-8 because of democratic backsliding during his more than six years in power, a confident Putin said the elite club of wealthy nations needs Russia because of its energy riches and nuclear might.

     Because of its economic weakness following the Soviet collapse of 1991, other nations countries had strong levers of influence on Russia, Putin said an interview with France's TF-1 television. "Today these levers have been lost, but some of our partners have retained the desire to influence our foreign and domestic policies," he said. "They must get rid of this desire as fast as possible and shift to the normal, equal relations of partners."

    Putin reserved his most acerbic words for Cheney, who angered the Kremlin with a May speech in the ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania in which he accused Russia of cracking down on religious and political rights and of using its energy reserves as "tools of intimidation or blackmail." "I think the statements of this sort by your vice president are the same as an unsuccessful hunting shot. It's pretty much the same," Putin said in an interview with NBC, referring mischievously to the errant shot by Cheney that wounded a companion on a hunting trip.

HEZBOLLAH CAPTURES TWO ISRAELI SOLDIERS 

      SIDON, LEBANON  --  The militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Lebanon border Wednesday morning, and Israeli officials said seven more soldiers were killed during military operations in response to the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the abduction of the soldiers an "act of war" and said Hezbollah would pay a "heavy price," the Associated Press reported. The kidnappings follow the June 25 capture by Palestinian gunmen of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip

     Israel will hold the government of Lebanon "fully responsible" for Hezbollah's actions, defense minister Amir Peretz said in a statement. He said the government "must act immediately and seriously to locate" the soldiers, "to prevent any harm done to them and to return them to Israel." Israeli tanks and troops entered Lebanon soon after the 9 a.m. abduction. At least three soldiers were killed in a blast involving one of the tanks, Israeli officials said. Preliminary reports said four other soldiers also had been killed.

    In southern Lebanon, fighter jets bombed five bridges in quick succession, effectively cutting off that region from the rest of the country, civil defense officials said. At least two Lebanese civilians were killed in one of the bridge strikes, and a power plant was badly damaged. Air strikes hit the cities of Marjuyun and Kfar Shouba. Warships were shelling Lebanon, Israeli news agencies reported, and witnesses said Katyusha rockets were being fired from the western par of the border into Israel, close to the Mediterranean Sea.

07 - 12 - 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH APPROVES PLAN FOR CHANGE IN CUBA

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  President Bush on Monday approved a long-awaited update on U.S. policies to hasten and assist a Cuban turn to democracy after Fidel Castro's reign, including possible assistance to Havana's military and an $80 million-plus fund to boost the opposition to Castro. ''We are actively working for change in Cuba, not simply waiting for change,'' Bush said in a statement unveiling the 95-page report by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, a multiagency panel he created in 2003.

    Arguing that vital U.S. interests are at stake in pushing for a transition to democracy, instead of a succession by new communist leadership after the 79-year-old Castro leaves power, the report underlined Bush administration pledges to promote freedom and democracy worldwide. The text -- accompanied by a two-page ''Compact with the People of Cuba'' that promises to ''work with the Cuban people to attain political and economic liberty'' -- predicts a clash between an ''energized'' opposition and an ''intrinsically unstable'' attempt at succession.

    ''The opposition movement is creating momentum for democratic change in Cuba,'' said the State Department's Cuba transition coordinator, Caleb McCarry. ``With our offer of advice and assistance . . . we hope to add to this momentum.'' Cuba's government has criticized the report as a blatant violation of the island's sovereignty and called dissidents paid ''mercenaries'' of the U.S. government. The report's inclusion of a classified annex -- whose contents remain unknown -- prompted the head of the Cuban legislature, Ricardo Alarcón, to speculate recently that it may include plans to assassinate Castro.

PERUVIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT ALAN GARCIA RULES OUT VENEZUELA CANDIDACY TO UNITE NATIONS' SECURITY COUNCIL 

    SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE  --  Peruvian President-elect Alan García proposed finding an alternative to Venezuela candidacy to occupy a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. His remarks came during an interview on Sunday with Televisión Nacional de Chile. García and Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chávez clashed bitterly during the Peruvian electoral campaign.

    García suggested finding "more rational people because the Security Council, where Chile and Peru are supporting Brazil as a permanent member, needs stable, democratic governments."  Regarding Chile, which has not decided whether it will support Caracas or Guatemala (the US candidate), García would not comment.

     "Countries are free and sovereign in their decisions. I am sure not many countries are going to vote Venezuela because not all of the countries depend on the black gold and the alms of Mr. Chávez," he said, but he did reject claims that he is leading a movement against the Venezuelan ruler, saying that Chávez "is not that important." García's statements came at a time when he and Chávez showed willingness to overcome their differences. But there are indications that tensions are to escalate, since García labeled Chávez as a transient "military ruler."

THE NETHERLANDS NOT TO JOIN US MILITARY MANEUVERS IN THE CARIBBEAN

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --   The Netherlands reassured Venezuela that it will not take part in military maneuvers with US aircraft carriers in its Caribbean dependences of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, Dutch Foreign Affairs minister Ben Bot told AFP.

      Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, -Dutch territory since the 12th Century- are located 20-80 kilometers off the Venezuelan coast. "(US) aircraft carriers can complete their drills a little bit farther, in St. Marteen waters (another island the Netherlands shares with France and located 250 km east Puerto Rico)," Bot explained. Bot started an official visit to Venezuela on Monday. He met with his Venezuelan counterpart Alí Rodríguez, Vice-President José Vicente Rangel and Energy and Petroleum minister Rafael Ramírez.

     "I invited minister Rodríguez to attend as an observer" to the military maneuvers. The Netherlands regularly participate in joint military drills with NATO in the Caribbean. "I have ratified we do not have any hostile intention or any intention to put them (the islands) to the disposal of the United States," Bot underscored.

07 - 11 - 2006

CUBAN MIGRANT DEAD AFTER CHASE AT SEA BY U.S. COAST GUARD 

     MIAMI, FLORIDA  --  Another dramatic sea chase off the coast of South Florida -- this one deadly -- ended early Saturday morning, again highlighting the dilemma and danger of human smuggling from Cuba. Using a shotgun armed with special rounds, a U.S. Coast Guard marksman shot out the engine of an escaping boat, as one person aboard apparently tried to use himself as a human shield. A young woman died of apparent head injuries. Three suspected smugglers were in custody, their roles again drawing the ire of law enforcement and Cuban exile leaders.

    Authorities said 31 migrants were packed dangerously onto a 36-foot boat that left Cuba Sunday morning. The vessel equipped with three outboard engines was detected by radar aboard the U.S. Coast Guardcutter Decisive, 39 miles south of Key West. Smaller Coast Guard boats then gave chase. Video shot from a Coast Guard helicopter shows the boat knifing through the sea, a U.S. government boat with flashing lights speeding alongside.

     During the chase, Coast Guard officials said, the reported smugglers ignored commands to stop and tried unsuccessfully to ram their boats at least five times. The boat tried to spray the Coast Guard boat with ''prop wash'' kicked up by its engines, then one man could be seen leaning over the engine in an apparent attempt to cover them from Coast Guard fire. Then at close range, a specially-trained Coast Guard officer used a shotgun to fire two ammo rounds into the starboard engine, officials said. Exile leaders questioned the tactic used by the Coast Guard.

CHILE UNDECIDED ON SUPPORT TO VENEZUELA'S CANDIDACY TO UNITED NATIONS' SECURITY COUNCIL 

    SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CHILE  --  Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is yet to decide whether her country is to endorse Venezuela to occupy a non-permanent in the United Nations Security Council, but she ratified that Chiles is to endorse the creation of the International Crime Court to prosecute war crimes, which the United States rejects.

    In a vast interview with El Mercurio newspaper on Sunday, Bachelet was asked whether she would back Venezuela's initiative to become a member of the UN Security Council, considering the fact that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez endorsed the controversial launching of test missiles by North Korea.

    Bachelet showed concern about "arm races or the development of missiles such as the ones North Korea has developed that may endanger world peace." She added that both the international community and the UN Security Council should take the relevant measures, AP reported. Bachelet said her administration "would make the decision at the right time" on Chilean support either to Guatemala or Venezuela to the Security Council. She hinted she would make the choice based on "the interest of the country and aiming at a policy of greater regional inclusion."

CHECHEN BEHIND HORRIFIC TERRORIST ATTACKS IS DEAD 

      MOSCOW, RUSSIA  --  Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who claimed responsibility for modern Russia's worst terrorist attacks, was killed Monday, Russia's top intelligence official said. Federal Security Service head Nikolai Patrushev told President Vladimir Putin that Basayev had been killed overnight in Ingushetia - a republic bordering Chechnya that was plagued by sporadic spillover violence from the separatist region. Patrushev's meeting with Putin was shown on Russian state television.

    Basayev, 41, claimed responsibility for some of Russia's worst terror attacks, including the seizure of a Moscow theater in 2002 in which dozens of hostages and militants died, the 2004 school hostage taking in Beslan that killed 331, and the seizure of about 1,000 hostages at a hospital in Budyonnovsk that killed about 100.

    Patrushev gave no details of the operation in his televised remarks, but an Ingush regional Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Basayev had been killed while accompanying a truck filled with 220 pounds of dynamite that blew up in the Ingush village of Ekazhevo early Monday. Basayev was among four militants killed in the blast, which authorities earlier said had occurred inadvertently during a special police operation against rebels preparing an attack later Monday.

07 - 10 - 2006

LAST WEEK, PRESIDENT BUSH RECEIVED ANOTHER REPORT (SIMILAR TO OTHERS PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED) ON CUBA AFTER CASTRO

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  A wide-ranging report on U.S. policies toward Cuba's possible transition to democracy was officially presented to President Bush Wednesday at a meeting of the White House's National Security Council.

    The report by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, co-chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Cuban-American Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, makes recommendations to hasten the end of the island's communist government and assist the transition.

    An early draft obtained last week by The Miami Herald included recommendations to create an $80 million fund to support democracy on the island, launch a diplomatic initiative to undermine Venezuela's backing of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and tighten the enforcement of the economic embargo against Cuba.

LOPEZ OBRADOR ALLEGES FRAUD, VOWS CHALLENGE

    MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  In a scene reminiscent of the U.S. elections in 2000, Mexican presidential hopeful Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Saturday that he was defrauded by a rigged computer count and vowed a legal challenge before a special electoral court and Mexico's highest civil court. At a hastily called news conference with foreign correspondents on Saturday morning, six days after Mexicans cast their votes, López Obrador, of the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), accused the Federal Electoral Institute of conspiring with the government to arrange his narrow defeat by a margin of 0.58 percent.

    ''They manipulated the electronic computer system,'' he said. The electoral body, known by its Spanish initials IFE, “introduced a computer model with a determined factor, where they beforehand knew how it would behave the entire day.'' Specifically, López Obrador believes the IFE, which has trained electoral authorities around the world and which polls show is held in high regard by Mexicans, conspired to shave points from his count and gave them to his opponent. Elections experts said conservative Felipe Calderón's tight margin of victory was akin to a difference of about two ballots per voting booth.

    ''This electoral organ folded completely before the government and its [ruling] party,'' López Obrador said. Current and former IFE officials deny the computerized vote count is open to manipulation. Foreign and domestic election observers saw no signs of fraud, but López Obrador said he disagreed with them and called the elections “plagued by irregularities.'' López Obrador addressed journalists just hours before a massive ''informative assembly'' he called in Mexico City's picturesque Zócalo, an ancient city square that houses the National Cathedral. At least 100,000 angry and vocal supporters had streamed into the square by midafternoon Saturday, some carrying signs that read, ''This is just the beginning'' and ''Vote by Vote,'' a reference to the candidate's demand for a complete recount of every single vote cast.

07- 09 - 06

CUBAN ENVOYS FACING NEW restrictions  

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  Congress wants to make it harder for Cuban diplomats to lobby, and the Bush administration may retaliate for restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Havana.  Cuban diplomats here send some of their children to a school set up by their mission. Their spouses tend to work at the mission. And often, four or five diplomats' families live in the same apartment blocks in the wealthy suburb of Montgomery County.

    Working and living in the capital of their communist government's longtime foe, Cuban diplomats generally seem to lead quiet and private lives -- fueled by the perception that the U.S. government is watching their every move. They are most visible in Congress, where they assiduously lobby for proposals to relax U.S. sanctions on Cuba. But that could grow harder in coming weeks. The Bush administration is said to be considering retaliation for what it claims are harassments that U.S. diplomats face in Havana, including the poisoning of family pets and the dumping of feces in U.S. diplomats' homes.

    A U.S. government official, who asked for anonymity because of the delicate nature of the issue, said reprisals against the Cuban mission in Washington were ''always under consideration.'' He declined to elaborate.  Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, R-Miami, is pushing a measure that would force diplomats from countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism -- including Cuba -- to register all their lobbying contacts in Congress, presumably making congressional offices more reluctant to talk to the Cubans.

>>>  Full Story

TEXAS PORT EXTENDS CUBA TRADE AGREEMENT

     HAVANA, CUBA  --  The Texas port of Corpus Christi on Friday renewed its commitment to keep shipping American food to Cuba despite U.S. efforts to tighten sanctions on the communist-run island. Ruben Bonilla, chairman of the Corpus Christi Port Commission, and Pedro Alvarez of the Cuban food import company Alimport, signed a letter of intent to maintain their trade relationship.

    "We accept the commitment to broaden our relationship with Corpus Christi," Alvarez told a news conference. "And they, we are sure, will work to normalize" relations between the two nations, he added. U.S. Representative Solomon Ortiz, a Texas Democrat, accompanied Bonilla on the trade mission.

    The port of Corpus Christi signed its first agreement with Alimport three years ago, and since then more than 100,000 metric tons of U.S. agricultural goods has moved through the port on its way to Cuba, Alvarez said. Most U.S. trade with Cuba is prohibited under a 45-year-old U.S. embargo designed to undermine Fidel Castro's government. Under an exception to those sanctions created by a 2000 U.S. law, however, American food and other agricultural products may be sold directly to Cuba on a cash basis.

07 - 08 - 2006

UNITED STATES THINKS THAT CHAVEZ IS AN OUTLIER

     WASHINGTON, D.C.  --  The trip of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to North Korea shows that he is detached from the rest of the world, the United States Government pondered.

    "The rest of the world is condemning what North Korea has done, and Chávez is talking about going to North Korea," US Department of State Spokesman Sean McCormack said in reference to the missile tests conducted in the Asian country this week, DPA quoted. Chávez' plans to visit North Korea "shows precisely that he and his behavior are not in line with the rest of the world," the official added.

    The spokesman used the term "outlier" to label the Venezuelan ruler, a noun seldom used to define people who are excluded or who exclude themselves from a group. Previously, Venezuelan Vice-President José Vicente Rangel had defended Thursday the right of North Korea to engage in missile testing. "North Korea and any country have the right to do tests and develop arms as appropriate, based on technology," he said.

VENEZUELA REJECTS US CRITICISM OF CHAVEZ VISIT TO NORTH KOREA 

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuela's foreign minister on Friday rejected U.S. criticism of President Hugo Chavez's plans to visit North Korea and accused Washington of a campaign to demonize smaller nations. Ali Rodriguez said North Korea's missile tests hadn't affected Chavez's plans to visit the communist country and dismissed comments by a U.S. State Department official that such a trip was likely to further isolate the Venezuelan leader.

    Rodriguez told the state TV broadcaster: "We are not subject to the U.S. empire; we are a small but independent country. "This is part of a campaign to demonize smaller countries simply because we don't submit to the orders of the great empire," he said. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Thursday questioned signs of sympathies toward Pyongyang by Venezuela, which has gone against overwhelming world opinion by saying North Korea had every right to conduct the missile tests.

    Rodriguez denied Venezuela was isolating itself politically, saying that it had plenty of backing for its bid to gain a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council later this year. Though no specific date has been given, Chavez announced last month that he would shortly visit North Korea as part of an international tour also including Syria, Iran and Russia.

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS AND INTELLECTUALS TO CELEBRATE CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO'S 80TH BIRTHDAY 

      HAVANA, CUBA   --  A growing list of international artists and intellectuals are planning to travel to Cuba next month to fete President Fidel Castro on his 80th birthday, organizers said Thursday. South African folk singer Miriam Makeba and Argentine musicians Cesar Issela, Piero and Victor Heredia will be among those performing a concert held in Havana in Castro's honor. They will be joined by Cuban singers Silvio Rodriguez and Omara Portuondo, organizers said.

    Beginning three days before Castro's Aug. 13 birthday, the celebration will also include an academic conference on Cuba including former Ecuadorean President Rodrigo Borja, former Sandinista rebel leader Tomas Borge of Nicaragua and Hebe Bonafini of Argentina's Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo - a group of women who lost loved ones in politically motivated disappearances in that nation's dirty war.

    Guayasamin, whose grandfather was a close friend of the Cuban president, said it was difficult to persuade Castro to allow the celebration to be held. Cuba's communist-run government has not announced any official birthday celebrations for Castro, who has ruled this island since the 1959 triumph of the revolution to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista.

07 - 07 - 2006

CUBA'S COMMUNIST PARTY RESURRECTS EXECUTIVE BODY TO REASSERT IDEOLOGICAL INFLUENCE

     HAVANA, CUBA  --  Cuba's Communist Party on Tuesday resurrected a powerful executive council to shore up its authority and reassert ideological influence as President Fidel Castro nears his 80th birthday. U.S. pressure has been building for sweeping democratic changes when he dies. The resurrection of the party's secretariat is the latest move aimed at strengthening the island's political structure for an eventual future without Castro, who has ruled Cuba for 47 years and turns 80 on Aug. 13.


    Although Castro appears healthy and there are no signs he plans to retire, recent moves on the island indicate a concentrated effort to strengthen the rest of the communist leadership while he is still alive. Cuba's previous Communist Party secretariat was dissolved 15 years ago as a necessary cost-saving move amid an economic crisis caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had been the island's key economic and political ally.

    The Communist Party newspaper Granma said that the new secretariat will "help in the daily work of the party and will be charged with organizing and ensuring the execution and fulfillment of its accords." It will be headed by Castro, who is first party secretary, as well as second party secretary Raul Castro, the president's younger brother and legally designated successor. Among the other 10 members are top orthodox party leaders Jose R. Machado Ventura, 75, and Esteban Lazo Hernandez, 62. The majority of the rest are in their 50s or younger and hail from outside Havana.

NORTH KOREA THREATENS NUCLEAR RETALIATION

    SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA  --  North Korea stepped up its anti-U.S. rhetoric on Monday, accusing Washington of mounting military pressure on the regime and vowing to respond to any preemptive U.S. attack with an ''annihilating'' nuclear strike. The threat of atomic retaliation was apparently linked to the heightened scrutiny of North Korea after reports by the United States and Japan that the reclusive state had taken steps to prepare for a test of a long-range missile.

    The North's Korean Central News Agency, citing an unidentified ''analyst'' with the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, accused the United States of harassing Pyongyang with war exercises, a massive arms buildup and increased aerial espionage by basing new spy planes in South Korea. ''This is a grave military provocation and blackmail to the DPRK, being an indication that the U.S. is rapidly pushing ahead in various fields with the extremely dangerous war moves,'' the dispatch said. ''The army and people of the DPRK are now in full preparedness to answer a preemptive attack with a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war with a mighty nuclear deterrent,'' the report said.

    DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The report concluded by urging the United States to ''get out of South Korea promptly.'' About 29,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against the communist North. The Bush administration responded sternly Monday, saying while it had no intention of attacking, it was determined to protect the United States if North Korea launched a long-range missile. ''Should North Korea take the provocative action of launching a missile the U.S. would respond appropriately, including by taking the necessary measures to protect ourselves,'' Julie Reside, a State Department spokeswoman, said.

MEXICAN EQUITIES TRADING IN NEW YORK RISE AS PRESIDENT VOTE RESULTS GIVE CALDERON EDGE

      MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Mexican equities trading in New York were outpacing their emerging-market counterparts Monday morning, on presidential election results that appear to give conservative candidate Felipe Calderon an edge. The Bank of New York's Emerging Markets American Depositary Receipts index was rising 1.6% to 217.98 points, while the bank's Mexican subindex was gaining 5.4% .

    The official vote count is expected to start on Wednesday, but with more than 36 million votes counted in a preliminary tally by electoral officials, Calderon had 36.6% to leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's 35.5%, according to results from 91.4% of the polling places. Despite the neck-and-neck race, investors were betting Calderon would be the winner and were rewarding Mexican equities for that, an ADR trader said.

    Blue chips were posting expressive gains, with wireless provider America Movil SA (AMX) rising 6.2% to $35.32, while its sister company, fixed-line Telefonos de Mexico SA (TMX), was increasing 3.2% to $21.50. Cement giant Cemex SA (CX) was adding 5.3% to $60.01, and media conglomerate Grupo Televisa SA (TV) was increasing 5.9% to $20.44.

07 - 05 - 2006

NASA PUTS ON JULY 4 DISPLAY; DESPITE SETBACKS, DISCOVERY BLASTS INTO ORBIT

     CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA  --  In a majestic Independence Day liftoff, Discovery and its crew of seven blasted into orbit Tuesday on the first space shuttle launch in a year, flying over objections from those within NASA who argued for more fuel-tank repairs. NASA's first-ever Fourth of July launch came after two weather delays and last-minute foam trouble that conjured up worries that have dogged the space agency since Columbia was brought down by a chunk of fuel tank insulation foam 3 1/2 years ago.

    Commander Steven Lindsey, an Air Force fighter pilot, was at Discovery's controls and aiming for a Thursday linkup with the international space station. "Discovery's ready, the weather's beautiful, America is ready to return the space shuttle to flight. So good luck and Godspeed, Discovery," launch director Mike Leinbach said just before liftoff.

    "I can't think of a better place to be here on the Fourth of July," radioed Lindsey. "For all the folks on the Florida east coast, we hope to very soon get you an up-close and personal look at the rocket's red glare." Riding aboard Discovery is German astronaut Thomas Reiter, who will move into the space station for a half-year stay. Besides Lindsey and Reiter, Discovery is carrying pilot Mark Kelly; Michael Fossum and Piers Sellers, who will conduct at least two spacewalks at the station; and Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson.

URUGUAY TO VOTE VENEZUELA AT UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL

    MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY  --  Deputy Roberto Conde, of ruling Partido Socialista de Uruguay and head of the national division at Mercosur Joint Parliament Commission (CPC), announced that the Government of President Tabaré Vázquez will back Venezuelan efforts to hold a post as a non-permanent member at the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

    "My government has made a decision. Uruguay will back Venezuela's incorporation into the UN Security Council," Conde disclosed during a press conference at the Federal Legislature, where the CPC delegation met with National Assembly (AN) authorities.

    Caracas has already the votes of Brazil and Argentinean and still waits for the decision of Chilean President Michele Bachelet. Guatemala is the other candidate in the group of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Central American nation has never been at the Security Council and has been given the blessing of the White House.

KIRCHNER, DUARTE OFFER THEIR BONDS TO CHAVEZ

      BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA  --  Argentinean President Néstor Kirchner arrived Monday night in Caracas to take part in a special summit to seal Venezuela's membership in Mercosur. Kirchner, welcome in Maiquetía international airport by Vice-President José Vicente Rangel, plans to stay in Caracas until Wednesday to attend a military parade during the commemoration of the Venezuelan Independence Day. Additionally, he is expected to take the floor at the National Assembly (AN).

    In the context of bilateral relations, Kirchner will meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to ponder on the possibility of a new purchase by Venezuela of Argentinean debt bonds for the amount of USD 200 million, the Argentinean media reported, as quoted by AFP. For his part, Uruguayan President Nicanor Duarte will offer to sell most of the domestic debt for USD 18 billion as part of Itaipú powerhouse.

COLOMBIAN AND VENEZUELAN PRESIDENTS TO SIGN A DEAL FOR GAS PIPELINE 

      BOGOTA, COLOMBIA  -- The Colombian northern department of La Guajira will be the venue where Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his Colombian counterpart Álvaro Uribe will make next July 8th a deal to start laying down a gas pipeline joining the two nations, a government speaker said.  "The two presidents will make, as it were, the first welding in La Guajira -a significant step for bilateral integration," Colombian ambassador to Venezuela Carlos Rodolfo Santiago told Radio Caracol.

    The event, the diplomat claimed, will show the two countries' brotherhood. The gas pipeline will serve initially west Venezuela and then it will stretch to Central America. Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco and her Venezuelan counterpart Alí Rodríguez opened last June 15th in Caracas the Second Meeting of the High-Level Bi-national Commission (Coban). During the event, they reviewed the blueprint of the gas pipeline and a pipeline to carry multiple products, agreed upon by Chávez and Uribe last year.

07 - 04 - 2006

MEXICO WAITS OUT PAINFULLY CLOSE ELECTION 

     MEXICO CITY, MEXICO --  Two bitter rivals declared themselves winners of Mexico's extraordinarily close presidential race, even though official results wouldn't be ready for days, sparking cries of fraud from supporters and fears of violence. The two candidates were separated by fewer than 401,000 votes, with more than 36 million counted in a preliminary tally by electoral officials. The conservative, Felipe Calderon had 36.6 percent to leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's 35.5 percent, according to results from 91.4 percent of polling places.

    But the Federal Electoral Institute stressed those results weren't final - and said it wouldn't declare a victor until an official count due to start Wednesday.  In the meantime, both candidates declared victory, raising questions about their pledges to respect an electoral process in which Mexicans invested hundreds of millions of dollars to overcome decades of systematic fraud.

    "We have no doubt that we have won the presidential election," Calderon told supporters.  "Smile: We've already won," Lopez Obrador told his. "We're going to defend our triumph. We aren't going to let them try to make our results disappear." Thousands of Lopez Obrador's supporters had gathered in a steady rain in Mexico City's Zocalo plaza, chanting "Lie! Lie! Fraud! Fraud!" after the delay was announced.

SPAIN SUBWAY DERAILMENT KILLS MORE THAN 30 

    VALENCIA, SPAIN  --  A subway train derailed and overturned in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia on Monday, killing more than 30 people and injuring about a dozen, a regional government spokesman said. The likely cause of the accident was that the train was traveling at high speed and one of its wheels broke off, local government spokesman Luis Felipe Martinez said. A tunnel wall also may have collapsed onto the carriage, investigators said, according to news reports.

    Officials said the accident occurred on the No. 1 line of Valencia's subway system as it was leaving Jesus station in downtown Valencia, one of Spain's biggest cities with a population of 800,000. It is on the country's east coast, about 220 miles southeast of Madrid. Some 150 people were evacuated from the station, and Spanish National Radio reported that all survivors had been removed from the subway. The number of dead will exceed 30, said Vicente Rambla of the Interior Ministry in Valencia. He said the death toll could range from 34 and 36, and some bodies were still inside the wrecked car.

    Recent mass transit accidents in Spain include one in Madrid in January 2005 in which about 20 people were slightly injured when a train with passengers bumped into an empty one at Madrid's Atocha station. A more serious accident occurred in June 2003 when 19 people were killed and 48 injured in a head-on crash in central Spain. The crash, in which a passenger train collided with a freight train, occurred outside the station in the town of Chinchilla. Bombs placed on commuter trains in Madrid by Islamic radicals killed 191 people in March 2004.

07 - 03 - 2006

POLLS SHOW MEXICAN RACE TOO CLOSE TO CALL 

     MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  --  Mexico's presidential election was too close to call Sunday with voters bitterly divided between a leftist offering himself as a savior to the poor and a conservative warning his rival's free-spending proposals threaten the economy. Electoral officials were conducting a quick count of the votes, and were hoping to declare a winner later Sunday. But they warned that they would hold off - perhaps for days - if neither candidate had a large enough advantage.

    Mexico's two main television networks did not release the results of their exit polls, saying the difference was smaller than their margin of error.Felipe Calderon, 43, of outgoing President Vicente Fox's National Action Party, has been running an exceedingly close race with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, 52, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party. The Institutional Revolutionary Party's Roberto Madrazo, 53, had been trailing in third place.

    The vote was the first since Fox's stunning victory six years ago ended 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and it could determine whether Mexico becomes the latest Latin American country to move to the left. Electoral officials said voting was relatively peaceful, although many voters complained polls opened late or ran out of ballots.

>>>  Full Story

07 - 02 - 2006

PRESIDENT BUSH PAYS TRIBUTE TO ARMED FORCES

     WASHINGTON, D.C.   -- President George W. Bush paid tribute to America's armed forces Saturday, calling Independence Day a time to thank the men and women who defend freedom. "For more than two centuries, from the camps of Valley Forge to the mountains of Afghanistan, Americans have served and sacrificed for the principles of our founding," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Today, a new generation of American patriots is defending our freedom against determined and ruthless enemies."

    Bush plans to celebrate July Fourth at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he will have lunch with military personnel. The president will return to the White House Tuesday night to watch fireworks in the nation's capital. On the holiday, Americans should recall the ideals that the nation's founders outlined in the Declaration of Independence, Bush said. He also encouraged every American to find a way to thank those who defend freedom.

    He urged people to help America Supports You, a nationwide program set up by the Defense Department to communicate citizen support to military men and women at home and abroad. "At this hour, the men and women of our armed forces are facing danger in distant places, carrying out their missions with all the skill and honor we expect of them," Bush said. "And their families are enduring long separations from their loved ones with great courage and dignity."

PERU'S OLLANTA HUMALA TRAVELS TO CUBA FOR SECOND OPINION ON GALLSTONE 

    LIMA, EPRU  --  Ollanta Humala, the fiery nationalist opposition leader defeated in the June 4 presidential runoff, has traveled to Cuba for a gallstone diagnosis, his party spokesman said Friday. Martin Belaunde told The Associated Press that Humala, who flew to Havana via Panama on Thursday, had absolutely no plans to meet with any officials from Fidel Castro's government.

    "He is going for a checkup," Belaunde said. "He did not go for surgery. He went for a second medical opinion." Humala has repeatedly denied an ideological link to Castro or his main South American ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who enthusiastically endorsed Humala's failed election bid against President-elect Alan Garcia.

    Humala’s  party said he would undergo gallstone surgery on Thursday in a private clinic in Lima, but Peru's media reported that he never checked in. Humala's movement captured 45 seats in the 120-member Congress in April elections, but he recently lost at least three of them to defections by politicians who said Humala had veered too far to the left. Several of his soon-to-be sworn in lawmakers pushed and punched their way onto the Congress floor Wednesday before legislators voted 79-14 in favor of the free trade pact, breaking the nose of one congressional security guard.

VENEZUELA TO DISTRIBUTE MORE 'IDLE' FARMLANDS TO POOR UNDER REFORM 

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Venezuelan authorities said Friday that 334,500 hectares (826,550 acres) of privately owned farmlands have been classified as "idle," and will be turned over to poor farmers under a sweeping land reform plan. Juan Carlos Loyo, president of Venezuela's National Land Institute, told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency that 15,000 landless families would be given permits to farm the land.

    The administration of President Hugo Chavez has already claimed 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) as part of the program to seize farmlands that, according to officials, aren't being put to adequate use or lack documents to prove ownership dating back as far as 1847.

    The reform is being carried out under a 2001 law that permits the government to seize "idle" lands without compensation. Some poor farmers welcome the reform, but opponents argue it violates property rights guaranteed under the constitution. Chavez argues that numerous large ranches in this South American country were obtained through corruption under past governments.

07 - 01 - 2006

US AMBASSADOR TO UN JOHN BOLTON: "VENEZUELA NO FIT FOR UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL"

     UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK  --  The United States disqualified Friday Venezuela and expressed support to Guatemala as candidate to a non-permanent post at the United Nations (UN) Security Council, a decision to be made by the General Assembly next October,.

    The United States is working on a more productive candidate, in this case, Guatemala, US Ambassador to UN John Bolton told reporters. "We do not expect the countries at the Council to act unanimously, but a distinction must be made between constructive discussions and destructive behavior. Upon these grounds, we think that Venezuela is not the appropriate candidate," Bolton declared.

    He insisted on saying that the United States has no problem with the Venezuelan people, but with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez' behavior. The diplomat remembered that in 1990-1991, when Cuba was a member of the Security Council, "its performance was poorly effective and cooperative."

HUGO CHÁVEZ: "WE ARE READY TO FACE THE US CHALLENGE!"

    CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  During a ceremony Thursday to promote 151 military officers of the Presidential Guard of Honor, Hugo Chávez condemned "on behalf of the Venezuelan people, the Israeli attack supported by the US Empire" on Palestine. He also challenged the efforts by the United States to bar Venezuela's inclusion in the UN Security Council.

    "The United States goes around the world, day and night, with all its power and exerting pressure, issuing public statements, trying to blackmail governments, intending to cheat others, intimidating, to prevent Venezuela from being chosen as UN permanent member. We are ready to face the challenge against the empire!" the ruler said.

    "The United States says that Venezuela will not join the Security Council. And we say, Venezuela will go to the Security Council," he admonished. He thanked Argentina and Brazil for supporting Venezuela's candidacy. "Little by little new governments will join us, because they are aware that Venezuela represents the voice of the underprivileged."

HUGO CHÁVEZ WILL DELIVER RUSSIAN RIFLES TO A YOUNGSTERS "CHAVISTA" FRONT

      CARACAS, VENEZUELA  --  Some Russian-made Kalachnikov AK130 rifles arriving in Venezuela will be apportioned among 15,000 youngsters members of pro-government Francisco de Miranda front, President Hugo Chávez announced Thursday night.

    "We are distributing the first lot of these rifles among combat units, particularly the Army and the Navy, in addition to the National Guard and some units of the air forces. But as soon as we finish, the first Kalachnikov rifles that arrive subsequently will go to Francisco de Miranda front," the ruler said during the commemoration of the front third anniversary.

    Chávez, who claims that Venezuela is heading for a new socialist model based on dramatic economic reforms, did not clarify when or how many weapons will be delivered to the front, Reuters reported. The announcement runs counter to other plans formerly announced to try to disarm civilians and minimize thousand deaths due to crime.