By Mike Whitney for Global Research In late November, Venezuela was hammered by torrential rains and flooding that left 35 people dead and roughly 130,000 homeless. If George Bush had been president, instead of Hugo Chavez, the displaced people would have been shunted off at gunpoint to makeshift prison camps–like the Superdome–as they were following Hurricane Katrina. But that’s not the way Chavez works. The Venezuelan president quickly passed “enabling”
By Eva Golinger for Postcards from the RevolutionState Department documents published by Wikileaks evidence Washington’s plans to “contain” Venezuela’s influence in the region and increase efforts to provoke regime changeA substantial portion of the more than 1600 State Department documents Wikileaks has published during the past two weeks refer to the ongoing efforts of US diplomacy to isolate and counter the Venezuelan government.Since Hugo Chavez won the presidency for the
by Eva Golinger for Postcard from the Revolution Although it is undeniably true that the winner of Venezuela’s legislative elections last Sunday was the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which sealed a solid and absolute majority in the new National Assembly, there was also another winner: US interference President Hugo Chavez’s party, PSUV, achieved a landslide victory this past Sunday, September 26 in the nation’s legislative elections, winning 98
By Michael Albert for Znet Venezuelan election commentary is still in flux – reactions are still trickling in. Still, so far available analyses are mostly failing to address the election’s most important implications. Yes, the Bolivarian Revolution is still in the saddle. Yes, Chavez is vastly more popular – despite being in office ten years – than Obama, now in office for two years. Yes the PSUV has retained more
By Eva Golinger for Global Research Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced this Saturday US plans to attack his country and overthrow his government. During a ceremony celebrating the 227th birthday of Independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez read from a secret memo he had been sent from an unnamed source inside the United States. “Old friend, I haven’t seen you in years. As I said to you in my three prior
By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER (AP) – 10 hours ago CARACAS, Venezuela — Police apprehended six alleged far-right paramilitary fighters from Colombia, including a militia leader wanted in the killing of a Venezuelan mayor near the border with Colombia, authorities said Tuesday. Johnny Marquez, a federal police investigator in the western state of Tachira, said officers arrested the militiamen during a sting operation near the town of La Fria. He said the
By Eva Golinger Caracas, July 24, 2010 – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced this Saturday US plans to attack his country and overthrow his government. During a ceremony celebrating the 227th birthday of Independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez read from a secret memo he had been sent from an unnamed source inside the United States. “Old friend, I haven’t seen you in years. As I said to you in my
TeleSur reports: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that Venezuela will call for “an immediate” political council of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to denounce Colombias recent aggression against Venezuela. “We call for an immediate political council of UNASURs ministers of Foreign Affairs to denounce and discuss Colombias aggression currently released towards my country, and we expect that UNASUR condemn such aggression,” he said during a
by Eva Golinger President Chavez ordered maximum alert on Venezuela’s border with Colombia after the Uribe administration made grave accusations against Venezuela claiming the Chavez government harbors terrorists and terrorist training camps The outgoing government of Alvaro Uribe in Colombia gave a shameful presentation before member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday, reminiscent of Colin Powell’s “weapons of mass destruction” power point evidence presented in 2003
by Eva Gollinger for the Correo del Orinoco via Venezuela Analysis When politicians and political actors commit crimes, can they hide behind cries of persecution? As international organizations backed by Washington condemn the Chavez administration for alleged political persecution, the facts shed light on the difference between activism and crime. Amnesty International sent out an urgent action appeal last week, claiming five individuals were under intense political persecution by the
by Federico Fuentes for Green Left Weekly Decisive battles between the forces of revolution and counter-revolution loom on the horizon in Venezuela. The campaign for the September 26 National Assembly elections will be a crucial battle between the supporters of socialist President Hugo Chavez and the US-backed right-wing opposition. But these battles, part of the class struggle between the poor majority and the capitalist elite, will be fought more in
by Lisa karpova and Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey for Pravda.Ru How things have changed. The People Power colour revolutions have spluttered and now faded away as reality starts to bite, as it becomes increasingly apparent that people are not easily duped by pie-in-the-sky promises and crucially, as it becomes blatantly obvious that each nation occupies a cultural space that has to be respected. It therefore comes as no surprise that Viktor Yanukovych
Ria-Novosti reports: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced plans for the deployment of new Russian-made tanks and combat helicopters on the border with Colombia. Ties between Venezuela and Colombia deteriorated last August after Washington signed a deal with Bogota allowing U.S. forces to run anti-drug operations from Colombian bases. Chavez has criticized the deal and called for the Venezuelan people and army to prepare for a war. “We are expecting
By Christopher Toothaker for The Air Force Times: CARACAS, Venezuela: An unmanned U.S. spy plane recently violated Venezuela’s airspace and the military has been ordered to shoot down any such aircraft if it happens again, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday. Speaking during his weekly television and radio program, Chavez said the aircraft overflew a Venezuelan military base in the western state of Zulia after taking off from neighboring Colombia. He
Interview with Eva Golinger by Mike Whitney for Information Clearing House Mike Whitney: The US media is very critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He’s frequently denounced as “anti-American”, a “leftist strongman”, and a dictator. Can you briefly summarize some of the positive social, economic and judicial changes for which Chavez is mainly responsible? Eva Golinger: The first and foremost important achievement during the Chávez administration is the 1999 Constitution,
by Kiraz Janicke for Venezuelanalysis.com The possibility of an imperialist war in the Americas came a step closer on October 30, when Colombia and the United States finalized a ten year accord allowing the U.S. to massively expand its military presence in the Latin American nation. The move comes as the U.S. seeks to regain its hegemony over Latin America – which has declined over the past decade in the
September 26th 2009, by Al Jazeera / Eva Golinger via Venezuela Analysis During a recent news segment, Al Jazeera aired a video obtained from inside Colombia of an interview conducted by police investigators of incarcerated Colombian paramilitary assassin Geovanny Velasquéz Zambrano. During the interview, obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera, the Colombian paramilitary confirmed that a “wealthy Venezuelan politician” named Manuel Rosales, offered him $25 million to assassinate President Chávez by
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon reports: The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived in Tehran for a four-day visit to hold talks with Iranian officials. Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, welcomed the Venezuelan president in Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Wednesday night, IRNA reported. During Chavez’ visit to Tehran, Iran and Venezuela will launch a joint bank. The Venezuelan president will leave Tehran for Tokyo after meeting with Iranian officials. President
Venezuelanalysis reports: Contradicting recent reports about the program’s discontinuation, the U.S.-based and Venezuelan-owned CITGO Petroleum Corporation confirmed the continuation of its U.S. heating oil program, said CITGO CEO Alejandro Granado during a press conference here today with Citizens Energy Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II. “Our flagship social program, the CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program will continue. This decision is the result of a strong commitment and a big effort on the
Press TV reports: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave the country in a move meant to show solidarity with the besieged Gazans, The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government “has decided to expel the Israeli ambassador and part of the personnel of the Israeli embassy” to protest Israel’s hostilities against the Palestinians in Gaza, AP reported. Chavez had earlier condemned the
