Venezuela

[NYC]

VENEZUELA: LABOR CHIEF WHO LED CRIPPLING STRIKE IS ARRESTED Carlos Ortega, left, the fiery former head of Venezuela's largest labor confederation, has been arrested in Caracas and charged with treason and inciting rebellion for leading a two-month antigovernment oil strike that devastated the economy two years ago, the government announced. Opposition leaders cast the arrest as a rights violation, but the government said Mr. Ortega had violated the law by leading a strike that was intended to end the presidency of Hugo Chávez. By the time the strike ended in February of 2003, it had virtually stopped crude oil shipments from the country and cost it an estimated $4 billion. Mr. Ortega fled the country and received asylum in Costa Rica. But Costa Rica later canceled his asylum, forcing him to return to Venezuela last summer and go into hiding. Juan Forero (NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/international/02briefs.html

[FRANCISCOPAULASANTANDER]

for what reason is venezuela buying so many weapons???

[NYer]

A few grains of salt are in order as Nasar was supposedly under house arrest in Iran. Nevertheless, if true, Chavez may have more than Pat Robertson to worry about ...

Venezuela harboring Al Qaeda's Mustafa Nasar
By Aleksander Boyd

London 03.10.05 | Venezuelan army general Nestor Gonzalez Gonzalez and former director of Venezuela's political police (DISIP) Johan Peña had made a series of allegations and accusations against Hugo Chavez regarding the harboring of wanted Al Qaeda terrorist Mustafa Nasar, Uranium development in Venezuela and support and state protection to Colombian narcoterrorists amongst other things. Johan Peña gives a chilling account (video in Spanish here) on the whereabouts of Nasar and how he enjoys the protection of Carlos Lanz, former terrorist-kidnapper cum boss of Venezuela's aluminum conglomerate Alcasa.

General Gonzalez Gonzalez on the other hand shows, with the help of a Venezuelan map, various locations identified by the Venezuelan army where Colombian guerrillas from the Revolutionary Forces (FARC) rest, regroup and launch attacks to Colombia. He personally briefed Hugo Chavez in exquisite detail in February 2001 about the presence of FARC camps in border areas. Gonzalez Gonzalez argues that the FARC are but the armed component that shall force the revolutionary project that Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez want to implement upon the region.

http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200510031402

[portuenreparo]

De: Mi fuente VIP

En el alto gobierno me había alertado sobre estos importantísimos datos que deben salir a la luz pública, y es ahora cuando me los pudo hacer llegar, tú sabes como y ya están procesados:

._ Hugo Chávez en París trató de contactar a Carlos El Chacal y le fue negado. Esto desagradó al Gobierno francés que solo está interesado en los buenos negocios que están obteniendo de Chávez; pero lo atendieron como a un sultán.

Chávez subestimó el servicio de seguridad e inteligencia del gobierno francés y descubrieron que había transferido cien millones de dólares una cuenta que está abierta en Suiza para cooperar con la defensa de Saddam Husseim; igualmente, transfirió diez millones de dólares para asistencia de Carlos R. El Chacal.

._ Para Cuba, Chávez a ordenado el financiamiento de la construcción de una villa de mar con todos los servicios y comodidades como casa de albergue para ancianos cubanos veteranos de la revolución comunista. Se estima en varios millones de dólares que saldrán de PDVSA pero por partida secreta del gobierno nacional para no dejar rastros. Utilizaran un informe de daños causado por los huracanes a Cuba como contingencia de darse el caso.

ESTA ES DOLOROSA:

._ Están engañando a la población con la captura patriótica de grandes alijos de cocaína. Son los mismos alijos ya capturados y disfrazados para hacer ver que el gobierno sin la DEA le está dando duro al narcotráfico. Mientras tanto se deja pasar la droga, y están obteniendo grandes sumas de dinero. El gobierno está buscando dinero a todo trance. Le es de vida o muerte.

._ Hugo Chávez ha aceptado la ayuda financiera al máximo secreto para la campaña de los candidatos de los partidos de la oposición que si van a participar en las elecciones de diciembre en forma controlada por el CNE. Chávez dice “Nosotros les damos la perrarina y ellos nos siguen el juego, eso es todo”. Testaferros moverán ese dinero, a cambio no se publicará el REP, ni se auditaran todas las cajas, sino como lo disponga el CNE.

._ En París, Chávez saturado de tanto fino licor murmuró en su entorno íntimo de acompañantes que la gente de AL Kaeda y Bin Ladem solo sirven para “ reventar carros y matar gentuza en centros comerciales…a niños y ancianos ”., que son unos incapaces y abusadores de los dineros de la causa… Que desde la destrucción de las torres gemelas de Nueva York no han hecho algo que valga la pena y justifique tanto dinero… Que “Solo sirven para esconderse y enviar pendejos fanáticos a inmolarse por ellos”... Que ya es hora de que sean reemplazados por ineptos y pillos…

El Régimen está desesperado por mantenerse en el poder, pero ya tienen el viento en su contra y saben que les viene huracanado. Tú entiendes.

M.D.5YR9

Translation

Of: My source VIP
In the high government it she had alerted me on this most important information that must go out to the public light, and it she is now when it she could make them come to me, you know like and already they are tried:

. _ Hugo Chávez in Paris tried to contact to Carlos The Jackal and it him was useless. This displeased the Government French that alone is interested in the good deals that they are obtaining of Chávez; but they it attended like to a sultan.
Chávez underestimated the safety service and intelligence of the French government and they discovered that it(he,she) had transferred hundred million dollars an account(bill) that is opened in Switzerland to cooperate with Saddam Husseim's defense; equally, transfirió ten million dollars for assistance of Carlos R. The Jackal.
For Cuba, Chávez to arranged the financing of the construction of a villa of sea with all the services and comforts like house of lodging for Cuban veteran elders of the communist revolution. It thinks in several million dollars that they will go out of PDVSA but for secret item(game) of the national government not to leave tracks. They were using a report of hurts(damages) caused by the hurricanes to Cuba as contingency of giving him(you,them) the case
THIS ONE IS PAINFUL:

. _ they Are cheating the population with the patriotic apprehension of big contrabands of cocaine. They are the same contrabands already captured and disguised to make to see that the government without the DEA is giving him(her) five-peseta coin to the drug trafficking. Meanwhile it(he,she) is left to spend(pass) the drug, and they are obtaining big sums of money. The government is looking for money to any situation. It(he,she) him(her) is of life or death.
._ Hugo Chávez ha aceptado la ayuda financiera al máximo secreto para la campaña de los candidatos de los partidos de la oposición que si van a participar en las elecciones de diciembre en forma controlada por el CNE. Chávez dice “Nosotros les damos la perrarina y ellos nos siguen el juego, eso es todo”. Testaferros moverán ese dinero, a cambio no se publicará el REP, ni se auditaran todas las cajas, sino como lo disponga el CNE.
. _ In Paris, Chávez saturated of so much(many) thin liquor murmured in his(her,your) accompanists' intimate environment that the people of AL KAEDA Y BIN alone Ladem they serve for " to burst cars and to kill rabble in malls … to children and elders "., that are the incapable some and persons who takes unfair advantage of the dineros of the reason … That from the destruction of the twin towers of New York have not done anything that costs(is worth) a sorrow(sentence) and so much money justifies … That " Only serve to hide and to send pendejos fanatics to immolate by them "... That already is time of that they are replaced for inept and sly …




To see this video

http://www.albacom.no/images/stories/video/tv2_231005.wmv

[Simon666]

Johan pena you say? Nice source, he knows something about terrorism, like blowing up judges. Seems like he doesn't quite like Chavez, so don't you think just maybe he's just a little biased?

:add09:

CIA Implicated in Murder of Venezuelan Judge (http://watchingamerica.com/eluniversalvz000008.html)

According to Venezuelan newspaper El Universal, the Venezuelan Attorney General, Isaiah Rodriguez, has announced that there is clear evidence that the Central Intelligence Agency advised a team of conspirators on how to assassinate Judge Danilo Anderson, who in 2002 was investigating the circumstances surrounding the attempted coup against President Hugo Chavez.

October 15, 2005

http://www.voltairenet.org/IMG/gif/es-atentado390.gif
Original Article (Spanish)
The Aftermath of the Blast that Killed Danilo Anderson in November 2002.

"The CIA advised, with all of its experience, the method for carrying out this terrorist act," said Attorney General of the Republic, Isaiah Rodriguez, in regard to the participation of the Central Intelligence Agency in the murder of Judge Danilo Anderson.

http://www.injusticebusters.com/index.htg/00001/Anderson_Danilo.jpg
Judge Danilo Anderson

[Editor's Note: The Venezuelan authorities believe Anderson was killed by two charges of C4 plastic explosive fixed to his car and detonated remotely, apparently by cell phone].

Once again, he said that the criminal attack, committed on the 18th of November, 2004, was part of a conspiracy to carry out two assassinations: one against himself and another against President Hugo Chávez, but the original plan was never carried out because the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and the CIA handlers warned of the risks such a plan involved.

"They then turned their attention to a person involved with the investigation that had less security and so was more vulnerable, and that person was [Judge] Danilo Anderson. For this reason, the CIA is involved with the death of Anderson," insisted Attorney General Rodriguez.

To be precise, the Attorney General said that the participation of the CIA consisted of the presence of its agents at meetings in Panama and Miami held to plan Anderson's murder, and so the Justice Ministry had no jurisdiction to take action. The Attorney General says that, in any case, the participation of the CIA and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia demonstrate that the death of Anderson resulted from an act of international terrorism.

http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/imagenes/noticias/2005-07-28/ISAIAS%20RODRIGUEZ-p10.jpg
Venezuelan Attorney General Isaiah Rodriguez

[Editor's Note: The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia is an umbrella group of right-wing paramilitary organizations created to protect the economic interests of landowners and to combat left-wing FARC and ELN insurgents in Colombia].

In regard to this, the Attorney General exhorted the Government of the United States to commit itself in the combat of transnational criminals: "We have made requests for help to the ambassador of the United States, and have not received a proper reply. We had hoped to receive technical support on this case.”

Rodriguez is confident that on November 4th, a public trial under magistrate number 20, Luis Goatherd, will begin hearing oral arguments on the criminal responsibility of former police officials Juan Bautista, and Otoniel and Rolando Guevara, as key participants in Anderson's death. From his point of view, Rodriguez said that there is no doubt that these three prisoners, next to Pedro Lander and Johan Pena, who are now in the United States, are directly implicated in the crime.

The Attorney General reiterated that authorities have identified two main authors of the crime, who were present at meetings in Panama, Miami and Maracaibo [Venezuela] to plan the murder. Nevertheless, it is thought that other people contributed financially or logistically to the commission of the crime. The identities of these people are known orally, and only to those working on the case in the Attorney General's office.

"I have no doubt that these witnesses will be at the trial and will state, with great conviction, with responsibility and in tedious detail, everything they know about the masterminds," remarked Rodriguez, who reminded listeners that the witnesses and their families had been threatened with attack, and that the Justice Ministry had been offering them protection for several months.

[portuenreparo]

¿Quien era Danilo Anderson?


¿RED DE EXTORSIÓN O DE SOBORNO?



El Fiscal General de la República dijo en el discurso que pronunció el 20 de noviembre de 2004, en la Asamblea Nacional, que Danilo Anderson era "uno de los fiscales más probos, más justos, más ecuánime, más valiente, que ha tenido el Ministerio Público en toda su historia como institución (...) Pretendieron comprarlo, intimidarlo, chantajearlo y encontraron una pared de dignidad, de coraje, de valentía, de decisión, de voluntad, de compromiso (...)."



Sin embargo, a pocos días del asesinato de Anderson comenzaron a surgir denuncias sobre la existencia de una supuesta red de extorsión en su entorno, a la que incluso él mismo podía pertenecer.



El concejal del municipio Libertador, Carlos Herrera, es el defensor de esta tesis y la periodista investigadora y directora del diario El Nuevo País, Patricia Poleo, señala que "basta con ver la vida que llevaba Danilo Anderson, los bienes del fiscal, para darse cuenta de que con un sueldo de funcionario público jamás puedes darte esa vida y cómo en poco tiempo se enriqueció."



Herrera asegura que en las actas que han sepultado junto al expediente del caso se demuestra claramente la existencia de esta red, y todas las personas que están involucradas. Reitera que es en esto que deben centrarse las investigaciones, primero porque es un hecho muy grave y segundo para dar con la verdadera causa del asesinato de Danilo Anderson, así como con los verdaderos involucrados. Asegura que en las actas del expediente aparecen los nombres de jueces, fiscales y abogados que estaban haciendo uso del nombre de Danilo Anderson para pedir plata a los firmantes del decreto Carmona con tal de que los sacara de esa lista.



"No hay nada en el expediente que demuestre que el fiscal Danilo Anderson participó de los hechos que algunos señores han salido declarando", declaró el Ministro del Interior y Justicia, Jesse Chacón (01/02/2005), refiriéndose a la supuesta vinculación del fallecido fiscal a una red de extorsión. "En el expediente no hay nada que demuestre que el fiscal Anderson era parte; habría que continuar las averiguaciones con algunos elementos que no estén involucrados", agregó.



"Es evidente que mientras estén dos fiscales del Ministerio Público (Sonia Buznego y Yoraco Bauza) que están vinculados a la red de extorsión que aparece mencionada en las actas que salieron publicadas en los medios de comunicación, es evidente que las investigaciones están como echándoles tierrita", dijo el concejal por su parte en mayo de 2005.



Patricia Poleo asegura que lo que más claro quedó en este caso es que Danilo Anderson se dedicaba a extorsionar. "Lo que más claro quedó es que aquí había de por medio una extorsión, que este señor se dedicaba a extorsionar. Si tú eres un funcionario de investigación y hay un muerto y casos de extorsión, tú tienes a juro que trabajar los casos de extorsión, porque puede ser una de las razones por las cuales pudieron haber matado a este señor (...) Las personas que han sido mencionadas como cómplices de la extorsión no han sido investigadas, no han sido puestas a derecho, no han sido solicitadas y siguen haciendo su trabajo (...) porque la red de extorsión continúa."



Poleo agregó "¿dónde están las evidencias de la extorsión? En la forma de vida de Danilo Anderson. Ahí tienes todo claro porque Danilo Anderson no ganaba como para llevar el tren de vida que llevaba."



La última vez que el Fiscal General de la República se refirió a este tema (29/6/2005) dijo que "la red de extorsión se ha llamado así informática y mediáticamente, pudiera no ser una red de extorsión, pudiera ser de soborno." Agregó de manera enfática que el Ministerio Público está plenamente seguro de que las motivaciones del asesinato fueron políticas: "no fue una razón económica, fue política."



Antecedentes de un juez Venezolano

Maikel Moreno

Titular del Juzgado 34 de Control.

Anteriormente se desempeñó como abogado defensor de Richard Peñalver .


"Un currículum sin desperdicio
El historial del Juez 34 de control, Mikel José Moreno, autor de la orden de detención contra Carlos Fernández, comienza en 1987, cuando era funcionario de la Disip y fue hallado responsable del homicidio de un joven en Ciudad Bolívar. En ese hecho, Mikel y otros 2 efectivos fueron a prisión, pero lograron salir en libertad meses después. En 1989 regresó a la Disip y como premio lo nombran escolta del ex presidente Carlos Andrés Pérez. Ese mismo año vuelve a figurar en otro expediente por homicidio (Nº 552755), que luego fue remitido por la entonces PTJ al tribunal 15 Penal, por estar implicado en la muerte de Rubén Gil Márquez, durante un tiroteo ocurrido en un conjunto residencial del centro de Caracas. Por ese caso fue destituido de la Disip. En 1990, tras lograr beneficio procesal –el segundo– sale en libertad. Más tarde, obtiene un cargo como secretario de un juzgado en Caracas. En 1995 egresa de la Universidad Santa María como abogado. Ejerce la profesión y se integra a un bufete privado, donde por cierto prestaba sus servicios Oswaldo Cancino. En mayo de 2002, encabeza el grupo de abogados que asume la defensa del concejal Richard Peñalver, uno de los pistoleros de Puente Llaguno. En septiembre obtiene la buena pro del TSJ –controlado por el gobierno de Chávez– y es designado Juez de control 34 del área Metropolitana, cargo que ocupa de manera provisoria. Moreno no posee estudio de doctorado ni cursos de especialización, requisitos indispensables para presidir un tribunal.

http://www.reconocelos.com/data/media/7/maikelmoreno.jpg

[al-Canine]

Radioactive Capsule Missing in Venezuela

Venezuelan authorities say a capsule containing radioactive material has disappeared from an oil company's facility in northeastern Venezuela.

Public safety officials Wednesday announced that oil company B.J. Servicios last week reported the capsule missing from its facility in Anzoategui state.

Investigators say the capsule contains a dangerous radioactive substance called Cesium-137.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says exposure to large amounts of the material can cause burns, radiation sickness or death.

The capsule was meant for geological studies.

This is the second time in the last month that radioactive material has disappeared in Venezuela. In mid-December, a truck carrying a container of Iridium-192 was stolen in the Yaracuy state. That capsule was recovered.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-01-04-voa66.cfm

[NYer]

Just another Latin American Workers' Paradise. (http://publiuspundit.com/?p=2101)

[keith]

Venezuelan anger at computer game

Venezuelan politicians have complained about a forthcoming "shoot-em-up" computer game that simulates an invasion of the South American nation.
In production by Los Angeles-based Pandemic Studios, Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is based around the overthrow of an imaginary Venezuelan "tyrant".

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has long accused the US of planning to invade, something Washington denies.

His supporters say the game aims to drum up support for a real invasion.

'Realistic possibility'

Pandemic has insisted that the title - due to be released next year - is solely about entertainment.


"Pandemic has no ties to the US government," Greg Richardson, the firm's vice president of commercial operations, told the Associated Press.

"Pandemic Studios is a private company, focusing solely on the development of interactive entertainment."

Yet Pandemic's publicist Chris Norris said its designers "always want to have a rip from the headlines".

He added: "Although a conflict doesn't necessarily have to be happening, it's realistic enough to believe that it could eventually happen."

Messes with oil

Mr Chavez and the US have been at daggers drawn for most of the eight years since he came to power in 1998.

In addition to repeatedly accusing Washington of seeking to overthrow him, Mr Chavez has greatly increased state control over its oil industry, the world's fourth largest, and responsible for 15% of US supplies.

In Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, gamers play soldiers sent to overthrow "a power-hungry tyrant [who] messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone".

Venezuelan congressman Ismael Garcia, a supporter of Mr Chavez, said the computer game was preparation work for a real invasion.

"I think the US government knows how to prepare campaigns of psychological terror so they can make things happen later," he said.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/5016514.stm

Published: 2006/05/25 14:08:12 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[keith]

Russia in arms talks with Chavez

Moves by Mr Chavez to boost his armed forces have worried the US
Russia is holding talks with Venezuela to license the manufacture of Kalashnikov rifles there, Russia's state arms exporter has confirmed.
On Tuesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Russia planned to build two munitions plants in the country.

Moscow has already signed a deal to supply Venezuela with 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The move is likely to worry the US, which regards Mr Chavez as a destabilising influence in the region.

In May, the US State Department banned arms sales to Venezuela because of concern over its contacts with Iran and Cuba and what it called Venezuela's lack of support for counter-terrorism efforts.

'Defend every street'

Mr Chavez made his announcement during a visit to Ecuador to sign a series of energy deals.

"The Russians are going to install a Kalashnikov rifle plant and a munitions factory," he said. "So we can defend every street, every hill, every corner."

Arms exporter Rosoboronexport confirmed that talks were taking place, but did not give any details of the timescale or proposed production capacity of the plant, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Mr Chavez also told reporters that 30,000 of the promised Kalashnikov assault rifles were due to arrive in June, a fact later confirmed by the Russian manufacturer.

Correspondents say that the US is concerned by Venezuela's moves to build up military hardware.

In April, Venezuela took delivery of three Russian-built military helicopters - the first of a total of 15 it has so far ordered from Moscow.

They would help to protect Venezuela if the US ever mounted an invasion, Mr Chavez said at the time.

The Venezuelan government has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to destabilise Mr Chavez - an allegation rejected by US officials.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5033768.stm

[keith]

The Chávez effect

Simon Tisdall
Friday June 2, 2006
The Guardian


Daniel Ortega led a rogue state before rogue states were invented. As chief engineer of Nicaragua's 1980s leftwing Sandinista revolution, he became Ronald Reagan's favourite Central American whipping boy. The US government conspired with so-called Contra rebels to overthrow him. He was eventually voted out of office in 1990, beaten by a US-backed candidate.

Mr Ortega hasn't given up - and says he has changed since the days of struggle. "That moment has passed. This revolution is peaceful," he said last week. To prove his point, he picked a former Contra leader and banker, Jaime Morales Carazo, as his running mate in presidential elections due in November. "We have to send a signal to the poor but also to the private sector. And what better signal than Morales?"

But like other leftwing parties fighting tight election races in Latin America this year, the new-look Sandinistas have a problem they cannot control. It is called Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan president and self-styled socialist revolutionary who seems hell-bent on recreating cold war-era confrontation with Washington. As political hopefuls from Mexico to Peru are discovering, Mr Chávez can be a dangerous friend.

"I shouldn't say I hope you win because they will accuse me of sticking my nose into Nicaraguan affairs," Mr Chávez told Mr Ortega recently. "But I hope you win." As predicted, his intervention brought protests from rivals and Nicaragua's government. So, too, did his offer of cheap fuel for Sandinista voters. It was not an endorsement suited to Mr Ortega's new image.

A similar story is unfolding in Mexico, where pollsters suggest the Chávez effect is scaring voters away from Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left's candidate in next month's presidential contest. Rightwingers ran TV ads likening his tactics to those of the pugnacious Mr Chávez - and Mr López Obrador's poll lead disappeared.

Mr Chávez's encouragement of Bolivia's energy nationalisation, conducted by his radical ally, Evo Morales, infuriated Brazil, which has a big stake in Bolivian gas. His opposition to free trade pacts with the US has riled Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador. Michelle Bachelet, Chile's centre-left president, says such splits hurt the region's collective interest - and reviving ideological strife is handicapping the fight against poverty and discrimination: "The worst thing that could happen is to allow a polarisation."

But the tug of war between Caracas and Washington seems unlikely to stop any time soon. "Let me put it bluntly. I'm concerned about the erosion of democracy in Venezuela and Bolivia," Mr Bush said last month. Mr Chávez shot back the next day: "We have to tell the US president that ... his imperialist, war-mongering government is dangerously eroding the possibility of peace and life on this planet." A showdown looms in December, when Mr Chávez himself will seek re-election amid threats of an opposition boycott.

Some things never change, however. Indulging in a little interference of its own, the US is warning Nicaraguans a Sandinista victory could cost the country dear in aid and trade. Twenty years on, Washington's blood feud with Mr Ortega still smoulders.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1788578,00.html

[keith]

A Latin Backlash
Hugo Chavez has managed to replace George W. Bush as the imperialist specter.
Saturday, June 3, 2006; Page A16


FOR YEARS Hugo Chavez's steady dismantlement of Venezuela's democracy and his embrace of dictators and terrorists around the world -- from Fidel Castro to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- prompted next to no reaction from Latin America's democratic governments. The silence was shameful, partly because Venezuela's former leaders fought for human rights in countries such as Chile, Peru and Argentina during the 1980s and '90s, but also because the quiet was in part purchased by Mr. Chavez, who lavished subsidized oil and lucrative trade deals on governments around the region.

Now at last, Mr. Chavez is the object of a growing backlash from leaders around Latin America -- from Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Nicaragua, among other countries. In part, the politicians are responding to foolish overreaching by Mr. Chavez, who has been busy trying to turn Bolivia into a satellite state while suggesting he has similar plans for much of the rest of the continent. Latin Americans don't like imperialism, whether it comes from Washington or Caracas. And even leftist leaders, like those who rule in Brazil and elsewhere in South America, find it hard to imagine themselves prospering in a Venezuela-led economic bloc that includes Cuba but shuns the United States.


The other reason Latins have found their anti-Chavez tongues is delightfully pragmatic: It's a proven vote-getter. Elections are taking place or are on the way in a host of Central and South American countries -- and politicians in most of them are finding that linking their opponents to Venezuela's demagogue works wonders. The biggest beneficiary may be Peru's Alan Garcia, who is the front-runner in Sunday's presidential election runoff. Mr. Garcia is himself a leftist populist who two decades ago presided over one of the most disastrously incompetent governments in Peruvian history. But his opponent, a former military coup-plotter named Ollanta Humala, has been endorsed by Mr. Chavez, and Mr. Garcia has focused his campaign on that point, saying only he can prevent Peru from becoming "a colony of Venezuela." It's a logical strategy: Mr. Chavez's approval rating in Peru is 17 percent.

In Mexico, commentators concluded several months ago that the poll lead of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in July's presidential election could not be overcome. But that was before Mr. Lopez Obrador's right-wing challenger, Felipe Calderon, began running television advertisements connecting Mr. Chavez to his opponent; the polls now show that Mr. Calderon has taken the lead. In neighboring Nicaragua, Sandinista leader and presidential candidate Daniel Ortega is also suffering from Mr. Chavez's poisoned kiss.

The Bush administration, which has haplessly allowed Mr. Chavez to exploit the U.S. president as a political foil for years, has hit on just the right response as it has watched Peruvians and Mexicans turn the tables on the Venezuelan: It has kept quiet. The sight of Latin Americans rising up in defense of democratic values, and against the attempt of a would-be regional hegemonist to subvert them, is inspiring -- and it requires nothing from Washington save discreet applause.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR2006060201520.html

[Petronas]

Iranian leader calls Chavez a 'trench mate'
Sun. 30 Jul 2006

The presidents of Iran and Venezuela, leading U.S. critics, pledged Saturday to support one another in disputes with Washington, with the Iranian calling Hugo Chavez "a brother and trench mate." As Chavez arrived for a two-day visit. Iran faced renewed international criticism for its nuclear program and for backing Hezbollah guerrillas in its war with Israel. 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. Iranian state radio said Saturday the government would reject the proposed resolution.

Chavez pledged that his country would "stay by Iran at any time and under any condition." Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, said he saw in the Venezuelan president a kindred spirit. "I feel I have met a brother and trench mate after meeting Chavez," the state-run Iranian television quoted Ahmedinejad.

Chavez, who peppers his speeches with mentions of assassination plots and purported U.S. efforts to oust him, said he admired the Iranian president for "his wisdom and strength." He invited Iranian oil companies to invest in Venezuela. Venezuelan state TV also reported that the countries are considering having Iran participate in a natural gas project off the Venezuelan coast. The two nations are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - Iran is the world's No. 2 oil exporter and Venezuela No. 5.

"We are with you and with Iran forever. As long as we remain united we will be able to defeat (U.S.) imperialism, but if we are divided they will push us aside," Chavez said. Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has emerged as one of Latin America's most outspoken critics of U.S. foreign policy. He takes his message against what he calls President Bush's "imperialist" government everywhere he goes. During his trip, Chavez is to meet Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state television said.

"We do not have any limitation in cooperation," Ahmedinejad was quoted as saying. "Iran and Venezuela are next to each other and supporters of each other. Chavez is a source of a progressive and revolutionary current in South America and his stance in restricting imperialism is tangible." ,,,

http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8088

[Petronas]

One would not have expected anything different from Ahmadinejad's "trench mate".

Venezuela 'to sever Israel ties'
Wednesday, 9 August 2006, 06:21 GMT 07:21 UK

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has said his country is likely to sever ties with Israel in protest at its military offensive in Lebanon. n Mr Chavez said he had "no interest" in maintaining relations with Israel, whom he has accused of committing genocide. Venezuela recalled its charge d'affaires to Israel last week, prompting Israel to withdraw its ambassador to Caracas on Monday. Mr Chavez recently expressed his support for Israel's arch-foe, Iran.

In a televised speech, Mr Chavez said he had "no interest in maintaining diplomatic relations, or offices, or businesses, or anything with a state like Israel". Mr Chavez rounded on Israel at the weekend, accusing the Jewish state of committing a "new Holocaust". "Israel has gone mad. It's attacking, doing the same thing to the Palestinian and Lebanese people that they have criticised - and with reason - the Holocaust. But this is a new Holocaust."

The Venezuelan president has also angered Israel by showing support for Iran, which backs Hezbollah and has said the answer to the crisis in Lebanon is the elimination of Israel. During a visit to Tehran at the end of last month, Mr Chavez said Venezuela would "stand by Iran at any time and under any condition".

Israel said it had withdrawn its ambassador to Venezuela "as an act of protest against the one-sided policy of the president of Venezuela and in light of his wild slurs against the State of Israel".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5258722.stm

[NYer]

Head's Up, El Gordo. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4789431.stm)

A senior Venezuelan opposition leader has escaped from a military prison, the country's attorney general has said.

Carlos Ortega was sentenced to almost 16 years in jail last year after being convicted of inciting unrest during a strike that began in late 2002.

He escaped along with three military officers and may have been aided by some authorities, Venezuela's attorney general said.

Ortega is known as a fierce opponent of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez.

[Petronas]

IRAN: AHMADINEJAD TO TRAVEL TO VENEZUELA IN TWO WEEKS
Sep-08-06 15:11

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to Caracas, Venezuela, on an official visit after taking part in a United Nations General Assembly in New York on 19 September, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez announced friday. The Islamic Republic and Venezuela have together with Cuba, Bolivia and Syria led international criticism of US foreign policy. Late July, Chavez travelled to Tehran where Ahmadinejad gave him the highest honor of the Islamic Republic.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.338203617&par=0

See also the story posted here http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13 on 9/3/06 about Hezbollah's presence in Venezuela.

[Petronas]

Ahmadinejad also talked persuasively to Chavez about making a show of deploying a few Iranian-made 2,000-km range Shahab-3 missiles – first in Venezuela then in Cuba – as a menace to the United States.
Iran’s Terror-cum-Intelligence Networks Thrown across Three Continents
September 20, 2006, 5:53 PM (GMT+02:00)

While the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement nations were making speeches at the 14th conference of their movement in Havana in mid-September, three groups of intelligence experts were off in a well-guarded corner next door to talk about matters far from the conference’s main theme of how to develop backward economies and societies.

Iranian, Cuban and Venezuelan teams were putting their heads together on ways of translating their leaders' hostile rhetoric and slogans into effective war action against the United States.

DEBKAfile’s Exclusive intelligence and counter-terror sources disclose that the three teams were made up of intelligence officers and civilian officials on the staffs of the three rulers; their job is maintaining clandestine ties with underground and terrorist organizations.

After the NAM conference ended, the Iranian and Venezuelan teams moved their talks to Caracas where Ahmadinejad continued his talks with Chavez on Sept 17 and 18.

Interestingly, Iran’s Islamic revolutionary leaders have maintained warm ties of cooperation and mutual assistance with Castro’s Cuba since they came to power in Tehran in 1979. They admired his revolutionary zeal and consistent anti-US policies. Tehran also exploited Cuba’s economic straits to deepen its penetration of the country with a view to setting up an Iranian base in Cuba for its continental operations.

But the relationship suffered ups and downs, especially when Castro declined to give Iranian agents a free hand for subversion and espionage against the United States. In 2003, the Cuban ruler was furious when Iranian diplomats, without asking for permission, installed in their homes in a farm on the outskirts of Havana jamming equipment against television programs bounced from the United States through satellite to Iran. They were trying to stop Iranian opposition-backed television broadcasters in Los Angeles calling on Iranians to rise up against the Islamic regime. Castro made the Iranian diplomats evacuate the farm and remove their gear.

Castro is too old a hand to be manipulated in matters of subversion and terrorism. Chavez in contrast is just as anti-American but also rated by Tehran an easier mark. Although he needs to be handled with kid gloves as head of an oil-exporting country, the Iranians have noted that the Venezuelan leader is also open to cooperation in the politics of oil.

On Sept. 18, he insisted that Ahmadinejad attend a ceremony celebrating the gushing of the 7th Aya Well of the Kuchouy Oil Field developed by a Venezuelan-Iranian partnership. This was to be a landmark on the road to a merger between the two oil industries. Tehran is not too happy about this partnership but is going along with small, symbolic steps while extracting from Caracas – and eventually it hopes from Havana – forward facilities for running Iranian clandestine agents in North and South America.

DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources report that Ahmadinejad also talked persuasively to Chavez about making a show of deploying a few Iranian-made 2,000-km range Shahab-3 missiles – first in Venezuela then in Cuba – as a menace to the United States.

Chavez has not given Tehran his answer. But both he and Castro will think twice about granting this request, for fear of crossing one line too many for the Bush administration to swallow. However, Iranian ambitions to harm American know no limits.

The three-cornered meeting in Havana between the Ahmadinejad, Chavez and Raoul Castro at the beginning of the week reached a number of decisions in principle although they remain to be fleshed out with operational details. Castro was reluctant to make final decisions because he said his brother would soon be back at the helm.

They did agree that anything decided during the Iranian and Venezuelan presidents’ Caracas talks would be put before the Cuban ruler. They also decided that their intelligence teams would meet again during the UN General Assembly session in New York later this week. After discovering this plan, Washington refused the Iranian president’s “aides” – presented as journalists - entry visas to New York on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

The three-way talks have thus far yielded a solid decision for Iranian intelligence agents, some of them sabotage specialists, to be sent soon to Cuba and Venezuela. They will operate in the guise of road network and industrial development experts. Their real mission will be to conduct surveys on the practicability of using Cuba and Venezuela as bases for subversive activities against the United States and other parts of Latin America.

Iran is also busy creating similar bases in E. Africa, favoring Sudan and Somalia.

At the Havana NAM conference the Iranian president and Sudan’s Omar Bashir were seen deep in conversation. Tehran believes that the Sudanese ruler will come round now to accepting expanded military and intelligence collaboration between the two countries, whereas in 2003, he threw Iranian agents out of Sudan together with all their development specialists. Bashir is now seeking support for his Darfur policy which aims to remove pro-Western military elements from Sudan.

Iran is on the way to harnessing two more countries to its clandestine anti-US campaign: Somalia and Yemen. In Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts movement headed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is strengthening its grip on Somalia. Like Iran’s Islamic rulers, this group also preaches jihad and martyrdom (suicide attacks) for the sake of Islam.

The Somali movement therefore provides fertile ground for recruiting terrorists for suicide missions on behalf of Iran and al Qaeda alike as part of their subversion and terror campaigns across the African continent.

Mogadishu’s new rulers, whose number includes a group of middle-ranking al Qaeda commanders, are busy training an army to support their regime. Al Qaeda and Iranian Revolutionary Guards instructors are building up a corps of suiciders to attacks US embassies and Israeli targets across the continent.

The Yemeni ruler, Abdallah Salah, and his army chiefs are opposed to giving Iranian agents free rein in their country, but in the last two years, Tehran is paying Shiite extremist groups in Yemen to bring the regime under increasing pressure by acts of murder and sabotage.

Iran’s Islamic rulers believe they are in real danger of an American air attack on their nuclear installations some time in November or December this year. They are therefore pushing hard for new allies in Latin America, Africa and Arabia and points of vantage for hitting back at the United States and its centers of influence on three continents as an effective deterrent to an American attack.

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1213

[NYer]

And you thought Bush was Hitler? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6277379.stm)

Venezuela's National Assembly has given initial approval to a bill granting the president the power to bypass congress and rule by decree for 18 months.

President Hugo Chavez says he wants "revolutionary laws" to enact sweeping political, economic and social changes.

He has said he wants to nationalise key sectors of the economy and scrap limits on the terms a president can serve.

[Petronas]

Venezuela to Buy Anti-Aircraft Missiles
January 30, 2007 6:37 PM EST

Venezuela plans to obtain air defense missiles to guard strategic sites such as oil refineries and major bridges against any air strike, a top military adviser to President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday. Gen. Alberto Muller said Venezuela is looking to buy surface-to-air missile systems from Russia or another country to defend "strategic points in the country." "They are for air defense," Muller told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "They are not for attacking anybody."

Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, has repeatedly warned against a possible U.S. invasion, and his government is bolstering military defenses in Venezuela, one of the world's largest oil exporters. American officials insist they have no such military plans, but Chavez insists Venezuelans must be ready just in case.

Russia's Interfax-Military News Agency reported Tuesday that between 10 and 12 Tor-M1 missile systems could be supplied to the South American country. Chavez said last August that Venezuela planned to install an advanced air-defense system with missiles capable of shooting down approaching enemy warplanes, and said his military was looking at systems produced by Russia, Belarus and Iran.

John Pike, a defense analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, a think tank based in Alexandria, Va., said such systems usually have a limited range and are not meant for offensive purposes. "Typically, a surface-to-air missile, if it's a fixed defense system, is going to have a range of several miles. It might have a range of a couple dozen miles, but that's about it," Pike said.

The Tor-M1 system consists of eight missiles mounted on a launch vehicle. The system can identify up to 48 targets and fire at two targets simultaneously at a height of up to 20,000 feet. Other military deals by Venezuela already have concerned U.S. officials, who see the left-leaning Chavez as a threat to stability in Latin America

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20070130/45bed0d0_3ca6_1552620070130-100420600

[keith]

Will the reign of Chavez end in 2007?

The crumbling Hugo Chávez power equation
By Gustavo Coronel

Hugo Chavez's power equation is based upon two main components: resources and strategy. The resource side of the equation has been based in oil income. For the last five years this income has been of the order of US$175 billion, a good portion of which has been utilized by Chavez to build a global alliance against what he calls "the empire," the U.S.

The strategy component has been largely provided by three main advisers: Luis Miquilena, his early mentor, who convinced him to run for president and was the brain behind the manipulations of 1999 and 2000 that actually converted a democratic Venezuela into an authoritarian state; Jose Vicente Rangel, his main political operator, who kept the Venezuelan opposition essentially fragmented; and Fidel Castro, who has guided him along the path to convert Venezuela into a socialist state and to transform the obscure Hugo Chavez of the 1990's into the current leader of the Socialist-Communist camp in Latin America.

For about five years this equation worked well, with both components on the rise. Since his electoral victory in December 2006 Chavez has gone into a ruling mode beyond simple strategic action, into the realms of what some authors such as James Jasper ("Getting your Way," The University of Chicago Press, 2006) call "instrumental action." Whereas strategic action in politics is the ability to persuade or the ability to manipulate others to do what you want, instrumental action is the imposition of your will by sheer brute force, treating people like if they were cattle. The style of Hugo Chavez has started to look closer to that of Kim Jong Il or Robert Mugabe than to Alvaro Uribe's or Lula da Silva's.

To the casual, superficial observer of the Venezuelan situation, it would seem that Hugo Chavez is now reaching the peak of his power. The monetary resource base at his disposal has allowed him to buy the loyalty of much of the Venezuelan military top brass, practically all of the top members of the Venezuelan top bureaucracy and the cooperation of an important group of local bankers and industrialists. It has also allowed him to shower about US$8 billion on the heads of Latin American leaders such as Morales, Correa, Ortega and Kirchner and promise money or projects to many countries in the Caribbean and South America. It has made it possible for him to buy or think of buying some US$10 billion in weapons from Russia and other countries. It has also allowed him the means to engage in a domestic policy of handouts that has given many poor Venezuelans the sensation that he is the man who will end their problems when, in fact, he is only adding to their problems by reinforcing their dependence on a paternalistic state that might not be able to dispense this money forever.

In parallel to his resource-based advantages his political strategies had been, until recently, extremely successful, as dictated by mentors Miquilena, Rangel and Castro. He had been able to project himself as a global defender of the poor. He had been able to support Morales initial political triumphs in Bolivia and contribute to Correa and Ortega's electoral victories in Ecuador and Nicaragua. All in all he looked unstoppable.

In the last year, however, his power equation has been weakening significantly. This is becoming evident, not only inside Venezuela but also abroad. Two factors account for this: one, the increasing financial disarray of his regime that is leading to a rapid deterioration of the Venezuelan social situation, and, the other, the loss of his three main strategic coaches. Miquilena has split away from him, he fired Rangel last January and Castro has been ailing during the last seven months, no longer being able to properly supervise his pupil.

A financial mess

The financial problems leading to a rapid deterioration of social conditions in Venezuela are the result of the massive and uncontrolled spending of Hugo Chavez, combined with a drop in the prices of oil in the world markets. Even with the oil at the prices of early 2006 Hugo Chavez had been establishing financial commitments that were exceeding his income. His objective of leading a global crusade against the U.S. had proven to be extremely costly. He is said to have spent one billion dollars in trying, unsuccessfully, to gain a seat in the United Nations Security Council. However, what he was attempting to do by means of his money he destroyed with his mouth, when he gave a speech against president Bush at the U.N. that amused delegates in public while convincing them in private that he was a vulgar and unreliable clown. He has already spent US$6 billion and is planning to spend another US$4 billion in weapons, in order to protect his authoritarian regime from a U.S. "invasion." He is taking over the control of the telecommunications company, the electricity company and the oil activity being done by foreign companies in the Orinoco area nd this will cost him about US$10 billion. He has given or committed over US$15 billion to Latin American and Caribbean countries, in an effort to gain their loyalty in his fight against the U.S. In an effort to keep the poor happy, he is diverting important funds, up to US$15 billion, from the Venezuelan Oil Company and from the Venezuelan Central Bank international reserves, to pump into massive schemes of handouts for the Venezuelan poor, a strategy that is creating a nation of beggars but is not solving the deep seated, structural problems of poverty and ignorance in the population. As he does this, the state oil company is receiving inadequate investments and is losing its capacity to produce more oil. As a result the company is bound to provide less money to the regime in the future. In parallel, due to his handouts inside and outside Venezuela, he is establishing a framework of increasing social expectations in Venezuela and political expectations in the hemisphere that no government can fulfill in the longer term.

At this moment there are serious food shortages in Venezuela as he has increased government control over production and established unrealistic prices for foodstuffs. Inflation in the food sector is running at 36% for the year. At the same time, unemployment and inflation rates are the largest in Latin America. In the hemispheric scene, the Caribbean states are starting to feel that Chavez is mostly talk, as he is lagging in his promises to supply them with cheap oil while Latin presidents, Kirchner, Morales and Ortega, impatiently get in line to ask the rewards for their political "loyalty."

The results are inevitable. The 2007 Venezuelan budget shows a pronounced fiscal deficit, the same as last year’s. This gap can only be closed through new national debt. Accordingly, Petroleos de Venezuela, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company is currently in the market for a jumbo loan of some US$8 billion. Chavez is forcing the oil company to become the borrower for the money that he needs. Populist governments once did this to Pemex, the Mexican company, leading to its financial collapse.

As strategy falters there is less money and more mistakes are made

As Chavez makes faulty strategic decisions and as they have negative economic and social results he is under increasing pressure to keep making flawed strategic choices. This is becoming a vicious circle, leading to further deterioration of his power equation. As inflation and food shortages increase, as oil production declines, as his sources of income become less abundant, he feels obliged to take drastic, unpopular measures such as increasing the price of gasoline, a measure conceptually correct but taken as an emergency step to increase income. He is also issuing bonds that can be bought by Venezuelans in Bolivar's at the official rate of exchange and sold later to dollar investors, thus obtaining dollars that can be used to buy Bolivar’s back in Venezuela, at the black market rate. This is a mechanism designed to diminish the excessive liquidity which is currently fueling inflation, but one that allows only those who have money (not the Venezuelan poor, who are simple witnesses to this orgy) to buy dollars and, eventually, to make an obscene profit in the Bolivar black market, where the dollar buys more than twice the amount of Bolivar's. By trying to control not only political institutions but also the industrial and services sectors, he is spending immense amounts of money and is acquiring a very heavy burden of managerial responsibility, something that he clearly does not possess.

A fragile outlook

Unnecessary nationalizations, alignment with Iran (there is an unprecedented joint event in Washington, D.C., next Wednesday March 14, where the Iranian and the Venezuelan Ambassadors will appear together), a military alliance between Iran and Venezuela with the possibility of Argentina supplying nuclear expertise and equipment to Iran; acquisition of Russian submarines; the buying of coca from Bolivia; the request for constitutional changes leading to Chavez's unlimited re-election as president; his ruling by decree for the next 18 months, rendering the legislative power useless; the fiscal problems; the collapse of the food supply; the explosive increase of imports; the growing impatience of Chavez's political clients such as the Caribbean states and the Venezuelan poor; internal rumblings in the Venezuelan military; the paralysis of industrial activity; the highest inflation and unemployment rates in Latin America; the proliferation of popular protests all over the country, all of these factors speak of an increasingly weak Hugo Chavez power equation.

It is not improbable, therefore, that a change of regime in Venezuela could take place in the not too distant future.




Gustavo Coronel is a 28 years oil industry veteran, a member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), author of several books. At the present Coronel is Petroleumworld associate editor and advisor on the opinion and editorial content of Petroleumworld. Petroleumworld not necessarily share these views.


Editor's Note: All comments posted and published on Petroleumworld, do not reflect either for or against the opinion expressed in the comment as an endorsement of Petroleumworld. All comments expressed are private comments and do not necessary reflect the view of this website. All comments are posted and published without liability to Petroleumworld.

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Petroleumworld 03/10/07

Copyright© 2007 Gustavo Coronel . All rights reserved

http://www.petroleumworld.com/sati07031001.htm

[NYer]

Venezuelan protests continue. (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2007/05/venezuelan-protests-continue-chilean.html)

http://bp3.blogger.com/_L6pDyjqqsvY/Rl12yy99LSI/AAAAAAAAEig/bnDivvwyej4/s400/caracas.jpg

[NYer]

Silenced Venezuelan TV station moves to YouTube. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/31/venezuela.media/?s=tn)

Radio Caracas Television, the station silenced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has found a way to continue its daily broadcasts -- on YouTube, the popular video Web site.

Although the station is officially off the air, CNN's Harris Whitbeck said its news department continues to operate on reduced staffing, and the three daily hour-long installments of the newscast "El Observador" are uploaded onto YouTube by RCTV's Web department.

In addition, RCTV's Colombia-based affiliate, Caracol, has agreed to transmit the evening installment of "El Observador" over its international signal. The program, which will run at midnight, could reach about 800,000 people in Venezuela.

[Alli]

Uh, oh, Now ol' Hugo is going to silence the internets in Venezuela.

[keith]

Stop being mean, Hugo is sensitive.

Venezuela's Chavez seen wanting office "for life"
Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:30AM EDT
By Bernd Debusmann, Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Insecurity, "malignant narcissism" and the need for adulation are driving Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's confrontation with the United States, according to a new psychological profile.

Eventually, these personality traits are likely to compel Chavez to declare himself Venezuela's president for life, said Dr. Jerrold Post, who has just completed the profile for the U.S. Air Force.

Chavez won elections for a third term last December. Since then he has stepped up his anti-American rhetoric, vowed to accelerate a march towards "21st Century socialism" and suggested that he intends to stay in power until 2021 -- a decade beyond his present term.

But Post -- who profiled foreign leaders in a 21-year career at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and now is the director of the Political Psychology Program at George Washington University -- doubts that Chavez plans to step down even then. "He views himself as a savior, as the very embodiment of Venezuela," Post said in an interview.

"He has been acting increasingly messianic and so he is likely to either get the constitution rewritten to allow for additional terms or eventually declare himself president-for-life."

Post portrays Chavez as "a masterful political gamesman" who knows that his popularity largely rests on being seen as a strong leader who takes on the United States, the Venezuelan elite and a host of other perceived enemies -- often with public insults that are rarely used by other leaders.

"To keep his followers engaged, he must continue outrageous and inflammatory attacks," Post said.

Even Chavez's most determined opponents concede that he is a gifted orator and has a rare ability to mesmerize audiences. In the language of political psychology, this is a "charismatic leader-follower relationship."

DONKEYS, THIEVES AND CRYBABIES

Chavez has called U.S. President George W. Bush a "donkey," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice an "illiterate," former Mexican President Vicente Fox a "lapdog of imperialism" and Peruvian President Alan Garcia a "rotten thief" and a "crybaby."

"The major psychological reward for Chavez derives from being seen as the pugnacious openly defiant champion of the little man, as one of 'us' versus 'them,'" Post said.

In his assessment, one of the character traits that drive Chavez is "malignant narcissism," a term that denotes an extreme sense of self-importance and is usually coupled with extreme sensitivity to criticism.

"The arrogant certainty conveyed in his (Chavez's) public pronouncements is very appealing to his followers. But under this grandiose facade, as is typical with narcissistic personalities, is extreme insecurity," Post wrote in his profile "The Chavez Phenomenon" for the U.S Air Force.

Chavez's supporters dismiss such criticism as U.S. efforts to discredit a popular president. Chavez himself has repeatedly said Washington was engaged in psychological, political, economic and media warfare against him.

And yet, only last month, the Venezuelan government refused to renew the broadcast license of TV and radio network RCTV, the loudest voice against Chavez, highlighting his sensitivity to criticism.

His description of the Brazilian Congress as "puppets" came in response to a statement expressing concern for the freedom of expression after RCTV's closure. Chavez was so angry about a similar remark by the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, that he said he would "take distance" from Spain.

"There are two circumstances when Chavez's messianic personality adversely affects his decision making, with a potential for flawed judgement," Post wrote in his study for the Air Force. "When he has just achieved a major success and when he perceives himself as failing."

That pattern has been consistent throughout his presidential terms -- bold actions when he felt heady with success; harsh rhetoric, confrontational moves and temporary depression when he felt weakened.

In the heady wake of his electoral triumph last December (he won 63 percent of the vote) Chavez nationalized the country's largest telecommunications company and its most important private electricity firm, as well as silencing RCTV.

But in the wake of one of his worst diplomatic defeats, the failure of a protracted and costly lobbying campaign to win a seat for Venezuela on the United Nations Security Council, Chavez was so despondent that he stayed away from an Ibero-American summit meeting in Uruguay. "My colleagues don't like me," he complained.

In Post's analysis, Chavez's flawed judgment was on display with his speech to the U.N. last September, when he called Bush "the devil" who had left a smell of sulphur in the assembly hall. Chavez's speech drew chuckles and applause -- but it lost him the U.N. Security Council seat that he had coveted.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN2635327020070627

[NYer]

Sean and Hugo's Excellent Adventure (http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-11/118621855356530.xml&storylist=international)

http://media.monstersandcritics.com/articles/1338603/article_images/headline_1186168153.jpg


Aboard the presidential jet, a grinning Hugo Chavez put a hand on Sean Penn's shoulder, praised his acting and added: "And he's anti-Bush!"

The Venezuelan president reveled in his role as host to the Hollywood star as they flew across the country Friday and traveled through the countryside in a military jeep with Chavez at the wheel, stopping to greet cheering supporters.

The Oscar-winning actor has previously condemned the Iraq war and called for President Bush to be impeached, but he revealed little about his thoughts on Venezuela, saying he came as a freelance journalist after reporting stints in Iraq and Iran — and was saving his conclusions for print.

"He's a courageous man," Chavez said as he introduced Penn to reporters and dignitaries during the flight from Caracas to western Venezuela. "He's very quiet, but he has a fire burning inside."

When asked if Sean gave El Gordo Susan Sarandon's phone number, Tim Robbins was unavailable for comment.

[NYer]

El Gordo calls for an end to term limits. (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/08/17/story_17-8-2007_pg4_2)

http://rantburg.com/Pix/chavez.beret.JPG

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for an end to presidential term limits on Wednesday to extend his rule and consolidate a self-styled socialist revolution in the OPEC nation.

The leftist former soldier also proposed eliminating central bank autonomy, strengthening state expropriation powers and giving himself control over international reserves as part of an overhaul of Venezuela's constitution.

Anyone smell sulphur?

[Petronas]

Hezbollah Venezuela


Línea internacional Anti sionista, anti imperialista, propone la teocracia islámica mundial.
Línea nacional contra el vicio, inmoralidad, criminalidad y corrupción. propone la nación teocratica islámica


hezboallah

Vota Por Hugo Chavez
http://groups.msn.com/autonomiaislamicawayuu/

[Petronas]

Spanish security services stop Chavez spying on PM
22 October 2007

Spanish security services prevented an attempt to spy on Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero during his official visit to Venezuela on March 30, 2005, the daily El Pais reported Monday. A microphone was found under the hotel table around which Zapatero was to meet Venezuelan opposition leaders in Caracas.

The Venezuelan official in charge of Zapatero's security denied any knowledge of the attempt at spying. The intelligence services of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were suspected, according to El Pais. Spain did not take any diplomatic measures because of the incident, an official source was quoted as saying.

http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=82&story_id=45170