Venezuelans would still be blindfolded to the criminal actions extra frontiers in which this communist regime is involved, if it weren’t for the determination of the international judiciary system in pursuing and punishing all offenses related to money laundering, drug dealing and terrorism.

More than a dozen cases of corruption involving the men of “trust” of the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro have been exposed already after joint investigations carried out by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FBI, the U.S Treasury and U.S. Department of State.

Among others, there is the case of the “drug lords” denounced by the U.S. Treasury, which involves army generals Rangel Silva and Clíver Alcalá; it also involves retired general Hugo Carvajal, Freddy Bernal (a leader in Hugo Chávez’s party PSUV), Latin American Parliament alternate chairperson Amílcar Figueroa, intelligence officer Ramón Madriz, and many more.

Or the embezzlement case for more than $500 million ... Read More

ALASDAIR BAVERSTOCK

More than a month after Venezuela’s contested presidential election, President Nicolás Maduro’s narrow victory has yet to be recognized by the United States. Refusing to legitimize the new premier while a partial recount of the vote is underway, the US position has led to further political tensions in a relationship historically stressed under the leadership of former President Hugo Chávez.

A handful of countries, including Chile, Peru, and the US, have expressed concern over the democratic standards of the election, which Maduro won by a little more than 1 percent of the vote. Venezuela’s opposition party is calling for the results to be annulled, citing over 3,000 instances of election fraud, ranging from alleged multiple-voting in chavista-strongholds to polling booth intimidation.

“Obviously, if there are huge irregularities we are going to have serious questions about the viability of that government,” said Secretary of State John Kerry during a hearing of the US Foreign Affairs Committee following the announcement of ... Read More

Caracas – El presidente de la Asamblea Nacional venezolana, el oficialista Diosdado Cabello, dijo el martes que no se pagará el salario a los diputados opositores porque no asistieron a las reuniones de las comisiones legislativas.

“Hoy trabajaron todas la comisiones en la Asamblea y no fueron (los opositores) trabajaron las comisiones con los diputados revolucionarios (…) ¿cómo les pago? yo no les puedo pagar (…) sería una irresponsabilidad de mi parte si le pago a quien no trabaje”, dijo Cabello durante un acto en el Parlamento.

Aunque las comisiones legislativas se mantienen activas, el pleno de la Asamblea Nacional no se reúne desde el 30 de abril pasado, cuando los diputados de ambos bandos se fueron a las manos y 14 de ellos resultaron con heridas.

La trifulca ocurrió cuando la minoritaria bancada opositora reclamaba su derecho de palabra, que Cabello les retiró el 16 de abril pasado porque no reconocían a Nicolás ... Read More

JORDI MIRO

CARACAS — Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles, narrowly defeated at the polls by the late Hugo Chavez’s successor, said the Supreme Court will decide very soon whether a new presidential vote should be held.

In an interview Wednesday with AFP, Capriles warned that if the answer was no, he would bring his fight to “international bodies.” He insists the election was stolen from him.

“Within hours, we are going to have a decision on whether (the Supreme Court) accepts” the opposition’s bid to hold new elections, he said.

The Miranda state governor, who has not conceded the race, which the National Electoral Board says Nicolas Maduro won by 1.49 points, said that if the high court takes on the legal case, it should last about three or four months but the country’s court system is not known for its swiftness.

Capriles has filed two complaints: one over the electoral process in general and ... Read More

BY DIEGO ORE

CARACAS – Socialist leader Nicolas Maduro and the billionaire boss of Venezuela’s biggest private company have buried the hatchet after a war of words over food shortages and other economic problems in the South American nation.

Perpetuating the hard-line rhetoric of his predecessor Hugo Chavez, newly-elected Maduro turned on Empresas Polar president Lorenzo Mendoza in recent days, accusing him of hoarding products as part of an “economic war” on the state by private business.

Mendoza, whose company is Venezuela’s biggest beer- and flour-maker, denied that and pointedly challenged the government to sell production plants nationalized under Chavez back to the private sector to boost efficiency.

On Tuesday night, the pair met to discuss their differences in a spat seen by Venezuelans as a bellwether for state-business relations going forward under Maduro’s government.

Both sides came out of the meeting sounding reconciliatory and pledging to work together to overcome food shortages that have ... Read More

El pasado 23 de abril, el espurio venezolano, Nicolás Maduro, designó a Calixto Ortega como su nuevo representante diplomático ante los Estados Unidos. Su intención dijo, es la de “mejorar” las relaciones diplomáticas con EE.UU.

Es difícil creer que Maduro realmente crea lo que dice cuando sus acciones simbolizan lo contrario. Un día después de la designación de Ortega, Maduro anunció la captura de un supuesto “espía” estadounidense al que acusó de planear acciones desestabilizadoras en contra de su gobierno y de querer provocar una “guerra civil”. Timothy Hallett Tracy es un cineasta que estaba documentando la elección en Venezuela. Su injusta captura es una señal más de la desesperación Cubanomadurista.

Si queremos ser congruentes con nuestros principios, debemos pedir la liberación inmediata de Timothy Hallett Tracy y negar la visa diplomática de Calixto Ortega.  Aunque Tracy sea liberado no podemos otorgar una visa como si esto fuera el pago de un ... Read More

CARACAS — Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said Washington was making a “grave mistake” in not acknowledging his victory in the controversial April 14 presidential election.

Maduro, 50, heir to the late leftist president Hugo Chavez, defeated opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, 40, by a razor-thin margin in the snap election to complete Chavez’s six-year term in office.

Capriles however has refused to concede defeat, claiming that the vote was riddled with irregularities.

In a May 3 interview with US Spanish-language network Univision, President Barack Obama refused to say whether Washington recognized Maduro as the winner of the April vote.

“I believe (the United States) is committing a grave mistake, one more in its policy towards Latin America,” Maduro said in an interview with the Caracas-based Telesur network.

“It is making a tremendous mistake because Venezuela plays a leadership role in Latin America and the world,” he said, highlighting the visit to Caracas on Sunday of Chinese ... Read More

Venezuela has permitted American diplomats to meet with a California filmmaker awaiting trial on charges of espionage and fomenting unrest. The American, Timothy Tracy, was arrested by intelligence agents after Venezuela’s presidential election on April 14. Mr. Tracy’s relatives say he had been making a documentary about Venezuelan politics.

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WITH a narrow and disputed election victory last month and an accelerating economic crisis, the man who succeeded Hugo Chávez as Venezuela’s president got off to an inauspicious start. Now Nicolás Maduro’s efforts to establish authority are making matters worse at home, and setting alarm bells ringing abroad.

After appearing to promise a full audit of the election results, as demanded by Henrique Capriles, the candidate of the Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition, the government backtracked. Human-rights groups say that more than 200 protesters, including teenagers, were detained by the military and many beaten up. Antonio Rivero, a retired general and leading opposition member, was arrested. He is on hunger strike, charged with “inciting hatred” and “criminal association”. Mr Capriles, who has asked the supreme court to annul the election, is threatened with jail.

There was violence even in the National Assembly. The MUD’s 67 legislators were barred from speaking and had their ... Read More

Explicado claramente por un experto cubano que conoce personalmente a Raciel García Ceballos. Umberto Mario trabajo en la embajada cubana en Venezuela he incluso formo parte de fraudes anteriores…

La secretaria de Estado adjunta de EEUU para Latinoamérica, Roberta Jacobson, consideró hoy que por el momento no se ha iniciado un diálogo nacional para resolver la crisis política en Venezuela, y aseguró que está en juego la garantía de las “prácticas democráticas” en el país.

“No estamos hablando necesariamente de un ganador o un perdedor, sino de prácticas democráticas que tienen que ser observadas, a las que todos nos hemos comprometido bajo la Carta Democrática Interamericana, y que (son necesarias) para que la gente sienta que forma parte del proceso democrático”, dijo Jacobson.

“Hasta ahora no hemos visto que comience ese proceso de diálogo, nacional, y es algo que queremos ver”, agregó en un discurso al comienzo de la 43 Conferencia de las Américas en el Departamento de Estado.

La responsable de EEUU para Latinoamérica consideró que “lo ajustado de las elecciones” del pasado 14 de abril ha reflejado “una sociedad venezolana ... Read More

Former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe says he will take Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights.

Mr Maduro’s accusation that Mr Uribe had plotted to assassinate him had put the Colombian’s life at risk, his lawyer said.

Mr Uribe’s lawyer said he also wanted a libel investigation in Colombia.

Mr Maduro also implied Mr Uribe could have been involved in the killing of a Venezuelan journalist.

The Venezuelan leader said on Friday he had evidence that right-wing Venezuelan politicians were involved in a plot masterminded by Mr Uribe.

‘Immature accusations’

But Mr Uribe – a fierce critic of the late President Hugo Chavez – dismissed Mr Maduro’s accusation as “immature”.

On Sunday, Mr Uribe’s lawyer issued a statement saying the former president’s “life and bodily integrity” had been put at risk.

“In the next few hours I will appeal to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to ask for precautionary measures in favour ... Read More

BY JONATHAN MANTHORPE

Venezuela’s former president Hugo Chavez got away with being a buffoon because he was also a talented showman.

His protégé and successor, Nicolas Maduro, matches his master’s skills … except for the showmanship.

Nearly a month after the unexpectedly tight presidential election race following Chavez’s death from cancer in early March, Maduro’s grip on power is looking decidedly flaccid.

The question is not so much if he will be toppled, but who will do it and how soon.

Maduro needs to watch his back just as much as his front. While there are plenty of factions within the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) who may move to dump Maduro, most eyes are watching the military and its frontman, National Assembly President Diosado Cabello.

Indeed, there is speculation that Cabello, a military veteran with Chavez of the abortive 1992 coup, is already the real power in Venezuela.

For the time being, the PSUV ... Read More

BY ISABELA FRAGA

Already marked by polarization during the administration of Hugo Chávez, the media environment in Venezuela is now fueling political disputes following the troubled presidential election on April 14, between Chávez’s appointed successor, Nicolás Maduro, and opposition candidate Henrique Capriles.

BBC Mundo reporter Abraham Zamorano said opposing viewpoints of the election are seen in the broadcasts of Venezuelan Television (VTV) and the private networks. On public stations the opposition appears violent, while on channels like Globovisión–which has a notoriously bad relationship with the state–the government is portrayed manipulating votes and inciting violence.

In an April 25 report, for example, VTV announced, “Capriles’ attack on Venezuela’s democracy has become more violent,” referring to the defeated candidate’s comments to the Electoral Council. Four days later, Globovisión published an article from Deputy Nora Brancho, who said ”the illegitimate presidency of Nicolás Maduro calls democracy into question.”

In an attempt to understand the extreme media polarization in Venezuela, sociologist and media analyst Maryclean Stelling told Zamorano, ”It’s ... Read More

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro took a swipe at Barack Obama, calling him the “grand chief of devils” after the US president declined to recognize his re-election.

he socialist’s harsh attack recalled diatribes from his predecessor the late Hugo Chavez aimed at former US president George W. Bush, whom he also called a devil.

During a visit to Costa Rica on Friday, Obama would not say whether the United States recognizes Maduro as the winner of last month’s presidential election, the Voice of Russia reported.

Maduro defeated opposition leader Henrique Capriles in the election to replace the late leftist leader Hugo Chavez.

Capriles, however, has refused to concede defeat, claiming there were irregularities.

Maduro charged the United States with financially backing the Venezuelan opposition.

“It is Obama himself as the puppet of the imperial power who is behind the financing in dollars of this right wing that is seeking to destroy Venezuela’s democracy,” Maduro alleged.

Click here for ... Read More

Only the filthy water from broken sewer pipes keeps the dust down in front of Ramon Boet’s shop, which sells statues of saints and other religious objects.

In the distance, massive tankers pull up to a half-century-old refinery that processes much of the oil that earns Venezuela more than $100 billion a year.

“It doesn’t help us at all,” Boet, 58, says as a blackout snuffs the lights in his shop in this Caribbean coastal town. He closes before dusk. Too many robbers.

The oil flowing from the El Palito refinery sells for more than five times what it cost when President Hugo Chavez took office in 1999. Yet when Chavez died in March he left Venezuela’s cash cow, its state-run oil company, in such dire straits that analysts say $100-a-barrel oil may no longer be enough to keep the country afloat barring a complete overhaul of a deteriorating petroleum industry.

The situation is ... Read More

BY GEORGE H. WITTMAN

It was as close an election as one might expect in Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro, his predecessor’s hand-picked candidate, edged out the popular Henrique Capriles, definitely no friend of the late Simon Bolivar wannabe, Hugo Chavez. No one questioned the strong voter turnout that produced 14.9 million ballots cast, but the published mere 267,000 vote margin of victory by Maduro certainly has aroused passion — not that anyone is surprised at passion in Venezuelan politics.

The late Hugo Chavez would have loved the large international presss coverage, which included strong representation from all those countries around the world that have benefited economically and politically from the Chavez years. As one British wag put it, “I never knew so many Persians could speak Spanish.” The Caracas crowds entertained the visiting media with post-election protests by the Capriles stalwarts, who stormed through the main streets banging pots and shouting slogans. The Maduro ... Read More

President Barack Obama said the U.S. has not and will not get tangled up in Venezuela’s political conflict.

Commenting in an interview with Spanish-language network Telemundo that’s set to air Sunday, Obama said the U.S. hasn’t tried “in any way” to interfere with the recent election of Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s president.

On Saturday Venezuela’s government accused Washington and the Obama administration of being behind violence that has followed its recent presidential election.

A foreign ministry statement said that Obama’s “fallacious, intemperate and interventionist declaration” will lead toward deteriorating relations between the countries and “confirms to the world the policy of aggression his government maintains against our country.”

The statement read by Foreign Minister Elias Jaua on state television referred to comments the U.S. president made to Spanish-language television network Univision during his trip to Mexico and Costa Rica.

In the interview that aired Friday, Obama wouldn’t say if the United States recognizes Nicolas Maduro ... Read More

The United States is watching “crackdowns on the opposition” in Venezuela, President Barack Obama said in a television interview aired on Friday when asked if he considered newly elected Nicolas Maduro to be the country’s legitimate president.

Maduro, elected in April by a narrow margin, earlier this year accused the United States of seeking to kill opposition leader Henrique Capriles to stir chaos and spark a coup. Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, was one of the world’s most vocal critics of the United States.

“I think that the entire hemisphere has been watching the violence, the protests, the crackdowns on the opposition,” Obama said in the interview with Univision News during a trip to Mexico. “I think our general view has been that it’s up to the people of Venezuela to choose their leaders in legitimate elections.”

Opposition-led protests the day after the April 14 vote turned violent and, according ... Read More

BY EDUARDO GARCIA

Colombia’s former leader Alvaro Uribe on Sunday rejected an accusation by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that Uribe was plotting to kill him as the desperate ploy of a dictator trying to hide his illegitimacy.

In the latest in a string of explosive accusations from Hugo Chavez’s recently-elected successor, Maduro said on Friday he had evidence that Uribe was conspiring with the Venezuelan opposition to kill him.

Uribe, a conservative and staunch U.S. ally, was often at odds with the hardline socialist Chavez during their respective rules. He has also questioned Maduro’s disputed election victory last month.

In a statement issued by his lawyer Jaime Granados, Uribe said Maduro’s accusations were part of a scheme to silence criticism and distract Venezuelans from other issues.

“These comments reflect a desperate person who holds power illegitimately and is now trying to divert attention from corruption and unlawful acts carried out by the dictatorship he runs,” ... Read More