EMILI BLASCO

El diputado Ismael García ha difundido este lunes públicamente una conversación que probaría la injerencia cubana en los asuntos internos de Venezuela. La conversación difundida pone de manifiesto los planes de golpe interno dentro del chavismo, en el marco del enfrentamiento entre el presidenteNicolás Maduroy el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional,Diosdado Cabello. Los interlocutores de la conversación son el teniente coronel cubano Aramis Palacio y el periodista chavista Mario Silva.

Palacio llegó a Caracas para incorporarse a la Casa Militar del presidente de la república, como jefe de la contrainteligencia. Además de impartir clases a oficiales venezolanos en esas y otras tareas, también ha servido en el aeropuerto de Maiquetía, en este caso bajo la cobertura oficial de representante de Cubana de Aviación, pero en realidad ocupado de la seguridad en la Rampa 4, donde existe el acceso al avión presidencial venezolano. Allí su misión ha sido controlar las entradas y ... Read More

CARLOS EIRE

El político venezolano de la oposición,  Ismael García, reveló al público una incriminatoria grabación.

El Diario ABC de España informa:

Globovisión en Venezuela ha publicado una grabación de audio que demuestra la cantidad de poder que el régimen de Castro ha logrado alcanzar en el gobierno venezolano.

La grabación revela una conversación entre Mario Silva, uno de los principales “periodistas” chavista de Caracastan, y un oficial de la inteligencia cubana,  el teniente coronel Aramis Palacio.

Entre los puntos discutidos: fraude electoral,  los intentos de un golpe interno en el gobierno de Maduro, enfrentamientos entre el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, Diosdado Cabello,  y el presidente fraudulento y dictador Nicolás Maduro.

En cuestión: quien está en la mejor posición para servir a los Castro. La conversación también revela la poca paciencia de Raúl Castro, en especial sobre las elecciones amañadas.

Aramis Palacio es el jefe de de contrainteligencia cubana en Caracastan. Él está a cargo de ... Read More

CARLOS EIRE

ABC Spain reports:

Globovision in Venezuela has released an audio recording that proves how much power the Castro regime has managed to attain at  the highest reaches of  the Venenozuelan government, and also shines a spotlight on the key role played by the Chavista news media in the Cubanization of Venezuela.

Those caught plotting all sorts of political shenanigans on the phone are Mario Silva, a leading Chavista “journalist” from Caracastan, and a Cuban intelligence officer, lieutenant colonel Aramis Palacio.

Among the more damning  items discussed:  election-rigging, and attempts at an internal coup within the Maduro government, pitting the president of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello against fraudulent president and dictator Nicolas Maduro. At issue:  who can best serve the interests of the Castro Kingdom.   The conversation also reveals eroding patience on the part of Raul Castro, especially over the rigged election, which Fidel’s little brother advised Maduro to scrap altogether.

Aramis Palacio ... 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

JUAN FORERO

CARACAS, Venezuela — The once almighty U.S. dollar has lost its luster in some corners of the world.

But there’s one outpost where greenbacks have never been stronger: in socialist, anti-imperialist Venezuela, whose government rails against American-style capitalism as the bane of humanity. The dollar is not just holding steady here — it is flourishing like nowhere else, the byproduct of the fast-wilting economy President Hugo Chavez left behind when he died in March.

Black-market dealers operating on the thriving underground market sell greenbacks at more than four times the official, government-set rate of 6.3 bolivars to the dollar. And the price they’re gettingthese days — 28 per dollar — is more than three times what it was just eight months ago.

Because the bolivar is artificially overvalued and practically worthless outside Venezuela, everyone here is desperate for dollars, from auto-part importers to supermarkets to ordinary Venezuelans planning to travel abroad. Even government officials ... Read More

ANDREW ROSATI

In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez‘s successor seems to be turning toward big business for help in ending rampant scarcities of basic consumer goods and an almost 30 percent annual inflation rate.

Newly elected President Nicolás Maduroinvited Lorenzo Mendoza, the billionaire boss of Venezuela’s largest privately held company, Empresas Polar SA, to the Presidential Palace this week. Mr. Mendoza spent years on the outs with the Chávez government. Now, however, it appears Mendoza and Mr. Maduro may have reached a mutual understanding, leading to speculation that an attitudinal change on the part of the government towards big business may be in the works.

“We are ready to support you,” Maduro said on state television days after his meeting with Polar’s president. “Count on our support.”

Polar, the country’s leading food producer, makes everything from beer to corn flour – crucial for makingarepas, the mainstay of the Venezuelan diet. Earlier this week, Mendoza rebuked Maduro for his previous claims that the ... Read More

BRIAN ELLSWORTH

May 19 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s recent designation of an acting head of its diplomatic mission in the United States shows the OPEC nation’s desire to restore full diplomatic relations, the foreign minister said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Disputes between Caracas and Washington were common during the 14-year-rule of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, leaving both nations without ambassadors in each other’s capitals.

Foreign Minister Elias Jaua suggested in a televised interview that the move to name government ally Calixto Ortega as charge d’affaires in Washington could be a prelude to restoring ambassadors.

“This is a message for U.S. politicians so they understand Venezuela’s desire to normalize relations … via the designation of the highest diplomatic authorities,” he said. “Why? Because the United States remains our top trade partner.”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has in recent months said he wants better ties with Washington as long as the relationship is respectful. But ... Read More

By KEJAL VYAS and SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZ

CARACAS, Venezuela—New President Nicolás Maduro, trying to shore up Venezuela’s economy amid growing shortages of everything from corn flour to toilet paper, has extended an olive branch to the country’s private sector, in particular the country’s largest food maker.

It is a surprising turnaround given the antics of his predecessor, the late populist Hugo Chávez, who regularly threatened to nationalize the food maker, Empresas Polar SA, and accused it of hoarding products in order to sabotage his self-styled revolution.

This week, Mr. Maduro met with Polar’s top executive Lorenzo Mendoza—Mr. Chávez’s bête noire—to work together to resolve food issues. Mr. Mendoza discussed the same topic with Vice President Jorge Arreaza, Mr. Chávez’s son-in-law.

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After those meetings and others with the business sector, Mr. Maduro’s government raised by 20% state-controlled prices on key items of food like chicken, beef and dairy—a tacit acknowledgment that controls aimed at stemming inflation have ... Read More

JUAN NAGEL

Venezuela remains mired in a political and economic crisis that shows no signs of letting up. But while street protests, soaring inflation, scarcity, and skyrocketing crime are massive headaches, the government can count on still-high oil prices to soothe the pain a bit.

The question that begs asking is: How will Venezuela maintain stability if oil prices drop?

A recent report by the International Energy Agency underscores the challenges the country faces in the short term. The United States has made huge progress in oil extraction thanks to fracking technology. It is set to become the world’s largest oil producer by the year 2020, and the global spread of fracking is bound to significantly increase international recoverable oil reserves in the near future. The agency crows that fracking is creating a “supply shock that is sending ripples around the world.”

This obviously matters to Venezuela, a country that exports large amounts of oil and ... Read More

ELIAS GROLL

Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian Revolution was supposed to offer ordinary Venezuelans political power and social services. On some of these counts, it has at least partially succeeded. On others — such as the provision of toilet paper — not so much.

On Tuesday, Alejandro Fleming, the country’s commerce minister, announced that the government would make the equivalent of a frantic grocery store run to pick up some rolls. “The revolution will bring the country the equivalent of 50 million rolls of toilet paper,” he told the state news agency AVN. “We are going to saturate the market so that our people calm down.” (Not that long ago, the “revolution” was promising to provide housing and health care but hey, Marx said something about the importance of toilet paper, right?)

“This is the last straw,” Manuel Fagundes, a shopper trying to track down some toilet paper in Caracas, told the Associated Press. “I’m 71 years old and ... Read More

Primero comenzaron a escasear la leche, la manteca, el café y la harina de maíz. Últimamente tampoco se encuentra otro producto que satisface necesidades básicas: el papel higiénico.

El gobierno lo atribuye a la oposición política y dijo que importará 50 millones de rollos de papel.

Pero eso es escaso consuelo para Manuel Fagundes. ”Tengo 71 años y primera vez en la vida que veo esto”, comentó molesto el hombre el miércoles a la salida de un supermercado en el oeste de Caracas.

“Es el colmo que hasta en este país tengamos que importar el papel toilette, y me imagino que esas son las comisiones que se están ganando para que aquí en Venezuela ya ni se produzca papel toilette”, agregó el anciano.

El gobierno anunció esta semana que realizará importaciones masivas de 760,000 toneladas de alimentos y de papel higiénico para hacer frente a los problemas de escasez y combatir lo que han denominado la “guerra económica” que estarían ocasionando los ... 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

The death from cancer on 5 March of President Hugo Chávez triggered a snap presidential election just 40 days later that his anointed successor, Nicolás Maduro, won by a margin of less than 1.5 per cent over Henrique Capriles of the Democratic Unity (MUD) alliance. But the tight result and legal challenges to the validity of the vote cast a shadow over the sustainability of the new administration. A country already deeply polarised is now clearly divided into two almost equal halves that appear irreconcilable. The validity of the election result remains to be clarified and the full independence of the electoral authorities, judiciary, and other key institutions restored. But to address the governance crisis and allow Venezuela to tackle its serious economic and social problems, national dialogue must prevail over confrontation and consensus over partisan violence.

With institutions weakened by the Chávez government’s long-term policy of presidential co-optation, the MUD ... Read More

(Reuters) – Peru’s foreign minister has resigned, the government said on Wednesday, days after he was criticised for contributing to a diplomatic spat with Venezuela.

Rafael Roncagliolo, 68, resigned “strictly because of health reasons,” the office of President Ollanta Humala said in a statement.

Justice Minister Eda Rivas will be Peru’s new foreign minister, the government said. Daniel Figallo, a deputy minister of human rights, will replace Rivas as justice minister.

“He has done an impeccable job with the foreign relations of our country,” the statement said of Roncagliolo.

Roncagliolo, appointed by Humala in 2011, faced increasing criticism from the left and right in recent weeks over his handling of diplomatic tussles.

In early May, Roncagliolo called for “tolerance” in Venezuela and urged the South American bloc Unasur to mediate political tensions in Caracas after a disputed election there won by President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro complained that Roncagliolo was giving voice to opposition leaders.

“You may be Peru’s foreign minister, ... Read More

First milk, butter, coffee and cornmeal ran short. Now Venezuela is running out of the most basic of necessities – toilet paper.

Blaming political opponents for the shortfall, as it does for other shortages, the government says it will import 50m rolls to boost supplies.

That was little comfort to consumers struggling to find toilet paper on Wednesday.

“This is the last straw,” said Manuel Fagundes, a shopper hunting for tissue in Caracas. “I’m 71 years old and this is the first time I’ve seen this.”

One supermarket visited by the Associated Press in the capital on Wednesday was out of toilet paper. Another had just received a fresh batch, and it quickly filled up with shoppers as the word spread.

“I’ve been looking for it for two weeks,” said Cristina Ramos. “I was told that they had some here and now I’m in line.”

Economists say Venezuela’s shortages stem from price controls meant to make basic goods ... Read More

NIKOLAS KOZLOFF

Now that Venezuela’s larger-than-life Hugo Chávez has vanished from the political landscape, what does the future hold for South America? Though Venezuela is only a medium-sized country, Chávez was able to skillfully realign geopolitical fault lines through shrewd use of oil largesse and petro populism. It is unlikely, though, that uncharismatic Chávez successor Nicolás Maduro, who only won his country’s recent presidential election by the slightest of margins, will be as successful as his mentor in maintaining Venezuela’s carefully crafted system of regional alliances. As Venezuela fades, Brazil will naturally assume a greater leadership role, thus paving the path for a somewhat unusual three-way contest between the two South American countries and the United States. Just what form, precisely, is such competition likely to take and where are new geopolitical rivalries going to be most acutely felt? For answers, look to Brazil “buffer state” Uruguay, a country rife with ... 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

BY CARLOS ALBERTO MONTANER

How’s your wife? It depends — compared to whom?

That’s a frequent dialogue among witty Spaniards. I imagine that women could respond the same way. We husbands fare badly when compared with Brad Pitt, much better if contrasted with Eduardo Gómez, the super-ugly doorman’s father in the comedy series Nobody Can Live Here on Spanish TV.

The same happens with countries and regions. To understand where we stand, we have to know where the others are and at what pace we move.

All this becomes relevant apropos the recent report on the most successful countries in Latin America. According to the news, the three wealthiest economies in Latin America are Chile, Panama (which has been growing at the rate of 8 percent for almost a decade) and Uruguay.

Argentina is relegated to fourth place, a fact perhaps explained by its lack of transparency. The government of Cristina Kirchner adulterates the rate of inflation ... Read More

LUDMILA VINOGRADOFF

Llenar un tanque de 40 litros de gasolina súper de 95 octanos cuestamenos de 1 dólar en Venezuela. Además de tener la gasolina más barata del mundo debe importar un tercio de su consumo, lo que arruina sus finanzas, siendo productor y exportador mundial de petróleo.

Es difícil imaginar que estas contradicciones puedan ocurrir en un país considerado como el quinto exportador de crudo con una industria petrolera que era el orgullo nacional y referente mundial de eficiencia antes de que cayera en manos del chavismo hace 14 años.

Con las dos últimas devaluaciones de la moneda al tipo de cambio de 4,30 a 6,30 bolívares por dólar decretadas este año por el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro, el precio de la gasolina se ha deteriorado mucho más: el litro de gasolina de 95 octanos pasó de 0,022 dólares a costar 0,015 dólares, medido a la tasa de cambio oficial.

El precio de la gasolina nunca ha estado ... Read More