“The situation is really bad… this is impossible… any moment now things will explode… people are furious… Chavez won’t make it through this year…” We’ve been hearing this for 11 years. Cubans have a saying…
In declaring this week that he will assume special powers to govern by decree, President Chávez of Venezuela stated: “We are building a new democracy here that cannot be turned back.” By labeling these political…
I know the individual shown in the picture well. His name is Ricardo Molina. He is the last Minister of Housing appointed by Hugo Chavez. He is a forestry engineer, graduated from ULA. He is…
Hugo has worked tirelessly. As the saying goes, “he’s put in a truckload of effort.” While most people involved in Venezuelan politics treat their roles as unmonitored jobs with flexible hours that never include weekends…
VenePirámidesThe former president of UnoValores Casa de Bolsa, Tomás Vásquez, has emerged from a low profile after reporting to the FBI an alleged extortion that took place in Miami involving Rafael Ramos, the supervisor of…
I have always maintained that one of the gravest issues we Venezuelans face, especially those of us who consider ourselves thoughtful, critical, and somewhat objective, is the lack of political representation. The Chavistas have Hugo…
A radical leftist yet objective and impartial, and loathing the militarism of Chavismo, such a rarity was Manuel Caballero. I met him at La Maison de l’Amerique in Paris, during a conference where a premeditated…
Amnesty International believes that the arrest of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni Mora on December 10, 2009, represents a serious case of political interference by the executive branch. Her detention violates the UN Basic Principles on…
——- Summary ——- ¶1. (C) The efforts of Hugo Chavez to expand his influence in the Southern Cone were the topic of ref A. This communication, the second part of a series of joint cables…
I received a document titled “Venezuelan Armed Forces: 200 Years Later,” supposedly produced by the COMACATES (Commanders, Majors, Captains, and Lieutenants of the Venezuelan Armed Forces). It concludes with the following questions and warnings: I.…
One of the sadly infamous presidential “expropriate” policies seems to have had an effect on ambassador Diego Arria. His La Carolina estate in Yaracuy state was targeted by the whimsical expropriation of strongman Hugo Chavez.…
I declare myself a fan of Julian Assange. Not because he has published the—up until now—842 diplomatic cables on Wikileaks, which is currently hosted here; who knows where it will be later? But because he…
Piedad Córdoba, the former Colombian senator known for her support of FARC narco-terrorists, claims that she never received money from Hugo Chavez. The box accompanying these lines clearly indicates that Piedad Córdoba is not telling…
The language used by ‘the bride of Venezuela’ -according to Hugo Chavez– leaves much to be desired. Yesterday, I published an article about the crimes that Eva Golinger is said to have committed in her…
The question was phrased like this: “You are backed by the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and also by the government of Venezuela. How did that come about?” This question was posed by a journalist from…