Great speech by Chavez at the U.N.

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A nuclear Venezuela???

US Lawmakers Concerned About Chavez Nuclear Comments
November 19, 2007 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has once again raised the specter of developing a nuclear program, saying the aim would be to reduce dependence on oil and combat climate change.

As on previous occasions when Chavez has raised the issue, critics voiced alarm at the notion that a regime led by the anti-American leftist leader may develop a program that while ostensibly peaceful could bring a nuclear weapons capability within reach. This is the same concern Western and other governments share about Iran, which claims its nuclear program is solely aimed at generating electricity. Skeptics wonder why a major oil producer like Iran needs nuclear energy -- and the same question arises in the case of oil-rich Venezuela.

In an interview last week with French television channel France24, Chavez defended his ally, Iran, against accusations of a covert nuclear weapons ambition. "I do not think Iran is manufacturing atomic bombs," he said. "Iran is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, I am sure about that. Venezuela is also beginning to develop nuclear energy with peaceful purposes, just like Brazil and Argentina."

Chavez stressed the advantages of nuclear energy in reducing dependence on oil and helping alleviate the effects of climate change -- producing nuclear energy does not emit "greenhouse gases." In Latin America, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico have nuclear energy programs, according to the World Nuclear Association, a the private-sector organization that promotes the peaceful worldwide use of nuclear power. Out of the nearly 30 countries that have nuclear plants, the largest holders are the U.S., France, Japan and Russia.

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Chavez tryin' to take over the Constitution...

Venezuelan Students Protest Vote
Nov. 28, 2007 - Chavez Vows Referendum 'Cannot Fail,' As Opponents, Supporters Rally

Rallies for and against constitutional changes proposed by President Hugo Chavez surged Tuesday as the Venezuelan leader declared that a weekend referendum on the proposed charter "cannot fail." Such gatherings have increased tensions ahead of Sunday's referendum on reforms that would allow Chavez indefinite re-election, increase presidential terms from six to seven years and help the Venezuelan leader establish socialism in Venezuela.

While Chavez appeared before supporters to urge Venezuelans to approve the referendum and "open the path to a new nation," opponents held at least two protests and one of his ex-wives even held a press conference to urge voters to reject the slate of changes. In Caracas, about 300 placard-waving students gathered outside the Catholic University Andres Bello, occupying a highway for four hours and causing rush-hour traffic jams, to urge Venezuelans to vote "no" on Sunday. The students contend the new constitution would give Chavez authoritarian powers.

"We students will keep coming out onto the street to demand freedom and democracy," said Roberto Diaz, a 21-year old law student at the university. Dozens of police and national guard monitored the demonstration that ended Tuesday evening without incident. At the same time, about 5,000 mainly female Chavez supporters gathered in a stadium west of Caracas to back the referendum campaign. Participants in the "Women for Yes" rally, many dressed in Chavista red, waved posters with images of Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

"The women in this process have much to gain and nothing to lose," said Chavez supporter Luzbelia Marin. "After Dec. 2, the Magna Carta will incorporate equality between men and women in the different electoral processes and policies." In Puerto La Cruz, 150 miles east of Caracas, at least 300 students protesting the referendum clashed with Chavez supporters outside the private Santa Maria University, police said. Some Chavez supporters appeared to have guns, an officer said.

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Venezuela-Colombia row deepens
Nov. 28, 2007 --Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez promised Wednesday that ties with neighboring Colombia would not be restored while President Alvaro Uribe is in office.

The ever-outspoken Chavez was speaking in reference to the ongoing spat between the two South American countries over Colombia's leading rebel group, Globovision TV reported Wednesday.

The leftist Venezuelan leader has been involved in trying to secure the release of hostages held by the Colombian rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Among those held by the FARC are a former Colombian presidential candidate.

FARC rebels have been fighting the Colombian government forces for more than 40 years.

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Anti-Chavez demonstrations in Venezuela...

Mass anti-Chavez rally in Caracas
November 30, 2007 - TENS of thousands of people protesting a referendum they said aims to turn Venezuela into a version of communist Cuba marched through central Caracas, yelling slogans against President Hugo Chavez.

The mass demonstration – the last before the referendum on Sunday – denounced reforms that would allow Mr Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely, gag the press in emergencies, and impose what he calls "economic socialism" on the country. "It's not socialism – it's communism, like the one they have in Cuba," said one protester, Virginia Zapata, a 29-year-old dentist.

Around her, the crowd cheered at passing news helicopters and waved anti-Chavez banners, as smoke from meats being grilled by opportunistic vendors wafted over them. Many wore t-shirts with the words "Why don't you just shut up?" – a highly publicized slapdown King Juan Carlos of Spain gave to Mr Chavez at a summit earlier this month after the Venezuelan president insulted a former Spanish prime minister.

At the head of the march, student leader Freddy Guevara boasted that the protesters filled the central Bolivar Avenue "without buses" – a dig at Mr Chavez' tactic of bussing in supporters to his rallies. Immediately, the crowd took up the chant: "We're sticking it to Chavez, without buses! Without buses!"

The students have been urging a big turnout on Sunday, encouraged by recent polls suggesting the "no" vote could triumph.

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Venezuela going through it's `60's protest movement...

Venezuelans flood the streets to protest
Saturday, December 1, 2007 - As more than 100,000 people flooded the streets to protest constitutional changes that would boost President Hugo Chavez's power, a key force that has reenergized the opposition stepped forward again -- students.

There was no official count of legions of protestors that marched along Bolivar Avenue blowing whistles, waving placards and shouting "Not like this!" on Thursday, but opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez estimated 160,000 turned out to protest. Students helped make this rally, the official close of the opposition's campaign against Chavez's proposed constitutional changes, one of the largest to defy him in recent years.

Venezuelans on Sunday vote on 69 proposed changes to nation's 1999 constitution that would, among other things, create forms of communal property, eliminate presidential term limits, and increase presidential authority. Chavez denies the changes are a bid for unchecked power, saying they are necessary to give the people a greater voice in government.

Demonstrations for and against the revised amendments have surged across the country in the run-up to the vote, occasionally leading to clashes. Many of the marches seeking the referendum's defeat have been organized by young people. In just six months, university students have breathed new life into the country's fractured opposition, becoming the most potent source of resistance to Chavez's government.

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Chavez threatens to cut oil if U.S. questions vote
30 Nov. 2007 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez campaigns for end to term limits; He says if Sunday's vote is "yes," his foes shouldn't contest result; Vote also would give Chavez full authority over the Central Bank; Venezuela accounts for up to 15 percent of U.S. crude imports

Chavez told a crowd gathered in the center of Caracas that if the referendum was approved and the result was questioned -- "if the 'yes' vote wins on Sunday and the Venezuelan oligarchy, playing the [U.S.] empire's game, comes with their little stories of fraud" -- then he would order oil shipments to the United States halted Monday.

Chavez spoke after tens of thousands, brought on buses from throughout the country, marched down the capital's principal boulevard to rally support for Sunday's referendum, which would free Chavez from term-limit restrictions and move the country toward institutionalized socialism. Friday's rally acted as a counterpoint to an opposition march down the same streets Thursday that brought out tens of thousands who fear the 69 constitutional changes would serve to undermine basic democratic freedoms.

Chavez, 53, warmed the crowd up by serenading them with holiday "gaitas" and other traditional songs before turning his attention to a litany of enemies and perceived enemies: internal critics, the United States, Spain's King Juan Carlos, Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe and domestic and international media. "We're not really confronting those peons of imperialism," Chavez said, alluding to his Venezuelan opponents. "Our true enemy is called the North American empire, and ... we're going to give another knockout to Bush."

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Democracy triumphs over a Chavez monarchy...

Venezuelan president admits defeat in referendum
Dec. 3, 2007 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday admitted defeat in a referendum on constitutional changes held on Sunday.

According to the National Electoral Council, 51 percent of voters voted against the changes with 49 percent in favor. The turnout was 56 percent, said Tibisay Lucena, chief of the National Electoral Council, adding that with 88 percent of the votes counted, the trend was irreversible.

"This was a photo finish, and unlike past Venezuelan governments, my respects for the results have proved that I respect the people's will, " said Chavez, who won re-election with 63 percent of the vote last year. "I tell you from the heart: for a few hours I debated with myself in a dilemma. I've now left the dilemma behind and I'm calm. I hope the Venezuelans are as well," he said.

"Now, Venezuelans, let's put our trust in our institutions," Chavez added. It was the first time since Chavez came to power in 1999 that he has lost at the polls. The constitutional changes proposed in the referendum, if approved, would have greatly expanded his powers and let him run for re-election indefinitely.

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Oh, now he gets it...

Chavez: Plan May Have Been Too Ambitious
Dec 3, 2007 - Humbled by his first electoral defeat, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.

"I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense," he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reform by 51 percent to 49 percent. Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight - with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.

Some shed tears. Others began chanting: "And now he's going away!" But even a central opposition leader acknowledged Monday that it will be a hard slog to erode Chavez's impressive power over the machinery of state.

"We the opposition can't, nor do we want, to present a project to compete with the government's," Leopoldo Lopez, mayor of one of Caracas' wealthiest districts, told reporters. Foes of the reform effort - including Roman Catholic leaders, press freedom groups, human rights groups and prominent business leaders - said it would have granted Chavez unchecked power and imperiled basic rights.

More My Way News - Chavez: Plan May Have Been Too Ambitious

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Chavez kinda got put in his place...

Venezuela's Chávez chastened
Tues., Dec. 4, 2007 - Rejection of bid for more power shows limits of support

A day after the first electoral loss of Hugo Chávez's presidency, the calculus of political affairs in Venezuela has fundamentally changed. A once-demoralized, inept opposition won an important victory in Sunday's national referendum on constitutional changes, exposing weaknesses in Chávez's traditional base of support and slowing, at least for the moment, a process that would have eroded the country's system of checks and balances.

"The first thing we did was to defeat that giant leap of the president to his totalitarian project," Américo Martín, a longtime leftist leader here opposed to Chávez, said Monday. "That has an enormous significance. The second thing we did was to show that the vote does work here." Analysts said the rejection of 69 constitutional amendments demonstrated that important segments of Chávez's base of support -- the poor and the working class -- are not willing to accept his vision wholesale, no matter how popular his social and economic programs. Even some of those who had ardently backed the president in the past had their doubts this time.

The president acknowledged the significance of his loss after midnight Monday, minutes after authorities announced that voters had rejected, 51 percent to 49 percent, amendments that would have permitted him to run for office indefinitely, control the country's finances and appoint governors. Chávez noted that 7.3 million of his countrymen had reelected him last December, but that his supporters didn't turn out in the same numbers this time.

"We had 3 million fewer votes than we received a year ago, imagine that," he said in an interview on state television. Chávez has five more years in office and under the current constitution cannot be reelected. He could call for an elected constituent assembly to change the charter, though it could prove difficult for him to ensure such a body is full of his supporters.

Concession Venezuela's Chávez chastened - Washington Post - MSNBC.com

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Birds of a feather...

Hezbollah adopts Chavez as hero
21 September 2006 - Venezuela’s outspoken President Hugo Chavez, who lashed out at his US counterpart George W. Bush from the podium of the UN General Assembly, has scored a big hit with Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

“Gracias Chavez,” proclaimed large posters hurriedly put up on Thursday by Hezbollah activists in their Shia stronghold of Beirut’s southern suburbs on the eve of a “victory” rally following the group’s war with Israel.

The portrait, showing Chavez in a red shirt and punching the air with a fist, also calls for Israel “to be taken to court for its crimes” during the 34-day war which ended in mid-August after more than 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon alone. Caracas pulled the Venezuelan charge d’affaires out of Israel in early August to protest its operations inside Lebanon, with Chavez charging that Israel “had lost its mind”.

Another poster, next to a road bridge destroyed in an Israeli air raid, shows Chavez and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and announces the launch of a petition of thanks for the Venezuelan leader. It also hails “our coalition from Gaza to Beirut, to Damascus, to Tehran, and with our brother Chavez”, quoting Nasrallah.

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Iran making push into Nicaragua
12/18/2007 — The second military helicopter in as many days hovered over the jungle and then landed to a most unwelcome reception from several dozen angry Rama Indian and Creole villagers.

Rupert Allen Clear Duncan, a leader of some 400 Creole who live along the shoreline, confronted the foreigners dressed in suits and military uniforms that day in March and demanded to know the purpose of their aerial trespasses. "This is our land; we have always lived here, and you don't have our permission to be here," Duncan spat, when refused the courtesy of an explanation.

Not until Duncan threatened to have his machete-waving followers damage the aircraft did they learn that some of the men were from the Islamic Republic of Iran and had come promising to establish a Central American foothold in the middle of their territory.

As part of a new partnership with Nicaragua's Sandinista President Daniel Ortega, Iran and its Venezuelan allies plan to help finance a $350 million deep-water port at Monkey Point on the wild Caribbean shore, and then plow a connecting "dry canal" corridor of pipelines, rails and highways across the country to the populous Pacific Ocean. Iran recently established an embassy in Nicaragua's capital.

In feeling threatened by Iran's ambitions, the people of Monkey Point have powerful company. The Iranians' arrival in Nicaragua comes as the Bush administration and some European allies hold the threat of war over Iran to force an end to its uranium enrichment program and alleged help to anti-U.S. insurgents in Iraq.

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FARC kidnappers playin' him for a fool...

Chavez' Image Takes a Knock After Hostage Release Delayed
January 03, 2008 - Following drawn-out negotiations with the Colombia's armed rebel group FARC, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' effort to secure the release of three hostages appears to have failed.

The negotiations with the Colombian group, whose full name is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), came after a public quarrel between Chavez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, derided by the Venezuelan leader last November as a "sad pawn of the empire" -- a reference to the United States. The U.S. has committed $308 million in 2008 military aid for the anti-narcotics campaign known as Plan Colombia, along with $246 million in humanitarian aid.

Chavez had hoped FARC would release three hostages at the weekend. They are Clara Rojas, a former vice president candidate in Colombia; her four-year-old son, Emmanuel, who was born in captivity; and former lawmaker Consuelo Gonzalez. Another hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, is a Colombian politician who was campaigning for the presidency in 2002 when she was kidnapped, along with Rojas, her running mate. Gonzalez was seized in 2001. Betancourt has French citizenship, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is also trying to get her and others freed.

The handover -- which Chavez dubbed "Operation Emmanuel -- was to have taken place in the Colombian rainforest, where the FARC and other armed groups operate, getting most of their income from cultivating coca plantations and taking hostages. A reception committee included various Latin American representatives, including former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, as well as Hollywood movie director Oliver Stone.

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Venezuela's Chavez launches major cabinet reshuffle
4 Jan 2008, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday that he had named former housing minister Ramon Carrizales as his new vice president, part of a major cabinet rehuffling after a stinging poll defeat last month.

Carrizales will replace Jorge Rodriguez, blamed by many Chavez supporters for the loss of a December referendum that would have allowed the president to run for re-election indefinitely. In a phone call to state television, Chavez said he would make 13 changes in the cabinet, but said he could not yet reveal most of them.

He said it was important to reach out to the middle classes and other sectors of society often alienated by his pro-poor policies. "We are not extremists," he said. Rodriguez was a combative figure the left-wing president brought in last year to oversee a wave of nationalizations in Chavez's drive toward a socialist economy.

The proposed reform shot down by voters would have given Chavez sweeping powers to create a socialist state. In the past few days, Chavez has softened his frequently strident tone, appearing to accept common criticism about failures in basis services like trash collection and policing.

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Chavez gonna grab control of Venezuelan food supply...

Chavez warns he could nationalize food companies
Mon Feb 4, 2008 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Monday he could nationalize large food distributors caught hoarding amid widespread shortages of groceries, saying he was hoping for an "excuse" to take them over.

Despite unprecedented oil income, the OPEC nation has struggled for months to keep food on supermarket shelves, a problem businesses blame on government price controls. Authorities attribute the shortages to hoarding by unscrupulous capitalists. "I hope they give me the excuse I need to intervene and expropriate the big chains ... of food production and distribution," Chavez said during a televised speech.

"We are going to keep an eye on the big ones, that's where the most ferocious capitalism is." Chavez's warning came just weeks after Venezuela's largest food distributor, Alimentos Polar, accused the government of seizing 500 metric tons of food because of charges by officials that the company was preparing to smuggle the goods into Colombia.

Chavez, a self-described socialist, last month launched a campaign to end shortages of basic foods, and authorized the National Guard to seize thousands of metric tons of food suspected of being hoarded or smuggled. Despite soaring inflation, Venezuela's government has maintained price controls and often forces merchants to sell products at a loss or stop selling them altogether.

More Chavez warns he could nationalize food companies | International | Reuters

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Wonder how Hugo likes dem apples?...

Court Bars Sale of Billions in Exxon Oil Assets by Venezuela
February 8, 2008 — The oil giant Exxon Mobil has won court orders freezing as much as $12 billion in petroleum assets controlled by Venezuela’s government in an escalation of a dispute over efforts by President Hugo Chávez to assert greater control over the country’s oil industry.

Venezuela’s dollar-denominated bonds suffered their steepest drop in six months on Thursday on concerns that Mr. Chávez’s government could face a protracted legal battle with Exxon, preventing the government from raising cash through the sale of refineries abroad if the economy here slows after years of torrid growth. Investors are also increasingly concerned about the financial health of the national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, amid reports that its debt is ballooning as its output declines. The oil company is the largest single source of revenue for Mr. Chávez’s government, financing an array of social welfare projects and foreign aid to leftist allies.

“This is a big blow against Venezuela,” said Pietro Pitts, an oil analyst who publishes Latin Petroleum, an industry magazine based here. “It could set an important precedent for other multinationals threatened by Venezuela’s government.” After Mr. Chávez’s move to take control of large oil ventures last year, Exxon dug in for a fight. While Chevron and other companies accepted the terms imposed by Mr. Chávez, Exxon aggressively sought to prevent Venezuela from transferring control of foreign-based oil assets to entities here ahead of arbitration proceedings.

In recent days, Exxon won a court order from the High Court of London prohibiting Petróleos de Venezuela from selling assets worldwide up to a value of $12 billion, Margaret Ross, an Exxon spokeswoman in Houston, said in a statement. Exxon won similar orders in the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles for assets worth up to $12 billion. And in New York, Exxon won an order freezing $300 million of Petróleos de Venezuela’s assets. Despite a deterioration of political relations between Caracas and Washington, Venezuela remains a major trading partner with the United States, ranking as its fourth-largest supplier of imported crude oil.

Venezuela’s government also controls Citgo Petroleum of Houston, which operates refineries in Illinois, Louisiana and Texas. Mr. Chávez’s government has compensated American companies in previous nationalizations of their assets when it was faced with the possibility of losing control of Citgo and other foreign assets in retaliation. A spokesman for Petróleos de Venezuela did not return calls seeking comment. The company is expected to appeal the rulings. The dispute may raise borrowing costs for Petróleos de Venezuela, which is being reconfigured by Mr. Chávez to focus on pressing social concerns.

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Exxon to freeze $12B in Venezuelan assets
February 7 2008: High Court of England grants U.S. oil company the right to freeze assets belonging to the country's recently nationalized oil company.

ExxonMobil Corp. has secured court orders to freeze more than $12 billion in worldwide assets of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, as it prepares to dispute the nationalization of a multibillion-dollar oil project. The move limits Petroleos de Venezuela's room to maneuver as it fends off challenges from major Western oil companies over President Hugo Chavez's 2007 decision to nationalize four heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Basin, one of the richest oil deposits in the world.

Exxon and ConocoPhillips opted to walk away from the contracts rather than stay on in a minority role. Both have filed arbitration proceedings with the World Bank seeking compensation and Conoco "continues to discuss an amicable resolution specific to the assets that were expropriated in Venezuela," Conoco spokesman Bill Tanner said. ExxonMobil has so far been the most aggressive in fighting back. The Irving, Texas-based oil major's legal action essentially seeks to ring-fence Venezuelan assets ahead of any decision by the arbitration panel.

According to documents filed last month in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Exxon Mobil has secured an "order of attachment" on about $300 million in cash held by PdVSA. A hearing to confirm the order is scheduled in New York for Feb. 13. Exxon also filed documents with the New York court showing it had secured a freeze on $12 billion on PdVSA's worldwide assets from a U.K. court. "On Jan. 24, the High Court of England and Wales was satisfied that there is a real risk that PdVSA will dissipate its assets and accordingly entered a Worldwide Freezing Order ex parte," Exxon said in the filing to the New York court. The order prohibits PdVSA from "disposing of its assets worldwide up to a value of $12 billion whether directly or indirectly held."

Further hearings on the $12 billion freeze are scheduled on Feb. 22, according to Exxon's filing. In a statement, Exxon Mobil spokesperson Margaret Ross confirmed the court filings. She added that the company "has obtained attachment orders from courts in the Netherlands and Netherlands Antilles against PdVSA assets in each of these jurisdictions up to $12 billion." Exxon said the orders are subject to further review by the courts. "We will not comment further on legal proceedings," she said.

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