Free Republic

Venezuela's Chavez Changes PdVSA Board of Directors by Raul Gallegos and Darcy Crowe Dow Jones Newswires Friday, September 05, 2008 CARACAS (Dow Jones Newswires), September 5, 2008 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has overhauled the board of directors of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, bringing in a host of new faces while leaving current Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez at the helm of the company. Chavez named six new directors in a decision that took immediate effect, the state oil company said in a statement. Related Products Economics of Worldwide Petroleum Production, 2nd Edition Tales From The Oil Patch Ramirez will remain as...

As part of their recruitment drive, leaders of the anti-war, anti-American activist group, Code Pink, showed up at the Republicans' national convention in St. Paul yesterday and performed an act of political theater that got them arrested. Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, who really ought to be dressed in bright pink straitjackets, disrupted the acceptance speech of vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and were led away. Benjamin and Evans wore pink slips upon which ''Palin Not a Woman's Choice'' was written and tried to wave a banner that read, ''We need a Peace VP.'' (Sean Hackbarth has a...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Citgo will be allowed to pull 250,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because of its inability to secure crude in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. Venezuela's government-controlled Citgo Petroleum Corp. said Tuesday that supplies to its refinery in Lake Charles, La., were cut off when the Calcasieu Ship Channel closed. http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/03/news/international/citgo_reserve.ap/?postversion=2008090311

Iraq and Georgia, both of which have democratic governments, are sandwiched between Iran and Russia, two of the most authoritarian governments in the world. Russia has been collaborating with Iran to strengthen the latter's nuclear program and its military. It is also steadily arming Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez. Russia's invasion of Georgia came exactly one month after Iran test-fired its Shahab III intermediate ballistic missile in order to intimidate neighbors like Israel and Iraq, and two weeks after Mr. Chávez traveled to Moscow to formalize a "Strategic Alliance" with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. Meanwhile, Iran's proxies...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Some survivors of Hurricane Katrina say they aren't getting enough attention from the Bush administration, so they're turning to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez for help. Ishmael Muhammad of the New Orleans Survivor Council has visited Venezuela three times to seek funding and forge ties. He says the group hopes to raise $45,000 for a center to house 50 people as they rebuild their homes.

Hitler snubbed Michael Phelps at '72 games? By Humberto Fontova Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has always craved the type of news coverage from the Venezuelan media U.S. presidents such as JFK and Jimmy Carter got from the U.S. media – to say nothing of the type presidential candidate Barack Obama currently gets. Alas, a few Venezuelan reporters persisted in covering Chavez in a manner more similar to that of Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Andrea Mitchell's coverage of U.S. Republican presidents such as Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Socialism: Venezuela's seizure of Cemex assets Monday is more than a typical nationalization of resources. Its vindictive manner has much to do with the firm's Mexican headquarters. It's a message to others in the region.Like a quasi-military conquest, Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez marched in troops to "take back" four Cemex cement plants in the dead of night as part of his nationalization of cement announced in April. "It was time," he said Tuesday, calling it one of his "steps toward socialism." Chavez then popped out fireworks as red T-shirted mobs, judges and politicians headed to the plants and cheered their...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP): The Venezuelan government has locked up control of more than 90 percent of the domestic cement industry with its nationalization of one foreign-owned plant and pressured buyout of two others. In the most recent of a series of state takeovers of key foreign-controlled businesses, at midnight Monday, Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez led workers and supporters to take symbolic control of the Mexican-owned Cemex plant in the eastern part of the country. Picture of the entrance of the Mexican cement company Cemex's Mara plant in Maracaibo, Venezuela. AFP PHOTO The move, after talks on a buyout...

NEW YORK, USA (AFP): Crude oil prices spiked higher Tuesday after OPEC member Venezuela said it would ask the cartel at its September meeting to cut production if downward price pressure continues. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, jumped 1.66 dollars to close at 114.53 dollars a barrel.

Venezuela has seized control of plants and offices belonging to Mexican cement giant Cemex, as it proceeds with nationalising its cement industry. Government officials backed by the National Guard took over the factories after talks ended without a deal. It comes a day after France's Lafarge and Swiss group Holcim agreed to hand over local subsidiaries to Caracas. Venezuela has begun nationalising several industries as part of a drive toward "21st-Century socialism". At a political rally on Monday President Hugo Chavez said Cemex would move into state hands - after 60 days of failed negotiations - adding: "These are all...

DANNY Glover's movie project with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez never got off the ground - and it's because of Hollywood's racism, Glover whines. Marxist Chavez was smart enough to offer just half the financing for the film, $18 million. Glover was supposed to get the other $18 million from a distributor, but no one in Hollywood was interested in a preachy film about Haitian independence hero Toussaint L'Ouverture. Glover told a Paris film seminar: "Producers said, It's a nice project, a great project . . . where are the white heroes?'

CARACAS: President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that Russian President Dimitri Medvedev wants to send a Russian naval fleet to visit Venezuela. "Russia has informed us they intend to visit Venezuela, that is, the intention that a Russian fleet should come to the Caribbean," Chavez said on his weekly radio program. "I told the president (Medvedev), 'If you're coming to the Caribbean, we'll welcome you,'" Chavez said, adding that the Russian naval fleet would pay "a friendly and working" visit to Venezuela. Under leftist President Chavez, Venezuela has been seeking closer relations with Moscow, in part to buy military hardware,...

CARACAS (Reuters) – Washington-foe Venezuela plans to launch an observation satellite within five years to map its territory, President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday. Venezuela's first satellite, named after independence hero Simon Bolivar, is for broadcast and telecommunications purposes and is due to be launched from China in November, Chavez said. But major oil explorer Venezuela is seeking to build a second satellite to help map the vast South American country, Chavez said on his weekly television show. "Who has got great multicolored maps of Venezuela? The Yankees," he said. "Now we are going to have our own. We have...

With $1 billion a month in state oil profits, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has converted cash into political clout.

President Hugo Chavez assured World Jewish Congress (WJC) leaders on Wednesday that he would work with the Jewish community against anti-Semitism. The meeting succeeded in allaying much of the fear among Jewish leaders about increasing anti-Semitism in the South American country. WJC Secretary-General Michael Schneider told the Associated Press that the meeting was a positive one, and that Chavez and the Jewish community are "on the same page" regarding anti-Semitism. Chavez told the Venezuela has not had a fully accredited ambassador in Israel since 2006. delegation that he would arrange a joint statement condemning anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination...

The bizarre remarks and actions of the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez continue to concern anyone who is interested in the peace and security of the Caribbean region. Chavez has recently purchased $4 billion worth of military equipment from Russia, including 24 Sukhoi combat aircraft with missiles, Main battle tanks, transport aircraft, air defence systems and Kalashnikov AK automatic assault rifles. This latest purchase follows a 2005-2006 agreement with Russia to buy over 50 combat helicopters, 12 Tor-M1state-of-the-art defence anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missile systems and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles. Having purchased all this heavy-duty weaponry, Chavez boasted that his air force could...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Riot police used tear gas Wednesday to block hundreds of Venezuelans protesting the latest moves by President Hugo Chavez to concentrate his power. The demonstrators said a blacklist of opposition candidates and a series of socialist decrees are destroying what's left of their democracy. Though the protest of about 1,000 people chanting "freedom!" was small compared to past marches, there is a growing public outcry over the sidelining of key government opponents ahead of state and local elections in November.

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, who funds Iran-aligned terrorist group Hezbollah, has given $1.5 million to a Washington, D.C.-area charity that advocates for illegal aliens, the Washington Post reports. (See my previous Boston Herald op-ed about Chavez and terrorism here.) As part of Venezuela's "public diplomacy" (i.e. propaganda and subversion) program in the United States, the Silver Spring, Maryland-based Casa de Maryland will receive the grant from CITGO, Venezuela's government-owned oil company that is controlled by Chavez. Of course the Washington Post buried the story, placing it on page D8, as Ken Shepherd of NewsBusters noted. The Post reported that The...

<p>SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Immigrant-advocacy group Casa de Maryland on Monday received a $1.5 million donation from Citgo Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company that is controlled by President Hugo Chavez.</p> <p>The funds will be used to strengthen Casa's $4.4 million social-service, small-business and vocational-training programs... Kim Propeack, advocacy director for the Montgomery County-based organization, said it's the largest corporate gift Casa has received. "Like many nonprofits, Casa has been trying to grow its corporate investment," she said. "Citgo is very committed to ensuring that the profits they earn through their business are shared by low-income people...." A Monday news conference to announce the donation was postponed because of a personal emergency of Citgo President Alejandro Granado, who was to attend with the Venezuelan ambassador. Ms. Propeack said the contribution would still be finalized Monday.</p>

CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez is aiming to set up neighborhood-based militias, move toward a socialist economy in Venezuela and increase state control over agriculture under a package of laws enacted by presidential decree. ... The decree allows the government to "restrict or prohibit the import, export, distribution, exchange or sale" of certain foods or agricultural products and "take over distribution activities when considered necessary." Other measures increase state control over commerce, services and publicity. Businesses that violate the new rules can face fines or indefinite closure. One decree aims to support efforts toward a socialist-style economy at the...

The Colombian TV released footage taken by the army during the rescue operation of July 2, 2008 where several hostages were freed, including presidential hopeful Ingrid Betancourt and 3 American citizens. American CIA and Israeli Mossad were involved in this operation.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez is aiming to set up neighborhood-based militias, move toward a socialist economy in Venezuela and increase state control over agriculture under a package of laws enacted by presidential decree. Changes in areas from the military to small business loans were pushed through by the president in 26 laws released Monday in the official gazette.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says 24 Sukhoi fighter jets have been delivered to Venezuela — and are ready to defend his country from "imperialist" aggressions.

CARACAS: Venezuela will nationalize the local unit of the Spanish bank Grupo Santander, President Hugo Chavez said Thursday. Chavez said he would pay fair compensation for the bank. The government blocked the bank's attempt to sell itself to a local investor. In an address, Chavez said that "I am interested, and we are going to nationalize it." The financial institution is Venezuela's largest bank. Under Chavez's governance, Venezuela also has nationalized its largest telephone, electricity, steel and cement companies and has assumed majority control over four major oil projects.

Comrades In Arms By Stephen Brown FrontPageMagazine.com July 31, 2008 It had the atmosphere of the Cold War. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s trip to Russia this month brought back memories of the 40-year East-West confrontation when Fidel Castro was the Soviet Union’s favorite Latin American dictator. The warm greeting, the fact it was Chavez’s sixth visit to Russia and his use of the familiar Russian ‘you’ (ty) when talking to Vladimir Putin indicated the closeness of the relationship that was once Castro’s. Even the rhetoric was the same. Like El Presidente, Chavez insisted on a “strategic alliance” to meet “the...

MOSCOW - Russian strategic bombers may soon be deployed at airbases in Cuba, Venezuela and Algeria as a response to the U.S. missile shield in Europe and NATO's expansion, Russian daily Izvestia said on Thursday. Moscow has strongly opposed the possible deployment by the U.S. of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and an accompanying tracking radar in the Czech RFepublic as a treat to its national security. Washington says the defenses are needed to deter a possible strike from Iran, or other "rogue" states...

On a trip to Caracas, I saw a graffiti comment written on a phone kiosk but can't get the translation. It was: "Chavez Farzanet (or maybe farzanct) Comunista" A friend from Venezuela couldn't translate the second word while the rest is obvious. Can anyone help? I get the probable contextual meaning, I'm looking for someone who can actually do the translation.

Russia & Venezuela Combo

The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, today arrived in Moscow on his latest arms-buying spree, saying that his country needed to buy more weapons to defend itself from the United States. Chávez met Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev this morning. He is expected to sign a billion-dollar arms deal with Russia for new missile defence systems and diesel-powered submarines. "I have great hopes we will be able to continue building our strategic alliance," Chávez said after landing in Moscow for a two-day trip. He added: "The deals will guarantee the sovereignty of Venezuela which is being threatened by the United States."

MOSCOW: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may spend up to a billion dollars on Russian weapons in a trip to Moscow next week, said a Russian military-industrial source cited by news agency Interfax on Saturday. Chavez's shopping list could include three "Varshavianka" class electric-diesel submarines and 20 Tor-M1 ground-to-air missile systems worth around a billion dollars (630 million euros), the source added. "During the visit several contracts are likely to be signed for the delivery of arms and military technology to Caracas," the source told Interfax. "For a number of military contracts, all the details have already been settled, they are...

CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suggested Sunday that an oil price bubble created by speculators could eventually give way to lower oil prices. "We're waiting for the (oil price) speculation bubble to explode...But even with a price of $70 (a barrel) we would have a mass of money" to finance a number of projects at home and abroad, Chavez said as he addressed attendants of the V PetroCaribe summit. Venezuelan officials often attribute high world oil prices to speculators as well as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

This month's spectacular rescue by Colombian commandos of 15 hostages cast an international spotlight on the miseries inflicted by the terrorist group responsible for the kidnappings, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Much of the FARC's strength is derived from its protection of an illicit narcotics trade which channels cocaine to North American communities. But the recent hostage rescue has also drawn attention to the real role played by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in using the FARC to destabilize the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, his regional archrival. During a previous commando raid in March, which killed...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday oil prices could hit $300 per barrel if U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil again freezes Venezuelan assets in a dispute over a nationalized oil project. Exxon won court orders freezing $12 billion in assets held by Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA after the OPEC nation took over a multi-billion dollar oil project, heightening tensions with the United States and helping to raise oil prices. A London court later overturned Exxon's temporary asset freeze, but Chavez said the company could seek further action against Venezuela. "If they freeze us there will be no more...

Do Democrats Care about Chavez and his Oppression of the Jews? Ed LaskyAmerican Thinker has long noted that many leading Democrats seem to have a special warm spot for Hugo Chavez, the increasingly dictatorial President of Venezuala. He is a supporter of the FARC terrorist group operating inside our ally Colombia's territory. He is a fomenter of radicalism throughout South America, a partner and good friend of the Iranian regime. In short, he is an anti-American tyrant who lately has been trying to impose Nazi-like police powers in Venezuala. He has had a high-level summit meeting with the Holocaust-denying, Holocuast-planning Presdient of Iran,...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez thanking him for the "tireless efforts that helped" release last week several hostages held by the Colombian guerrillas, including Ingrid Betancourt. "As we celebrate the release of Ingrid Betancourt and other 14 hostages, I thank you again for your tireless efforts that helped the hostages of Colombia to come back to freedom and the love of their beloved ones," said the French president, as quoted on Tuesday in a press release from the Venezuelan government. Early this year, Chávez welcome six hostages in Venezuela, who were unilaterally...

Venezuelan President Hugo chavez (left) with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in September 2006. The acronym shown on their helmets, PDSVA, stands for Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the parent company of CITGO. * * * * *We already knew that Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez provides safe haven to Islamist terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas in his country, but now we know he actually funds Iran-aligned Hezbollah too. (See my previous Boston Herald op-ed here.) From a Washington Times report today: The Bush administration is accusing the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of providing cash and refuge to the militant...

Iran-Venezuela-Chavez Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stressed on Sunday that his people support their Iranian brothers. President Chavez made the remark in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Press Affairs, Ali-Reza Malekian held on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Conveying his warm greetings for his Iranian counterpart, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Venezuelan president expressed hope that he would visit the Islamic Republic in the near future. For his part, the Iranian envoy said Tehran supports Venezuela's constructive proposals regarding establishment of NAM TV network and efforts for free exchange...

Undercover Officers Got Acting Lessons; 'Crocodile Dundee' BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- New details have emerged about an important supporting role for the U.S. in Colombia's daring rescue of 15 hostages held by the country's Marxist guerrillas. One area where the Americans were directly involved: Giving Hollywood-style acting classes to the Colombian undercover military officers who duped the guerrillas into handing over the hostages. Preparation for the rescue mission, which freed three Americans and former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, involved mounting a makeshift studio on an army base and drilling the undercover military officers in their acting roles, according to senior...

The sensational rescue of 15 hostages from the grip of Latin America's largest rebel group has highlighted the diminished state of an organization that just six years ago threatened to overrun the Colombian government. Once fueled by Marxist ideology and awash in narcotics profits, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, now finds itself facing a more robust Colombian military led by a popular president. The group has suffered the deaths of top leaders, seen large-scale defections of supporters, and is being squeezed for the money it needs to sustain its operations. Now the FARC has lost its trophy...

<p>BOGOTA (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages were rescued from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops on Wednesday after years in captivity, the government said.</p>

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Tuesday stated that the reactivation of the US Navy Fourth Fleet to patrol Latin American seas is a threat. The ruler claimed he was certain the move was a threat, and underscored that one of the reasons behind this action was Venezuela's huge oil reserve. "I do not have any doubt about it. It is a threat. There is no need to make any questions. I am sure you feel it that way too," he told reporters. Chávez urged the member countries of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) to ask the US administration for...

Hugo Chavez faces political crisis as allies desert him By David Blair in Caracas Last Updated: 9:24PM BST 29/06/2008 President Hugo Chavez, the "socialist revolutionary" leading a global campaign against America's "empire", is facing a political crisis in Venezuela where crucial elections are approaching and old allies have turned against him. Mr Chavez has given Caracas's slum-dwellers free health care for the first time Mr Chavez, a devoted admirer of Fidel Castro, has forged an anti-American front with leaders ranging from President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. At home, however, Mr Chavez is in trouble....

President Hugo Chavez's Venezuela has become the key trafficking route for most of the cocaine sold on Britain's streets, anti-drugs officials believe. Last year, about 250 tons of cocaine are thought to have passed through Venezuela - up to a five-fold increase on 2004. Much of this ended up in Britain. Anti-drugs officials estimate that more than 50 per cent of all the cocaine consumed in Britain has been trafficked through Venezuela - under the "revolutionary" regime of Mr Chavez. The figure could be as high as two thirds. Senior commanders in Venezuela's security forces are thought to be profiting...

<p>CARACAS - Grimacing from contractions, expectant mother Castuca Marino had more on her mind than birth pangs.</p> <p>She was nervous about whether she and her newborn child would make it out of the hospital alive. Interviewed as she stood in the emergency room of Concepción Palacios Maternity Hospital here last week, Marino had heard news reports of six infant deaths there over the course of a 24-hour period late in March.</p>

That Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez’ regime is enabling Islamic terrorist organizations to take root in South America is no longer in question. What will the US do? In December 2002 freelance journalist Martin Arostegui published an article in Insight Magazine (“Chavez plans for a terrorist regime”) in which he reported the arrival in Venezuela of Hakim Mamad Ali Diab Fattah, a member of Hizballah. Venezuelan officials received him at the airport. In connection with his presence in the country Arostegui interviewed the former Venezuelan Intelligence Director, General Marcos Ferreira, who said Fattah represented only the tip of the iceberg in...

June 22, 2008: A new battlefield for the war on terror has developed in Venezuela. There, leftist president Hugo Chavez has not only established close diplomatic relations with Iran (and Cuba, North Korea and radical groups throughout the region), but has allowed Iran to set up operations in South America. Regular commercial flights from Iran to Venezuela (via Syria, to accommodate Hizbollah) carry people, cash and whatever else Iran wants to move. No questions asked, no visas required. Several U.S. counter-terrorism operations have gone to work, trying to find out what Iran is up to, and how to block any...

Terrorism: A Venezuelan diplomat is found to be supporting Hezbollah, and his placement on a Treasury no-go list is laughed at in Caracas. Obviously, something's going on here. For the second time in three months, Venezuela has been implicated in foreign terrorism. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control named two well-connected Venezuelans as facilitators of Hezbollah Wednesday. Ghazi Nasr al Din and Fawzi Kan'an, along with two Caracas travel agencies, were put on the list this past week, their assets frozen and businesses prohibited.

High court endorses nationalization of cement makers The constitutional court of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), heard by its president, justice Luisa Estella Morales, declared the constitutional nature of the statutory decree on the organization of cement makers; therefore, they will become the state property. A press bulletin from the TSJ, quoted by state-run news agency ABN, noted the relevance of this regulation that reserves the Venezuelan state a business in the public interest. The decree was in reply to a communication forwarded last June 2nd by President Hugo Chávez. From now on, companies Cemex Venezuela, S.A.C.A., Holcim Venezuela,...

Diplomatic tensions between Colombia and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez have generated fierce rhetoric, political protests and even troop movements along the frontier between the Andean neighbors. Now a Colombian designer has come up with an idea he hopes will create a humorous way to deal with local anger over the man many in his country consider a threat to national security - a fake Chavez voodoo doll complete with a set of needles.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he is “fervently looking forward to working with President Obama to bring social justice to the Western Hemisphere. “Together we will strangle the capitalist oppressors of the working class,” Chavez declared. Chavez said he is heartened by Obama’s pledge to meet with him. “I feel he is a man of progressive views,” Chavez opined. “Luckily, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Castro has laid out a blueprint for those of us who come after him.” As an example, Chavez pointed out that Cuba’s national health care program covers sex-change surgery. “Under capitalism, people are...