Compilation of Folk Tales Shares Guyanese Culture to the World

Compilation of Folk Tales Shares Guyanese Culture to the World
Ambassador Gathers and Puts into Writing the Myths and Legends of His People

BOSTON – Guyana Legends: Folk Tales of the Indigenous Amerindians is a collection of 50 folktales of the first people to inhabit Guyana and the contiguous regions of the north coast of the South American continent. It is compiled and written by author Dr. Odeen Ishmael.

Very little is known of Amerindian history in Guyana before the arrival of European settlers in the early 17th century and, actually, no written form of their languages existed until about 70 years ago. Indeed, much of the history of the Amerindian people is based on oral traditions which are not quite clear because the periods when important events occurred are difficult to place. Still, native oral traditions are very rich in folk stories of the ancestral heroes and heroines of these indigenous people.

These stories which interweave in the realms of mystery, romance, humor, superstition, magic and fantasy, are part of the rich oral traditions of these people. Above all, they tell of their closeness to their natural environment and this is reflected in the roles of the forest animals in many of the stories in this collection. Undoubtedly, these folktales, and the lessons they impart, add to the rich cultural blend of the people of Guyana and the wider Caribbean region.

This present collection of Amerindian legends was compiled over a lengthy period of many years during which the author listened to and collected versions of these tales from elderly Amerindians in various regions of Guyana, and more recently from Amerindian residents of the Delta Amacuro region of Venezuela, on the frontier with Guyana.

Readers will find these legends of the original inhabitants of Guyana informative in the anthropological sense, in addition to being interesting and entertaining at the same time.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to www.Xlibris.com .

About the Author
Dr. Odeen Ishmael, a veteran Guyanese diplomat, is currently the ambassador of Guyana to the State of Kuwait. He previously served as ambassador to Venezuela (2003-2011) and to the United States (1993-2003) where, simultaneously, he was his country's Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States. Since the 1970s, he has been a premier writer on the problems and perspectives of education in Guyana and the wider Caribbean region. He has also written extensively on Guyanese history and culture as well as political developments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guyana Legends * by Odeen Ishmael
Folk Tales of the Indigenous Amerindians
Publication Date: August 30, 2011
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Venezuela could have Cuban-style system

Venezuela could have Cuban-style system
 
The last Venezuelan legislature gave President Hugo Chávez power to create a Cuban-style political system in the country.
 
By ANTONIO MARIA DELGADO
 
President Hugo Chávez has the legal framework to finish implementing Cuban-style socialism in Venezuela with the introduction of a series of laws that redesign the country's political and economic architecture, analysts said.
 
The experts added that a Chávez victory in next year's presidential elections could seal the process.
 
 Experts consulted by El Nuevo Herald said that a package of measures approved in a hurry in December by the previous National Assembly set up the basis for a profound transformation of the of the country.

"This is all about five pieces of legislation establishing a socialist state parallel to the constitutional, democratic and lawful current government and which would, in general, introduce a new social and economic regime in which private property would be subject to the rules set up by Communal power," said Leonardo Palacios, tax professor at the University of Venezuela, who has been analyzing the reach of the new legislation.
 
 Though these laws are designed to create a model parallel to the existing democratic order, Palacios said that those structures would eventually replace it, following a similar scheme used by Cuba and the former Soviet Union.
 
 "In Cuba it was an extremely important strategy for many years, following the essential policy of Democratic Centralism in the Soviet Union, which establishes that absolutely everything is under a government plan," Palacios said.
 
 "Absolutely everything would be run by the government, everything having to do with production, distribution and even the way of consuming. That is what is being incorporated here in Venezuela," he said.
 
 The laws introduce the concept of Communal State and Communal Economy, under which the means of production as well as the country's power structure would reside.
 
 Venezuelans have already rejected that concept in the Chávez-sponsored referendum in 2007 to reform the Constitution. Introducing it now through the National Assembly raises questions about its legality, the experts said.
 
 "President Chávez, in spite of having lost the 2007 referendum to incorporate that constitutional amendment, paid no attention to that vote's mandate and simply went on with the process of 'communizing' Venezuela Cuban-style with a legislation package that is obviously unconstitutional," said Pedro Palma, president of Venezuela's National Academy of Economic Sciences.
 
 "But this doesn't matter here," he added. "What matters here is the will of the president, period."
 
 The laws have not been applied yet and they have not been brought up again after the public attention has been focusing on Chávez's cancer. But, Palacios said, that could change very quickly.
 
 "It will all depend on the developments of the next few months," he said. "I believe that an election loss to the democratic alternative would be really disastrous."
 
 "A new term by Chávez could compromise the country's democratic stability, because having the Assembly and the government on his side, and now these laws, could lead to the acceleration of the revolutionary process," he said.
 
 The group of laws, which the Venezuelan media call the Cuban Package, include the Organic Law of Social Audit, the Organic Law of Popular Power, the Organic Law of Public and Popular Planning, the Organic Law of the Communes and the Organic Law of the Communal Economic System.
 
 Some of these laws make clear reference to socialism as a concept of economic order, defining it as "a model of social relations in central production in common solidarity, and the satisfaction of material and intangible needs of the society as a whole."

IACHR Court rules on the case of Venezuelan ex mayor

IACHR Court rules on the case of Venezuelan ex mayor

It is unknown whether the ruling favors the coordinator of opposition political Voluntad Popular party. None of the judges disclosed anything and promised to release the decision in the next few weeks

After almost 20 hours of deliberations, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court) finally settled a complaint that was filed against Venezuela by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for alleged violation of the rights to elect and be elected of ex Chacao municipality mayor Leopoldo López, barred from public office by the Venezuelan Comptroller General until 2014.

Justices Diego García-Sayán (president), Manuel Ventura, Margarette May Macaulay, Rhadys Abreu, Alberto Pérez and Eduardo Vio Grossi unanimously approved in Bogotá, Colombia, the 12th ruling of the hemispheric court against Venezuela. However, it is uncertain whether the ruling favors the coordinator of opposition political Voluntad Popular party, as none of the judges revealed anything at all. They promised to release the content over the next few weeks.

Venezuela gears up for offshore oil exploitation

Venezuela gears up for offshore oil exploitation

Ricardo Rojas, Press TV, Caracas

Venezuela's state oil company, Pdvsa, is considering developing offshore exploitation of hydrocarbons with equipment produced locally.
 

Although many have criticised that the gas industry has taken a lot of time to kick off, the government seems determined to overcome obstacles to fulfil the enterprise
 
Pdvsa is currently moving the first platform assembled in Venezuela to the Corocoro Field, its final destination in the Gulf of Paria, where oil and gas production are expected to be increased from 30,000 to 70,000 barrels per day.
 
With an investment of $800 million, the construction of the 7,500-ton structure began in 2006 thanks to an offshore joint venture formed by Pdvsa's subsidiary Petrosucre, and Italian state company ENI.
 
ENI has a 26% stake in the offshore block Gulf of Paria West, and PDVSA holds the remaining 74%. Corocoro is just one of the fields that make up the block and has an estimated reserve of 430 million barrels of crude oil.
 
The future offshore natural gas industry is also expected to optimise the electric energy sector which currently falls into costly expenses for the use of diesel, as well as improve the life of communities making a living near production centres.

Turkey reopens embassy in Tripoli, Chavez urges talks

Turkey reopens embassy in Tripoli, Chavez urges talks

ISTANBUL: Turkey on Friday reopened its embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli which it closed in May due to the deteriorating security situation in the north African country, the foreign ministry said.

A diplomatic team led by Ali Kemal Aydin, the ministry's deputy director responsible for general and bilateral relations, flew from Ankara to Tunisia on Thursday and was expected to arrive in Tripoli on Friday by land, said the ministry in a statement.

The National Transitional Council (NTC) is in the process of moving its fledgling government to the capital from its previous base in Benghazi.

World leaders agreed on Thursday to free up billions of dollars worth of frozen Libyan assets to help the country's interim rulers restore vital services and start rebuilding after a six-month war that ended Muammar Qadhafi's 42-year rule.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez called for talks on his "peace proposal" for Libya, saying it could "stop the madness" in the country.

Chavez, seen as the main ally of ousted strongman Muammar Qadhafi, said he expected a continued conflict following the Libyan leader's call for further resistance.

"The peace proposal of Venezuela and the African Union and many other countries can stop this madness of the (US) empire and its allies," Chavez said during a telephone call to state television channel VTV.

Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba Still Support Gaddafi

Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba Still Support Gaddafi

by Anna Mahjar-Barducci

Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba continue to be the staunchest supporters of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega have both declared that they w ill not abandon Gaddafi in this time of crisis.. Chavez has actually stated that he will continue to recognize only his friend Gaddafi as the legitimate leader of Libya, whereas Ortega has already offered him asylum.
 
Venezuela
 
On August 23, soon after the Libyan rebels entered Gaddafi's main stronghold of the Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli, Chavez declared that for Venezuela, there is "only one government, the one led by Muammar Gaddafi." He then criticized NATO's bombardment by saying that the West has not respected international law: "This is kicking, spitting ... on the most basic elements of international law […] Where are the international rights? This is like the caveman era. […] Now [U.S. President Barack] Obama said he will collaborate economically with the new [Libyan] government, which of course we do not recognize. […] It's harsh but true ... They [the U.S.] arranged this war. They provided the arms, the mercenaries. They had better not attempt to apply the Libyan formula to Venezuela or we'll have to show them our power," he said.
 
According to the Venezuelan paper, El Universal, the fall of Gaddafi's mean the defeat of Chavez. "At a time when even the Arab League has expressed its full support to the Libyan Transitional National Council, the Venezuelan government is the only administration that has publicly deplored the fall of Muammar Gaddafi regime," El Universal writes. Professor Demetrio Boersner, an expert in foreign affairs and former Venezuelan ambassador, told the Venezuelan paper that Chavez has been supporting Gaddafi so feverishly that his fall will be a "political defeat for him vis-à-vis the country and the international opinion." In Boersner's view, the toppling of Gaddafi is therefore a "geopolitical blow" for Chavez and for his political ambitions, "because Chavezism pursued the goal of creating a global alliance of nationalist socialism in Third World countries under the rule of autocrats."
 
As a consequence of the friendship between Chavez and Gaddafi, the Venezuelan embassy in Libya was sacked by the rebels. On the 25th of August, the Venezuelan President informed that the Embassy in Tripoli "was assaulted and totally looted." After the uprising, the stadium in Benghazi that was named after Chavez was given the new name of "Martyrs of February Stadium."
 
At the beginning of August, Gaddafi sent a letter to Chavez to thank him for his support: "I highly value your noble position in support of the Libyan people, as well as the leaders and revolutionaries of Latin America and the Caribbean. We hope to count on that support continuing," Gaddafi wrote. In response, Chavez sent Gaddafi a letter praising his courage: "May the Almighty, clement and merciful one bless you and take care of you; may He bless and protect the heroic and honorable Libyan people; a strong embrace shall go to you, Muammar, with the top, endless feeling of brotherhood. Long live the Libyan people; long live you, my combatant brother. Libya shall live and shall win!" he wrote.
 
Nicaragua
 
The economic adviser to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Bayardo Arce, said that his government would give asylum to Gaddafi if he asked for it. However, the AP reported that Arce was rather pessimistic that Gaddafi would go to Nicaragua. "I do not know how Gaddafi could get here from Libya, because we do not have an embassy in Libya," Arce said during a TV interview.
 
Costa Rica seems to be quite scared and disappointed by the possibility that Nicaragua would host Gaddafi. The website Inside Costa Rica reports that a statement by Costa Rica's Foreign Ministry asked Nicaragua to close any possibility of giving him political asylum. The Foreign Ministry has also asked Central American countries to join in the call for the sake of peace and security in Latin America. In the same statement, the Ministry stresses that the government of Costa Rica hopes that the Libyan uprising succeed in defeating Gaddafi and taking the "necessary actions to ensure the transformation of an authoritarian regime to a fully democratic one, with strong and solid institutions, respect for human rights; and to promote the development of Libya in the framework of freedom and justice."
 
Nicaragua, however, remains loyal to its support for the Libyan Colonel. During a recent speech, the Sandinista President Ortega qualified the NATO intervention in Libya as terrorism, and stressed his support for Gaddafi. In February, when the uprising in Libya started, Ortega said he called Gaddafi on the phone to offer him support.
 
Cuba
 
On August 4, the media reported that Cuban President Raul Castro met with Gaddafi's special envoy, Abdulhafid M. Zlitni, secretary of the People's General Planning and Finance Committee of Libya. Zlitni brought Raul Castro a message from Gaddafi, and also informed him about "the international campaign to isolate Libya orchestrated by Western powers." Raul Castro, for his part, condemned the NATO intervention in Libya.
 
Gaddafi will not go into exile in Latin America
 
Despite support from Latin America, it is too late for Gaddafi to ask for exile. The International Court wants to prosecute the Libyan dictator and put him on trial for crimes against humanity. If Gaddafi had surrendered in the beginning of the uprising, the international community might have accepted the possibility of his going to exile. But after the atrocities he has committed against his people in the last months, the Libyan leader might have to face a war crimes trial unless an exile can still be negotiated between the NATO forces and Gaddafi -- a plan that no one seem to be considering any more -- the Libyan leader has no way out of Libya. Col. Gaddafi's former right-hand man, Abdel-Salam Jalloud, who has recently defected to Italy, confirmed to the media that Gaddafi has no chance of leaving the capital, Tripoli, where he is allegedly hiding. "He has no way of leaving Tripoli. All the roads are blocked. He can only leave with an international agreement, and I think that door is closed," Jalloud said. Further, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini stated that, "The offers of exile were made in increasingly explicit ways many times. The deadline by now has passed, the only path left is that of justice - the justice of the ICC."

Three ETA suspects arrested in Venezuela

Three ETA suspects arrested in Venezuela

The three suspects have been identified as Elena Barcena, José Ignacio Etxarte Urbieta and Francisco Javier Pérez Lekue. They reportedly attempted to escape from Cuba to Venezuela by boat.

Authorities in Venezuela have arrested three veteran members of armed Basque group ETA. They are Elena Bárcena Argüelles, known as 'Neska', José Ignacio Etxarte and Javier Pérez Lekue, antiterrorist sources reported on Friday.

The three were arrested by Venezuelan authorities after the boat in which they were attempting to escape from Cuba ran aground in an area knownas Los Roques, antiterrorist sources reported.
Along with Barcena, Etxarte and Pérez Lekue, Venezuelan authorities also arrested an Haitian citizen who was helping them to escape.

Some months ago, Elena Bárcena and Javier Pérez Lekue wrote a harsh letter of complaint to the Cuban authorities for refusing to allow them to leave the island. After being refused permission by the authorities in Havana, the three decided to leave the country of their own accord.

The three suspects are currently being held by authorities charged with trying to enter the South American country illegally, sources have reported, adding that the area where the boat ran aground is popular with tourists.

Although Cuba was once an ideal destination for 'retired' top-ranking members of ETA, it would seem that for the three people arrested on Thursday, their stay in Cuba became intolerable.

On February 8th this year, they wrote a letter to the island's Government complaining about their treatment at the hands of the Cuban authorities. The letter in question was signed by Bárcenas and Pérez Lekue ('Niko'), who had been trying to leave the country for some time claiming that, for them, it had turned into "a prison" in which they did not want to spend "even one day more".

The pair described the government in Havana as "jailers" and accused them of failing to comply with the terms of a 1994 agreement in which Cuba agreed to grant ETA members permission to leave the island.

Gold, Politics and Venezuela

Gold, Politics and Venezuela

by Alasdair Macleod

Markets were abuzz last week with Chavez�s recall of Venezuela�s gold reserves not currently held in Caracas. Bulls are excited by the thought that withdrawing some 150-200 tonnes from the Bank of England and the bullion banks will force a bear squeeze on the LBMA, where gearing between the physical and paper markets are assumed to be 100 to 1. This stretches the relationship between paper gold and physical gold even further. They are also excited by the possibility that others might follow Venezuela�s example.

These concerns are real and should not be dismissed lightly, and the announcement could not have come at a worse time for LBMA members, who also face being caught up in a European banking crisis. Fear dominates, but the real trigger for this market emotion, and therefore its outcome, is global politics. Chavez is not just recalling his country�s gold to protect its integrity, he is waging an idealist�s war against the capitalist system and the US in particular. This is why he has threatened to move gold and foreign reserves to the countries he says he trusts, principally Russia and China, and why he is proposing to nationalise Venezuela�s gold mines.

He has picked the capitalist system�s weakest point. He has been told by his central bank that the Fed, the BoE and the Bank for International Settlements hold gold for the whole central banking community in the main trading centres, and that much of this gold exists only as a ledger entry and is not backed by physical metal. Whether or not Venezuela�s gold is held in these fractionally-backed sight accounts, or in earmarked accounts where the gold is held separately, we do not actually know; but there is little doubt that this move is designed to encourage other central banks to demand that their gold is also repatriated.

Chavez has a point. It is a fair bet that the International Monetary Fund�s 2009 sales of 212 tonnes of gold to other central banks are held in sight accounts as a condition of sale. India, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, who bought this gold, must be very nervous. Interestingly, India and Sri Lanka are also associated with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which was set up by China and Russia with the eventual goal of establishing an Asian supranational state.

Chavez says speed up takeover of Irish company's land

Chavez says speed up takeover of Irish company's land
 
 CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged his agriculture minister on Wednesday to speed up the government takeover of land owned by Ireland's Smurfit Kappa in Venezuela.
 
 In 2009, Chavez ordered the seizure of a eucalyptus tree farm owned by Smurfit Kappa, a major cardboard packaging company, vowing to clear the trees and use the land for crops. He said the plantation and its water-hungry trees were drying out local rivers.
 
 "We have to take the last square meter of land from Smurfit. ... Let's move more quickly, that's an order," Chavez said in a telephone call to state TV where he spoke with Agriculture Minister Juan Carlos Loyo.
 
 It was not immediately clear if Chavez's comments suggested he planned to seize more land belonging to Smurfit Kappa or accelerate the takeover of the tree farm.
 
 The land seizure ordered two years ago involved 3,700 acres, which analysts said represented a small part of the company's landholdings.
 
 Loyo said Smurfit Kappa still owned 29,650 acres.
 
 Chavez has nationalized large swaths of Venezuela's economy, including much of its vital oil sector.
 
 He has sought to double the amount of land under cultivation in the South American country.
 
 In the past, Chavez has taken over big farms deemed idle and given them to small farmers to stimulate farming in an effort to combat poverty in the countryside.
 
 Chavez made the comments from a military hospital in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, where he is having a third round of chemotherapy for cancer.

Editor of Venezuelan Weekly Newspaper Surrenders

Editor of Venezuelan Weekly Newspaper Surrenders

The editor of a Venezuelan weekly newspaper has turned himself in to authorities in connection with a controversial photomontage that recently led to the temporary shutdown of the paper.

Media reports say Leocenis Garcia, the editor of 6to Poder surrendered Tuesday at a military post in Venezuela's Zulia state.

The move comes one day after a court lifted an order that had prevented the paper from being published. The lawyer representing the publication said the court forbade the paper from publishing any images insulting women or public officials.

The court's initial decision came after the paper published an article suggesting that some high-ranking women officials were part of a cabaret directed by President Hugo Chavez. A photomontage depicted those women as cabaret dancers.

The paper's top executive, Dinorah Giron, was arrested but subsequently released. Giron and Garcia are charged with incitement to hatred, insulting a public official, and publicly offending women.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that under Venezuela's criminal code, the charges of incitement to hatred and insulting a public official carry prison sentences and high fines. The CPJ also says the Chavez administration has used all the tools of power to silence critical news media.

Venezuelan Economy Grows, but Unpredictable Government, Inflation Fears Keep Investors at Bay

Venezuelan Economy Grows, but Unpredictable Government, Inflation Fears Keep Investors at Bay

By Girish Gupta Sep 01, 2011 9:15 am


High oil prices and new public spending helped growth in the second quarter. But 25.1% inflation over the last year is not to be scoffed at.

Second-quarter growth in Venezuela hit 2.5% compared to the same period last year, according to the country's Central Bank. The news brings first-half growth to 3.6% after 4.8% growth during the first quarter, in promising figures for the maverick nation.

The news signals recovery following a long recession. GDP was down 1.4% in 2010, after a 3.3% drop the previous year. The recovery is thanks in part to an increase in public spending by President Hugo Chávez as he builds up support in time for elections in 2012. For example, the president recently announced the formation of a state public works company.

Armando Leon, the director of the country's Central Bank, expects growth to continue in the second half of 2011. Chávez has said he expects year-end figures of between 2% and 4%.

However, even high oil prices have not done too much to boost GDP. Second-quarter oil growth was only 0.8%. "(State oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PDVSA) has a problem because it is unable to increase its oil output, as shown in the GDP. Oil activity is narrower; the state-run oil company has a production problem and also is getting absurdly into debt." Luis Oliveros, a professor of Petroleum Economics at the Central University of Venezuela, told Caracas-based El Universal.

While at least positive, the figures are not quite as high as some predictions. Goldman Sachs expected the country's economy to grow 3.5% in the second quarter. With regular expropriations and the recent reorganization of reserves, the government is still unpredictable and 25.1% inflation over the last year is not to be scoffed at.

Steel tube-maker Tenaris begins proceedings before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") against Venezuela for its expropriation of Tenaris's subsidiary Matesi this week. It will be the country's 18th pending case at the World Bank, writes Benedict Mander in the Financial Times. Only Argentina has more, with 26 pending cases.

The disputes are putting a lot of pressure on the Venezuelan economy. ExxonMobil (XOM) alone is demanding $7 billion after a 2007 expropriation. The billions of dollars at stake are seen as the reason behind Chávez's recent reorganization of his cash reserves into countries such as China and Russia, where the assets cannot be seized so easily. More than 400 companies have been expropriated this year alone in Venezuela.

Gold Nationalization Pays Off
News that Venezuela's Guayana region in the south could hold up to 140 million ounces of gold, worth around $250 billion, will please the government following its nationalization of the industry. PDVSA will join forces with state miner Corporación Venezolana de Guayana, or CVG, to develop mines throughout the country.

PDVSA will hold 40% of the new company, with CVG taking control of the major stake. The joint venture will develop the Las Cristinas mine, which is thought to hold up to 27 million ounces of gold reserves. The license for Las Cristinas was originally held by Crystallex, but was cancelled, leaving the Toronto-based company demanding $3.8 billion in compensation.

Rusoro, the country's only publicly traded gold miner, has agreed to transfer its own assets to a venture with state oil (and now gold) firm PDVSA. The Canadian company will own 45% of the new company, leaving the remainder in the hands of PDVSA.

"We will be compensated, and the formula for compensation will be identical to the way they compensated the petroleum companies in 2006 and 2007. It's basically book value with some premium," Rusoro's Chief Executive Officer Andre Agapov told Bloomberg.

It is hoped that an agreement will be reached before the end of this year. Agapov hopes the new venture will allow an increase in production from 100,000 ounces to 500,000 ounces per year before 2013. Still, the company's shares fell 7% in Toronto with the news, having fallen 68% this year. Second-quarter production fell 37% from the same period in 2010 leading to a net loss of $9.8 million, compared to net income of $3.3 million in the same period last year.

President's Reassures on Health
Chávez himself is, despite entering his third bout of chemotherapy, in good form. "I'm determined to continue living," he said as he entered a hospital, this time in Venezuela rather than Cuba. "It's not time to die."

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• Venezuelan columnist, political activist found shot to death
  
• Heavy rains hit 25 parishes in southern Venezuelan state
  
• Peru's Humala struggles to shake Chavez shadow
  
• Venezuelan State gold miner seeks funds to boost output
  
• Eurolat urges Venezuelan government to ensure fair vote in 2012
  
• The Venezuelan Missile Crisis: The parallels hold up
  
• Venezuela's electoral body confident that electoral results will be respected
  
• Venezuelan government hinders voters' registration at consulates
  
• INE: Venezuela's unemployment remains at 8.1 percent in April
  
• Venezuela extends state of emergency for 90 days due to rains

• Reputed drug kingpin Makled arraigned in Venezuela
  
• Hugo Chavez on campaign trail – again
  
• Two crashes claim 20 casualties in Venezuela
  
• Ex PDVSA worker on hunger strike is dead
  
• Venezuelan university professors begin 72-hour strike
  
• Venezuelan authorities monitor electric power demand
  
• Venezuela oil exports to USA rose 29% in 1Q vs previous year
  
• Chavez ponders cabinet reshuffle
  
• Guyana's US$48 million rice for oil deal with Venezuela
  
• Venezuela rejects IISS report on links with the FARC
  
• Venezuela: Call to unite for national political stability
  
• Brazil, Venezuela reaffirm good relations
  
• The Gaddafi Paradigm: Our dim chance of survival against World Fascism
  
• Oscar Heck // Here in this little village in the Venezuelan Andes

• Outright theft and murder at the hands of the people we elect or admire...
  
• Steve Krawcheck // An open letter to my friend Oscar Heck
  
• "One should not betray one's youthful revolutionary daydreams"
  
• Colombian police capture 2 Venezuelans linked to drug lord Makled
  
• Internal political clashes affecting production at basic industry companies
  
• Road pileup in Venezuela leaves 11 dead
  
• Colombia's ambassador to Venezuela resigns over corruption scandal
  
• Iran building rocket bases in Venezuela, Die Welt
  
• Court orders Perez' body to remain in Miami
  
• Makled's second in command charged with 18 murders
  
• Shots are fired at Venezuelan mayor; bodyguard is killed
  
• Venezuela's VP: 95 percent of seized farms are productive
  
• Venezuela increases by 428 percent gas imports from Colombia
  
• Commercial television is a business and a highly profitable one.

• Los Roques bugs 'helped early animals to get oxygen to breathe'
  
• Venezuelan President Chavez thanks Shakira for red, autographed guitar
  
• Venezuela: Dodgy dossier's terror links claims questioned
  
• Peru's Humala got funds from Venezuela: report
  
• Venezuela to have fingerprint verification in polls
  
• Cheers to the over-worked and dedicated managers of socialist enterprises

• Manuel Gallardo // Golinger presents Propaganda, not engaging discourse
  
• Hugo Chavez: doctors considering knee surgery
  
• Power outage knocks out Venezuelan refinery complex
  
• Seven Wayuu members gunned down in western Venezuela
  
• Venezuelan authorities capture French fugitive wanted for kidnapping
  
• Venezuela politician makes narco-corruption claims

• Reputed drug kingpin Makled arraigned in Venezuela
  
• Hugo Chavez on campaign trail – again
  
• Two crashes claim 20 casualties in Venezuela
  
• Ex PDVSA worker on hunger strike is dead
  
• Venezuelan university professors begin 72-hour strike
  
• Venezuelan authorities monitor electric power demand
  
• Venezuela oil exports to USA rose 29% in 1Q vs previous year
  
• Chavez ponders cabinet reshuffle
  
• Guyana's US$48 million rice for oil deal with Venezuela
  
• Venezuela rejects IISS report on links with the FARC
  
• Venezuela: Call to unite for national political stability
  
• Brazil, Venezuela reaffirm good relations
  
• The Gaddafi Paradigm: Our dim chance of survival against World Fascism
  
• Oscar Heck // Here in this little village in the Venezuelan Andes

• We no longer follow the same laws and sacred traditions. We have changed!
  
• Venezuela Stock Market Index up 17.58%
  
• Alleged Venezuelan drug lord extradited home
  
• Blackouts hit nearly half of Venezuela
  
• Venezuela asked Colombian rebels to kill Opposition figures
  
• Attackers kill Venezuela police chief and his son
  
• Venezuela's Chavez suspends 3-nation tour due to knee injury
  
• Venezuelan authorities seize 14.5 tonnes of drugs in 2011
  
• "I know exactly that my adversary is Hugo Chavez"
  
• Oscar Heck // Why is a piranha more important than a mother's words?
  
• Gustavo Marquez Marin // Two-faced Justice

• Oscar Heck // To "survive" in Venezuela one has to be gutsy and creative
  
• Since Fukushima the real dangers of nuclear power are now better known
  
• President Chavez aims to take on 'mafia' with Venezuelan gold investment
  
• Violence in Venezuelan prison leaves 8 dead
  
• Venezuela calls for closer cooperation with Iran
  
• Venezuela relaunches plan to sell low-cost electrical appliances
  
• Venezuela sees no need for OPEC quota change
  
• Venezuela makes citrus investment
  
• Foreign investment plunges in Venezuela
  
• Venezuelan car production down by 7pct YoY in first 4 months

• Inmates release six in Venezuela hostage standoff
  
• Rosneft closes deal to buy 50% in Germany's Ruhr Oel
  
• Freedom of the press facing oppression in Latin America
  
• Macroeconomic indicators - Venezuela accrued inflation at 8pct
  
• Venezuela aluminum smelter in tough times state
  
• CITGO to shut Corpus Christi refinery coker unit briefly for repair
  
• Walid Makled is expected to arrive in Venezuela on Friday
  
• Venezuelan governor Henrique Capriles launches presidential bid
  
• Workers of Venezuelan cement company protest for layoffs
  
• US to examine possible sanctions against Venezuela
  
• Venezuela's Finance Minister reports substantial slowdown in inflation
  
• Birkenhead mother Laura Makin jailed in Venezuela
  
• Venezuela's inflation slips to 22.9 percent
  
• Iran trains terrorists in Venezuela, hides behind mercenaries
  
• Oscar Heck // No wonder I live in Venezuela!
  
• Bolivarian Revolution in Washington
  
• The death of Osama bin Laden should not be an occasion for rejoicing

• Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez condemns death of Gaddafi's son
  
• Editorial // Hugo Chavez' reverse-halo effect
  
• Colombia receives human rights guarantees for Makled's extradition
  
• Media React: In Venezuela, criticism of 'murder'
  
• Paraguay agrees to renegotiate debt with PDVSA
  
• Firing freeze for 93.5 percent of formal workers in Venezuela
  
• Bin Laden's death prompts joy, relief from US allies
  
• IPI rejects that judges prosecute journalists in Venezuela
  
• Supply of US dollars through Sitme falls 26 percent
  
• Osama Bin Laden was (past tense) not alone in this regard...

• Hugo Chavez warns allies against working with Colombian guerrillas
  
• May Day in Venezuela: A tale of two marches
  
• Sidor Q1 2011 liquid steel output totals 767000 tonnes
  
• Venezuela's Chavez says full employment if re-elected
  
• Venezuela downplays oil tax hike
  
• Venezuela Chavez seeks lower bank reserve requirements

• Venezuela criticizes Sweden over FARC deportee
  
• Strategy Page // Sticking it to the Swedes
  
• Venezuela aluminum smelter CVG-Alcasa is in trouble
  
• Claims that judicial independence in Venezuela fades
  
• Venezuela oil basket gains $2.04 on week to $110.33 per barrel
  
• Venezuela to spend USD 4.02 billion to pay wage hike and debts
  
• Venezuelan prisoners hold 22 officials hostage to protest against TB outbreak
  
• Venezuela's unemployment rate remains stable at 8.6 percent in March
  
• Government approves USD 1.63 billion for Venezuelan universities

• Gaddafi sends delegation to Venezuela to seek political solution
  
• Venezuelan industry says it's the "worst possible moment" to join Mercosur
  
• Sweden seeks clarity on FARC suspect arrest
  
• Venezuela to boost minimum wage by 25 percent
  
• Gaddafi may seek asylum in Venezuela
  
• Venezuelan nurses end hunger strike after wage increase
  
• One glitch seems to lead to others in this mess of a worldwide economy

• Venezuela calls for impartial body to address the Libya conflict
  
• Chavez vows to spend oil windfall revenues on social programs
  
• Venezuelan oil prices climbed in the middle of a week marked by volatility
  
• Venezuela proposes Colombia restricts agricultural imports
  
• Edgardo Lander: Path for Venezuela can not be Neoliberalism or Stalinism
  
• Wave of child deaths strikes indigenous community in Venezuela

• Benedict Mander // Venezuelan trade plans to backfire?
  
• Venezuela out of the Andean Community as of April 22
  
• Daniel Duquenal // Chavez to blame for electricity crisis in Venezuela
  
• Cardinal Urosa: "Jesus was not a socialist leader"
  
• Venezuela's January retail sales rise 5.2% from year earlier
  
• Venezuelans mark declaration of independence two centuries ago

• Venezuelan CVG-Bauxilum alumina sales down by 7pct in March
  
• Venezuelan trade unions deplore status of nationalized businesses
  
• Opposition politician demands probe of Venezuelan state bank
  
• Venezuelan President Chavez will reactivate peace proposal for Libya
  
• CAN hopes that Venezuela's withdrawal does not hit trade
  
• CANTV shares "dropped" 58% but Venezuela Stock Market up 8.47%
  
• Central Bank reports 9.9-percent hike in January sales
  
• Venezuelan government moves forward in bank with Russia
  
• Santos: I did not say that there are not guerrillas in Venezuela
  
• The IACHR has no particular fixation on Venezuela; Chavez not happy
  
• VHeadline Reader: I also cherish your independence and objectivity
  
• Fred Cederholm: Losses go beyond what we see on the news, or internet!

• Major drug kingpin could implicate Venezuelan officials, but not any more
  
• United States: Terrorist found 'not guilty', Venezuela demands extradition
  
• ARCA Racing -- Venezuela's Milka Duno finishes P19 in Talladega debut
  
• Venezuela: Rusoro Mining reports its 2010 Financial Results
  
• Human rights activists harassed in Venezuela: Rights watchdog
  
• Guayana staff deplores status of nationalized businesses
  
• Power deficit hits Venezuelan industrial sector
  
• Peruvian, Venezuelan foreign ministers meet to strengthen trade ties
  
• Bauxilum imports another 800,000t of bauxite - Venezuela
  
• Venezuela raises some food costs 48% amid inflation surge
  
• Nurses on strike in hospitals in 10 Venezuelan states
  
• Banco Industrial de Venezuela enters into Regulatory Agreement
  
• US Federal Reserve imposes penalty on Banco Industrial de Venezuela

• Air France jet makes emergency landing at Caracas' international airport
  
• President Hugo Chavez says no one can topple the Venezuelan revolution
  
• March CPI at 1.4% but official Inflation in Venezuela at 27.4%
  
• Venezuela opposition to pick challenger to incumbent President Chavez
  
• Colombian Interior Ministry approves extradition of Makled to Venezuela
  
• Venezuela steelmaker Sidor sees Q1 2011 output rise
  
• Minister: 2% of Venezuelan farmers own 82 percent of sowing area
  
• US Congress supports Venezuelan exiles in Miami
  
• Analysts: PDVSA may pay Exxon $3.7 billion
  
• Wow in Chuao: Venezuelan village claims best cacao in the world
  
• Gustavo Marquez Marin // Imperial Doctrines

• Colombia's Santos: There are no more FARC camps in Venezuela
  
• Six civilians and 15 military officers get arrest warrants for 11A
  
• The Arab Revolution will not be televised in Latin America
  
• Venezuela to deport suspected rebels
  
• Venezuela repaid less than 25% of its debt to Colombia: newspaper
  
• Fitch affirms Venezuela's credit ratings at B-plus
  
• Man pleads guilty in Venezuelan extortion case
  
• Chavez, Simon Bolivar and the Maria Lionza 'cult'
  
• IMF forecasts 1.8 percent economic growth for Venezuela in 2011
  
• "Even if oil prices rise, local currency will be in short supply"
  
• Fred Cederholm // It is bravado that matters… not the substance...

• Colombia supports Venezuela to get temporary extension of Andean CAN
  
• Mujica strongly lobbies for Venezuela's full incorporation to Mercosur
  
• Venezuela's most populated areas suffer another major blackout
  
• Santos and Chavez meet Lobo; agree to help Honduras return to the OAS
  
• Colombia and Venezuela sign 16 bilateral cooperation agreements
  
• No need for OPEC talks on oil prices: Venezuela oil minister
  
• Justice made in USA: Terrorist Posada Carriles Acquitted of All Charges
  
• Walid Makled's lawyer demands Chavez guarantee client's safety
  
• Franz J. T. Lee // Japan and the Globe: Okaerinasai - Welcome back, Life?

• Blackouts hit most of Venezuela, affecting oil output and the Caracas metro
  
• Venezuela has reduced its order of Chinese Y-8 transports from 12 to 8
  
• Venezuela polarized over Chavez' land policy
  
• Venezuela sees 3 to 4 pct economic growth in 1Q
  
• Steel production drops as CVG subsidiaries hit by power rationing
  
• IAPA questions legal reforms restricting press freedom in Venezuela
  
• Economist Pedro Palma: Venezuela should tackle inflation
  
• Jody McIntyre // Venezuela; not another Libya
  
• 'Santos should ask Chavez for more Venezuelan oil'
  
• More A/H1N1 flu cases reported in Venezuela
  
• Venezuelan bananas ripe for paper production
  
• Chavez says Venezuela GDP growth may double forecast
  
• Venezuelan congressmen head for Colombia to meet Makled
  
• Venezuela Central Bank sees need to cut borrowing costs
  
• Analysts fear inflationary pressures in Venezuela's withdrawal from CAN
  
• Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez to visit Brazil's Rouseff on May 10
  
• Franz J. T. Lee // Sayonara, Japan! Is the capitalist game now over?

• US Gen Douglas Fraser voices concern over increasing Iran-Venezuela ties
  
• Venezuela makes important step in building new hydroelectric plant
  
• Venezuela Minister pledges to investigate Makled corruption charges
  
• VenEconomy // Urgent pending tasks for Venezuelan Opposition
  
• Venezuelan accumulated inflation stands at 6 percent so far this year

• Venezuela seeking to shape business relations in South America
  
• Seven hurt in shooting at hot dog stand in Venezuela
  
• VenEconomy // The Venezuelan President ... insensitive or cynical?
  
• Wives of political prisoners denounce Venezuelan judiciary
  
• Venezuela's US$10 million donation to Uruguay was agreed in 2005
  
• Venezuela to ship 12 million barrels of fuel to Argentina from May
  
• US media silent on outrageous media award to an enemy of the free press
  
• Opinion: Makled must be tried in the United States, not Venezuela
  
• Venezuelan government pays more for foreign coffee than domestic coffee
  
• Leopoldo Lopez v. Venezuela: A case not about Venezuela
  
• Hugo Chavez' inner circle has drug ties, Venezuelan drug kingpin claims
  
• Mark Twain's own words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic
  
• It is a freedom paid for so dearly over the course of our history

• Venezuela touts agreements signed last week on Chavez' tour
  
• Jailed 'kingpin' Walid Makled implicates Chavez government
  
• Health Minister: 6 dead; over 700 Infected with Swine Flu in Venezuela
  
• Venezuela: Gay Rights group reports discrimination to the United Nations
  
• William J. Dobson // What Does Chavez See in Gaddafi?
  
• VenEconomy // Housing at Risk
  
• "Venezuelan democracy has taken a step back with Hugo Chavez"
  
• Venezuela has a deficit with Mercosur for US$6 billion
  
• Telefonica seeks to repatriate $3 billion profits from Venezuela
  
• Venezuela says last September plane crash caused by mechanic failure

• Uruguay will support Venezuela's entry to Mercosur Trade Bloc
  
• Crystallex International Corporation reports 2010 Financial Results
  
• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: The attack on Syria has begun
  
• Venezuela to buy electricity from Colombia as stopgap for shortage
  
• Venezuelan baseball dreams survive political tensions
  
• Rusoro to increase output, wants to mine giant Las Cristinas gold mine

• VHeadine needs your help!
  
• MRE statement on Miami consulate raises more questions than answers
  
• Public Powers to present written annual reports to AN committees
  
• Rains cause more mudslides and evacuations during Carnaval vacation
  
• Big stash of cocaine being transshipped seized in southern Anzoategui
  
• JVR attacks VZLA opposition for falling for Uribe incursion to root out FARC
  
• Alfredo Bremont // El Caracazo 1989 and independent journalism
  
• Venezuela and Libya: it is not an April 11 coup, it is a February 27 Caracazo
  
• President Chavez heads for Brazil in March to meet with Dilma Rousseff
  
• A suggestion to President Hugo Chavez ... Reevaluate your alliances

• Venezuelan JV with private Chinese food company to boost food reserves
  
• MinCi's Izarra confirms only ANTV can broadcast parliamentary sessions
  
• Washington Post // In Venezuela, Chavez tries to boost Gaddafi
  
• Oscar Heck // They did what any intelligent Venezuelan would do…
  
• 30 employees at VZLA Miami consulate get the boot … consul resigns
  
• ALBA-PTA supports Chavez' Libya peace proposal; no to foreign intervention
  
• Ombudswoman Ramirez: Not first time that OAS Insulza has got it wrong
  
• President Hugo Chavez attends wake of his political firebrand, Lina Ron
  
• Norman Girvan confirmed as OAS Guyana-VZLA Good Officer representative
  
• Venezuelan basic industries call for urgent agreement on collective contracts
  
• Chicago's Joe Jaycox (74) nets USA honor for helping Venezuelan kids
  
• Bolivar devaluation, expropriations present risks as companies seek growth
  
• What happened to the hope-inspiring 'sweet bird of youth' of Ernst Bloch?
  
• Makes you want to cash out and buy the Brooklyn Bridge, doesn't it?

• Something that is sadly lacking in the majority of Venezuela's media of today
  
• Libya opposition turns down Chavez proposal, Arab League studying it
  
• US rebuffs Venezuela mediation efforts in Libya
  
• Joel D. Hirst // Should Hugo Chavez Mediate in Libya?
  
• Gaddafi's son rejects Chavez' mediation proposal
  
• VenRus strike: strike leaders could be arrested and jailed
  
• Guayana unions united but separate in defense of right to industrial action
  
• Guayana leader's release gives Chavez opening for deep-clean rectification
  
• US drugs report continues to blacklist Venezuela as tolerant to narco-kings
  
• ALBA-PTA executive secretary promotes contact with US social movements
  
• Venezuela accumulated inflation stands at 4.5% so far this year
  
• Venezuela's President Chavez amends law on banks

• Imagine if peace, good health and mental and emotional happiness existed?
  
• United National Assembly commemorates bicentenary of VZLAs first Congress
  
• Capriles Radonski and Alvarez Paz for primaries … Constitutional Pole set up
  
• TSJ president warns VZLA could reject IAHR Court ruling on political rights
  
• Clinton snubs Mack on Kennedy's TV ads for CITGO cheap oil for poor
  
• Hedge Fund LIVE's Lester Green: 10 craziest Hugo Chavez moments
  
• The Libyan government accepts Venezuelan plan for a negotiated solution
  
• Analyst View: How serious is the Chavez Libya peace plan?
  
• Libya: Venezuela proposes 'Friendly Countries' commission to hold talks
  
• Will Venezuela's President Chavez plan help Gaddafi to stay in power?
  
• Current United States bellicose 'Cognitive Infiltration' of the Enemy

• Inter-American Court judge labels political ban as shackles of the past
  
• Vincentian PM backs peace moves and dialogue to resolve Libyan conflict
  
• Venezuela at UN Human Rights Council: time to pursue peace not war in Libya
  
• Strike over: Heinz factory in Venezuela resumes operations
  
• Foreign Currency Bond Trading System fails to meet daily transaction target
  
• Leopoldo Lopez turns up at IAHR Court with 60-person entourage to fight ban
  
• Venalum downs tools again … anger mounts over Gonzalez prison sentence
  
• Tourism Minister: ready for Carnival … Spanish tourism agents come in April
  
• Julio Escalona // The war against the planet and humanity
  
• In Caracas, the 45-Story squatter highrise
  
• Venezuela cancels Smoking Ban
  
• Venezuela Central Bank predicts 2% growth in 2011
  
• Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero offers bonus encore
  
• Venezuela's unemployment rate hits 10.4% in January
  
• Venezuela urged to receive drug watchdog mission
  
• New mall in Caracas provides a safe haven for Jews

• Statement: Leopoldo Lopez leaves Inter-American Court of Human Rights
  
• VenEconomy // More lies from Venezuela's Government
  
• Ex-President Carlos Andres Perez' body ordered to temporary US tomb
  
• Venezuela losing tourism potential on Margarita … years behind Aruba
  
• Embassy holds closed-circuit meeting on advances in educational system
  
• Guayana trade union leader gets 7+ years prison for leading strike protest
  
• Chavez will not go with the international tide … civil war looming in Libya
  
• Opposition hits out at Chavez: Gaddafi must return replica of Bolivar's sword
  
• Ombudswoman compares IAHR reaction to 27F and Leopoldo Lopez ban
  
• BCV forecasts growth in 2011 from both public and private sectors
  
• Nil Nikandrov // Can the Libya fire set aflame Venezuela?
  
• President Hugo Chavez defends Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
  
• Venezuelan opposition leader to testify against Chavez at international court
  
• Venezuelan union boss gets 7-year prison sentence
  
• VenEconomy // Venezuela's Ricardo Zuloaga, a Champion of Freedom
  
• Milka Duno selected as ambassador for 'Es El Momento' Initiative
  
• Expert says that Venezuelan energy crisis is not over
  
• Venezuela assigns new exploration area to Gazprom

• When will the mentally enslaved USAers wake up from their catatonic state?
  
• The Economist // Could Venezuela really go bankrupt?
  
• Federal Council secures funding for public security projects from eight states
  
• President Chavez: government and opposition can work together to fight crime
  
• Strike over: CVG and Alcasa aluminum unions agree timetable of payments
  
• Venezuelan-Libyan cooperation agreements jeopardized by civil war
  
• AN president: Patriotic Pole only possible when powers democratized
  
• Chavez and Jaua in 27F commemoration events in Petare
  
• Agriculture Minister parries questions from Gomez Sigala on Turbio valley
  
• Media fails to provide list of questions to ministers from parliamentarians
  
• From Latin America to the Arab World -- What's going on in Libya?
  
• Could Venezuela see her future in the oily crystal ball of Libya?

• Libya: Col Gaddafi's son 'in hiding on Venezuelan island'
  
• WikiLeaks cables proves Venezuelan President, a long-time ally of Gaddafi
  
• Venezuela's Chavez administration puts itself on the line to back Gaddafi
  
• Venezuela says US and allies fomenting violence in Libya to justify invasion
  
• US journalist reports harassment by Venezuelan intelligence agents
  
• Venezuela says in talks for $4 billion China finance
  
• Venezuelan Finance Minister says high inflation not Chavez' fault
  
• VenEconomy // Venezuela's whoppers, fibs, and tall stories

• Venezuelan Ambassador says Tripoli is "totally calm" ... no deaths!
  
• WikiLeaks: US State Department documents confirm plans against Venezuela
  
• President Hugo Chavez sees the writing on the Middle-Eastern wall
  
• Why Is TeleSur a Flop? NarcoNews editor Al Giordano throws a hissy fit!
  
• VZLA's opposition parties agree to primary to pick presidential candidate
  
• WikiLeaks: Uribe promoted military raids in Venezuela
  
• Supreme Tribunal of Justice president Luisa Estella Morales is re-elected
  
• Chavez opponent Biagio Pilieri freed from house arrest in Venezuela
  
• No one can deny that Venezuela's private sector continues to decline
  
• Luis Senior // What is happening in Libya?

• VENEZUELA : Government yields to student hunger strikers
  
• Editorial // Venezuela feels the heat
  
• Venezuela's Agriculture Minister: 2010 saw 44% rise in national production
  
• Economy shows difference between capitalist and socialist proponents
  
• Commerce Minister highlights success of government marketing system in 2010
  
• Mibam Min defends government over Sidor; admits problems in Guayana
  
• Tourism Minister Fleming defends domestic tourism policy in Parliament
  
• Adam Thomson // It is hard not to shed a tear for Venezuela...
  
• Martin Arostegui // Gaddafi in Venzuela? The rumor's enough for a Red Alert
  
• Six die in twin-engine Cessna 340 plane crash in Venezuela
  
• Hidroven to complete US$201 million Clavellinos potable water plan in 2012
  
• Central Bank: Economy fell 1.4% in 2010, but may emerge from recession
  
• Venezuela: The end of a 3 week-old hunger strike
  
• Stanford fraud victims in Venezuela want the United States to help
  
• Nikolas Kozloff // WikiLeaks drags Libya and Venezuela through the mud
  
• New dispute over ex-Venezuelan President's Carlos Andres Perez' assets
  
• Main suspect in Atlas Marine RD$1.5B tax fraud nabbed in Venezuela
  
• Professor: "Venezuelan government tried to use Interpol against foes"

• Gaddafi aborted Venezuela flight after UK spies discovered escape plans
  
• Izarra: UK Foreign Secretary Hague story on Gaddafi in Venezuela false
  
• INE report for January: food prices in Caracas up 9.52%
  
• Wikileaks Assange doesn't trust Venezuelan media … signs with Colombia
  
• Former AN deputy Montiel takes over Indepabis promising to fight speculation
  
• German eco-tourist escape accident in Roraima Tepuy … crew injured
  
• Chavez held responsible of state of uncertainty over Alcasa aluminum's future
  
• Milos Alcalay: Venezuela should freeze bilateral agreements with Libya
  
• UK Foreign Secretary says seen information Gaddafi is on way to VZLA

• UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says seen information that Gaddafi is on way to Venezuela
  
• Libyan unrest spreads to Tripoli amidst rumors Gaddafi has fled to Venezuela
  
• Amiel Ungar // Is Hugo Chavez the next Domino to Fall?
  
• Supreme Tribunal of Justice: A washing machine of corruption and impunity...
  
• Venezuela's PDVSA to face three other arbitrations on takeovers
  
• Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez fails to oil the nation's economy
  
• Venezuelan Socialists debate strategic guidelines in Communities
  
• Chavez currency market takeover spurs bank lines for US dollars
  
• Former Miss Venezuela Eva Ekvall's 'new look' tackles taboos...
  
• Vice President convokes Federal Council of Government meeting on crime
  
• Vice President in Coro to mark start of 11-year Federal War in 1859
  
• Uruguayan construction co admits problems … housing plan on schedule
  
• FANB criticizes opposition for boycotting G-i-C speech in parliamentary act
  
• Progress reported on ALBA-PTA seed-processing plant in Yaracuy
  
• Chavez helps Globovision correspondent with funds for delicate operation
  
• ALBA-PTA rejects OAS' repeated interference in VZLA's internal affairs
  
• Andrew MacKillop // High food prices and political oblivion...
  
• Fred Cederholm // Many of my earlier predictions have yet to materialize...