Hugo Chavez

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July 2008
- Chavez: I'd Welcome Russian Troops in Venezuela
  
  newser | BBC | Jul 23, 08 3:10 AM CDT
  
  Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is on a two-day trip to Moscow seeking closer military and economic ties —and raising the possibility that Russian troops may be stationed in Venezuela. Chavez and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev have already agreed to extend an energy partnership and are negotiating an arms deal and military co-operation, reports the BBC. More »
June 2008
- Chavez: US Confrontation 'Inevitable'
  
  newser | New Yorker | Jun 23, 08 3:25 AM CDT
  
  With the US distracted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been busy amassing a Latin American power bloc to blunt Washington’s influence. But the firebrand leader, who calls President Bush “the devil” and the US “the empire,” is receiving level-headed advice from none other than Fidel Castro, writes Jon Lee Anderson in a New Yorker profile. More »
- Fame Hinders Chance of Freedom
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 7, 08 12:31 PM CDT
  
  The daughter of a beauty queen and a diplomat who once enjoyed a charmed existence in fashionable Parisian quarters, Ingrid Betancourt is now a hostage in a Colombian jungle who is sometimes chained by the neck to a tree. The Wall Street Journal profiles the plight of the former Colombian presidential candidate, who was kidnapped in 2002 by rebels. More »
- Chavez Takes Over Intelligence Agencies
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 3, 08 10:24 AM CDT
  
  Hugo Chavez has ordered a draconian restructuring of Venezuela’s intelligence agencies, bringing them under his personal control, increasing domestic spying powers, and levying prison sentences on citizens who decline to cooperate, the New York Times reports. One justice on Venezuela’s top court expressed outrage, calling it “a step toward the creation of a society of informers.” More »
May 2008
- US Navy Jet Buzzes Curacao, Venezuela Furious
  
  newser | CNN | May 20, 08 3:19 AM CDT
  
  A US Navy drug-patrol plane violated Venuzuelan airspace Saturday night, exacerbating the already-tense relationship between the two nations. The S-3 Viking, used to spot and attack drug-running ships, flew over the line near the island of Curacao, reports CNN. The pilot realized he made a navigational error, contacted a Venezuela tower to acknowledge that, and returned to international air space—but the Venezuelans are furious and insist the fly-over was intentional. More »
- Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler
  
  newser | Reuters | May 12, 08 10:26 AM CDT
  
  Hugo Chavez fired back at Angela Merkel after the German leader suggested Latin American countries should be wary of ties to Venezuela. "She is from the German right," he said yesterday, "the same that supported Hitler, that supported fascism, that's the Chancellor of Germany." More »
- Rebel's Files Show Chávez Aided FARC
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 9, 08 8:09 AM CDT
  
  A cache of computer files found on a dead Colombian guerrilla leader's laptops implicates Hugo Chávez in arms deals with the FARC rebels. The Wall Street Journal reports that Colombian and American intelligence agencies, which came into possession of about 100 files, have no doubt of their authenticity. Both FARC and the Venezuelan president claim that they are counterfeit. More »
April 2008
- Chavez Bans Simpsons, Brings in Baywatch Babes
  
  newser | Times (UK) | Apr 9, 08 11:41 AM CDT
  
  Hugo Chavez has bumped pudgy Homer Simpson from Venezuela's airwaves, reports the Times of London, opting instead for the decidedly more fit and furry David Hasselhoff. The dysfunctional Simpsons were deemed "inappropriate" for kiddies watching the morning TV lineup, but were replaced with the entirely, er, wholesome "Baywatch Hawaii." More »
March 2008
- Venezuela Tried to Arm FARC, Colombia Says
  
  newser | New York Times | Mar 30, 08 3:07 PM CDT
  
  Colombian officials claim to have computer files captured from its FARC rebels that indicate Venezuela sold arms to the terrorist group, the New York Times reports. If Interpol verifies the files, they would also suggest links between FARC and Ecuador’s government and provide insight into the rebel organization. Colombia nabbed the computers in a raid in Ecuador earlier this month. More »
- Rice Snubs Argentina in Trip South
  
  newser | New York Times | Mar 13, 08 2:19 PM CDT
  
  Condoleezza Rice has embarked on a visit to Brazil and Chile, but the secretary of State won’t be stopping in neighboring Argentina, a sign of ever-frostier relations. “The United States is clearly snubbing Argentina,” one expert tells the New York Times . New Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has worsened already-sour relations by strengthening ties with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. More »
- Recovered Data Links Venezuela to FARC Rebels
  
  newser | Reuters | Mar 12, 08 8:50 PM CDT
  
  Possible links between Hugo Chavez’ Venezuelan government and the Colombian FARC guerrilla group concern Washington, but US officials aren't yet saying the nation will be declared a state sponsor of terrorism, Reuters reports. Colombia said computers seized in a March 1 raid on a FARC base in Ecuador contain evidence that proves Venezuela is aiding the leftist group. More »
- South American Crisis Ends With Handshakes
  
  newser | Reuters | Mar 7, 08 6:55 PM CST
  
  The threat of war involving Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela was diffused today with a bevy of handshakes televised all over Latin America, Reuters reports. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his opposite number, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, reached an agreement on combating insurgents in the future; the Colombian military's killing of FARC rebels in Ecuador last weekend sparked the crisis. More »
- Nicaragua Latest to Sever Ties Over Colombia Raid
  
  newser | BBC | Mar 6, 08 7:05 PM CST
  
  Nicaragua cut diplomatic ties with Bogota today, ratcheting up the political tension in the wake of Colombia's raid into Ecuador to kill rebels, the BBC reports. Calling Sunday's incursion an act of "political terrorism," President Daniel Ortega followed the lead of Ecuador and Venezuela, which have already severed relations and moved troops along the Colombian border. More »
- Venezuela Adds Firepower on Colombian Border
  
  newser | Reuters | Mar 5, 08 2:28 PM CST
  
  Venezuela deployed tanks to the Colombian border, Reuters reports, as Latin American tensions remained high enough that Hugo Chavez warned of an Andean war. Though Colombia refused to send reinforcements to its border, the mobilization of heavy artillery, including support from air and sea forces, is the first in the standoff following Colombia's weekend incursion into Ecuador to killFARC rebels. More »
- Ecuador Wants Apology on FARC; US Backs Bogota
  
  newser | Reuters | Mar 5, 08 7:07 AM CST
  
  Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is in Brazil today, pushing for an apology from Colombia for its incursion into Ecuador to attack FARC guerrillas Saturday. While most Latin American nations, including Brazil, have condemned the cross-border attack, the White House yesterday unequivocally backed Colombia in the rapidly escalating crisis. Correa heads later today to Caracas to meet with Hugo Chavez who, like Correa, has massed troops on the border with Colombia. More »
- Colombia: FARC Was After Uranium
  
  newser | BBC | Mar 4, 08 11:35 AM CST
  
  Colombia has accused Ecuador and Venezuela of cooperating with FARC guerrillas who were trying to buy uranium, the BBC reports, even as Ecuador cut ties with Colombia and Venezuela expelled its diplomats. “FARC is taking big steps in the world of terrorism to become a global aggressor,” said Colombia’s top cop, citing documents found during Saturday’s raid that detailed negotiations for 110 pounds of uranium. More »
- Crisis Deepens as Colombia Links Ecuador to FARC
  
  newser | CNN | Mar 3, 08 9:45 AM CST
  
  The tension in Latin America deepened last night as a Colombian general charged that Ecuador’s president had ties to a FARC leader killed by Colombian forces Saturday. Ecuador and Venezuela have both mobilized troops to their borders in response to the raid, which they claim took place on Ecuadorean territory. Colombia says its forces, attacking targets in Colombia, merely returned fire when FARC rebels shelled them from about a mile inside Ecuador. More »
- Chavez Sends Troops to Colombian Border
  
  newser | CNN | Mar 2, 08 3:19 PM CST
  
  Hugo Chavez sent thousands of Venezuelan troops to the Colombian border today after Colombia killed a FARC rebel leader, CNN reports. Chavez accused Colombia of being a US puppet and said Ecuador's border was violated in the attack. "We have to liberate Colombia," said Chavez, who is linked to FARC and tried to negotiate a prisoners-for-hostages trade with it last year. More »
February 2008
- FARC Hostage Near Death in Jungle
  
  newser | Reuters | Feb 28, 08 8:21 PM CST
  
  A high-profile hostage still held by Colombian rebels is near death because of mistreatment and a lack of medicine, a former fellow captive said today. Ingrid Betancourt, seized by FARC rebels six years ago while campaigning for the presidency, is sick with hepatitis and liver problems, says Luis Eladio Perez, one of four hostages released yesterday. "It breaks my heart to have left her behind," he said. More »
- Venezuelan Prez Threatens to Cut Off US Oil
  
  newser | Associated Press | Feb 11, 08 3:00 AM CST
  
  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is threatening to cut off US oil supplies if Exxon Mobil wins a court ruling to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets, AP reports. The Texas-based oil giant has challenged Venezuela’s efforts to nationalize a multi-billion-dollar oil project, and the fiery leader promised an "economic war" if a decision goes against his nation. A British court has already frozen some $12 billion in assets. More »