International Republican Institute Grants Uncovered
Reporters Without Borders and Washington’s Coups

By Diana Barahona, Jeb Sprague | Caracas (Venezuela) | 9 August 2006 | Alia2 | British press baron Lord Northcliff said, "News is something that someone, somewhere wants to keep secret, everything else is advertising." If this is true, then U.S. government funding of Reporters Without Borders must be news, because the organization and its friends in Washington have gone to extraordinary lengths to cover it up.

Defining the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas - ALBA

By Michael Fox | Caracas (Venezuela) | 9 August 2006 | Alia2 | Much has been written and theorized about the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) since President Chavez first proposed the idea at Isla Margarita at the III Summit of the Heads of State and the Government of the Association of Caribbean States in December, 2001.

Venezuela Recuperates Largest Landed Estate in Country

By Michael Fox | Caracas (Venezuela) | 9 August 2006 | Alia2 | This Sunday, from the Venezuelan state of Bolivar, President Hugo Chavez announced the recuperation of the “largest latifundio” (plantation) in the country, and the creation of the Socialist Production Unit "Manuel Piar."

I would rather have President Chavez than George Bush
Me, Hugo and George

By Cindy Sheehan | Caracas (Venezuela) | 25 July 2006 | Alia2 | When I was growing up in Bellflower, Ca., I never, as a child with a good imagination, could have ever imagined that my life would take the peculiar turn that it has. I could not have foreseen giving birth to a child that would eventually be wrongfully and devastatingly killed in war or that I would be meeting with world leaders or be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

U2’s Bono Backs Videogame with Venezuela Invasion Theme

By Venezuela Solidarity Network | Washington DC (États-Unis) | 11 July 2006 | Alia2 | U2’s Bono, well recognized for his campaigns to reduce poverty and treat AIDS in Africa is backing a videogame which promotes the invasion and destruction of Venezuela in order to check "a power hungry tyrant" who has "seized control of Venezuela and her oil supply." Bono has failed to respond to concerns raised by the Venezuelan Solidarity Network about his funding of this project.

The System Works - The Independent On Latin America And Hugo Chavez

Caracas (Venezuela) | 11 July 2006 | Alia2 | Readers may recall our alert of May 8, 2006, ’Lining Up The Next Victims’. We described how the Independent (London) has been stoking up fear of "left populism" in Latin America. Despite many articulate and polite complaints to the paper from readers, the misinformation and smears continue. (See also our two-part alert, ’Ridiculing Chavez’, May 16 and 18, 2006)

MERCOSUR Presidents Welcome Venezuela to Trading Block

By Michael Fox | Caracas (Venezuela) | 11 July 2006 | Alia2 | The presidents from the now five member nations of Mercosur attended Tuesday night’s event in Caracas for the official inclusion of Venezuela in to the South American trading block. Over the course of the evening each president signed the “Protocol for the Adhesion of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Mercosur” and took their turn at the podium to welcome Venezuela to the trading block and to express their optimism, their hopes, dreams, fears, and the challenges that lie ahead.

The mercenaries or the corsairs of the XXI Century?

By Jose L. Gomez del Prado  | Caracas (Venezuela) | 11 July 2006 | Alia2 | The 25 000 private security contractors presently working in Iraq constitute, after the United States Army, the largest force of occupation well before the British Army. These private security companies with over 420 deaths and some 4 000 injured, according to the USA Department of Labor, also yield the highest number of casualties with the exception of the US Army which has already reached over 2 500 deaths and more than 18 000 injuries.

Venezuela Distributes Russian Arms, Intends More Purchases

Caracas (Venezuela) | 24 June 2006 | Alia2 | In a ceremony to mark the arrival and disbursement of a first shipment of 30,000 Russian-made AK-103 assault rifles on Wednesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that these new weapons were merely for the defense of Venezuela. Chavez also confirmed that an agreement had been reached for Venezuela to purchase 24 Russian Sukhoi-30 fighter jets.

U.S. Is Aiming to Block Venezuela’s Bid for U.N. Role

Washington DC (États-Unis) | 24 June 2006 | Alia2 | The Bush administration is lobbying to prevent Venezuela from securing an open seat on the U.N. Security Council because of concern that its leading South American rival could confound plans to step up pressure on Iran.

President Chavez Hosts 141st OPEC Meeting in Caracas

By Michael Fox | Caracas (Venezuela) | 7 June 2006 | Alia2 | From the offices of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched the 141st (Extraordinary) OPEC Meeting, on Thursday, where he welcomed the various international delegations and declared that OPEC “has always represented a flag of freedom for the third world.”

Venezuela to Buy Russian Military Planes

Caracas (Venezuela) | 5 June 2006 | Alia2 | Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reiterated an earlier announcement that Venezuela will buy fighter planes from Russia in light of U.S. military sanctions.

Venezuela to Build New Refinery in Ecuador

Caracas (Venezuela) | 5 June 2006 | Alia2 | In a series of agreements signed between Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and Ecuador’s President Alfredo Palacio, Venezuela agreed to help Ecuador construct a new refinery and to expand an existing one, among other energy-related issues.

Chavez One, Bush Zero

By Audrey Sasson | Caracas (Venezuela) | 5 June 2006 | Alia2 | When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced last September that he wanted to help low income Americans cover the costs of their rising heating bills, his critics were quick to question the sincerity of his motivations.

Bush Squares Off with Bolivia and Venezuela over Hemispheric Model

By Roger Burbach | Caracas (Venezuela) | 5 June 2006 | Alia2 | George W. Bush has come out with harsh words for the governments of Bolivia and Venzeuela. “Let me just put it bluntly - I’m concerned about the erosion of democracy in the countries you mentioned,” Bush said in response to a question put to him about Venezuela and Bolivia. “I am going to continue to remind our hemisphere that respect for property rights and human rights is essential for all countries,” he added.

Nationalization of natural gas in Bolivia:
Populism or another rout to democracy?

By Walter Mignolo | Caracas (Venezuela) | 25 May 2006 | Alia2 | Evo Morales recently read the “Supreme Decree” in which the nationalization of natural gas was announced. The rumor was already spread out in Bolivia, the day before, May 1st. The decree starts by considering that “in historical struggles, the people have conquered and paid with their blood, the right to return our natural resources and our wealth in natural gas to the hands of the nation and to be utilized to the benefit of the country.”

The State Department’s Mock Indignation Gives a Bad Name to U.S. Diplomacy

By Council on Hemispheric Affairs | Caracas (Venezuela) | 25 May 2006 | Alia2 | Following the announcement by the State Department that it was imposing an arms sale sanction against Venezuela, a Chávez advisor infuriated Washington when he responded with an apparently retaliatory announcement that Caracas would consider selling its American-made F-16’s to Iran.

The World According to Chávez

By Jonathan Steele , Duncan Campbell | London (United Kingdom) | 25 May 2006 | Alia2 | Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s socialist president, remembers "with great affection" the day he went to see Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. "There’s something I’ll never forget. When I got out of the car at the entrance to the palace, I spotted a coin lying on the ground and picked it up, and saw it had her face on one side.

Ridiculing Chavez - The Media Hit Their Stride

Caracas (Venezuela) | 23 May 2006 | Alia2 | Controlling what we think is not solely about controlling what we know - it is also about controlling who we respect and who we find ridiculous.

State Department Looking for a Fight in which it Might get a Black Eye

By Council on Hemispheric Affairs | Caracas (Venezuela) | 23 May 2006 | Alia2 | In yet another blow to the credibility of one of its annually released “certification” reports on the performance of other nations on some broad social or political issue – this time on the degree of cooperation in the anti-terrorism struggle – the State Department in its 2006 compilation included Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, and accused Venezuela of a high degree of non-cooperation.

Chávez With Amigo Ken Gets a Hero’s Welcome in London

By Jonathan Steele , Duncan Campbell | London (United Kingdom) | 20 May 2006 | Alia2 | He has been called a terrorist by Washington but for three and a half hours yesterday in London he could do no wrong. An adoring audience of British left-wingers and the Latin American diaspora cheered, clapped, sang and laughed as Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez denounced President Bush and capitalism and praised Ken Livingstone and the Pope.

Venezuela Considers U.S. Weapons Ban Sale Prelude to Further Aggression

By Gregory Wilpert  | Caracas (Venezuela) | 20 May 2006 | Alia2 | Reacting to announcement that the U.S. would no longer sell weapons to Venezuela because Venezuela is “not cooperating fully” in the “war on terrorism,” numerous Venezuelan government officials, starting with President Chavez, reacted to the announcement with indifference and derision.

Venezuela’s Chávez on Private Visit to Britain

By Richard Beeston, Tom Baldwin  | London (United Kingdom) | 17 May 2006 | Alia2 | HUGO CHÁVEZ, the President of Venezuela and one of Tony Blair’s most vocal critics abroad, arrives in London this weekend on a whirlwind visit during which he will be fêted by Ken Livingstone, Labour MPs and the TUC but will avoid contact with the Prime Minister and his Government.

Washington May Soon Try to Pin the Venezuelan Uranium Tail on the Iranian Nuclear Donkey

By Larry Birns, Michael Lettieri  | Caracas (Venezuela) | 17 May 2006 | Alia2 | Washington is no stranger to flimsy pretexts when it comes to justifying its ill-conceived, and at times illicit, Latin American initiatives.

How Donald Rumsfeld Discovered the Wild West in Latin America

By Greg Grandin | Caracas (Venezuela) | 17 May 2006 | Alia2 | How fast has Latin America fallen from favor? Just a decade ago the Clinton administration was holding up the region as the crown jewel of globalization’s promise: All is quiet on "our southern flank," reported the head of the US Southern Command, General Barry McCaffrey, in 1995, "our neighbors are allies who, in general, share similar values." "The Western Hemisphere has a lot to teach the world," said McCaffrey’s boss Secretary of Defense William Cohen two years later, "as the world reaches for the kind of progress we have made."

Associated Press Falsely Portrays Chavez as Seeking 25 Year Term

By Justin Delacour  | Caracas (Venezuela) | 10 May 2006 | Alia2 | A little scrutiny of a recent Associated Press report about Venezuela provides a lesson in how the English-language press often gets the story wrong. Take the first sentence: "President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that Venezuelan voters should have the chance to decide whether he should govern the country for the next 25 years."

Venezuela’s Weekend Warriors

By Alexander Holland | Caracas (Venezuela) | 10 May 2006 | Alia2 | There is a stereotypical image of a guerrilla training camp in Latin America. It is a base in remote mountains or jungle. In this base, idealistic civilians do target practice with machine guns and hide from government forces. The government is the enemy of this camp and the guerrillas train to overthrow it.

SUMATE: You? No! We, Yes!

By Charlie Hardy  | Caracas (Venezuela) | 5 May 2006 | Alia2 | Venezuela has an AGO (anti-governmental organization) known internationally, SUMATE. SUMATE pretends to be an electoral watchdog, overseeing Venezuelan elections. But it has also been the self-designated keystone in the effort to oust President Hugo Chávez from the presidency.

Venezuelan Opposition Group to Promote Primaries

Caracas (Venezuela) | 5 May 2006 | Alia2 | Objections from Venezuela’s electoral council not withstanding, the non-governmental organization Súmate says it will hold primaries so that a single opposition candidate can run against incumbent President Húgo Chávez in December’s presidential elections.

Afterword: Failed States

By Noam Chomsky | New York (États-Unis) | 5 May 2006 | Alia2 | We began by considering four critical issues that should rank high on the agenda of those concerned with the prospects for a decent future.