A gaggle of democratic states gathered in Santiago, Chile, in late January handed over leadership of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Nations to Cuba for the coming year. The whitewash of Cuba’s abominable human rights and personal freedom record was quickly noted. The Santiago conclave started what has …
If cancer revokes President Hugo Chavez’s mandate for indefinite rule in Venezuela, it will leave leadership of the radical-left, anti-liberty Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA) in Latin America up for grabs. New faces will inevitably emerge. Chavez’s vice president, the uncharismatic Nicolas Maduro, will most likely runVenezuela in the near future, backed …
In the early morning of February 18, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez tweeted that he was back in Caracas, after spending over two months in a Havana hospital. On December 11, Chavez underwent a fourth round of surgery for an undisclosed cancer. Chavez was immediately moved to a military hospital under …
It has now been two months since Venezuela President Hugo Chavez departed Miraflores Palace (Venezuela’s White House) to undergo cancer surgery in Havana, Cuba. Very little is known about Chavez’s health. So far the only proof of life presented by senior officials are reported visits to the hospital where Chavez …
Argentina and Iran have agreed to establish a “truth commission” to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association. The bombing of the Jewish center in Buenos Aires claimed 85 lives, injured hundreds, and was undoubtedly the work of Iranian-backed terrorists. Two years before, terrorists (also believed to …
In Santiago, Chile, on January 28, the new regional body, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), passed its rotating presidency to Cuba’s dictator General Raul Castro. CELAC, according to prime backer Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, is part of a historic project to build a Latin American/Caribbean union …
According to Venezuela’s constitution, Hugo Chavez—elected president for an unprecedented fourth term in October 2012—must be sworn in as president on January 10, but it will not happen. Like so many constitutional principles in Venezuela, this requirement, according to Vice President Nicolas Maduro, is just a “formality.” Never mind the …
Over the holidays, Venezuelans continued to receive increasingly grim news regarding the health of President Hugo Chavez. Current Vice President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro rushed to Havana and reported back that Chavez had suffered “new complications” and that the President remains in a “delicate” condition following his fourth round …
Speaking in Miami in May 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama outlined his proposed Cuba policy: “My policy toward Cuba will be guided by one word: Libertad [Liberty]. And the road to freedom for all Cubans must begin with justice for Cuba’s political prisoners, the rights of free speech, a free …
