Although Hugo Chavez just died last week in Caracas, economic freedom predeceased him in Venezuela by at least a decade. When Chavez took power in 1999, the Venezuelan economy was rated at 54 points out of 100, according to The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal’s annual Index of Economic Freedom. This …
The government of Venezuela has announced that Hugo Chavez died this afternoon. His death was not unexpected. What is unexpected is what occurred earlier today. Vice President Nicolas Maduro—Chavez’s heir apparent—informed a televised audience that Chavez was the victim of an attack by his enemies. “We have not a single …
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 …
On January 21, German authorities at Dusseldorf Airport discovered a check for 300 million bolivars (about $70 million) in the luggage of Tahmasb Mazaheri, Iran’s former central bank chief from 2007 to 2008, as he arrived from Turkey. The check was drawn from the Bank of Venezuela. When asked about …
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 …
In 2011, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez organized the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in 2011 specifically to serve as a regional body that excludes the U.S. and Canada—one that might someday supplant the Organization of American States (OAS). News that the next Latin leader to assume CELAC’s …
