Venezuela

Venezuela: Opponent Dies During Hunger strike

Farmer Franklin Britos, 49, died last night at approximately 9 pm, at the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital of Caracas as a result of a hunger strike which began several months ago to protest against “expropriation policy and nationalizations carried out by the Hugo Chávez government.”
According to his wife, Elena Brito, “he died around 9 pm due [...]

Challenging Chavez’s Grip on Venezuela

During one of his interminable appearances on national television, perhaps even on his own broadcast Alo Presidente on Telesur, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez demanded to know last month why Guillermo Zuloaga, the majority owner of Venezuela’s last remaining opposition television station, was not in jail. “How is it possible that he can accuse me of [...]

Shell - Most Oil Companies Shunning Venezuela

The tone of this blog has sometimes veered off its original intent, every so often appearing similar to that of an international human rights watchdog.  Quite frequently however, we refer to the geopolitical and economic ramifications from the actions of an erratic authoritarian, of which there are unfortunately many, and not only the human cost.
Today, [...]

Venezuela: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Null The Election

Rule of law is hardly adhered to in Venezuela, nor is democracy, for that matter – casualties of the revolution our favorite erratic autocrat repeatedly claims is on the rise. Judges who rule against the favor of the government’s wishes have been known to be thrown in jail themselves. Those in the executive cabinet that [...]

South of the Border, the Cult of the Presidency

Washington Examiner Columnist, Vice President at the Cato Institute and author of “The Cult of the Presidency“ Gene Healy clearly despises rhetoric.
His article, recently published in the Examiner, opens by emphasizing the repetitiveness with which Obama deals with each administrative failure - by pushing the charm offensive. However, unlike Healy’s many counterparts at the Examiner, his is a [...]

Venezuela and the Socialist Supermarket

When your President tells you that ‘Playstation is poison‘, you know you’ve got a problem with the way things are being run. When hunger and power deficits are perpetual issues in your country yet those in the executive branch are more focussed on controlling industry for their own agenda, you know you have qualms with [...]

The Language of Human Rights

This article was first published in The Wall Street Journal.
Human rights are under attack, and language is the weapon. The very grammar of justice has fallen into the wrong hands, instrumentalized in the elaborate and sensational theaters of due process. A trial without any rights of defense is still called a “trial,” a conviction ordered [...]

Honduran Congress Approves Withdrawal From ALBA

Honduran Congress has approved a decree handed down in December by President Roberto Micheletti to end Honduras’ membership in the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas (ALBA), a regional organization started by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Presidential spokesman Rafael Pineda, in an apparent reference to Venezuela, explained that the decision to leave was taken because “some of the countries in [...]

Chaos: The Hugo Chavez Doctrine

“Venezuela is going to rack and ruin. Chavez is in serious trouble. The economy is heading for the sewer,” stated Robert Amsterdam today on ‘Montel Across America’ on the Air America Radio Network.
The international attorney explained that Chavez has devalued the currency by 50% in order to “have more money to throw around to keep his [...]

The Chavezjad Doctrine: Between Myth and Speculation

The Inter-American Dialogue has recently published the works of Michael Shifter, here specifically on the dangerous alliance between Iran and Venezuela, the mastermind behind the union, Hugo Chavez, a skilled provocateur indeed and its geopolitical ramifications hindering infrastructure, human rights and international development in every regard.
The following is excerpted from his article, “The Chavezjad Doctrine: Between [...]