It is hard to envisage what role Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, has in mind for the dozens of Russian tanks on his latest military shopping list. The strategic purpose of a recent tour that took him to some of the world’s least salubrious regimes is, however, easier to discern. And it has led America’s State [...]
Unbeknownst to many, Igor Sechin allegedly worked with the famous arms dealer Viktor Bout back in Mozambique in the 1980s? As you probably already know and as RobertAmsterdam.com has documented, we have been monitoring orders for more Russian tanks from Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez while at the same time more and more FARC links to Caracas are surfacing. [...]
All enlightened governments should consider Venezuela a “no-go” zone. This is because the country, under Hugo Chavez, has descended into a kleptocracy. Industries, like coffee and rice, have just been nationalized and confiscations without compensation are underway. Two Canadian mining companies are victims, as are Venezuelan business interests, and there are gross human rights abuses, [...]
By CFP Founder Robert Amsterdam Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is above reproach for his authoritarianism because he is a model democrat, having won many majority elections.” Perhaps more commonly, you have heard this one: “We cannot dare to speak about human rights violations in Venezuela when Washington [...]
Coke Zero has been a successful venture for Coca Cola around the world– but the drink’s name has turned out to be a prediction of its commercial prospects in Venezuela. In a surprising move that bodes ill for foreign investment in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez‘s government has banned the sale of the calorie-free soft drink over apparent [...]
The New York Times has reported that yesterday in Zimbabwe, a court dismissed charges against a leading human rights lawyer accused of obstructing justice. The lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, was part of a legal team representing political activists who later faced charges of ‘plotting to overthrow’ Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Mr. Muchadehama himself was arrested last month and accused [...]
Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa recently stated that when he takes office as head of Unasur he will sponsor the creation of organizations to monitor the unethical, irresponsible press and another to monitor human rights. Hmm. So one organization to monitor (censor) ‘unethical and irrsponsible’ press, relative terms at best when they oppose political leadership and [...]
Resource Nationalism by its nature can be perceived as a government’s implementation of economic stability during lows in industry. The action is generally indicative of dire fiscal straights, and almost always an action mired in controversy. No greater is that the case than what has been reported today from the Associated Press. For a leader [...]
Venezuela is often referred to as the capital of South America, and in some respects, its easy to see why. In terms of notable leaders on the continent, one doesn’t immediately think of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of a Brazil that comprises nearly half of the land mass, but indeed, of Venezuelan President Hugo [...]
Venezuelan Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs to Africa, Reinaldo Bolivar, today concluded an official visit to Angola. The Angolan news agency, ANGOP, reported that the Venezuelan diplomat stated, on arriving back in Venezuela, that the visit had the objective of strengthening the two nations’ cooperative ties in the fields of energy, diplomacy, politics, and indeed in [...]
