15 government troops dead in fresh fighting in Colombia's southern oil region. President Uribe seeks foreign help to beef up military muscle. US lawmakers promise more soldiers and mercenaries.

28.03.2004 (By Maria Engqvist, ANNCOL)

On March 18, 19 and 20, FARC guerrillas attacked government forces in the oilfields of Orito municipality in the southern department of Putumayo, killing 15 soldiers. Furthermore 30 troops from the government's "Plan Energ�ico" Army Battalion, which has been specially created to protect the oil infrastructure in Putumayo, were wounded in the fighting. Two of the attackers were also reported killed.

Canadian oil giant PETROBANK and several US companies are operating in the Putumayo oil region. PETROBANK installations and oil wells have been targeted by guerrilla attacks earlier this year, when rebels forced the foreign companies to suspend their activities.

Only days before the clashes in Putumayo, joint guerrilla forces from FARC and the smaller left-Catholic rebel army ELN attacked a paramilitary unit allied to the Colombian Army in Cesar department, killing two troops. Six other government troops were also reported killed in separate clashes with guerrillas.

Meanwhile visiting Washington, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe won backing from US lawmakers to extend Plan Colombia, a US military aid program, with many willing to increase US military and private mercenaries employed in the Andean nation.

The Senate's leader of minority Democrats, Tom Daschle told AFP that lawmakers were "impressed" with Uribe's fight against leftist rebels and terrorism.

"I don't think there could be a better partnership than the one we have with Colombia in assuring stability and security today, and this is part of it," he said.

"We talked about raising the military cap and many of us support it," he said.

President George W. Bush's administration wants to double the official US forces in Colombia, from 400 to 800 operatives, and mercenaries from 400 to 600.

Guerrillas have downed ten US military planes in recent years, and at least 18 US personnel have been killed. The FARC is holding three captured US agents together with a number of Colombian military officers and high-profile politicians, and have offered to exchange their detainees for captured guerrillas held in jail.

The government of right-wing President Uribe has so far rejected the proposal.

Clashes in oilfields kill 17 soldiers and guerrillas

background on Columbia

U.S. troops accused of arming Colombian death squads

Two soldiers arrested in raid

Colombians may not be able to prosecute pair under treaty

ASSOCIATED PRESS 5/4/2005

CARMEN DE APICALA, Colombia — Colombian police arrested two U.S. soldiers for alleged involvement in a plot to traffic thousands of rounds of ammunition - possibly to outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups, authorities said today.

The two soldiers were detained during a raid Tuesday in a gated community in Carmen de Apicala, 80 kilometres southwest of the capital and near Colombia's sprawling Tolemaida airbase, where the detained soldiers worked and where many U.S. servicemen are stationed.

National police Chief Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro said officers stopped a suspicious man in the area, who offered a bribe to be allowed to go free. Under threat of arrest, the man led the officers to a nearby house where more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition for assault rifles, machine-guns and pistols were found, officials said.

Shortly afterward, the two U.S. army soldiers - apparently unaware of the police operation - tried to go to the house. Castro said three Colombians were also involved.

"In the course of the investigation, two Americans arrived, they did not give a satisfactory explanation and were put at the disposal of the Prosecutors' Office," Castro said.

A security guard at the Paradise complex said the two American soldiers were taken away by police and Colombian soldiers in a convoy of a half dozen vehicles.

In Washington, the State Department confirmed the arrest of two of its soldiers in Colombia.

"Two U.S. soldiers were detained by Colombian authorities on the afternoon of May 3," it said. "We are discussing the circumstances of their detention with Colombian authorities, but do not have any additional information to provide at this time."

It marks the latest U.S. embarrassment in this South American nation. On March 29, five U.S. soldiers were arrested after 15 kilograms of cocaine was found aboard a U.S. military plane that flew to El Paso, Texas, from the Apiay airbase east of Bogota.

In the ammunitions case, a police registry identified the U.S. servicemen only as Allam Tanquary and Jesus Hernandez. It was unclear whether Allam was a misspelling. U.S. authorities did not provide names.

The Colombian Attorney General's Office said the arrested American soldiers had been in contact with a former Colombian police sergeant, Will Gabriel Aguilar, who has been linked to paramilitary groups. Aguilar, another retired policeman and two other Colombians were also arrested, the police official said.

The cache was composed of more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition sent to Colombia by the United States under its Plan Colombia aid program, aimed at crushing a leftist insurgency and the drug trafficking that fuels it, officials said.

The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on any possible links to paramilitary groups, who are battling leftist rebels in Colombia. Washington has branded the paramilitary umbrella group, the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, as a terrorist organization, along with the two rebel groups.

The Attorney General's Office has formally opened an investigation into arms trafficking against those arrested. However, Colombian Attorney General Luis Camilo Osorio said the two Americans will not face Colombian justice because they are protected under a 1974 treaty that gives U.S. servicemen working here diplomatic immunity status.

Jairo Clopatofsky, a member of the Colombian Senate's foreign relations committee, said the treaty is allowing U.S. soldiers to commit crimes here with impunity. He is leading a move to amend the pact.

"Colombia's hands are tied by this treaty, which prohibits us from bringing any of these U.S. military members to justice," he said.

The United States has provided more than $3 billion US in aid under Plan Colombia. Up to 800 U.S. troops are permitted simultaneously in Colombia, according to U.S. law, to train Colombian armed forces and provide logistical support. Up to 600 Americans are also permitted in the country as U.S. government contractors.

TheStar.com via FPI

CRISIS PROFILE: Why have nearly 3 million Colombians fled home?

30 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT Source: AlertNet - background material By Ruth Gidley

Four decades of conflict have turned Colombia into one of the world's worst humanitarian hotspots, with millions caught up in the crossfire between leftist rebels, cocaine smugglers and far-right paramilitary militias.

In an AlertNet poll of humanitarian experts conducted in March 2005, Colombia was ranked the world's sixth-worst "forgotten" emergency. The country has the third-largest displaced population in the world.

Threats, intimidation, assassinations and massacres have forced nearly three million Colombians from their homes in the countryside, while at least 35,000 people have been killed since the start of the 1990s. Of the displaced, many have sought asylum in neighbouring countries such as Ecuador. Others have joined the vast urban slums and shantytowns within Colombia's own borders.

The figures vary widely. The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants estimates that about 2.73 million people have been uprooted by the conflict. The official government figure is 1.23 million.

Why are the official statistics so much lower?

We're not talking about people living in camps. A lot of the displaced are not registered because they don't trust the government. And many families move from the countryside and melt into the cities.

On top of that, about 234,000 Colombians are seeking asylum abroad, and there are another 290,000 who have fled across borders but haven't registered as refugees.

Why have they left their homes?

They're threatened with violence from a variety of players in a complex war that's been going on since 1964. Large swathes of the country are effectively outside the control of central government. Instead, they're under the sway of a range of armed groups and major landowners.

Villagers are sometimes forced to turn to one or another armed group for protection, but are then vulnerable to attack from that group's enemies.

Who's fighting whom?

This isn't a straightforward two-sided war, but it does involve outlaw groups of both left and right. There are two Marxist guerrilla groups -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

FARC is the larger group, with a presence in many jungle regions. It became heavily involved in the drugs trade to fund its activities.

The ELN is smaller, and rejects drug trafficking, but it's not above kidnapping to raise funds.

Who else is there?

There's the government army, of course. Then you've got right-wing paramilitaries, who started off as hired guns for drug barons and cattle ranchers but have deep links with the army and police. The government says it is cracking down on these links.

Do poorer people tend to support the Marxists?

Poorer people are at the receiving end of violence from all sides in this war. The inequalities that originally fuelled revolt and attracted people to the cause haven't changed much.

The country's elite is drawn primarily from descendants of the Spanish, while people with mixed heritage - indigenous, African and European - tend to be less well off, and 25 percent of Colombia's population of 44 million live in absolute poverty.

In any case, the various insurgent groups don't really need popular support, since they've got their income from drugs and kidnapping. And they don't have much to gain from giving up their lucrative business.

For many poor people with scant options for making a living, life with the army or guerrillas or paramilitaries is a tempting career option. That's one of the reasons peace is so elusive.

When did drugs become an integral part of this conflict?

Since the late 1970s, Colombia has been an important drug producer. FARC and the paramilitaries handle about 80 percent of the world's cocaine, and they are also involved in growing poppies for heroin.

Nearby Bolivia and Peru also grow coca - the plant that cocaine is made from - but there are some important differences. Firstly, coca leaves have some local cultural significance in these other countries, where they have been chewed for centuries as a stimulant that dulls hunger and decreases fatigue. This isn't the case in Colombia, where its production is entirely linked to the cocaine trade.

Secondly, Colombia not only grows the raw product, but processes it. Once it's on the way to becoming crack or cocaine, it's a far more potent drug, and the profit margin is much, much higher.

How is the United States involved in this war?

Washington gives a huge amount of aid, most of it military. It has contributed more than $3 billion since 2000 in a package known as Plan Colombia. Ostensibly, it's to fight the war on drugs because of the impact of the narcotics trade on the United States, but neither Washington nor Bogotá distinguish between their fight against narcotics and their desire to crush armed insurgencies.

U.S. involvement is controversial. Opponents argue that the United States is just buying a stake in Latin America and that this kind of aid doesn't do anything to stop the violence.

What moves are there towards peace?

Since President Alvaro Uribe came to power in 2002, he's cracked down heavily on all the armed groups including the right-wing paramilitaries.

Under a 2004 agreement, about 5,000 of 20,000 paramilitaries from the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) have demobilised, and in 2005 Congress approved a judicial framework for prosecuting ex-combatants.

There have been no talks with the FARC since Uribe took office, and the ELN has broken off contacts with the government.

Is the government's crack-down working?

Uribe is a very popular president but his actions have provoked some criticism. Firstly, the president has been blasted by activists who say his hardline approach infringes human rights.

Secondly, many analysts say the government is putting too much emphasis on defeating the FARC on the battlefield and not enough on political solutions. The same people argue that calling the guerrillas "criminals" and "terrorists" isn't helpful.

Then there's the problem that the military squeeze is pushing the illegal armed groups into remote areas on both sides of Colombia's borders. This has created serious friction with potentially unstable Venezuela to the northeast and Ecuador to the southwest.

Analysts such as Belgian-based thinktank Crisis Group argue that any meaningful move towards peace cannot rely purely on military suppression and forcible eradication of coca crops by aerial spraying.

So what do they say is the answer?

Crisis Group's main point is that effort needs to go into coming up with alternatives for the rural population. You can't expect people to stop producing a lucrative crop just because it's illegal if there's no other way for them to make a living.

So they say land rights need to be addressed too, since unequal land ownership is one of the issues that has fuelled the conflict. And they say the war on drugs should be waged in consumer countries as well, to reduce demand.

So if the war is in the countryside, how safe are the cities?

Sadly, not very. Violent crime is common, but has fallen considerably during Uribe's administration.

There were also about 1,300 kidnappings in 2004, which was less than half the number in 2001. A lot of kidnap victims don't make it home alive, even if their families pay a ransom. Many of the targets are fairly wealthy, since Colombia has a sizeable elite living in relative luxury with armed guards in gated neighbourhoods.

The poor, meanwhile, often live in crowded, unpleasant conditions. Many rural poor have fled to urban areas and struggle to make a living. And they're also living in a society where shootings are not unusual. There were some 20,000 murders in 2004, down from about 30,000 several years earlier.

On top of that, political crime is rife, with journalists frequently targeted for exposing corruption.

Why is violence is so extreme in Colombia?

Colombia has lived through periods of intense violence virtually since independence from Spain. The country's two main political parties - the Liberals and the Conservatives -- were involved in bloody conflicts after their formation in the mid 19th century, even though their ideologies were almost indistinguishable.

Around 120,000 people died in "The War of a Thousand Days" between 1899 and 1903, and then another 300,000 people were killed in another period of civil conflict between 1948 and 1957.

After this, the two parties agreed to alternate power to end the battles and banned all other parties. The country has a democratic system now, but some analysts argue that Colombia has never known real democracy or rule of law, and that's one reason why it's so hard to achieve peace.

Who are the good guys in this?

Against all odds, there are dozens of Colombian peasant organisations and human rights groups, despite being targeted for their work. Some are accused of having links to paramilitary and guerrilla organisations, and some of them undoubtedly do. - reuters

Venezuala?

Russia and Venezuela see eye to eye

[World News] MOSCOW, March 23 : Russia and Venezuela share close or identical views on key international problems, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Moscow statement was circulated during a meeting held by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak during his visit to Caracas, Interfax reports.

Kislyak held ministerial consultations and a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday with leading officials from the Venezuelan defense and mining ministries.

"The talks revealed a coincidence or closeness of positions on key international problems and the role of the United Nations as a central mechanism of maintaining peace and stability," the Foreign Ministry new kerala

US focusing on closer threat ... or has Chavez good reason to fear for his life?

VHeadline.com commentarist Elio Cequea writes:

He might be doing it out of love though ... he is married to a Venezuelan!

Money and love are perfect good reasons to justify having to pack together so many of the Venezuelan opposition's lies in an article only page and a half long.

According to MacKinnon,

...these are some of Mr. MacKinnon's claims.

The supporting arguments are as absurd as these statements. In fact, they sound more like claims than "supporting arguments." What acts define Mr. Chavez as a terrorist?

Douglas MacKinnon explicitly claims some of the claims claiming his claims.

There are zero attempts from MacKinnon's part to prove any of these. vheadline.com

U.S. President George W. Bush and Argentine President Nestor Kirchner meet in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Friday

Thirty-four heads of state from the Americas began sessions of the fourth Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Friday, during which strong disagreements emerged on regional free trade.

President of host nation Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, opened the summit saying "our continent, in general, and our countries, individually, are facing a tragic test of the failure of the 'trickle-down theory' that originated in Washington."

He added that past U.S. policies "not only generated misery and poverty but also a great social tragedy that added to institutional instability in the region, provoking the fall of democratically elected governments."

Kirchner met his counterpart, George W. Bush and described their talk as "very frank and forward," an indication of the tensions that loom large for the Americas Summit.

As of Friday midnight, local time, the fate of the final summit agreement remains unknown. The refusal of Brazil and Argentina to support the North American proposal of a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) indicates that perhaps the summit will conclude without a decisive declaration.

A North American refusal to eliminate their agricultural subsidies is at the center of the disagreement.

The defense of the FTAA was put forward not by George W. Bush but by Mexican President Vicente Fox. He heads a group of pro-FTAA countries which have already signed bilateral free trade agreements with the United States.

Fox said that a FTAA can be ratified despite the absence of a few member states, but since Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil compose 75 percent of the region's GDP, this shows how crucial it is to incorporate to these countries into the agreement.

The discord prevailing at the summit appear to be threatening to fracture the Common Market of the South (CMS) -- ratified by Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina -- because unofficial reports say that Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez may sign his own agreement with the U.S. if the CMS fails to do so. - ohmynews.com

A protester kicks in a window of a bank during a march against the presence of President Bush in the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Argentina. Bush pressed his free trade agenda in the face of a challenge by Venezuela's leftist leader Hugo Chavez.

Thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Mar del Plata, Argentina, and protests turn violent as President Bush seeks to promote free trade at a divided Summit of the Americas.

Bush, Chavez clash on trade as violence mars opening of hemispheric summit

By Finlay Lewis COPLEY NEWS SERVICE - 4:26 p.m. November 4, 2005 - Associated Press

A protester kicks in a window of a bank during a march against the presence of President Bush in the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Argentina. Bush pressed his free trade agenda in the face of a challenge by Venezuela's leftist leader Hugo Chavez.

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina – President Bush pressed his free trade agenda on Friday at the opening session of a hemispheric summit in the face of a challenge by Venezuela's leftist leader Hugo Chavez and street violence by anti-American protesters.

The disagreement between Bush and Chavez over trade unfolded against the backdrop of a daylong protest that turned from peaceful to unruly and lawless by evening as about a thousand rock-throwing militants burned an American flag and threw a gasoline bomb that ignited a blaze in a downtown bank at this seaside resort of 600,000.

Argentine police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets as they contained the unrest to about a six-block area less than a mile from the luxury hotel where the American president and the leaders of 33 other nations met in the opening session of a two-day Summit of the Americas. The purpose of the summit is to devise strategies for reducing poverty, promoting economic growth and advancing the cause of political reform.

The unrest grew after Chavez delivered a two-hour address to a crowd of about 10,000 at a local soccer stadium. The throng enthusiastically embraced the Venezuelan leader's anti-American rhetoric, which included a salute to anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in action in Iraq and the focal point of a domestic anti-war movement.

With a six-story banner of the martyred Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara serving as a backdrop, Chavez declared, "Only united can we defeat imperialism and bring our people a better life."

Later, the Venezuelan president joined Bush and other leaders at the opening session of the two-day summit just as the protests began turning ugly.

Bush listened pensively as the summit's host, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, criticized the American administration for backing International Monetary Fund policies that Kirchner blamed for his country's economic collapse five years ago.

He urged Bush to exercise "responsible leadership" in the hemisphere.

Earlier Bush praised Kirchner's leadership for restoring economic growth to his country. He also said that Kirchner's success should strengthen Argentina's hand in loan negotiations with the IMF, an institution many regional critics consider too closely allied with Washington's favored policies.

Bush's woes extended beyond the criticism from Kirchner and Chavez. When he took questions from American reporters he was asked not about hemispheric matters but about the political woes he left behind back in Washington. It was the first time the president had fielded questions in the week since his administration was hit with the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff.

Bush deflected those questions and tried, instead, to focus on the hemispheric issues on the summit agenda – the same issues Chavez proclaimed he was here to defeat.

Chavez arrived at this seaside resort city in the morning to declare that a proposed hemisphere wide trade deal strongly backed by the Bush administration is "dead," adding, "We are going to bury it here. We are here to change the course of history."

As Chavez was arriving, Bush was promoting his trade agenda at small sessions of other Latin American leaders, many of whom disagree with Chavez and support Bush's trade aims.

But the protesters were solidly with Chavez. The demonstrations began early with the downtown streets ringing with chants of "Fascist Bush! You are the terrorist" and "Get out, Bush."

Despite the later spasm of violence, the demonstrations appeared smaller and less threatening than the protests at the last summit in 2001 in Quebec City, Canada, or the huge and deadly anti-globalization riots that paralyzed Genoa, Italy, later that year during a summit of the world's major industrial powers.

"It is not easy to host all these countries," acknowledged Bush, as he and Kirchner appeared briefly before reporters following a morning meeting between the two leaders. "It's particularly not easy to host, perhaps, me."

They took no questions, while Latin American reporters said that Kirchner, also a populist critic of American policies both in Iraq and in the hemisphere, used the Spanish word for "raw" to describe the session. Bush characterized it as "good, honest discussion."

In a brief question-and-answer session with reporters later, Bush said he would be civil in anticipation of a possible face-to-face meeting with Chavez during the two-day summit. "I will, of course, be polite. That's what the American people expect their president to do, is to be a polite person," Bush said.

As negotiators haggled over a draft declaration, Bush met in the morning with the leaders of Central American and Andean countries – minus Venezuela – to discuss improved trade ties with the United States.

Few details have emerged about the precise plans that will be offered by the summit on Saturday at its concluding session for tackling poverty and strengthening economic growth in the region. However, free trade has emerged as a flash point dividing Bush not only from Chavez but also for different reasons from Argentina and, particularly, Brazil. While the Venezuelan leader dismisses free trade as a ploy to benefit the rich, the latter two nations are balking at a so-called Free Trade Area of the Americas unless the United States agrees to open its markets more fully to agricultural imports.

There were some signs, however, of progress on the FTAA, an idea originally broached at the first hemispheric summit 11 years ago but lately sidetracked while global trade negotiators haggle over the issue of agricultural subsidies.

Mexican President Vicente Fox [my note: hes the ex head of Coca Cole Mexico] said that 29 of the 34 nations at the summit would like to bring an FTAA to a conclusion. The holdouts are Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay. With the exception of Venezuela, all the holdouts are members of a regional trade bloc known as Mercosur.

The FTAA also received a vote of confidence from Salvadoran President Tony Saca, who said, "Today we are not attending the burial of the FTAA in this summit. We, the majority of the presidents have come here to reiterate our firm resolve and commitment to free trade, to an economic opening and to programs that generate employment."

With the FTAA in abeyance in recent years, Bush has followed a parallel strategy of negotiating free trade deals with the Central American countries and a three-nation bloc from the Andean region – Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

He has consistently argued that expanded trade offers the best opportunity for raising living standards and incomes across the region.

Tom Shannon, assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, told reporters, "It's become clear as the negotiations have moved forward that there is significant support within the region for ... a (FTAA)."

However, he also insisted, "It is important to understand that this is not a meeting about trade ... This is a meeting about leaders from the democratic states in the Americas getting together to discuss common problems, common values and try to construct common responses that ... deliver the goods to the people." - sign on sandiego

Thousands of protesters march against the visit of U.S. President Bush in Mar del Plata

Maradona says Bush is 'human rubbish'

Fri Nov 4, 6:48 PM ET

Maradona was mobbed by fans as he arrived in Mar del Plata on a special train bringing activists to join protests against the Summit of the Americas, which saw widespread protests against the US presence.

The onslaught against the US leader was like Maradona leading the attack in the World Cup.

He wore a series of t-shirts, calling Bush "assassin" or declaring "stop Bush" and the chaos at Mar del Plata railway station was such that he decided not to lead a rally by more than 10,000 people to a football stadium.

But Maradona was given a rapturous ovation when he spoke to a rally of 40,000 people in the stadium, when he followed Venezuela's firebrand leader President Hugo Chavez, who spoke for two-and-a-half hours.

"I love you. Argentina is great. Let's get rid of Bush," Maradona told the cheering crowd.

On his way to Mar del Plata, the 45-year-old Maradona, who has come back from drug inspired depths to rebuild a career as a television host, told AFP why he was taking part in the mobilisation against Bush.

"I am proud to be an Argentine who can travel in this train to oppose the human rubbish that Bush is," said Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup. "He has caused us a lot of harm, but if we unite our efforts we can show that we can say 'no'," he added.

On the train were rock stars, actors, Bolivian presidential contender Evo Morales and Argentine politicians, journalists and intellectuals. Maradona the showman was back on top form. An hour into the trip, Maradona went through each carriage to shake the hand of each worker on the train.

Later a rumour spread that there was a bomb on the train and it was stopped for an hour so a search could be carried out. The train had to make other stops so Maradona and the other personalities could greet supporters who stood along the tracks with flags and banners.

Miguel Bonasso, the government lawmaker who organized the train, said it had been a "marvelous experience" though he acknowledged that "an event with Diego is never easy to organize" because of the crowds that follow him.

Two years ago, Maradona was in an intensive care fighting for his life after years of drug abuse. His weight ballooned. But the former "Golden Boy" of international sport has made a spectacular comeback with his television show, which is called "La Noche del 10," after the number 10 jersey he had in the national team. The show has broken all TV audience records since it was launched three months ago.

On Monday he interviewed Cuban President Fidel Castro, who happily joined the anti-Bush tirade.

"If I were the president of the United States, I would try to have a little judgment for once and not defy the Argentines who have declared him persona non grata," said Castro, who was not invited to the Mar del Plata summit.

Maradona regularly took refuge in Cuba during his rehabilitation and has become a Castro ally. He wore Castro-style military green for the interview.

- news.yahoo.com

Bush urges Brazil to reject drift to left

President says democracy offers 'vision of hope,' warns alternative is fueled by fear

By JULIE MASON BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL - With scant progress made on revitalizing a proposal for an ambitious trade pact, President Bush turned to politics Sunday, urging Latin Americans to reject the entreaties of the far left and follow democracy to prosperity.

"Ensuring social justice for the Americas requires choosing between two competing visions," Bush said in a speech that mentioned no names but seemed to take aim at Venezuela's flamboyant leftist president, Hugo Chávez. "One offers a vision of hope and is founded on representative government. ... The other seeks to roll back democratic progress of the last two decades by playing against fear," Bush said as he wrapped up a visit to Brazil, where he worked to fortify a tenuous relationship with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula.

Bush said the choices that nations in the region make will determine the "Americas our children will inherit."

As he did during a two-day visit to Argentina for the Summit of the Americas, Bush encountered protests in Brazil. Demonstrators along his motorcade route through the Brazilian capital burned Bush in effigy and chanted, "Bush fascist, you are a terrorist."

Bush ends his Latin American tour today with a visit to Panama City, where he will tour the Panama Canal, participate in a baseball event and hold talks with President Martin Torrijos, a closer ally on policy issues than Lula.

The Brazilian leader is not on board with one of Bush's highest policy priorities: the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, which would create a hemispherewide free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Argentina.

After nearly two hours of closed discussion with Lula, Bush acknowledged that he was unable to persuade the Brazilian to see it his way.

"He has got to be convinced, just like the people of America have to be convinced, that a Trade Agreement of the Americas is good for jobs, it's good for quality of life," Bush said at a joint appearance with Lula.

The Brazilian indicated that U.S. agriculture subsidies must be lifted and other issues resolved through the World Trade Organization before talks can begin on Bush's trade plan. Some Latin American leaders have questioned Bush's commitment to free trade while continuing agricultural subsidies regarded as protectionist.

"We agree that the reduction, with a view toward the elimination, of agricultural subsidies, will be a key to balance," Lula said.

Noting the Brazilian president's complaint, Bush said the United States is "leading the way in addressing this problem" by promising to reduce and then cut farm subsidies as long as Japan and the European Union follow suit.

One of the most outspoken critics of the trade proposal has been Chávez, a friend of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Chávez, who has vowed a revolution on behalf of the poor, hurled insults at the United States throughout the two-day Summit of the Americas, and, while addressing an anti-American rally, vowed to bury the Bush plan.

Chávez has accused the Bush administration of trying to overthrow his government, a charge denied by Washington.

On Saturday, leaders of 34 nations gathered for the summit were unable to agree on a statement either supporting or rejecting Bush's trade plan. Lula, Chávez and the leaders of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay rejected the idea of setting a firm date for new talks on the trade proposal. Critics of Bush's plan said it would help big-business interests but do nothing for the millions of poor people in the region. Leaders of the other 29 nations at the summit signed a watered-down declaration signaling a desire to press on with negotiations without some of Latin America's biggest economies. Brazil's is the region's largest; Argentina's and Venezuela's are third and fourth, respectively, behind Mexico's. After their talks Sunday, which included discussions on immigration, drug trafficking, terrorism and economic issues, Lula and Bush maintained a cordial front.

"We are the two largest democracies in the world, and, therefore, we have obligations to work together for peace and prosperity," Bush said in a joint appearance with Lula. Bush issued his pro-democracy call as several nations in the region prepare for presidential elections. A leading candidate in the Bolivian contest is Evo Morales, who has pledged to legalize coca, the raw material for cocaine. Earlier Sunday, Bush met with young Brazilian leaders who politely asked about the United States' "missionary" zeal to export its policies and politics to other countries.

Bush responded that many people have an inaccurate view of the United States. "I am anxious to work with countries to help make sure that the institutions, universal institutions of democracy, become entrenched in society - freedom to worship, freedom of the press, rule of law," he said.

The president shrugged off the demonstrations that have greeted him on the trip.

In Argentina, rowdy protesters on the streets of Mar del Plata set fire to a bank and looted businesses. In Brasília, about 150 protesters lined Bush's motorcade route, and about 40 students peacefully occupied a McDonald's, saying they had come to "one of the symbols of capitalism" to protest the U.S. leader's visit.

"I expect there to be dissent. That's what freedom is all about," Bush said. - Houston chron.com

Russia to Deliver 30,000 Kalashnikovs and 3 Helicopters to Venezuela by Year-End

11.11.2005 - MosNews - Russia will deliver 30,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and three helicopters to Venezuela by the year's end as part of a wider arms deal and cooperation, Russian and Venezuelan officials said, quoted by Associated Press agency.

15,000 rifles will arrive to the Latin American country on Dec. 15, with as many to follow on Dec. 30, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said after talks in Caracas on Thursday, Nov. 10. Three helicopters bought from Russia will arrive by the end of the year, Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said.

The shipments will be the first under a wider agreement, signed in May by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's government, for 100,000 Russian-made Kalashnikov AK-103 and AK-104 rifles. The remaining 70,000 rifles will be delivered in March, Zhukov said. Russia agreed to sell Venezuela's military 10 helicopters in March, including Mi-17s, Mi-35s and one Mi-26T, for $120 million. A Venezuelan general announced a deal for five additional Mi-17 helicopters in June for $81 million.

MosNews has reported on several occasions that the U.S. administration has expressed concern regarding this contract. U.S. President George W. Bush fears that the guns could fall into the hands of groups such as Colombia's leftist rebels. Venezuelan officials, however, call that ridiculous and urged the U.S. not to meddle in Venezuela's affairs. They insisted that the new rifles would merely replace outdated army weaponry. "What the U.S. elite want is to avoid us having relations with Russia or with China, or with France or with India," Chavez said. "They try to have a unipolar world, and we want a pluri-polar model," said Chavez, who has clashed repeatedly with U.S. government which he calls "imperialist."

During Alexander Zhukov's visit to Caracas, Russian and Venezuelan officials also signed an agreement pledging greater cooperation in areas including trade, oil, electricity and military technology. Both Rangel and Zhukov said they expect the trade to increase in the coming years as Russia and Venezuela broaden cooperation in areas from oil industry to mining.

Trade between Russia and Venezuela neared $65.5 million in the past 10 months, and in the future could increase fivefold, Rangel said. The Venezuelan vice president extended a formal invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the South American country, saying the two governments have "excellent relations." Chavez visited Moscow last year.

In the oil industry, Venezuela is teaming up with Russian oil firm Lukoil to calculate heavy oil reserves in the east of the country, and Russia's Gazprom recently won two natural gas licenses for zones off Venezuela's coast. "We're going to strengthen ties in oil and gas," Zhukov said. He also said Russia planned to start assembling buses, tractors and generators in Venezuela. - mosnews

LatAm Hails Bolivia Evo Morales´ Victory

Quito, Dec 19 (Prensa Latina) Latin American nations have hailed Monday the landslide victory in Bolivia of left-wing lawmaker Evo Morales, leader of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS), in the Sunday presidential elections.

Ecuadorean newspapers and news websites, as well as TV and radio news shows have highlighted the victory by the land and union leader, who according to preliminary reports got more than 50 percent of votes.

Chilean mass media also headlined Morales´ triumph and his first statements after his lead was made public. They also highlighted the joy of most Bolivians and the demonstration of support and sympathy the indigenous leader received when he came to his humble hometown to vote.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rican newspapers have given broad coverage to Morales´ electoral victory over rightist ex President Jorge Quiroga and how this triumph will mark the beginning of new times in Bolivia.

In Nicaragua, the media echoed today the Bolivian leader´s convincing victory during the presidential balloting held in Bolivia.

For his part, Venezuela´s president Hugo Chavez commented Morales´s win increases the chances for a stronger South American integration process, while the director of the Commission of MERCOSUR Representatives, Argentinian Carlos "Chacho" Alvarez, talked about inviting Bolivia to join the bloc as a full member.

Press and media in Nicaragua, Panama and other Latin American countries have also given coverage to Evo Morales´ victory. - plenglish.com

Evo Morales: US, Respect Sovereignty

La Paz, Dec 20 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales publicly demanded Tuesday that the US respect the people´s decision, and made it clear that the time of submission diplomacy and subordination had ended.

In an extensive news conference, Movement to Socialism (MAS) leader Morales challenged the US to make a pact against drugs without damaging Bolivian sovereignty, farmers and coca used for a legal purpose.

On US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice´s remarks slamming the democratic nature of the next Bolivian government, the MAS leader called for respect for the sovereign will of Bolivians, who believe that talk is the best way to work out domestic and foreign problems, and that if the US bets on diplomacy, so will his government.

Translating the Quechua slogan "Huaiñuchum yanquis" (Down with Yankees), with which he closed a Sunday address to celebrate his landslide win in elections; the president-elect said it is a slogan of struggle, resistance and defense of dignity and sovereignty.

It is also a condemnation of the policies of hunger, abject poverty and submission we must raze to dignify Bolivians, Morales pointed out.

Nationalization of hydrocarbons and natural resources based on the property rights of the State and suspension of deals that grant them to multinationals were platform promises ratified by the president-elect and contracts will be reviewed and revised.

Keeping the door open to conversations with corporations, he made it clear however that he would be severe with transnationals that smuggled oil and committed other crimes, as their contracts will be promptly cancelled.

He said the firms will operate under new conditions to ensure profit and recovery of their investments, and he will support the collaboration of regional state-run companies to promote the PETROAMERICA energy project in Latin America.

Defending the coca leaf as beneficial for health, Morales said he would strive for its international legalization by promoting removal of that plant from the UN list of prohibited substances.

There cannot only be legalization for Coca Cola, he remarked about the famous soda containing Andean coca as an ingredient.

The MAS leader asserted the drug fight can no longer be the pretext for US geopolitical interests to increase dominion over nations such as Bolivia and to install military bases.

On the presence of the US Drug Enforcement Agency in Bolivia, which even has authority over Bolivian army members and the police, he described this as unacceptable and vowed to fight drug traffic without foreign military intervention. - plenglish.com

Venezuela takes control of private oilfields

By Andy Webb-Vidal in Caracas Published: January 2 2006

Venezuela has this week taken state control of 32 privately operated oilfields in a move that will raise fiscal revenue but could damp future investment to boost output from the world’s fifth-largest exporter.

The transitory contract conversions pave the way for Petróleos de Venezuela, or Pdvsa, the state-owned oil company, to formalise holdings of up to 70 per cent in the new joint ventures. Majority state ownership over the affected oil units fulfils a policy goal of President Hugo Chávez, who has long called for greater control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, which are the largest in the Americas.

Rafael Ramírez, the energy minister and head of Pdvsa, said the move signalled Venezuela’s “recovery’’ of oilfields over which the state had “renounced collecting royalties’’. Mr Ramírez told the FT last month that the existing contracts had meant that Pdvsa lost money in those ventures.

Pdvsa said last week that it made a net profit of $9.4bn (€8bn, £5.5bn) in 2005, almost 120 per cent more than during the previous year.

About 500,000 barrels per day of Venezuela’s total output of 2.7m b/d are affected by the changes. Pdvsa will define the terms of the new contracts in the months ahead, including higher tax rates.

All multinationals operating in Venezuela – with the exception of US-based ExxonMobil – accepted the January 1 deadline for conversion. Pdvsa said ExxonMobil had sold its 25 per cent stake in the 15,000 b/d La Ceiba field to Repsol-YPF of Spain.

In addition to Repsol-YPF, companies that agreed to convert to joint ventures included BP, ChevronTexaco, China National Petroleum Company, Eni, Petrobras, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell and Total.

The existing agreements were created in the 1990s as a way of tapping foreign capital to boost output. But a 2001 law requires all oil production be undertaken by companies that are majority-owned by the state.

Output from the oilfields affected has declined in recent months, in part due to uncertainty over the impending changes. Investment banks predict that production will not recover while the new arrangements remain vague.

“Until then, we do not expect companies to make any significant investments and oil output to remain below previous levels in 2004,’’ Deutsche Bank said in a report. “On the other hand, once the conditions in the new agreements are defined, oil output could rapidly recover.’’

Higher oil prices have forced multinationals to accept less lucrative conditions in several oil-producing countries. - ft.com

UN prompts Haiti to hold February elections

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Saturday, 07 December: 00:37 CET) - The UN Security council has called on Haiti to hold its elections - already postponed four times since November on 7 February.

“The Security Council reiterates that the future holding of elections is a fundamental step towards the restoration of democracy and stability in Haiti," said current security council president, Augustine Mahiga, of Tanzania.

Presidential elections set for 8 January were called off for the fourth time because Haitian officials said the polling stations were not adequately prepared to handle millions of voters.

Officials also said the UN and Organization of American States did not fulfill their pre-election obligations, an accusation officials for both bodies deny.

Haiti has been ruled by an interim government since shortly after the departure of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who left in February 2004 amid an armed rebellion. ISN sec watch

U.N. commander in Haiti kills himself -UN officials

By Joseph Guyler Delva PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The commander of a United Nations peacekeeping force in Haiti shot himself dead on Saturday, U.N. officials said.

Brazilian Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar killed himself in a room at the Montana hotel in the troubled Caribbean country's capital, the officials said.

Few other details were immediately available.

Teixeira da Matta took over the U.N. peacekeeping force at the end of August.

The mission, known by its acronym MINUSTAH, was sent to Haiti to keep the peace between supporters and foes of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide after Aristide was ousted following a monthlong armed revolt in February 2004.

But the country of 8.5 million people has continued to be afflicted by political violence and a wave of kidnappings has swept through Port-au-Prince despite the presence of around 9,000 Brazilian-led U.N. troops and police.

Haiti has also struggled to organize its first presidential election since Aristide fled into exile. Originally scheduled for November, the ballot has been repeatedly put off and is now expected to take place in February.

Haiti's interim authorities have blamed the U.N. mission and the Organization of American States for the delays, a charge both organizations resolutely refute. alertnet.org

Brazil hopes for immediate probe into commander's death

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday lamented the death of Brazilian commander of UN peacekeepers in Haiti, hoping that UN could launch a full investigation immediately into the cause of his death.

Brazilian Lt. Gen. Urano Teixeira Da Matta Bacellar, commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, was found dead on the balcony of his hotel room on Saturday morning.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Annan was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the incident and that an investigation was under way.

Expressing his condolences over the death of Da Matta Bacellar, Lula ordered Foreign Ministry and national security officials to follow up the investigation and provide necessary cooperation, said a statement from the presidential office.

A team of experts in foreign and judicial affairs and criminal investigations will be sent to Haiti to join the probe, Lula said.

The president also expressed full confidence in the work of Brazilian peacekeeping troops in Haiti. He reiterated Brazil's commitment to helping people of the Caribbean country to restore peace and achieve political normalization.

Da Matta Bacellar, 57, had served in Brazil's armed forces for almost four decades. He became commander of the UN mission last September, replacing Brazilian Lt. Gen. Augusto Heleno Ribeiro who had led the force since its deployment to Haiti in June 2004.

His death came as Haiti is struggling to prepare for its first presidential election since an armed revolt ousted then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.

Initial reports said Da Matta Bacellar committed suicide. The Brazilian peacekeeping force later referred to the incident as a "firearm accident," while other reports said Da Matta Bacellar may have been murdered.

Chilean Gen. Eduardo Aldunate Herman has been named by the UN as interim commander. - english.people.com.cn

US blocks Spain-Venezuela plane deal

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Friday, 13 January: 10.45 CET) – The US has refused Spain permission to sell 12 transport and maritime surveillance aircraft containing US technology to Venezuela, the US ambassador in Spain told reporters on Friday.

The press office of US Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre told news agencies that the would-be aircraft sale to Venezuela would complicate the security situation in the South American region.

However, the Spanish Defense Ministry has remained defiant, saying in a statement that the sale would go ahead despite the US warnings.

The aircraft are part of a US$2 billion Spanish deal to supply ships and planes to Venezuela. Washington must authorize the sale of military equipment containing US parts to other countries.The US is also trying to block an arms deal between Brazil and Venezuela. - .isn.ethz.ch/

Venezuela says its officers spied for US

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Thursday, 26 January: 18:48 CET) - A handful of Venezuelan officers had passed sensitive information along to US officials, according to Vice President Jose Rangel. The vice president said the officers passed state secrets to the Pentagon.

Some of the officers who allegedly passed on the intelligence were apprehended, while others left the country, El Universal newspaper reported on Thursday.

In August, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused US Drug Enforcement Administration of using its officers in Venezuela as spies, an allegation Washington denied.

Chavez has also accused the Bush administration of backing those who tried to oust him in the April 2002 coup, while Washington says Chavez is promoting instability in the region by backing radical left-wing groups like the rebels in neighboring Colombia. - isn.ethz.ch

Bolivian president cuts his own salary

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Friday, 27 January: 13:40 CET) - Bolivian President Evo Morales has decided to cut his own paycheck in half, La Razon newspaper reported Friday. The newly elected Morales will now have a monthly salary of about $1,800. All other elected officials’ salaries will be reviewed as well and subject to pay cuts.

The former coca farmer and indigenous rights activist was inaugurated earlier this month and campaigned on a promise to cut his salary in half saying the additional funds will go toward education and healthcare. He also promised to nationalise Bolivia’s lucrative gas industry, the subject of much debate over the last few years - isn.ethz.ch/

Venezuela to arm against 'US invasion'

05/02/2006 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez extended his verbal war with Washington, likening US President George Bush to Hitler while saying he was considering buying enough rifles to arm one million Venezuelans ready to repel a possible US invasion. Speaking at a mass rally yesterday commemorating a failed 1992 coup he led as a lieutenant colonel, Chavez warned that Washington was considering invading Venezuela and the country needed more weapons to defend itself.

"We still need a higher number of rifles," he said. "The 100,000 Russian rifles are not enough. Venezuela needs to have one million well-equipped and well-armed men and women."

Relations between Washington and Caracas have been tense in recent months in part due to US criticism of Venezuela's purchases of military equipment, including 100,000 Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Chavez told the crowd of cheering supporters he had started making contacts with other countries that would be able to supply the additional rifles.

During Saturday's marathon speech, the Venezuelan leader also responded to comments made on Thursday by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who compared Chavez to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and warned about populist leadership in Bolivia and Cuba, both close allies of Venezuela.

"The imperialist, mass murdering, fascist attitude of the president of the US doesn't have limits," Chavez said. "I think Hitler could be a nursery baby next to George W. Bush."

Earlier yesterday, tens of thousands of Chavez supporters wearing replicas of the president's trademark beret marched through the Venezuelan capital shouting "Yankee Imperialism, No! Revolution, Yes!"

"Chavistas," as the president's backers are known, accused the US of conspiring to overthrow Chavez, saying US spies have attempted to stir discontent within the military in hopes of ousting him.

Chavez has repeatedly accused the US of plotting to overthrow him, or even invade Venezuela. Washington has strongly denied any such plans.

"The gringos are trying to infiltrate Venezuela's armed forces, but Chavez is here to stay," said Vladimir Enriquez, a 44-year-old mechanic.

Enriquez, and others who joined the sea of government supporters, criticised Washington for ordering a Venezuelan diplomat to leave the country in what the State Department said Friday was retaliation for the expulsion of a US naval officer from Caracas a day earlier.

Venezuela expelled US naval attache John Correa for allegedly passing secret information from Venezuelan military officers to the Pentagon.

On the other side of Caracas, thousands of opposition sympathisers marched to protest what they perceive as increasing authoritarianism under Chavez and strongly condemned the bloody coup attempt he led as a lieutenant colonel 14 years ago.

More than 80 civilians and 17 soldiers were killed on February 4, 1992, before troops loyal to then-President Carlos Andres Perez quelled the short-lived putsch. Chavez has celebrated the rebellion's anniversary every year since he took office in 1999.

"Venezuela's democracy is threatened" by Chavez, said 60-year-old retiree Luis Cuevas, who said the president was "looking for problems with the US" as a means of turning attention away from the country's domestic problems.

Opponents fear that Chavez is steering this oil-rich South American nation toward Cuba-style communism, while supporters applaud his far-reaching social programs funded by a flood of petrodollars.

Chavez met with Fidel Castro in Cuba on Friday.

- IOL .

Violence erupts in Haiti as delay in votes counting continues

14.02.2006 - Witnesses accused UN peacekeepers of killing at least one supporter of leading presidential candidate Rene Preval.

Brazil, the leading nation of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, asked for an urgent meeting to discuss the situation in the Caribbean nation, as gunfire erupted Monday during protests over election results. Official sources confirmed that at least one supporter of leading presidential candidate Rene Preval was killed in a confusing episode that involved UN troops.

Witnesses said UN peacekeepers opened fire on the crowd, but a UN spokesman denied that. Preval’s supporters filled the streets on Monday to demand a quick vote counting, which was delayed last week after early results gave Preval, a former president and one-time protégé of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a strong lead. Since then, Preval’s vote fell from 61 percent to less than the 50 percent needed to win outright and avoid a runoff.

Across Port-au-Prince, barricades made of old tires were set ablaze, sending plumes of acrid black smoke into the sky. Protesters let only journalists and Red Cross vehicles pass. Dozens of witnesses said Jordanian UN peacekeepers opened fire on them, killing two and wounding four.

David Wimhurst, spokesman for the UN mission – known by its French acronym MINUSTAH, denied in a telephone interview that peacekeepers opened fire. “We fired two warning shots into the air and we didn't injure anyone. Some time later, shots were fired by unknown persons in the same area,” he said. As for the witnesses' account that peacekeepers shot protesters, he said: “It's absolutely false.”

South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, who had appealed for calm at church services Sunday, was seen on a balcony surveying the crowd as helicopters landed on the roof to evacuate people after the shooting.

Preval’s supporters and some media reports warned on a move to block the rise to power of the popular leader that was once a closer collaborator of the US-topple president Jean Bertrand Aristide, now in exile in South Africa.

With some 90 per cent of the vote counted, Mr. Préval was leading with 48.7 per cent of the vote, Haiti's electoral council said on its Web site. His nearest opponent was Leslie Manigat, another former president, who had 11.8 per cent. Of the 2.2 million ballots cast, about 125,000 ballots have been declared invalid because of irregularities, raising suspicion among Preval supporters that polling officials are trying to steal the election. - pravda .

Ecuador declares state of emergency

By Hal Weitzman in Lima February 23 2006 - Ecuador declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and sent in the military to quell unrest in one of its oil-rich Amazonian provinces after protests shut down the country’s two main pipelines.

The government action came in response to deteriorating public order in Napo province. On Monday, protesters occupied a facility owned by Petroecuador, the state oil company, forcing it to shut down its main pipeline and suspend exports. Hours after the company lifted force majeure and resumed production and exports, activists stormed a pumping station on the privately-operated OCP pipeline, forcing it to close.

Protesters clashed with security forces in Napo on Wednesday, where 24 pipeline workers were being held hostage.

It is the second time in six months that violent unrest has forced the country to halt oil production and suspend civil liberties. Last August, demonstrators blew up pipelines with dynamite and vandalised pumping equipment, provoking Petroecuador, the state oil company, to suspend exports for two weeks and pushing US crude oil futures up $2 a barrel in New York.

Ecuador is South America’s fifth biggest oil producer and the region’s second biggest exporter of crude to the US. It normally produces 525,000 b/d, most of which is pumped through the OCP pipeline.

Analysts say the demonstrations are aimed less at private companies and more against the government, which has failed to honour pledges made by the previous government to increase infrastructure spending in the region.

“People are aware of windfall oil profits, and local governments and pressure groups want a bite out of those funds,” said Walter Spurrier, of the Universidad Casa Grande in Guayaquil.

The demonstrators have been urged on by local politicians. The army said on Wednesday that the provincial prefect and two local mayors had been arrested.

The protests may also be fuelled by continuing support for former president Lucio Gutiérrez, who was sacked last year by Congress and is currently in prison, vowing to run again for the presidency later this year.

Mario Montes, a protest leader, said the occupation of the pumping station would continue. “The population is indignant and demands the release of the detainees,” he said, threatening that if his demands were not met, “we are prepared to burn the flammable substances at the station.” - Financial Times .

Expert View: The joke's on Bush as Chavez strikes it even luckier

Estimated oil reserves have just overtaken those of Saudi Arabia

By Christopher Walker Published: 16 April 2006 independent.co.uk

There is nowhere on this earth quite like Caracas. Certainly the business traveller has no shortage of time to admire the physical beauty of its setting - two-hour traffic jams characterise this oil-boom city, where petrol costs a mere tuppence a litre. We'd better get used to it. For Venezuela has just overtaken Saudi Arabia in its estimated oil reserves to become number one in the world. Venezuela is here to stay.

When the reports of the country's latest good fortune came through to New York, a banker turned to me and said: "Surely by now George Bush must realise God is not on his side." Even under the old estimates, Venezuela already had its place as a major oil producer guaranteed for the next 80 years. Now it would appear to stretch into infinity. Together with the Middle East, Caracas will be the major force in world energy markets.

In Venezuela itself, high oil prices are having dramatic effects. The Dallas-like skyline is testament to an economy that grew by an astonishing 18 per cent in 2004 and nearly 10 per cent last year. Oil now accounts for well over 80 per cent of exports and more than 50 per cent of government revenues.

And the important point about these enormous revenues is that they are in the hands of President Hugo Chavez, sworn enemy of President Bush. Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement has a powerful majority in Parliament and he looks set to be re-elected for another six years in the presidential elections later this year.

At home, Chavez is fostering his "21st-century socialism", an interesting blend of state control and capitalism, which sees the state establishing its own companies to outdo the private sector. This is combined with strict controls on prices, bank lending and foreign exchange.

Chavez has delivered tangible benefits to the many millions of peasants who make up the bulk of Venezuela's population. Food handouts and free medicine are the order of the day, ensuring that Chavez's weekly TV show, Hello, Mr President, has mass appeal. It lasted six hours the Sunday I was there.

Abroad, Chavez is a thorn in the side of Bush. He has become a figurehead for all those Latin American countries tired of American arrogance, taking over where Fidel Castro left off in what Chavez calls the "axis of good". Venezuela is using its oil revenues for a variety of social programmes across the continent, spending an estimated $2bn (£1.1bn) in neighbouring countries alone. It has even rubbed George's nose in it by providing the poor of Boston with free winter fuel.

The scope for a US response is limited. While the wilder fanatics in Washington play with military schemes and give encouragement to secessionists in the nest of Venezuela, the reality is they will have to keep their fire well away from this tinder box. For Venezuela is America's number-one oil supplier, providing more than $100m worth each day. That's the joke - it's American money financing all this anti-Americanism.

This situation spilled over into an attack on the US ambassador's car last week. The crime rate in Caracas is high, with kidnapping a threat for all. While I was there, a case involving the brutal murder of three young Canadian brothers captured the city's hearts, leading to mass demonstrations. One US resident told me a terrifying story of being chased in a BMW (far too smart for Caracas) by two attackers on motorbikes with sawn-off shotguns.

Venezuela is a unique country, its political system the opposite of Bush's America, and its social dynamic the most intense version of what is going on across the continent today. But the reality of its energy windfall means that Americans and Europeans must get used to it and seek to understand. The wild card is very much part of the pack.

There is nowhere on this earth quite like Caracas. Certainly the business traveller has no shortage of time to admire the physical beauty of its setting - two-hour traffic jams characterise this oil-boom city, where petrol costs a mere tuppence a litre. We'd better get used to it. For Venezuela has just overtaken Saudi Arabia in its estimated oil reserves to become number one in the world. Venezuela is here to stay.

When the reports of the country's latest good fortune came through to New York, a banker turned to me and said: "Surely by now George Bush must realise God is not on his side." Even under the old estimates, Venezuela already had its place as a major oil producer guaranteed for the next 80 years. Now it would appear to stretch into infinity. Together with the Middle East, Caracas will be the major force in world energy markets.

In Venezuela itself, high oil prices are having dramatic effects. The Dallas-like skyline is testament to an economy that grew by an astonishing 18 per cent in 2004 and nearly 10 per cent last year. Oil now accounts for well over 80 per cent of exports and more than 50 per cent of government revenues.

And the important point about these enormous revenues is that they are in the hands of President Hugo Chavez, sworn enemy of President Bush. Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement has a powerful majority in Parliament and he looks set to be re-elected for another six years in the presidential elections later this year.

At home, Chavez is fostering his "21st-century socialism", an interesting blend of state control and capitalism, which sees the state establishing its own companies to outdo the private sector. This is combined with strict controls on prices, bank lending and foreign exchange.

Chavez has delivered tangible benefits to the many millions of peasants who make up the bulk of Venezuela's population. Food handouts and free medicine are the order of the day, ensuring that Chavez's weekly TV show, Hello, Mr President, has mass appeal. It lasted six hours the Sunday I was there.

Abroad, Chavez is a thorn in the side of Bush. He has become a figurehead for all those Latin American countries tired of American arrogance, taking over where Fidel Castro left off in what Chavez calls the "axis of good". Venezuela is using its oil revenues for a variety of social programmes across the continent, spending an estimated $2bn (£1.1bn) in neighbouring countries alone. It has even rubbed George's nose in it by providing the poor of Boston with free winter fuel.

The scope for a US response is limited. While the wilder fanatics in Washington play with military schemes and give encouragement to secessionists in the nest of Venezuela, the reality is they will have to keep their fire well away from this tinder box. For Venezuela is America's number-one oil supplier, providing more than $100m worth each day. That's the joke - it's American money financing all this anti-Americanism.

This situation spilled over into an attack on the US ambassador's car last week. The crime rate in Caracas is high, with kidnapping a threat for all. While I was there, a case involving the brutal murder of three young Canadian brothers captured the city's hearts, leading to mass demonstrations. One US resident told me a terrifying story of being chased in a BMW (far too smart for Caracas) by two attackers on motorbikes with sawn-off shotguns.

Venezuela is a unique country, its political system the opposite of Bush's America, and its social dynamic the most intense version of what is going on across the continent today. But the reality of its energy windfall means that Americans and Europeans must get used to it and seek to understand. The wild card is very much part of the pack.

Central America eyes sweet alternative to oil

By Mica Rosenberg Thu Apr 20, 2006 - SAN ANTONIO SUCHITEPEQUEZ, Guatemala (Reuters) -

At the Palo Gordo refinery two hours' drive south of Guatemala City, a Brazilian-designed ethanol processing plant hums next to decades-old machinery turning freshly cut cane into sugar. The plant is part of a new push across Central America to reduce the region's reliance on expensive imported oil by following the example of Brazil, Latin America's alternative energy powerhouse. Sugar-producing countries are looking to ethanol to breathe new life into the decades-old sugar industry. The fuel, also known as ethyl alcohol, is made from a sugar by-product and then mixed with gasoline to reduce pollution and lower prices.

"Sugar cane has changed its name," said Erick Perez, who manages alcohol processing at the Palo Gordo plant. "Now we call it 'energy cane,"' he said, showing off the three-story ovens that burn cane fiber to generate all the electricity used by the refinery.

Palo Gordo does not yet produce alcohol in a car-ready form because of a lack of demand, said Perez, but some countries in the region are trying to expand local markets for ethanol by passing laws that promote its use.

All the small Central American economies are net oil importers, and record high oil prices are causing economic hardship for local businesses and consumers in a region where a quarter of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

In Honduras, sugar producers are planting 27,200 acres of new sugar cane to provide raw materials for two ethanol refineries. "We need to reduce our dependence on oil by promoting the production of ethanol and biodiesel," Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said recently. "In addition to fuel, what we can generate is a number of important jobs growing sugar cane."

Zelaya's government is also promoting a four-year project to grow 494,000 acres of African palm, a tree with oil that can be converted into biodiesel.

INVESTOR INTEREST

Costa Rica's state-run national gasoline refinery RECOPE began a pilot project last month to add 7.5 percent ethanol to gasoline at 63 gas stations in the country.

The program, funded in part by Brazilian oil company Petrobras, cost $15 million and will eventually be expanded across the country in an attempt to bring down Costa Rica's oil costs, which jumped by 45 percent between 2004 and 2005.

Oil prices and environmental concerns are expanding worldwide markets for ethanol, since burning alcohol instead of gasoline reduces carbon emissions by more than 80 percent.

Green power and nuclear energy are competing to be the solution for reducing pollution from the electricity sector, the main greenhouse gas producer.

In Brazil, three-quarters of all new cars burn either ethanol or gasoline depending on which is cheaper at the pump, and ethanol is now available at nearly all of the country's 34,000 gas stations.

The U.S. ethanol market grew 11 percent between 1995 and 2004, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. The European Union set a target for biofuels to account for 2 percent of all transport fuels used in Europe by 2005, rising to 5.75 percent by 2010.

"Central American countries can be competitive producing ethanol from sugar and there are strong groups in the private sector who are investing," said Arnaldo Vieira de Carvalho, who promotes lending to alternative energy projects at the Inter-American Development Bank. "If they don't sell it to the local market they can sell it internationally."

BIODIESEL

For those without access to massive sugar refineries, leftover grease from fast-food chains like Taco Bell is enough to run an environmentally friendly car.

Guatemalan chemist Pedro Ordonez says he powers his 2006 Lincoln Frontier on biodiesel he makes himself. The fuel, made from almost any vegetable oil, can fill up the tank of a diesel engine or be used as an additive to diesel in the same way ethanol is mixed with gasoline. Last year, a group of eco-minded travelers drove a 1974 bus from California to Mexico powered only by old cooking oil from taco stands and Chinese restaurants to make a point about the viability of alternative energy.

Most projects in the region are small-scale, like the grease-powered car used by Ordonez, but El Salvador last month opened Central America's first biodiesel plant with money from Finland, to produce 400 liters (quarts) of the fuel a day.

The plant will process seeds from the Higuerillo tree, commonly used to provide shade for coffee plants in the region and the fruits of the Jatropha bush, a plant native to Mesoamerica and ideal for biodiesel production.

Guatemalan entrepreneur Ricardo Asturias is also launching a biodiesel project using Jatropha plants and already has some 300,000 growing around the country in order to start fuel production next year. "This boosts agricultural production and helps the environment," said Asturias. "Step by step, we are learning how to make it profitable." - news.yahoo.com

Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela Reject U.S. Trade

mercopress.com Sunday, 30 April - Bolivia's new left-leaning president signed a pact with Cuba and Venezuela on Saturday rejecting U.S.-backed free trade and promising a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation.

Cuban authorities did not release copies of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas signed by Bolivia's Evo Morales, so its contents were unclear.

Local media reported that it had the same language as the declaration signed last year by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, which contained much leftist rhetoric, and few specifics, but was followed by closer economic ties between the two vehemently anti-U.S. leaders.

The agreement was "a clever mixture of politics and economics, weighted toward the politics," said Gary Hufbauer, an economist at the Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank.

Venezuela-Cuba trade is expected to reach more than $3.5 billion this year - about 40 percent higher than in 2005. Among other measures, the deal signed between Chavez and Castro has Venezuela - the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier to the United States - selling 90,000 barrels a day of crude to the communist-run island at international market prices, but in exchange for services and agricultural products instead of cash.

Later Saturday, the three presidents signed a second document with more concrete proposals.

Cuba promised to send Bolivia doctors and teachers. Venezuela will send gasoline to the Andean nation and set up a $100 million fund for development programs and a $30 million fund for other social projects.

Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to buy all of Bolivia's soybeans, recently left without a market after Colombia signed a free trade pact with the United States.

Morales, a Bolivian coca farmer who was swept to power on a leftist platform and has long railed against American economic and drug policies, claimed during his campaign to be "the nightmare of the U.S. government." He, like Chavez, has tried to maintain a vibrant private sector while claiming an ever-larger role in managing the economy, and has toned down his rhetoric.

The Cuba-Venezuela deal - known by its Spanish acronym ALBA, also the word for dawn - criticized Washington's efforts to expand its free trade with Latin American countries.

The U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas hemispheric trade pact stalled last year, but Washington since has signed nine free trade agreements with Latin American countries.

The Cuban, Venezuelan and Bolivian presidents called the FTAA a U.S. effort to "annex" Latin America. Chavez and Morales have warned they could pull their countries from the Andean Community economic bloc if members Colombia, Peru and Ecuador sign pacts with the United States.

"Only an integration based on cooperation, solidarity and common will to advance together and united to the highest levels of cooperation could satisfy the aspirations and desires of Latin American and Caribbean countries," Cuba and Venezuela wrote in their ALBA deal last year. "According to any reasonable definition of the term, this is not a trade agreement," Michael Shifter, a political analyst with the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, said of last year's deal. "It's an attempt to pose a real counterweight to the U.S. role and agenda in Latin America."

Shifter predicted few other Latin America nations would join ALBA, instead preferring trade agreements with the United States. But he said Chavez is likely eyeing Peru as a potential ALBA member if nationalist Ollanta Humala prevails in a May 28 presidential runoff. Humala was the front-runner in the April election.

Morales' and Chavez' participation in the socialist-tinged ALBA has rattled Bolivian and Venezuelan business leaders.

"The government should reach out more to the business sector and create a common agenda, figure out what markets interest us, where there are possibilities and separate the ideological and political from trade and economy," said Gary Rodriguez, general manager of the Bolivian Foreign Trade Institute.

Bolivia shipped just $5,291 in goods to Cuba last year, making Cuba the 88th-largest Bolivian export market, according to the institute. Venezuela is Bolivia's fifth-largest market, accounting for $167 million of Bolivia's $2.7 billion in exports.

Peru recalls Venezuela ambassador

2nd May 2006 - BBC

Peru has decided to recall its ambassador to Venezuela immediately, accusing Caracas of interfering in the current presidential elections.

The Foreign Ministry said Venezuela had persistently interfered in Peru's affairs in breach of international law.

The decision was also in response to comments by President Hugo Chavez, who openly backed left-wing populist Ollanta Humala in the 9 April poll. Mr Chavez recently called Mr Humala's opponent Alan Garcia "a thief".

Mr Humala faces the centre-left former President Garcia in a run-off in late May or early June. Mr Chavez has said he will break off relations with Peru if Mr Garcia wins.

The Venezuelan leader's comments apparently came after the Mr Garcia called him and Bolivian President Evo Morales "spoilt children" for criticising Peru's signing of a trade agreement with the US. Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba signed their own trade agreement in Havana on Saturday.

Bolivian Nationalizes the Oil and Gas Sector

By PAULO PRADA Published: May 2, 2006 RIO DE JANEIRO, May 1 - nytimes.com/

President Evo Morales of Bolivia ordered the military to occupy energy fields around the country on Monday as he placed Bolivia's oil and gas reserves under state control. Surrounded by soldiers at an oil field operated by the Brazilian energy giant Petróleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, Mr. Morales ordered foreign producers to relinquish control of all fields and channel future sales of hydrocarbons through the state-owned energy company. He gave foreign companies 180 days to renegotiate existing contracts with the government, or leave the country.

"The time has come, the awaited day, a historic day in which Bolivia retakes absolute control of our natural resources," Mr. Morales declared, according to The Associated Press. "The looting by the foreign companies has ended."

The decree is the latest step by Latin America governments from Venezuela to Ecuador to assert greater control over the energy sector, moves that have sent shivers through foreign producers.

Motivated by nationalist politics and soaring oil and gas prices, governments have seized an opportunity to gain higher revenues while parlaying their control over future energy supplies into greater political leverage, both at home and abroad.

"Governments in the region see energy as a commodity they can use to push populist agendas," said Adriano Pires, director of the Brazilian Center for Infrastructure Studies, an energy consultancy in Rio de Janeiro. "From a political point of view, it's a powerful issue to manipulate, but from an industrial point of view, it can do real harm."

Mr. Morales's decree, in effect to nationalize Bolivia's energy industry, which includes the second-biggest gas reserves in Latin America after Venezuela, quickly added to the nervousness of foreign producers.

They said they would proceed with caution until the government clarified under what conditions it plans to renegotiate contracts.

"We're worried," said Begoña Elices, director of external relations in Madrid at Repsol YPF S.A., the Spanish oil company, the second biggest investor in Bolivia's gas sector. "There will be a lot of fine print to consider."

Petrobras, the biggest investor, with over $1 billion invested in Bolivia, criticized the government's "unilateral attitude" and said it would take whatever steps necessary to "protect the rights of the company" and guarantee Brazil's supply of gas, half of which comes from Bolivia.

The importance of Bolivian gas to Brazil - the largest market in the region - prompted concern even from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist and former union leader who publicly hailed Mr. Morales's rise to power.

Mr. da Silva is to meet with José Gabrielli de Azevedo, chief executive at Petrobras, on Tuesday, along with senior officials from Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy.

The Bolivian announcement fulfilled a campaign pledge that helped Mr. Morales rise to power last December. It was foreshadowed last year when Bolivia approved a major increase in the royalties paid by foreign producers for the right to operate in the country.

In April, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, a mentor to Mr. Morales, seized two oil fields operated by the Total group, of France, and Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, of Italy, because they were unwilling to give more control of their operations to Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-run energy giant.

But Mr. Morales's step on Monday was the most assertive yet, and many industry observers feared such moves would scare away investors and jeopardize the region's economies.

"This isn't like Saudi Arabia, which over the years has developed a know-how to dominate the industry independently," said Gal Luft, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a consultancy in Washington that studies energy issues. "When you cause problems for foreign investors, you cause problems for those who know how to create and develop the industry."

Ecuador seizes control of US oil company

By Jeremy McDermott, Latin America Correspondent (Filed: 19/05/2006) - telegraph.co.uk

Ecuador yesterday joined the wave of Latin American governments targeting foreign-owned industries when it fulfilled its threat against an American oil company and took "full technical control" of its operations.

The offices and installations of Occidental Petroleum were occupied by soldiers earlier this week, provoking a furious response by Washington.

But yesterday, a Petroecuador official announced: "We are in control of Occidental's technical operations."

State oil officials are expected to replace Occidental executives running oil fields in the Amazon region.

While the government of President Alfredo Palacio denied the seizure was part of a wider move to nationalise oil deposits in the Andean nation, the action follows a path blazed by the Leftist regimes in Venezuela and Bolivia.

Mr Palacio's government said that Occidental had violated the terms of its concession by selling part of its holdings to a Canadian firm in 2004 without Ecuador's approval.

Occidental is the largest foreign investor in Ecuador and had been pumping 100,000 barrels of oil a day from the affected field in the Amazon.

Denying that it had violated its contract, Occidental said that it had offered the government £569 million in disputed taxes, investments and extra revenues to try to end the dispute.

"Venezuela rejects 'terrorist' label for Cuba, Iran"

LONDON, May 19 (IranMania) -

The Venezuelan government rejects the notion of Cuba and Iran as terrorist states, the South American country's ambassador to the United States said, AFP reported.

"We don't consider Cuba as a terrorist state. We don't consider Iran as terrorist state," the Venezuelan diplomat, Bernardo Alvarez said at a media luncheon in response to a question about a recently announced US arms sale.

The United States on Monday banned arms sales to Venezuela, accusing Caracas of failing to provide assistance in the "war on terror".

The US administration highlighted Venezuela's ties with Iran and communist-led Cuba in justifying its move.

Alvarez said that Venezuela, which is South America's largest oil producer, shares information with Iran about oil. "We are partners in the oil market.

We are doing things together in some projects in Venezuela," he said.

Iran has sparked a dispute with the West over its nuclear program. Tehran claims the program is for peaceful purposes but Washington believes it masks an effort to develop nuclear weapons.

Alvarez dismissed the use of force against Iran.

"We are against any military aggression against Iran because it would create a lot of problems in the world, in the region, for the oil market," he said. "Countries have the right to have a peaceful use of nuclear energy," he added.