Red Pepper's Venezuela Blog

Britain's Relations with Latin America

[Hugh O'Shaughnessy gives his take on the visit of the leaders of Argentina and Chile to London and UK policy towards Latin America. For O'Shaughnessy, Britain’s bad decisions in Latin America – including that of aligning itself against President Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and other reforming leaders – come from its unthinking alignment with Washington in preference to the EU.]
FCO Minister for Latin America Kim Howells with troops of the High Mountain Battalion of the Colombian Army, including head of the Colombian army General Mario Montoya (behind him and left of Howells). General Montoya is reported to have collaborated with paramilitary death squads and drug traffickers and to be linked with disappearances and killings in Colombia.

The Coming War on Venezuela

[Writing for Counterpunch, George Ciccariello-Maher reviews Eva Golinger's latest book, Bush Versus Chavez. For Ciccariello-Maher, Golinger continues the diabolical narrative of her previous book, this time relying less on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests than on a series of other key documents and bits of testimony gleaned from anonymous sources. Click here to access the appendices to Bush Versus Chávez, largely composed of declassified or leaked documents.]

 

OAS Rejects Colombia’s Military Incursion into Ecuador

[Venezuelanalysis.com's Kiraz Janicke reports on the March 17 meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of American States (OAS), where they rejected Colombia's military incursion into Ecuador on March 1 which killed 25 people, including Raul Reyes, second in command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).]

Chavez: “Colombia is the Israel of Latin America.”

[Venezuelanalysis.com's Chris Carlson reports on statements made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who labeled Colombia the "Israel of Latin America" on his Sunday talk show Aló Presidente yesterday. Chavez's statements come in the wake of the assassination of Luis Édgar Devia Silva or "Raul Reyes" by the Colombian military on Saturday in Ecuador. Reyes was second-in-command in the FARC (Colombia's guerrilla group), and perhaps its most visible spokesperson.]

Colombia Assassinates Raul Reyes of FARC

[Znet's Justin Podur reports on the assassination of Luis Édgar Devia Silva or "Raul Reyes" by the Colombian military on Saturday in Ecuador. Reyes was second-in-command in the FARC (Colombia's guerrilla group), and perhaps its most visible spokesperson. Click here for a Spanish version of this news.]

Venezuela: the spectre of Big Oil

[PolEconAnalysis.org's Paul Kellog argues that ExxonMobil isn't suing PDVSA because it needs the money. The world's largest publicly traded corporation recorded profits of $40.6-billion (U.S.) in 2007, up three per cent from 2006's record of $39.6-billion. The truth is, ExxonMobil's ultimatum has more to do with politics than economics.]

 

Chavez, freed FARC hostages call for political solution to Colombian conflict

[Venezuelanalysis.com's Kiraz Janicle reports on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's call for international mediation group to negotiate a humanitarian accord in neighbouring Colombia. Chavez's call follows a successful Venezuelan led humanitarian mission that secured the release of four former legislators held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), on Wednesday.]

Prominent British Figures Call on ExxonMobil to Respect Venezuelan Sovereignty

[Below is a statement signed by 50 prominent figures representing a wide section of British society that expresses concern over legal action taken by oil giant ExxonMobil to prevent the Venezuelan government from exercising its right to control its natural resources. The statement is published in today's Guardian.]

Responding to The Observer’s Disinformation on Hugo Chavez

[The Venezuela Information Centre (VIC) respond to a piece in Sunday's 'Observer' by John Carlin entitled "Revealed: Chávez role in cocaine trail to Europe". Click here to see other critical responses to Carlin's piece. To see Carlin's 'Observer' piece click here.]

The Observer Exclusive: Hugo Chavez is President of Venezuela

[Toni Solo takes a critical look at a piece in yesterday's 'Observer' by John Carlin entitled "Revealed: Chávez role in cocaine trail to Europe". The BoRev.net blog also criticises Carlin's piece. Click here to read the BoRev post. To see Carlin's 'Observer' piece click here.]