Red Pepper's Venezuela Blog

Chavez Announces Major Cabinet Reshuffle

[Venezuelanalysis.com's Kiraz Janicke reports on the major cabinet reshuffle announced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday as part of what he called a "profound restructuring" of his government.]

Activists Ask Bono to Help Shoot Down Video Game About Venezuela

[The Boston Globe report on the call made by dozens of U.S. organizations to Bono, the lead singer of the rock group U2, to stop production of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, a violent video game in which players become hired mercenaries who invade Venezuela, where a tyrant has tampered with the country's oil supply. The game, developed by Pandemic Studios, is scheduled for release in autumn. Pandemic is also the company behind Full Spectrum Warrior, a 2003 game developed to train U.S. soldiers at Fort Benning. The U.S. Army base in Georgia was also home to the infamous School of the Americas -- now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation -- that was accused of training two officers involved in a coup that temporarily ousted Chávez in 2002. --Ed]

Chavez Swears-In New Cabinet for “Venezuelan Path to Socialism”

[Venezuelanalysis.com's editor Gregory Wilpert reports on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's swearing in of 15 new and 12 continuing members of his cabinet today. The cabinet shake-up comes as Chavez is about to renew his own oath of office on Wednesday, at the start of his second full term as President of Venezuela. According to Chavez, the new ministers will be in charge of pushing forward his government’s project of implementing “21st century socialism” in Venezuela. --Ed]