(Written June 4th 2008) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has recently used his decree powers (given to him by the National Assembly last year) to pass a law that will carry out some major and highly controversial changes in the Venezuelan intelligence services. The new law is called “The Law of the National Intelligence and […]
Latin American Neo-Populists: Or how I learned that Populism is nothing but Rhetorical Poppycock
Latin America has tragically been under the spell of populist governments through out its tumultuous history. There seems to always be an important neglected sector of the population that will always fall for the belief that someone will hold a messianic solution to their problems. Not that they are completely to be blamed because many […]
Las Mayas: A Neighborhood in Hell
The Venezuelan newspaper El Universal has reported that more than 200 police officers have been deployed to the Las Mayas slum in southern Caracas. This group of police officers has been sent to put an end to the hostilities that have been carried out by irregular armed groups in the area for the past week. The […]
Fidel Castro Steps Down
Fidel Castro, one of the longest serving and most controversial heads of state, has officially stepped down yesterday morning. The leftist leader’s decision was first reported by the online version of the Cuban state-run newspaper Granma. This revelation comes a month after the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commented that Castro seemed […]
False Jewish Conversions Help Venezuelans Enter Israel
The Israeli community of Venezuela told reporters on Wednesday that they were going to investigate the irregularities that have aroused in the process of religious conversion to the Jewish faith in Venezuela. Since they have reasons to believe that some of the recent Jewish converts have been converting mainly as a way to immigrate to […]
Hugo Chavez and Alvaro Uribe Meet in Bogota to Discuss Humanitarian Agreement
The meeting between the two Latin American heads of state has been coined by Colombia’s newspaper El Tiempo as “decisive.” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, in the hopes of facilitating a humanitarian exchange between the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) rebels and the Colombian government.The Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional has […]