Fausta's Blog

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The big stories of the week:
The judge of the Chevron-Ecuador lawsuit (the largest lawsuit in history) reclused himself after damning videos showed him in a bribery situation.
Brazil and France sign huge defense deals involving the building of 36 fighter jets and nuclear technology.
Hugo Chavez travels through Libya, Syria, Iran, Algeria, Belarus and Russia, and hints at a nuclear Venezuela.

LATIN AMERICA
Bring order to arbitrary acts

Castro, Morales, Nyerere named official UN heroes

Making Friends

ARGENTINA
¿Kirchner gana o pierde poder con más confrontación?

BOLIVIA
Evo reitera que llegó al poder “para toda la vida”

BRAZIL
Brazil’s oil policy: Preparing to spend a “millionaire ticket” from offshore
The government has unveiled plans to give the state the lion’s share of the money from vast new oil discoveries. Will this wealth be invested or squandered?

Brazil’s nationalistic move to up oil stakes angers critics

COLOMBIA
Backed Into a Corner

Term limits in Colombia: Closer to Uribe 3.0
But the courts could still block it

CUBA
Yoendri Márquez Moya, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 9/6/09

UN Crowns Fidel Castro “World Hero”

U.S. Lifts Almost All Curbs on Family Visits to Cuba

Via Andrew, Prison walls in Cuba

U.S. scholarships get Cuban college students expelled: A group of Cuban college students who were offered U.S.-funded scholarships were instead blacklisted or kicked out of school.

Did Andrew Zimmern Gloss Over ‘Bizarre World’ of Cuba?, and Why do Cubans have to resort to eating RATS?

Yet Again, a Musician Endorses Castro

ECUADOR
Ecuadorean Judge Steps Down in Chevron Amazon Suit

Judge Núñez admits he needs to step aside; Amazon Defense Coalition proven wrong

Ecuadorian Judge Juan Núñez, the judge presiding over the Chevron environmental lawsuit in Lago Agrio, made the decision Friday to recuse himself from the case. Chevron has maintained that no judge who has participated in the type of meetings shown in the video recordings (released earlier in the week) could possibly have rendered a legitimate decision.

Transcripts of a meeting recorded on June 5 clearly show the judge has prejudged the case even though evidence was still being submitted and final arguments have not been held. And the judge was willing to talk about that decision with businessmen (Hansen) seeking post-verdict remediation contracts.

Swine flu fells Ecuador president’s security chief
Toxic Revenge
A $27 billion lawsuit against Chevron won’t clean Ecuador’s dirty slate.

GUATEMALA
Bienvenido al mundo de los locos

HONDURAS
Zelaya, a Chavez Sympathizer was NO Friend of America

Obama’s Honduran mistake, Part Two

Obama punishes small country because its courts opposed dictatorial ex-president’s return to power

Clinton to meet Zelalya Thursday on Honduras situation

Honduras: A Truth Stranger Than Fiction?

Why Honduras matters more and more

Hillary v. Honduras
The Obama administration declares it won’t recognize the results of a free and fair election.

Stop Bullying Honduras

MEXICO
Mexico’s health care lures Americans

Calderon Changes His Cabinet, Not His Policies

NICARAGUA
Liberty Torch Passed From Zelaya to Ortega

PUERTO RICO
Caribbean islands crack down on illegal immigrants

VENEZUELA
Chavez to Ahmadinejad: Jesus and the Mahdi Will Come Soon

Noam Chomsky in Venezuela: ‘A better world is being created’

Oliver Stone ‘Warmly Embracing’ Hugo Chavez in Blame America Doc

Venezuela’s oil policy: A sticky proposition
Take a tiny bit of it, or leave it

Richard Blanco’s Death Sentence

Maintaining radio silence

Chávez y Ahmadinejad apoyarán “los frentes antiimperialistas” (+ Fotos)

Lingering shutdown in refineries lowers inventories
Expansion of Cardón refinery has taken more than 200 days; El Palito continues on standby

Engel hits Chavez on Israel attack

The magic of Venezuelan mathematics (LXXVIII)

No Mas Chavez: the fall out in Venezuela

América Latina reacciona contra Chávez

IMMIGRATION
Mexico Denounces Growing Intolerance Toward Mexicans in U.S

Special thanks to Ada, the Baron, Dick, Eneas and Maggie.

This week’s posts and podcasts:
Hugo goes to Venice UPDATED with photos
VIDEO Honduras: Micheletti at No Más Chávez demonstration, & reaction to the US State Dept’s action
Today is Global Anti-Chavez Day UPDATED
Hugo Goes on Tour: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Uribe gets his amendment, and other headlines: 15 Minutes on Latin America
VIDEOS: Chevron Offers Evidence of Bribery Scheme in Ecuador Lawsuit

At Real Clear World:
Hugo and Mahmoud, Best Friends Forever!
U.S. Suspends Foreign Aid to Honduras

The biggest lawsuit in history, and the judge is accused of bribery:

At the NYTimes Simon Romero reports, Chevron Offers Evidence of Bribery Scheme in Ecuador Lawsuit

he oil giant Chevron said Monday that it had obtained video recordings of meetings in Ecuador this year that appear to reveal a bribery scheme connected to a $27 billion lawsuit the company faces over environmental damage at oil fields it operated in remote areas of the Amazon forest in Ecuador.

The videos, together with audio recordings obtained by businessmen using watches and pens implanted with bugging devices, appear to implicate Ecuadoran officials and political operatives, including possibly Juan Núñez, the judge overseeing the lawsuit, and Pierina Correa, the sister of Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa.

The recordings indicate that an Ecuadoran political operative was working to obtain $3 million in bribes related to environmental cleanup contracts to be awarded in the event of a ruling against Chevron.

It was not clear from the recordings and transcripts provided by Chevron, however, whether any bribes discussed in the recordings were actually paid or whether Judge Núñez was even aware of plans to try to bribe him. The tapes also did not demonstrate whether the president’s sister was aware of the scheme or had participated in it.

But in a statement that Chevron says illustrates that the judge’s handling of the case is flawed, Judge Núñez said on one of the video recordings that he planned to rule against Chevron by January and that damages could exceed $27 billion.

The transcripts are at the Chevron website.

Here are the YouTube videos:

Overview:

Complete videos of the meetings,
Meeting 1:

Meeting 2:

Meeting 3:

Meeting 4:

IBD on Chevron’s Shakedown

But the tapes confirm three serious things: the Ecuadorean judge has already decided to rule against Chevron later this year, even before he’s heard the evidence; that he can no longer preside over this case; that the government, though not a party to the lawsuit, will benefit from the $26 billion jackpot; and that the judge can no longer credibly preside over the case; and that any appeal of the court’s decision would be, in the judge’s words on the video, “a formality.”

Whatever this is, it’s not justice.

WSJ’s Law Blog: Chevron, Through Videos, Alleges Corruption in Ecuador Case

The judge is still accepting evidence in the case. On the video, he agrees with the two men when they state Chevron is culpable and he will act in October or November.

San Francisco Sentinel: ECUADOR SCANDAL: Judge, Rafael Correa Operatives Caught in Videotaped Bribery Recordings Against Chevron

the government would be handling the funds associated with remediation contracts. In a final exchange with the businessmen before the meeting ended, Judge Núñez revealed how he was planning to handle his ruling:
Núñez: “Any other questions for me as a judge?”
Hansen: “Oh no, I, I know clearly how it is, you say, Chevron is the guilty party?”
Núñez: “Yes Sir.”
Hansen: “And the, the, the act (decision) is October or November of this year?”
Núñez: “Yes Sir.”
Hansen: “And it’s…?”
Núñez: “No later than January.”
Hansen: “January 2010. And the money is twenty-seven (billion dollars)?”
Núñez: “It might be less, and it might be more.”

The last recorded meeting regarding the bribes, in which Judge Núñez was not present, occurred June 22 at the Alianza PAIS office in Quito. During the meeting, Garcia confirmed the details of the bribe:
Borja: “OK. Of the three million … one million is for the judge?”
Garcia: “Yes.”
Borja: “One million for the presidency…?”
Garcia: “Yes.”
Borja: “And one million for the plaintiffs?”
Garcia: “Yes, that’s right.”
Borja: “But for the plaintiffs, who gets the money, man? Fajardo?”
Garcia: “No. On this matter, we’re going to handle it here.”
Borja: “You mean Alianza PAIS would receive the payment here?”
Garcia: “Right.”

This morning my guest reporter Silvia Santacruz, talked about the case and the bribery allegations in today’s podcast.

In today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern, economist, journalist and Warren Brookes Journalism Fellow at the Competitive Enteprise Institute Silvia Santacruz talks about her Forbes article, Toxic Revenge
A $27 billion lawsuit against Chevron won’t clean Ecuador’s dirty slate, on the Ecuador-Chevron lawsuit.

Join us!

In today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern, the lawsuit of the Ecuadorian government against Chevron Corp. over the Oriente oil fields. Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson gives us the background.

Texaco Petroleum, Ecuador and the Lawsuit against Chevron.