Welcome to this week’s Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. This week’s big story: Colombia and Venezuela are disputing evidence presented at the OAS that Chavez is harboring FARC terrorists. Mary O’Grady writes about Where the FARC Goes to Fatten Up
Dramatic evidence presented by Colombia at last Thursday’s OAS meeting in Washington puts Hugo Chávez on the hot seat. (emphasis added)
In a two-hour presentation before the permanent council at the Organization of American States, Colombian OAS ambassador Luis Alfonso Hoyos laid out a series of photos, videos, maps, satellite images and computer documents that Colombia claims show the rebels using Venezuela as a safe haven much the same way they were using Ecuador.
Mr. Hoyos also charged that Venezuela knows about the guerrilla camps—some of which have been there for a long time—and has done nothing about them. Indeed, the Venezuelan National Guard sometimes consorts with the rebels, Mr. Hoyos said.
Given this new information, Mr. Chávez’s reaction to Colombia’s 2008 incursion into Ecuador now looks logical. Bogotá justified that raid on the grounds that its appeals to Quito to go after FARC taking rest and relaxation in its territory had gone nowhere. Now we know that Mr. Chávez had reason to believe he would be next.
But Mr. Uribe launched a different sort of offensive on Thursday. Instead of a military operation, he bundled new intelligence on the FARC’s Venezuelan outposts and dropped it like a bomb on the OAS permanent council.
The facts were no surprise. For years, Bogotá has been complaining—with no shortage of proof—about the friendly treatment Venezuela gives the guerrillas. But by packaging and delivering the new evidence as he did, Mr. Uribe put Mr. Chávez, very publicly, on the spot. More importantly, he has forced the issue with his hemispheric counterparts.
Mr. Hoyos told the OAS that there are some 1,500 rebels across the border in more than 75 camps. There they regroup, organize, train and prepare explosives. This safe-haven status, he explained, produces more kidnapping and drug trafficking on both sides of the border. And more carnage in Colombia: Graphic photos of rebel victims flashed on a screen while he spoke.
Mr. Hoyos did not call for sanctions against Venezuela. Instead he asked for an international commission to verify Colombia’s claims. He promised that his government could provide the “precise coordinates” of farms and haciendas where the rebels are ensconced. “If what is there is only a little school and humble peasants, there would be no problem with an international commission to verify if Colombia’s accusation is not true,” Mr. Hoyos argued.
LATIN AMERICA
Making Latin America More Competitive
SOUTH AMERICA
175 people killed in South America cold spell
ARGENTINA
Democracy or exclusion? Argentine politicians favor Twitter over journalists
BRAZIL
The Skeletons in Brazil’s Closet
China invests heavily in Brazil, elsewhere in pursuit of political heft
CHILE
Chile Fishermen Fight to Recover From Quake
COLOMBIA
Why Colombia did get so personal yesterday at the OAS?
Bogota Brouhaha
Why is Colombia putting the screws to Chavez now?
CUBA
Cuba—Is It Different This Time?
A Cuban Dissident Asks: Why do you (heart) Marxist-Leninist Autocrats?
The Suffering of Guantanamo Prisoners
Democratic Senator Menendez Threatens Filibuster Over Cuba Sanctions
ECUADOR
Ecuador Leader Falters in Bid to Consolidate Power
GUATEMALA
Ugh! Bowls of Human Fingers and Teeth Found in Mayan Tomb (h/t Gates of Vienna)
HONDURAS
Cultural differences: Consumer complaints
MEXICO
No, Texas Hasn’t Been Invaded, original post here.
New Terror Threat On Mexico Border
Mexico prison guards let inmates out for massacres
The gang at Gomez Palacio were responsible for 33 murders in three incidents, including the massacre of 17 people at a rented hall filled mainly with young adults. They fired more than 120 rounds into the crowd; it was the bullet casings that led investigators back to Gomez Palacio. The prison director and three of his henchmen have been placed under house arrest, although considering this story, that may wind up being more secure than prison anyway.
This should impress the truth on people, which is that the problem in Mexico isn’t American guns, or any kind of guns at all. The problem in Mexico is corruption.
Mexico: Prison guards let killers out, lent guns
NUGENT: Dear Mexico …
American dream is attainable for those who share our values
PANAMA
Foreign banking for U.S. citizens just got a lot more dfficult
PERU
Peru declares states of emergency in 16 regions due to cold wave
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico requests FEMA aid for 17 flooded areas
VENEZUELA
Rumble at the OAS: Colombia vs. Venezuela
A very personal rant: Screw Maradona, Long Live Abdus Salam and throw Richard Feynman into the mix!
Chávez intenta nuevamente apoderarse de Globovisión
Chavez says Venezuela now owns almost half of opposition channel Globovisión
Behind exhumation of Simon Bolivar is Hugo Chavez’s warped obsession
PRESIDENTE, VAMOS A EXHUMAR EL POLLO, LA LECHE, EL ARROZ…
And, Stoned, as always,
Oliver Stone: ‘Jewish-Dominated Media’ Prevents Hitler from Being Portrayed ‘in Context’
The director, who recently met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, also slammed the U.S. policy toward Iran as “horrible.”
“Iran isn’t necessarily the good guy,” said Stone. “[B]ut we don’t know the full story!”
The Scarface screenwriter had even more encouraging words for socialist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who Stone called “a brave, blunt, earthy” man. The director has recently been promoting his Chavez-praising documentary called “South of the Border.”
When the interviewer pointed out that Chavez has had a less-than-stellar record on human rights, Stone immediately dismissed the criticism.
“The internet’s fully free [in Venezuela],” said Stone. “You can say what the hell you like. Compare it with all the other countries: Mexico, Guatemala, above all Colombia, which is a joke.”
While Stone has not been as blunt about his views on Jews and the Holocaust in the past, he has been outspoken in his fondness for Chavez and his disagreements with the U.S.’s policy on Iran.
On ABC’s Good Morning America on July 28, the director told anchor George Stephanopoulos that he “absolutely” believes Chavez is a good person, and claimed that there was “there’s no pattern of censorship in this country [Venezuela].”
IMMIGRATION
Deportation of illegal immigrants increases under Obama administration
The week’s posts and podcasts:
Chavez breaks relations with Colombia over evidence presented at OAS
Moratinos falls for a sucker game
I’m not the only Latina supporting the Arizona SB 1070
“The Mandela of Cuba”
El Diario’s spy, Vicky
Venezuela, Syria and Iran, sponsors of terror VIDEO
Special thanks to Dick, Maggie, and Maria.
