The Ecuador default Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big news: Ecuador defaults on its foreign debt, basically because it doesn't want to:

And while developing world economies have taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent months, Ecuador is ceasing payments not because the oil-rich country cannot afford to pay but because it has made a political decision not to.

The default is Ecuador’s second in a decade and seventh in its 178-year history. More links and posts below.

LATIN AMERICA
The Real Latin-American Left: One We Can Work With

Caracas Russians, Managua Misrule

Latin American Democrats Need U.S. Support
Free trade is one way to help prevent the resurgence of autocracy in the region.

ARGENTINA
Economic Storm Batters Argentina's Breadbasket
Sharp Price Drop Brings Sudden End To Good Times

BOLIVIA
Observatorio de Medios de Bolivia reveló que suman 245 los ataques a periodistas en el último año; alarmante crecimiento desde septiembre de 2008

Evo admite que la Unasur no es plenamente legal

Via American Digest, “Coca Si, Cocaina No”. Let’s hope Aldana Cohen is better informed about his topic than he is about Coca Cola. Coca Cola hasn’t contained any cocaine since 1929.

BRAZIL
Israel's El Al plans direct flights to Brazil

CHILE
A heroic pooch

COLOMBIA
Alleged Colombian coke kingpin in U.S.

Reputed one-time Colombian cocaine kingpin Diego Leon Montoya Sanchez is in Florida after being extradited from his South American homeland, U.S. officials say.

Known as "Don Diego," Montoya Sanchez allegedly once commanded the North Valley cartel, a narco-trafficking empire that exported at least 1.2 million pounds of cocaine to the United States. But Friday he was sitting in a tiny federal jail cell in Miami, The Miami Herald reported.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the Colombian's extradition marked a historic point in efforts by the United States to smash the vast cartel, saying Montoya Sanchez's arrest was the most significant since the convictions of brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the 1980s leaders of Colombia's Cali cartel.

CUBA
Allegations of Biological Weapons Research in Cuba Need Clearing Up

Guantanamo’s Jihad: The Show Begins…

Elián González marks his 15th birthday

¿Cumpleaños o aniversario?

Obama Should Put the Castros in Their Place

Vladimir Alejo Miranda, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 12/14/08

Buques rusos atracarán en Cuba por primera vez desde caída de URSS Russian ships landing in Cuba for the first time since the fall of the USSR. Russian navy: Russian warships to visit Cuba

ECUADOR
The return of the 1980s?

Ecuador decides to stiff creditors

ECUADOR DEFAULTS ON FOREIGN DEBT

Ecuador Default May Hit ‘True Monsters’ Harder Than Argentina

What Did the U.S. Congress Do With Correa's Propagandists and Ministra Viteri?

HAITI
Nutritional value of World Food Program rice distributed in Haiti questioned

MEXICO
Arrested: Suspected Killers of Sheriff’s Deputy. But Was It Ordered by the Mexican Mafia?

Mexico: Growing Terror and Close to Collapse

NICARAGUA
More backyard fun

PARAGUAY
Urgent prayer request

PERU
Innocents Die in the Drug War

PUERTO RICO
Who let the big cat out of the bag? Puerto Rico searches for panther prowling suburbs

Wildlife officials patrolled streets and undeveloped lots in a sort of suburban safari Sunday, searching for a nocturnal predator that has mauled a sheep, ripped apart chickens and dominated newspaper headlines in the tropical U.S. territory since last week.

I didn't know there were any sheep or chickens in Rio Piedras, either.

VENEZUELA
Miguel Octavio was part of a Round Table discussion at the White House on Human Rights Day

Systematic abuse and compulsive lies

A great Venezuelan gets an award

The ultimate idiotic conspiracy theory: The US created credit crisis to get back at Hugo and other revolutionaries

Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape

Venezuela Debt Rating Outlook Cut to Negative by S&P

Black-Out Blights Venezuela for the 4th Time This Year
Power Outage in Caracas Brings Out Social Traits

Via Brazilian Neocon, Jaime Bayly on Chavez's Alo Presidente's diarrhea program, part 1 (in Spanish)


Part 2


AMERICAN POLITICS
Texas Hispanics upset with Democrats

ENTERTAINMENT
Killer Chic: Hollywood’s sick love affair with Che Guevara

Che what

Special thanks to Ada, Baron B., Eneas, Larwyn and Maggie.

This week's podcasts and posts
Obama makes it to the Nativity scene
Soderbergh’s Chegasm





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The third Monday in November Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, the weekly roundup of news items and blog posts on the region. If you would like your posts included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big story: The G20 weekend meeting in Washington DC. While Washington commuters had to put up with the traffic jams, and the leaders pledged to work together to restore global growth, that pledge is probably worth the paper it was signed on (since it wasn't signed on paper), and nothing much else happened. On the bright side, oil is trading in the $56 range.

I'll be talking about the G-20 in today's 15 Minutes on Latin America podcast.

LATIN AMERICA
The Latinobarómetro poll
Democracy and the downturn
Latin Americans are standing up for their rights

ARGENTINA
Menem faces court over bomb probe

Decálogo del asaltado

BRAZIL
The Forest Jihad

COLOMBIA
Pelosi Serves Up Colombia To Europe

Last Chance for a Colombia Pact

UPDATE:UAW Won't Support Colombia Trade Pact For Big-3 Aid

FARC se infiltra en universidades para entrenar a milicianos

Rooting out cocaine production in Colombia

CUBA
To save the ants

From the official Communist party organ, Castro writes a book about Colombia

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominicans charged with organizing fatal journey

ECUADOR
Correa amenaza con incursionar y bombardear territorio de Colombia

ECUADOR
Soros's Narcostate Promotional Team Does Ecuador

JAMAICA
"Driven Life" and others in a dynamic conversation about faith and its impact on the world.
Spurning Europe, Caribbean pushes death penalty

MEXICO
Mexico's War: The Iraq Next Door

Mexico stock exchange says drug war scaring off IPOs

Criminal insurgency strikes Mexican media

NICARAGUA
How to steal an election
Daniel Ortega sets an ugly precedent

Preliminary thoughts on Nicaragua

U.S. Should Cut Foreign Assistance to Nicaragua

PARAGUAY
Landing on our airstrip

Meeting with other Paraguay bloggers in Paraguay

PERU
The Re-Emergence of the Shining Path: The Criminal-Terrorist Nexus

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico to eliminate Electoral Fund in 2009

URUGUAY
Uruguay head vetoes abortion bill

VENEZUELA
On Sunday, Venezuelans will be voting for 23 governors across the country. Mary O'Grady writes about Chávez's threat to bring out the tanks if people don't vote for his candidates: Dodd's 'Democrat' Tightens His Grip

Venezuela News and Views has been posting on the elections. Here's the latest: The Venezuelan 2008 election: update 16 - Holding Margarita

Chavez says Venezuela is moving toward developing nuclear power

The clueless and strange tale of the expelled Venezuelan Diplomats

US POLITICS
The only way is up
After eight years of neglect by Bush, relations between the US and Latin America can only improve under Barack Obama

The NYT has a lame article about how Obama's athletic abilities make him qualified to discuss foreign policy with the likes of cigar-yielding tyrant Castro (I wonder when was the last time Fidel even saw a baseball) and coca leaf growers' union leader Evo Morales, For Obama, a Scouting Report on Athletic Heads of State. James Joyner aims, shoots, and scores in his comment on the puff piece.

SCIENCE and EDUCATIONAL
The 'Secret Jews' of San Luis Valley

An introduction to Spanish nouns and genders

This week’s posts and podcasts
Today's 15 Minutes on Latin America: The G-20.



Huge weapons cache on Mexican border drug wars
“What Obama Might Do?”, on Latin America
Postcards from the edge: Sandalistas {heart} Hugo




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The second Monday in October Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's top story:
Two seeminly unrelated Venezuelan news stories,
First, Student opposition leader gunned down in Venezuela

Venezuelan authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a student leader who helped organize protests against constitutional amendments proposed by President Hugo Chavez.

Julio Soto, a student leader at the University of Zulia, was killed Wednesday by unidentified gunmen in the western city of Maracaibo.

Local Police Chief Jose Gonzalez said he believes Soto was specifically targeted because the assailants sprayed his vehicle with gunfire and then fled without taking anything.

But Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami said federal authorities have not yet determined if the killing was a politically motivated hit.

Soto was a member of the Copei opposition party. Voters rejected Chavez's proposed reforms in December.

Hugo Chávez has ordered authorities to quickly solve the murder

Education Minister Hector Navarro told Venezuela's state news agency on Thursday that Chávez wants police to catch those who killed Julio Soto ``as soon as possible.''

In the second item, former Defense Minister Gen. Raúl Baduel, who was instrumental in defeating Chávez constitutional reforms last December, was detained by the authorities on Friday and is now barred from leaving the country:

Rafael Tosta, a lawyer for Mr. Baduel, who was released Friday night, said his client was also required to appear before a military tribunal every 15 days and was prohibited from publicly commenting on the accusations, which revolve around $14.5 million in missing funds.

Mr. Baduel, who helped reinstall Mr. Chávez after a brief coup in 2002, has gone from being a hero of the president’s socialist-inspired revolution to one of its outcasts. Mr. Baduel emerged as one of Mr. Chávez most vocal opponents since resigning as defense minister last year.

Here's the video of his arrest:



Baduel has been charged with robbery:

Military Attorney, Gen. Ernesto Cedeno, said the former minister has been charged with alleged robbery of National Armed Forces funds and properties during his term of over four years at the helm of the military institution.

In a press conference, Cedeno said the decision was taken in the wake of an investigation stemming from an accusation rather than from political reprisal, as stated by Baduel, who assumed opposition stances after his retirement.

"According to the investigation, there are over $31 billion bolivars missing (about $14.50 million), and out of a sense of justice and honor, he oughts to clear up the situation during his term as Defense minister," stressed Cedeno.

Baduel was recently shot at while driving his car but managed to get away.

Does this signal a new crackdown on the Venezuelan opposition? Stratfor sees it at attempts to destabilize the opposition:

A few months ago, the loosely organized and previously unpopular opposition parties began making major gains in public opinion as Venezuela’s economy began souring and Chavez’s socialist policies came under fire. With this in mind, Chavez has gone so far as to have the courts ban 272 opposition politicians from running for office, charging them with corruption.

Chavez has also moved to strengthen the central government ahead of the elections, including implementing a series of reforms rejected in the 2006 constitution vote. Most recently, Chavez — with the help of the National Assembly — enacted the Organic Law for the Organization and Management of the Territory, which gives the central government control over local and state-level governments. In doing so, Chavez effectively negates any gains the opposition leaders might achieve if they are able to score seats in the upcoming election.

LATIN AMERICA
Why Did the Chicken Cross Party Lines?

Latin American Economies: Keeping their fingers crossed

Cómo validar nuestra educación en Los Estados Unidos

Hard economic times may just be starting

World War III knocking at our door

ARGENTINA
Las maletas contenian 6 millones de dolares

BOLIVIA
Young Bolivians fight for their regions

The oppositions criticisms of Bolivia's draft CPE

COLOMBIA
Colombia, U.S. Ally, May Conclude Defense Agreement With Russia

CUBA
Proposed Russian-Cuba-Venezuela Space Cooperation Raises Many Questions

A billboard for shelter

Cuba, FARC may be training guerrillas at Venezuelan camp
Cuban advisors and Colombian rebels are helping train paramilitary fighters, critics and former participants say

Going to hell on a financial handbasketcase: Fidel asesora creación de un nuevo sistema financiero, liderado por Venezuela e Irán Fidel's an advisor on a new financial system led by Venezuela and Iran (whom, by the way, years ago joined forces to undermine the US dollar)

ECUADOR
Nature as a Privileged Minority

US Problems Spread to Ecuador's Dollar Economy

Ecuador’s new constitution: In good faith

USA Backs Russo-Iranian-Soros Cartels running Venezuela and Ecuador; Abandons Honorable Uribe: Throwing Colombia to the Wolves of Deceit

HONDURAS
Protestan contra Ortega a su llegada a Honduras y él se escondió

MEXICO
North America Must Integrate for Trade, Calderon Says

9 bodies found dumped in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Just to make you chuckle a little bit about Nicaragua

Ortega targeting his ex-comrades
With a weakened right-of-center opposition, Nicaragua's president cracked down on former comrades on the left.

PUERTO RICO
Pork and rum? Rum Tax Break Report False, Says Distilled Spirits Council of the United States

There is confusion over a provision in the current financial rescue package which benefits the rum-producing territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This is not a tax break for rum makers as has been reported in the press and claimed on Capitol Hill.

It is fundamentally a revenue sharing arrangement between the U.S. government and the governments of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which Congress has voted to extend repeatedly over the last 20 years. Under this provision, the federal government rebates to the governments of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands most of the Federal Excise Tax collected on rum imported to the United States.

VENEZUELA
Democrats Shouldn't Coddle Chávez
The prospect of a nuclear Venezuela should be enough to unite allegiances in Washington.

Liberal fascism in Venezuela

Caracas, murder capital of the world

Student opposition leader gunned down in Venezuela

Via IBD blog, Venezuelan town ruled by Colombian guerrillas

Venezuela, France mull nuclear energy deal As IBD blog commented,

Well, why not? /s The U.S. is sending loud signals it doesn't care about Russian nuclear proliferation in the Caribbean, so the French are taking the cue that this is a 'for sale' sign. Or maybe something more negative is going on. France also says it wants Hugo Chavez, that glorious mediator to FARC (who was found to have used FARC contacts not to mediate but funnel cash and arms to the terrorists) now will mediate between the West and Iran. Wonder what he will funnel now? This is insane. Do the French never learn?

The South American nuclear genie

Venezolano con carné: the latest on the "valija gate"

How quickly does Hugo Chavez forget his fake beliefs in democracy or Venezuela, a democracy no more!

AMERICAN POLITICS
Via LGF Linkviewer, William Ayers and Hugo Chavez

Campaigns woo new Hispanic citizens as key bloc

Special thanks to Eneas, GoV, Maggie, Maria and Siggy


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"The Russians are leaving" Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in the next Carnival, please email me: faustaw2 “at” gmail “dot” com.

Two big stories this week:

1. Hugo Chavez expelled the American ambassador and the US expelled the Venezuelan ambassador, while Russian bombers are flying out of Caracas. Going unnoticed: the news that PDVSA is $12billion in the red since last year.

2. Eastern Bolivia is now under martial law as it lapses into what can become a full civil war. 38 people died following rioting in northern and eastern areas of Bolivia in reaction to Evo Morales plans to re-distribute the country’s wealth. Bolivian troops fired into crowds. Bolivia also expelled the American ambassador.

The embassies in all the countries involved remain open and functioning, as of the writing of this post.

In today’s podcast at 10AM Eastern Monica Showalter of IBD talks about these stories.

LATIN AMERICA

Latin America wants free trade

The perils of US protectionism:

ARGENTINA

Argentina’s other drug problem

El FMI dejaria de usar las mediciones del INDEC - Perfil.com

BOLIVIA

La rebelion por la libertad ha comenzado

Bolivia declares martial law in protest hit region

Bolivia rivals ‘reach agreement’

Bolivia’s government has said it has reached a basic agreement with the opposition on ending the violence which officials say has left 28 people dead.

Interior Minister Alfredo Rada said a further 10 bodies had been found in Pando province following the “massacre” of pro-government farmers on Thursday.

Pando Governor Leopoldo Fernandez has been accused of ordering the attack.

La Guerra intestina

Fresh violence in Bolivia stokes civil war fears

El responsable y los complices

Anti-Morales protests intensify in Bolivia

BOLIVIANOS - EN BOLIVIA - TORTURADOS POR VENEZOLANOS Y CUBANOS

Enraged Bolivians burn Venezuelan flags

Here’s video of the military firing into a crowd

BRAZIL

Half the nation, a hundred million citizens strong: What the middle class plans to do with its money - and its votes

CHILE

Chile Calls for Summit to Discuss Bolivian Crisis

CUBA

Cuba and Russia: Together again

Open A GiTMO Relief Center for Cuba, Haiti Hurricane Victims

Yordis García Fournier and Izael Poveda Silva, Cuban Political Prisoners of the Week, 9/14/08

It’s simply criminal

ECUADOR

Death Threats [Against] Archbishop and HLI Leader in Ecuador for Opposing “Abortionist” Constitution

Chevron Lawyers Indicted by Ecuador in Oil-Pit Cleanup Dispute

Willfully Ignorant, Chevron Committing Suicide the Ecuadorean Way: UNASUR will Complete their Demise

HAITI

What Haiti needs

HONDURAS

Expulsions stoke US-LatAm dispute

MEXICO

Key gulf cartel leader captured

Mexico’s failure to sort veggies may have led to outbreak

PERU

Connecting to the world: A president goes to market

VENEZUELA

An Empty Revolution

The Unfulfilled Promises of Hugo Chávez

Pdvsa to get USD 1.2 billion loan from a Japanese bank

Morales, Chávez resort to tired tactics

OUR OPINION: UNCLE SAM BECOMES SCAPEGOAT FOR INTERNAL PROBLEMS

Mary Anastasia O’Grady on the Russian bombers:

This week in weapons

Venezuela Plays The Russia Card

Russia says to send nuclear warship to Caribbean

Venezuela’s interior minister, whose ideological sympathy with Colombia’s FARC guerrillas raised serious concerns, is resigning.

Drug flights operate out of Venezuela, U.S. report says

Bush Tightens Squeeze on Chavez With Rebel Aid Charge

Venezuela’s traffic: Jam today

The Russians are here

AMERICAN POLITICS

McCain Attacks Obama Over Venezuela

There is no US sphere

Mexicans vs. Muslims in Greeley

Efecto-Palin

THIS WEEK’S PODCASTS AND POSTS

Venezuela: Russian bombers going bye-bye

Pdvsa to get $1.2 billion loan from a Japanese bank

The US replies to Chavez and expels the Venezuelan ambassador to the US; Honduras joins in the fray. Oil drops.

Mexican Makes NY Times Investment No American Will Do

Venezuela throws out American ambassador, recalls Venezuelan ambassador to the US

Bolivia: Evo Morales Says He’ll Expel U.S. Ambassador From Bolivia

Following up on the Russian/Venezuela military maneuvers in the Caribbean story: Cold War II in time for the election

More on Chavez’s naval excercises with Russia

Special thanks to Eneas, GoV, Kate, Pat, Larwyn and Maggie.

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The second Monday in August Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big story, which was rather predictable: Yesterday's referendum in Bolivia continues the current status, with Evo Morales still in power and the opposition also in Eastern Bolivia remaining strong:

Bolivians voted Sunday to keep President Evo Morales in office, with unofficial returns on a recall referendum giving him a victory even larger than the one that put him in office more than two years ago.

But despite drawing more than 60 percent of the vote, according to partial counts from polling stations, Morales appears to have not fundamentally changed the prevailing political deadlock in this Andean nation. The governors in eastern Bolivia, who form the powerful opposition to Morales, also held their seats by wide margins, leading to concerns that the voting results could exacerbate tensions here.

The president, vice president and eight of the nine state governors were subject to Sunday's recall vote. Three governors, including Morales opponents from La Paz and Cochabamba, were defeated. Meanwhile, the governor of Santa Cruz, the relatively wealthy lowlands state that has led the fight for more regional autonomy and to remove Morales, was backed by nearly 70 percent of voters, Bolivian television reported.

The departments voting against Morales are: Santa Cruz (70%), Beni (78%), Tarija (62%) and Chuquisaca (61%). As you may recall, last May Santa Cruz, home to 25% of Bolivia's population, voted for autonomy, a result which Mprales dismissed.

Noticias24 has a video (in Spanish) of the final results.

Resultados del referéndum de Bolivia
by noticias24

Official results will be available in 7-10 days.

Morales to push on with Bolivian reforms after winning vote. The Beeb makes it sound as if having opposition in Bolivia is a bad thing, since they claim that the referendum was "designed to heal the country's wounds" - into a Communist country.

As regular readers of this blog know, Evo Morales has the financial and ideological support of Hugo Chavez. Version Final estimates that in the past two years Chavez has sent Morales US$2,912,851,275, including $55 million for the purchase of helicopters and $30 million for improving the Bolivian army ifrastructure. More at the PDF file in Spanish (via el duende de Santa Cruz). Gateway Pundit posts that Venezuela and Iran are to loan Bolivia 225 million dollars to create a state cement company for the construction of roads and houses, ignoring housing shortages in their own countries.

In other Latin American news, Colombia has destroyed a FARC outpost described as "a small city" with 43 houses, where the Colombian military found weapons, electrical plants and documents. The information leading to this strike was provided by two informants.

ARGENTINA
With buddies like these, Argentina and Venezuela are in real trouble.

BOLIVIA Articles prior to the referendum:
Bolivia, Shell Oil reach pipeline compensation deal

Bolivia reached a "friendly" agreement Aug. 8 to compensate Royal Dutch Shell for its stake in the nationalized gas pipeline company Transredes

Morales Says He `Doesn't Fear' Results of Recall Referendum

Bolivia: Se acerca la batalla del jacha uru

Protests Mount as Bolivia Heads for Crucial Vote

BRAZIL
Brazil to Fight Ethanol Tariffs

Paying for the forest: Donations are welcome, even from foreigners

CHILE
Bomb Explodes at Brazilian Embassy in Santiago, EFE Reports

Viento en contra sobre la Concentracion

COLOMBIA
So ... Should Colombia Give the Hostages Back to the Terrorists?

Afghanistan: Colombian soldiers to back Spanish troops

Red (Double) Crossed

FARC Commanders Indicted Over Kidnappings of Americans

CUBA


The picture of the Revolución
This photo is the perfect metaphor for the half-century long Communist dictatorship: the infrastructure, the economy, and Cuban society crumble away while the cult of personality is highlighted in bright letters.

A disident’s return to Cuba




Political prisoners end hunger strike

GUATEMALA
US tourist hacked to death in Guatemala

ECUADOR
Constitutional coup d'etats by Chavez and Correa

Death Threats Received by Archbishop and Human Life International Leader in Ecuador for Opposing "Abortionist" Constitution

Special forces search for FARC

HAITI
George Soros' Testing Ground

MEXICO
Mexico's Poor Forgo Goods as Income From U.S. Drops

Drug cartels feeling the heat
Under unprecedented pressure, Mexico's drug cartels have unleashed epic violence, which some say shows that antidrug measures are working.

The Mexican kidnapping business

NICARAGUA
Vinculos de Daniel Ortega con las FARC

PARAGUAY
The next leftist on the block: Measuring up Fernando Lugo's plans for a misgoverned country

TURKS and CAICOS
Commentary: Are the Turks and Caicos Islands ready to leave the nest?

VENEZUELA
In Enacting Decrees, Chávez Makes New Power Grab

VENEZUELAN BUSINESSMAN TURNS THIEVES INTO EMPLOYEES
Alberto Vollmer's programs for poor squatters and young hoodlums seen as a model for defusing social tensions.

Power Grab
Venezuela's Hugo Chávez launches a new attack on his country's freedoms

S.O.S. Venezuela's Political Disaster - August 7, 2008

What now in Venezuela? How do you fight against a "legal" coup d'etat?

Chavez accused of reviving old reforms

Chavez's way

Chavez continues nationalization drive

About those Russian planes….

AMERICAN POLITICS
A Lousy Latin Lover

PODCAST
I'll be talking about Bolivia in this morning's podcast at 11AM Eastern. The call in number is 646 652-2639 and chat will be open at 10:45AM, please join us!



Special thanks to the Baron, Eneas, Maggie and Siggy.

Leftie Nicaraguan U.S. critic made UN assembly president -- update: Daniel Ortega missing

An Communist American-born Catholic priest is president of the next UN Assembly:

Nicaraguan U.S. critic made UN assembly president

A former Nicaraguan leftist foreign minister who has been a sharp critic of U.S. governments was elected on Wednesday as the next president of the U.N. General Assembly.

But within hours of his election, Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann said he wanted to turn a page on his past comments and work with the United States and other countries. Washington's U.N. envoy said he had similar assurances and would wait and see.

D'Escoto was elected by acclamation by the 192-member assembly after standing unopposed as candidate of Latin American and Caribbean countries, whose turn it is to hold the post. He will assume the year-long job in mid-September.

The assembly president has little power but chairs an annual gathering of world leaders in late September. He or she also presides over regular assembly debates, many on development issues, and oversees a long-running drive to expand membership of the powerful U.N. Security Council.

D'Escoto, 75, was foreign minister in the left-wing Sandinista administration that ruled Nicaragua from 1979-90, during which time it fought against an insurgency by U.S.-backed Contra rebels.

The "former" Sandinista is also a Catholic priest:

The son of a diplomat, D'Escoto was born in Los Angeles and ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. He espoused the left-wing liberation theology movement within the Catholic Church and backed the Sandinistas in the late 1970s, earning a reprimand from Pope John Paul II for involvement in politics.

Since the article does not mention that D'Escoto was not defrocked I assume he is still a priest. Like Fernando Lugo, the recently-elected president of Paraguay, he's another liberation theology-devotee who embraced Communist guerillas in the 1960s and 1970s.

Here in the USA we might elect a President closely aligned with black liberation theology. For more on that, please read Obama, Black Liberation Theology and Karl Marx parts one and two.

We'll be talking about liberation theology in today's podcast at 11AM Eastern. Please join us.

In other Nicaraguan news, Chávez oil fails to stem Nicaragua crisis

As the situation worsens, a growing chorus of critics are questioning the oil promises made to Nicaragua under the label of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, or ALBA - Chávez's leftist trade alliance among Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

"ALBA is a mystery enveloped in a cloud of fog, wrapped in an enormous enigma," Mr. Aguirre says.

Though the lawmaker says that Venezuelan aid could "theoretically" be a great help to an impoverished country such as Nicaragua, the secrecy with which ALBA has been handled by Ortega has only fueled criticism and conjecture.

European donor countries – as well as the International Monetary Fund, opposition lawmakers, civil society, and the national media – have all asked for an explanation of Venezuelan aid under ALBA. But so far Ortega has remained tight-lipped, aside from admitting that Venezuelan aid to Nicaragua already totals $520 million.

D'Escoto's patron Daniel Ortega doens't want people to know where that half a billion dollars is going to:

Economists, too, are unable to explain ALBA, or account for the $520 million that Venezuela has supposedly given to Nicaragua – money that Ortega manages in a separate discretional fund with no third-party oversight.

Ortega's explanation of ALBA aid – including $35.3 million for unidentified "social programs" and $60.6 million for "other programs" – has done little to satisfy the opposition's call for transparency and accountability.

We'll keep an eye on this story; Nicaragua's regime is the most vulnerable of all the regimes Hugo's propped up so far.

Maggie reminds me that Obama's willing to send the UN trillions of dollars.

UPDATE
Apparently no one knows where Daniel Ortega's gone to after the Rome conference... Must have been some partee! The Nicaraguan press says he's governing by remote control (link in Spanish via Kate).



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Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia and France

Chavez Seeks Federal Territories, Constitution Change (emphasis added):

"The governors don't have the power or resources to solve the problems of some areas," Chavez said in a televised speech today from southern Apure state. "I'd like to have three, four, five vice presidents, like in Iran and Cuba."

The creation of federal territories would concentrate more power in the hands of Chavez, who won a six-year term in December and has been in office since 1999. Chavez reiterated his call to change the constitution to allow him to be re- elected indefinitely.

"I don't know if in five years I will have the fire to run again," said Chavez, 52. "But I think the option should be open for the people to decide to elect someone to serve 10, 20, or 30 years.'"

Not enough fire to run, but plenty of fire to stay on; the Organization of Anti-American States probably won't complain.

Chavez's buddy Daniel Ortega's been networking lately: He took Muammar Gaddafi's jet to visit Iran. Once there, it was all miel sobre hojuelas schmoozing: 'Iran-Nicaragua to create justice-oriented order', which, by the way, doesn't prevent him from seeking more aid from the United States. Too bad he didn't wear a baseball cap to visit the mullahs.

Of course the mullahs loved him and the official news agency peppered their reporting with this rather obnoxious headline, Supreme Leader: Unfair trend of int'l ties heading towards destruction

The unfair trend of international ties is heading towards destruction and a completely different future, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday.

I wonder if the supreme leader's ever heard of Joe Lieberman, or of Ron Klein and Connie Mack, who said, The rulers of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Iran are part of a new trio of tyrants.

Not related to any of the above, Colombia and France continue to discuss the possibility of a swap with the FARC for Ingrid Betancourt, who was taken prisoner five years ago:

Mr Sarkozy's office said that he hoped that Mr Granda's release could help free the hostages. Ms Betancourt is a minor figure in Colombia but an iconic one in France, where she studied. She has dual citizenship and two French children. A vast portrait of her hangs from the façade of Paris's town hall. When foreign minister in 2003, Dominique de Villepin, her former professor, sent a crack team to rescue her; their mission was embarrassingly aborted in Brazil.

Since his election, Mr Sarkozy has taken up her case with vigour, twice inviting her children to the Elysée Palace.

I was wondering what Sarko's approach was going to be on the Betancourt case, but here's the explanation:

Liberating Ms Betancourt would be a spectacular political coup for a president whose action-man style marks a break with the era of Jacques Chirac and who faces two-round legislative elections on June 10th and 17th.

More blogging later, but before I do, Dynamobuzz is blogging again.



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'Jad's junket

As I mentioned Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on a tour of friendly South American countries. He started with Venezuela, where unfortunately he couldn't make it to Hugo's inaguration (and neither did any heads of state). While in Veneuzela, Jad and Hugo renewed their vows to undermine the USA, by starting an anti-USA fund

The two countries had previously revealed plans for a joint $2 billion fund to finance investments in Venezuela and Iran, but the leaders said Saturday the money would also be used for projects in friendly countries throughout the developing world.

"It will permit us to underpin investments ... above all in those countries whose governments are making efforts to liberate themselves from the (U.S.) imperialist yoke," Chavez said.

"This fund, my brother," the Venezuelan president said, referring affectionately to Ahmadinejad, "will become a mechanism for liberation."

"Death to U.S. imperialism!" he said.

Ahmadinejad, who is starting a tour of left-leaning countries in the region, called it a "very important" decision that would help promote "joint cooperation in third countries," especially in Latin America and Africa.

No word from Hugo about the kidnappings, but I digress.

Both Venezuela and Iran depend on foreign refineries for their oil.

After Venezuela, it was time to visit with Daniel Ortega in Managua. The lovefest went well:

The two countries announced that they were restoring full diplomatic relations and re-opening embassies in their capitals.

Gateway Pundit has more.

Jad did make it in time to Rafael Correa's inaguration

Before arriving in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito, Mr Ahmadinejad said both countries had common views and would talk about expanding ties.

Borrowing a page from Hugo, Correa's already saying,

he will call a referendum on a special assembly to rewrite the constitution so that the powers of the traditional parties are curbed.

Let's hope Rafael's not counting on 'Jad to clean the air
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Following up on another Venezuela story I've been following for a while, More illegal drugs entering Haiti by air from Venezuela

Update Elephants In Academia posts that Hugo Chavez to "govern by decree"
The Young and Naive Flock to Caracas, Report Back - no, Scott's not referring to 'Jad.