December 2009 Archives

Security analysts from Madrid to New Delhi are perplexed by the relationship between Brazil and Venezuela. They have come to formulate an unfortunate theory: that the country has become a 21st century economic power, but continues to practice a 20th century foreign policy.

The theory is backed up by the facts. Earlier this month the Brazilian Senate confirmed Venezuela's ascension to Mercosur, literally in the same moment in which President Hugo Chávez launched an attack on the country's judiciary, while at the same time bringing the dispute with Colombia perilously close to outright armed conflict.(...)

There is great merit in Brazil's ability to maintain friendly relations with so many different nations of different values. The South-South diplomacy, pioneered by the Lula government, should continue long into the future, and help to redefine a multipolar approach to global affairs. This tactic, however, has its limits. When taken to an extreme, there are high costs.

Brazil is better than that, and deserves much more. Its ambitious view toward the future is not compatible with the tolerance of outright tyranny on her borders. It's decision time: one can't have a foot in the 21st century while maintaining retrograde views.

Below is Eligio Cedeño's Christmas Day statement - the first comments he has been able to make since being released by a Venezuelan judge who was subsequently jailed, followed by the ordeal of a life-or-death manhunt by the Chávez government before fleeing to the United States for safety.  Please see my comments on this on the main blog page here.

This translation is still pending additional edits and changes.

STATEMENT BY ELIGIO CEDEÑO

December 25, 2009

As is now well known, this past December 10th, the 31st Control Court of Caracas, presided by Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, granted me a conditional release, after having spent the past two years and ten months in "pretrial" detention without a trial. I would note that Venezuelan criminal law places a two-year maximum on pretrial detention, except in exceptional circumstances which were not present in my case. Unfortunately, the Venezuelan government hopes to create the impression that Judge Afiuni's independent decision was somehow the product of corruption or a shady deal. Sadly, compliance with the law has become suspect in Venezuela, and those who dare to follow the law are subject to a moral and public "firing squad" from the Chávez regime. My first thoughts are for the brave judge, who was assigned to my case only recently, and whom I met for the first time when I appeared before her in her courtroom on December 10, but who today is paying for her judicial independence with jail time. Her treatment reveals to the world the true face of Venezuela's justice system, and underscores my feelings of solidarity with the dozens of political prisoners who today are in our prisons for thinking differently and expressing it publicly.

The political asylum process just begun in the United States leaves Eligio Cedeño released on parole, Robert Amsterdam told Efe, pending the hearing which will explain the reasons for which protection is sought. Meanwhile, another Cedeño lawyer, Victor Cerda, in a statement to Globovision, reiterated that Cedeño is legally in the U.S. and can move freely within the country.

The Interamerican Human Rights Commission (IACHR) introduced a complaint against Venezuela before the Inter-American Court for disqualifying opposition candidate Leopoldo Lopez in the regional elections of 2008. According to the IACHR, the Chávez government violated the rights of Lopez when it disqualified him as a candidate for mayor of Caracas for the administrative reasons it alleged. The press agency also states that the case relates to the lack of judicial guarantees and judicial protection of relevant and adequate reparation. During this election process, a number of opposition-leaning politicians could not stand for election in August 2008 due to a decision of the Comptroller, who is in charge of enforcing the order of public finances.

Judge Maria Afiuni freed him on parole Dec. 10 after he had spent 34 months in jail without a conviction; Venezuelan law stipulates no more than two years of pretrial detention. Ms. Afiuni was jailed hours later on Mr. Chávez's orders. She has been charged with corruption, accessory to an escape, criminal conspiracy and abuse of power. Through her lawyers, she has denied the charges.

Mr. Cedeño's lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, said his client will stay in the U.S. for the time being. He criticized Mr. Chávez for Ms. Afiuni's arrest, saying she is essentially being held as a hostage because Mr. Cedeño is free.

Officials at Mr. Chávez's press office weren't immediately available for comment.

"Can you imagine a young Colombian senator saying, 'Yes, I will go and meet with my father's assassin's son'?" - Nicolas Entel

That is indeed what a young Colombian senator said, along with an even younger Bogotá city councilman.

I've been waiting for this story to develop and it finally is. When we last heard about the new Nicolas Entel documentary about Pablo Escobar's son, Sebastian Marroquín, there wasn't a lot out there and I had not yet had a chance to fully get a handle on all the ideas and emotions the story elicits. More recently, Marroquín granted interviews to the Washington Post's Juan Forero and then to CNN (Forero also retouches his story for NPR here). The documentary is entitled, "Sins of my father" and is about Marroquín's attempt to come to terms with his father's legacy. The film had its international debut last month at the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival and began screening in Colombia on Dec. 10. It is expected to make its U.S. premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. [Photo credit: Red Creek Productions via Newsweek]

Big news.  My client Eligio Cedeño, a Venezuelan political prisoner who was released a few weeks ago, has been admitted by the United States of America.  His ordeal has been significant: the judge who made the order was arrested and his life has been threatened with a dead-or-alive capture order from President Hugo Chávez.  Facing the onslaught of frightening personal attacks, slander, and lies from the president on daily television, Cedeño was forced to flee the country, arriving in the United States on Dec. 19.

I am happy to report that after several days of processing, the U.S. government completed the required paperwork concerning Eligio Cedeño's status as a politically persecuted individual. He has now been officially admitted to the United States, where he enjoys complete freedom and the protections of its laws, and will be able to establish residence. Eligio has already made his way to an undisclosed residence in South Florida, where he will be able to spend the first Christmas in nearly three years with his family.

This is a tremendously positive occasion, though we acknowledge that a mountain of legal challenges remain, dozens of political prisoners continue to suffer under Chávez, and numerous actions are still being prepared to defend their rights.  But for now, I appreciate your patience if the Venezuela Report slows down a bit over the holidays.

Previous entries:
22.12.09
21.12.09
11.12.09

The plant of Petroleos de Venezuela Gas Comunal, located in Los Molinos, was the scene of impatience and queues yesterday. Some buyers had to go to University Avenue Cumana (Sucre) to purchase petrol because in their area there are no attendants or there is nothing available. Cumaná residents yesterday morning got impatient because domestic gas sales started late. Source: Diario Region

By Zapata, Diario El Nacional:

Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz acknowledged that her office doubted U.S. authorities would deport Eligio Cedeño and stressed that the prosecution does not formally know Cedeño's status on U.S. soil. "We request the extradition of Posada Carriles, and although it's been more than three years, to date we have had no response. Although there is an extradition agreement, they have not responded to our request about Posada Carriles. We can not expect Eligio Cedeño to be deported," she said. Cedeño spent two years and ten months in prison at the headquarters of the Disip, received a limited release on 10 December and left the country. On Monday, it was confirmed that he was in Miami.

Anomalies such as zones x-and-a-half hours different from GMT were present from the start, and have multiplied in the past 125 years - most recently in 2007 when President Hugo Chávez gave Venezuela its own zone four-and-a-half hours behind. "That is a good example of someone making a political point - showing that he is really in charge of people's lives by changing their time," comments Jonathan Betts, clock expert at Greenwich. "I do not accept that there can be a real practical benefit in moving the time zone by 30 minutes."

Almost slipped by my radar...Chile has been invited to join the OECD. Not a small feat by any means. Dow Jones has the story:

Chile received an official invitation Tuesday to become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said in Paris.

To join the OECD, Chile had to modify its legislation in areas such as the exchange of tax information, corporate governance and legal responsibility in bribery cases.

"We humbly and proudly receive this invitation," Velasco said in a statement. He noted that the 30 OECD members voted unanimously to invite Chile to join.

Chile is the second OECD member in Latin American, after Mexico.

See previous editions:
21.12.09
11.12.09

Twelve establishments filled up to half a tank per vehicle following orders of the National Guard. The iconic E/S PDV of San Jacinto (Maracaibo) is forced to close before 6 pm. The rationing was found all the way until Bella Vista, culminating in large crowds at the three stations. Drivers of different routes paid the consequences of smuggling to Colombia. Source: Diario Versión Final

By Rayma, diario El Universal:

On Monday, the silence was broken on the whereabouts of former bank president Eligio Cedeño as news came that Cedeño is in the United States. On learning the news, President Chávez demanded his extradition. During the ceremony marking the beginning of operations for Universal Bicentennial Bank, President Chávez said Cedeño was captured by U.S. police in Miami (Florida) and requested the Public Ministry and the Supreme Court to deal with Interpol for his extradition.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida indicated that "there are no charges" against Venezuelan businessman Eligio Cedeño, who is under custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "There are no criminal charges currently pending against [Cedeño] anywhere in the Southern District of Florida," Assistant U.S. Attorney for Florida Jeffrey A. Neiman told Efe. Cedeño, who is accused by Venezuelan authorities of carrying out illegal foreign exchange transactions for millions of dollars, is currently in South Florida in the custody of the ICE. "Mr. Cedeño is under ICE custody, pending the immigration procedures that allow you to present your case to a judge," Nicole Navas, an ICE spokeswoman told Efe.

Once again, the LAHT's Jeremy Morgan files a story too loaded with detail to effectively summarise it here but suffice it to say, there is less joy in Mudville by the day:

The retired dockers, the port workers, the people at the collective, the aspirant homebuilders of Cabimas, the toyless folk at the fair, and the money-less ladies trying to look after the kids all have two things in common. In one way or another, they're cast in roles close to the Chavez cause, but they claim they're not be treated properly -- and all this is taking place against a background of a slack economy and signs of growing unrest on the labor front.

I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read this in its entirety.

While I am obviously a fan of using metaphors and incorporating pop culture to make a point, I'm not so sure the opening Star Wars reference in the Washington Post's recent take on US-Venezuela relations totally works (unlike, for example, the last time to my memory that a Star Wars metaphor was used in beltway politics, accessible here).

Aside from the article's repeated assertions that Americans don't know anything about Latin America, what most drew my attention in the article was this dichotomy:

This has been sitting in my to-do folder for the longest time but its importance has not diminished any. If anything, now is as good a time as any to remind everyone that a month after President Obama replied to Yoani Sanchez's 7 questions asking for the American position on how US-Cuba relations proceed, an answer from the Cuban government has yet to be forthcoming to the questions proposed to President Castro.

For those of you who have never heard of Yoani Sanchez (and if that's the case, seriously, where have you been?) Time Magazine has a brief profile here and the NY Times ran a story here in October. Or just go directly to her blog. Not to be missed either is the rejection of her request to travel outside Cuba to collect a journalism award in October as well as the beating she got from state security officials in Havana for participating in a peaceful march in November.

Continuing the Abel Quezada retrospective that I began a few days back, today we have the following:

By Fonseca - diario Últimas Noticias:

A group of inmates from the National Institute of Feminine Orientation (INOF) tried to kill Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni Friday night and Saturday morning, according to a complaint by Afiuni defence attorney Sandy Guevara. According to the statement, the prisoners attempted to attack Afiuni, who managed to take refuge behind a fence on two occasions. The inmates shouted that they would burn her alive. The complaint states that the judge has no special protection in the prison, although she was assured of having it.

The following is the latest press release on the Eligio Cedeño case, whom Hugo Chávez mentioned just now in a national television address. It is not true that Cedeño has been arrested.

Former Venezuelan Political Prisoner Eligio Cedeño Submits Himself to United States Jurisdiction

Dec. 21, Miami, Fla. - Lawyers acting on behalf of Eligio Cedeño, a Venezuelan businessman who had been unlawfully jailed without trial for almost three years, confirm that he legally entered the United States on Dec. 19th to voluntarily submit himself to U.S. jurisdiction. Cedeño was released from detention in Venezuela on Dec. 10th, and subsequently the judge who issued the release order, María Lourdes Afiuni, was imprisoned and personally denounced on state television by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Do I have your attention? Believe it or not, "bullish" is a word that really did come out of his mouth during a presentation last evening at the Council of the Americas. He spoke obviously on the world economy at large and the U.S., but given the venue of the speech, he also integrated a focus on Latin America. And most of it frankly was not much of a shocker to anyone who follows Roubini and co. with any sort of regularity. But I will say that over the past five or so years that I've been paying attention to him, he definitely sounds more bullish than ever before. And for those of you new to this, Roubini being "more bullish than ever before" means that his new favourite words are "anemic" (as in, "anemic growth"), "caveats" (as in, main caveats to his emerging markets bullishness) and "fiscal" (as in, "fiscal slippage", "fiscal discipline", "fiscal train wreck").

From what I understand, the webcast showing the talk last night is still not permanently embedded into the COA website, but the council's Carin Zissis in the meantime managed to get Roubini on the record for some extra Q&A here. Of particular interest here to me is this question:

A translation of an El Universal story:

Nelson Afiuni, brother of Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, who was arrested for releasing the businessman Eligio Cedeño from jail, called on President Chávez to properly document the background and work of his sister. He said it she is one of the "most correct judges in the courthouse."

"The president has to look at who the people are at his side that are giving him information, and it is regrettable to hear the president express himself the way he did, as someone who does not even know her career path, who should look carefully at who she is because I believe that she is one of the most correct judges that works in the courthouse," he said.

An oil spill of an undisclosed volume significantly affected Tacoa beach in the thermoelectric plant of La Electricidad de Caracas in Vargas. The alarm of residents from the area over the huge black spot on the sea immediately mobilized the fire department of Vargas, who saw to the incident along with an operations manager from the plant at Tacoa. Nevertheless, spokesmen from Electricidad de Caracas said that the oil spill "is normal residue and a typical routine that can happen during operations." Source: Diario 2001

By Zapata - diario El Nacional:

Eligio Cedeno's attorney, Emilio Berrizbeitia, said they will document the cases of irregularities in Venezuelan justice, leading off with what happened to Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni Mora and trying to get international bodies involved, such as the United Nations. "We already have what we are denouncing, the proceedings against the rule of law, by the Chávez regime, we are witnessing the death certificate, and all these documents and statements confirm that the rule of law and independent powers in the country have died."

Chavez' angry response to Cedeno's release, his lawyers say, demonstrates that the currency-related charges against him were trumped up, and that it was actually a political decision.

"The things that are happening now, the response that we've seen from Chavez, this only proves that Cedeno was a political prisoner," Gonzalo Himiob, one of Cedeno's local attorneys, told Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday.

I finally got to watching the webcast of the Council of the Americas' annual Latin America Predictors Forum, held on December 4 in Miami. The webcast is not embeddable but can be accessed here with some patience (written summary is here, which honestly doesn't do justice to the session).

And I would urge anyone with a knee jerk toward lamenting doomsday for Venezuela to have that patience. The entire session is worth listening to if you have an interest in regional economic affairs, particularly from the standpoint of equity market commentary and sovereign debt. Otherwise, if you're just after Venezuela-related things, skip straight to 78:00 into the session, actually the second-to-last question of the Q&A session, during which Bulltick's Kathryn Rooney and S&P's Roberto Sifon Arevalo speak to a question on the outlook for Venezuela and Bolivia.

The queue begins overnight and by daybreak is kilometres long, stretching in front of the distribution plant for PDVSA Gas Comunal on Cisneros Avenue in San Felix and outside the headquarters in Tigasco, located in the industrial zone Unare I of Puerto Ordaz in Bolivar state. People await business hours to begin so that they can buy a cylinder of domestic fuel. Source: El Diario de Guayana

By Edo - diario El Mundo:

The Brazilian Senate approved Venezuela's entry to Mercosur yesterday, ending more than two years of parliamentary debates, which caused harsh confrontations with President Chávez. The last debate on the protocol finished with 35 votes for and 27 against, leaving the matter now pending before Congress in Paraguay, whose opposition majority could reject the move. Venezuela joined Mercosur in 2006 and its incorporation has been ratified by Argentina and Uruguay, but parliament is still pending in Paraguay, where opponents of the idea in the majority. Previous coverage here, here, here and here.

Judge's Decision to Release Eligio Cedeño Based on Opinion of United Nations Working Group

Jailing of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni Shows Lack of Judicial Independence, says Lawyer

CARACAS, Dec. 15, 2009 - On Thursday, Dec. 10, the Venezuelan political prisoner Eligio Cedeño was conditionally released following an order issued by Judge María Lourdes Afiuni. Within minutes of granting Cedeño's conditional release, Judge Afiuni was arrested by officers from Venezuela's intelligence police (DISIP), the ruling was reversed by another judge of the same court, and a new arrest warrant was issued for Cedeño.

Police arrested Judge María Afiuni, court bailiffs and a defence lawyers after her ruling allowed Eligio Cedeño, a banker facing corruption charges, to walk free last week.

Chávez, who has taken a close interest in the case, responded furiously, suggesting Afiunio had been bribed to facilitate an escape.

"A judge who frees a criminal is much, much, much more serious than the criminal himself," he said in a televised speech. "This judge should get the maximum penalty... 30 years in prison. That judge has to pay for what she has done."

Jaime Suchlicki, Director of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, has a paper summarising the Russia-Venezuela-Cuba-China-Iran relationship entitled, "The Cuba-Venezuela Challenge to Hemispheric Security: Implications for the United States."

Most of it will not come as news to regular readers of this blog, but I thought it worth reviewing principally because it aggregates in one place a timeline of certain undeniable facts that hold regardless of what one's political orientation is, not to mention the recent $3.2 billion trade deal between Venezuela and Cuba, as well as Bret Stephens' take of the Venezuela-Iran relationship in the Wall Street Journal. With regard to Venezuela's role, Suchlicki outlines the following:

In the past two years, Hugo Chávez has purchased over $6 billion in Russian weapons.

According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, cocaine flowing through Venezuela grew fourfold (from 60 to 260 metric tons) between 2004 and 2007.

Ten years after the mudslide in the state of Vargas, survivors continue today with the expectation that the promise of reconstruction remains. The state's governor, Jorge Luis García Carneiro, said the government has advanced efforts to restore the devastated infrastructure, while former director of Civil Defence, Ángel Rangel, warned that the coast remains as vulnerable as it was in 1999. Source: Diario El Tiempo

By Weil - diario Tal Cual:

Carlos Lotuffo and Rafael Rondon, the bailiffs of the 31st Control Court of Caracas who were arrested last Friday for allegedly committing illegalities in releasing Eligio Cedeño, were freed from custody. The information was confirmed by the defence counsel of the officials, Tailandia Márquez, who explained yesterday afternoon that the 50th Control Court of Caracas, under Judge Leidys Azuaje, issued the parole ruling. On Saturday, the same court upheld the ruling against Lotuffo and Rondón and sent them to jail at Yare. Prosecutor Alicia Monroy Carmona accused the defendants of allegedly committing corruption crimes by promoting tax evasion and conspiracy. Worth noting is that a bailiff is an administrative officer of the judiciary who is subject to the orders of a judge and is responsible for providing security and supporting the judge's decisions; and in no case can a bailiff object to a judge's orders.

By Edo - El Mundo:

The Eighth Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) began with the participation of Cuban President Raúl Castro, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega. ALBA primarily exists to seek independence, unity and development of its member countries. Source: Diario Las Noticias de Cojedes

Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma said the situation facing the Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni Mora for being allegedly involved in irregularities that allowed Eligio Cedeño to go free is a testament to the fact that there is no rule of law in Venezuela. Ledezma said President Chávez could not have given the order keep Cedeño in prison if the point of having judges is to determine if that action was wrong or not. "The president dispatches and determines that rulings are changed (...) What kind of justice is this?" asked Ledezma. Relatives of Judge Afiuni Mora and sheriffs Rafael Rondón and Carlos Lotuffo, detained for their alleged involvement in the Cedeño's release, rejected the new rulings against them.

As we published in our posting yesterday, there have been several arbitrary, senseless arrests in Venezuela following the judicial order which released Eligio Cedeño on his own recognizance. Most of the press has focused on the detention of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, whom Chávez personally attacked with alarming rancor - he called for a jail sentence of 30 years, the maximum penalty given to someone for homicide, for this brave judge who did nothing more than perform her job with independence and scruples.

But there are other hostages being held by the government. In addition to various bailiffs (one of whom wasn't even in the building at the time), they arrested on Dec. 11th José Rafael Parra Saluzzo, a lawyer close to Cedeño, but not a member of the defense team. He is currently being held at the headquarters of the military police (DIM). There is no reason given for his detention, no crime committed whatsoever, and no legitimate reason for the police to imprison an innocent man.

These two events are relevant, for both of them are circumscribed by the new administrator of justice in Venezuela: Hugo Chavez. Eligio Cedeño, as gossip would have it, was jailed for he had dumped Chavez's daughter after a rather tormented love affair. I visited Cedeño in El Helicoide in September 2008. He said then that he had handed himself in for he had nothing to hide, and was confident that he would be able to prove his innocence in court. The truth is, he spent 34 months in jail, on charges that were never heard in court, for authorities kept delaying the trial, which has not even started. This practice has already been condemned by the European Parliament. In light of his long, and illegal, imprisonment, Judge María Lourdes Afiuni freed Cedeño. But following the letter of the law is not something that Chavez tolerates, especially when it goes against his personal designs. So now, Judge María Lourdes Afiuni has been arrested, and Chavez has asked that she's sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.

Another incident that will go down in history is the decision taken this Thursday by the Caracas judge, María Lourdes Afiuni, to permit the banker and political prisoner Eligio Cedeño to be released while his case is being heard and issuing an order forbidding him to leave the country and to report to the authorities every 15 days, as established in the Criminal Procedures Code.

Cedeño is one of the more than a hundred cases of political persecution under the Hugo Chávez regime. He was accused in February 2007 of allegedly making improper use of $27 million (obtained at the preferential rate) in the "Microstar Case."

Eligio Cedeño has been held at the headquarters of the DISIP (state political police) for two years awaiting trial, in flagrant violation of the Criminal Procedures Code.

Yesterday around noon, when we heard reports that the political prisoner Eligio Cedeño, a client whom I represent, had finally been released on parole from his unlawful detention after almost three full years of imprisonment without conviction of any crime, our spirits were strong. This would be the first Christmas that Eligio would be able to spend with his family since 2007.

Then within hours, the political prosecutors began taking their revenge, placing under arrest Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, a person who did nothing more than perform her job, administer justice as a member of a supposedly independent judiciary, and declare Cedeño's continued incarceration as illegal. It was this fair judicial decision, based upon various opinions from independent international bodies which had also found Cedeño's detention to be arbitrary, which released him - not an "escape" as reported by some media, not a "conspiracy" as alleged by the political prosecutors, but a normal, regular legal decision which any true rule of law court would have made years ago.

My sincere apologies for taking so long on this...

In the past week, students from various Latin American countries have descended upon local OAS chapters to deliver a letter demonstrating their solidarity with Venezuelan students on hunger strike and demanding OAS General Secretary José Miguel Insulza to take quick and decisive action with regard to the situation. The letter was submitted in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, the United States, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay.

Following is a translation of the letter, accompanied by a copy of the letter submitted in Nicaragua.

The new Latinobarómetro report is out. The Economist breaks it down here and the original source document is here. From the Economist:

"There's an important increase in the legitimacy of governments, which is good for democracy," says Marta Lagos, Latinobarómetro's director, though she cautions that it is also providing fuel for the spreading habit of presidents seeking re-election.

And then:

The poll offers a warning to Mr Chávez. Though 45% of Venezuelan respondents still support his government, that is down from 65% in 2006. And although he has nationalised many businesses, 81% of them say that private enterprise is indispensable for economic development, a big increase on previous years. Support for the market economy among Venezuelan respondents has also surged.

It has recently been brought to my attention that the current public art exhibit on Mexico City's Avenida Reforma is a retrospective of the late Mexican artist and journalist Abel Quezada. The exhibit features around 100 pieces, some dating from half a century ago. Yet, the striking thing to me is how relevant some of them still are today and not just for Mexico but more broadly to Latin America. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting to this blog the jpegs I am receiving that I find appropriate and relevant for our purposes. Here's the first.

Particularly worth noting, I thought, is that this was originally published in November of 1970. Equally noteworthy, look closely at the headline quote on the newspaper.

Reproduced directly from the IACHR website:

Washington, D.C., December 4, 2009 - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the killing in Venezuela of Oscar Barrios, beneficiary of provisional measures ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court HR)

Oscar Barrios, 22 years old, was killed on November 28, 2009, the fifth member of this family to be killed, according to the information received, by police officers of the Aragua State.

The first precautionary measures to protect members of the Barrios family were granted by the IACHR on June 22, 2004, after receiving information on the killing of two members of this family, allegedly by policemen. Three months later, another family member was killed, and the IACHR requested provisional measures to the IA Court HR. The Court's protection measures were in force when Rigoberto Barrios, 15 years old, was killed on January 9, 2005. From that date, the members of the family continued to be targets for detention, raids, threats and harassment, and on November 28, 2009, Oscar Barrios was killed.

Hundreds of university students demanded the resignation of Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek El Aissami yesterday, accusing him of not doing enough to apprehend suspects in the murder of a student during a recent protest. The students say the minister has dismissed the charges aimed at supporters of President Chávez as responsible for the shooting death of mechanical engineering student Jesús Ramirez Bello, 20, during a street protest on Tuesday. Source: Diario La Región

By Weil - Tal Cual:

Control Court Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, who granted parole to Eligio Cedeño, was arrested by the Disip. Apparently, the reason for her arrest was because Afiuni made the decision to grant parole without the presence of prosecutors. Similarly, all staff working at the court, present at the moment of arrest, were also arrested and taken to Disip headquarters. According to sources, Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, a career judge, was arrested by the Disip with the entire staff of the court who aided the case of Eligio Cedeño, including three constables, a secretary and the coordinator of bailiwicks, after the release of Cedeño.

Conditional parole issued to Eligio Cedeño

Friday, December 11, 2009: 

On Tuesday, 8 December, control court 31 of Metropolitan Caracas held the preliminary hearing process against Eligio Cedeño. This hearing was postponed at the request of prosecutors, who proposed that he not attend the hearing.

Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni agreed to reconvene the hearing for Thursday December 10. At the time of the hearing, representatives from the prosecutor's office still did not come to court and conform to the rules, so the Judge Afiuni convened those who were present in court: the Defence attorneys, Eligio Cedeño and lawyers representing the Attorney General's Office, to move into the Trial Chamber in the Justice Department.

With the process initiated, the judicial officer recognised the absence of the prosecutor's office and then gave the right to speak to the Attorney General's representatives, who declined it.

Dear Ambassador Barco:

I just finished reading the he-said-she-said you and Ambassador Alvarez Herrera agreed to write for Foreign Policy. I have many questions but as I appreciate your time is tight, I will limit this to one point only:

How can a Colombian and a Venezuelan spend more than 2,000 words circle jerking each other on who did what when where why in re Colombia-Venezuela relations and mention the FARC by name only once?

Furthermore how can that one mention come not from you, but from your Venezuelan counterpart, as he completely poo-poos the notion that the raid Colombian forces carried out in Ecuador in 2008 was against FARC operatives?

Caracas Court 31, under the stewardship of Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni, granted probation this morning to Eligio Cedeño, who remained in the cells of the Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP) for the past two years and 10 months for his alleged involvement in the Microstar case.

Cedeño will leave the cell, but can not leave the country and must report every 15 days to Afiuni's office.

Last October, Appellate court 8 in Caracas agreed to a similar extent, but it was later rescinded by order of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).

Cedeño's lawyer, Vicente Puppio, said that the court determined that Cedeño was entitled to be released after more than two years in prison and tried in freedom, as required by law. "It was set straight. He has already left the Disip's custody."

Coverage from El Universal here, Globovisión here and El Nacional here.

The president of the Academy of Political and Social Sciences and former judge of the Supreme Court, Román Duque Corredor, responded to a statement by Supreme Court President Luisa Estela Morales, that the "separation of powers undermines the State ":

"The Venezuelan people in 1999, upon approving and endorsing the current constitution and upon rejecting in 2008 the proposed constitutional reform that advocated for public power to be concentrated, and anti-federal anti-representative, ratified its libertarian faith by confirming the principle of separation and independence of public powers that make up the republican tradition, superior values and democratic guarantees in our society, that conform to the preamble and article 350 of the current constitution as an irreversible principle. In effect, the division of the exercise of state power is the guarantee of freedom and democracy. Just remember those who want to revive the old monarchical absolutist thesis that since the Declaration of the Rights of Mankind and Citizenry of 1789, 'Any society in which the guarantee of rights is not secured, nor the separation of powers established, has no constitution.'"

Read on here (in Spanish).
(Photo: El Nacional)

The governor of Táchira accused armed groups and leaders of the PSUV of the murder of student Jesús Ramírez Bello and asked Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek el Aissami to stop lying. Minister el Aissami blamed PoliTáchira for the death of the student and called the performance of the state's security forces "negligent". Táchira police released footage of an alleged "gunman" who was present at the protest in San Cristóbal and might have caused the death of the UNET student. Meanwhile, students protested Ramírez's murder in several states. In Caracas, groups from several universities took over the main avenues of the capital to protest the murder. Source: Diario 2001

By Bozzone - diario El Carabobeño:

Chaos and violence seized the city of Mérida yesterday. Students of the University of Los Andes (ULA) and Unefa staged confrontations throughout the day. The conflict arose after students from the ULA organised protests against the death of a student in Táchira state and constant power outages in the region. Mérida Globovision correspondent Euro Lobo reported that the incident occurred in La Liria, where the headquarters of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of the Andes and Unefa went head to head. ULA students complained that Unefa students were using police uniforms and pulled down the perimeter fence of their institution.

Today marks 10 days of continuous queues at service stations in the region due to the alleged elimination of 11 additional trips to pumps located in the central town of San Cristobal (Táchira). This fact is denied by the Internal Markets director at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (Menpet), while it has been suspected that there are efforts to encourage defensive purchasing by the population. Discomfort, bad times, time and man hours lost are phrases heard and experienced daily among taxi drivers and private car service operators who appear to be acclimating themselves to public service failures like this that should be otherwise guaranteed to citizens. Source: Diario Nación

By Zapata - diario El Nacional:

Yesterday afternoon, students who have spent 17 days on hunger strike decided to cease the protest after an official commission from the OAS arrived in Caracas to solicit proposals from the students on alleged human rights violations in Venezuela which will be submitted to OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. The visiting delegation that left Washington consisted of Antonia Orreogola, assistant to Insulza, Rodrigo Surieta and Rodrigo Hurtado, doctors from the OAS who met with student leader Julio Rivas and legal representatives to discuss students' impressions, said Orreogola. Nevertheless, attorney Alfredo Romero said the OAS representatives were pressured by the national government to not stay more than one day in the country, "because they are uncomfortable with us knowing the real situation faced by the Venezuelan people." He said he hoped that they would be able to visit the so-called political prisoners to see for themselves what their human rights situation is and the repression to which they are subjected, "but we did not as the meeting lasted a few hours."

Below is a translation of an AP report in Spanish accessible here:

A college student was shot dead during a street protest on Tuesday which pitted supporters of President Chávez against his opponents in the southwestern city of San Cristobal, said the rector of a university.

José Vicente Sánchez, rector of the Experimental University of Táchira (UNET), said mechanical engineering student Jesús Eduardo Ramírez Bello died of a gunshot to the head when protesters clashed in the capital of Táchira state, about 650 miles southwest of Caracas.

Sánchez said he was not clear who was responsible for the shooting.

Well this didn't take long - the AP is reporting that Lula's press secretary Marcelo Baumbach has said Brazil will not recognise the new Honduran government:

''One thing is dealing with the fact that there were elections and another is recognizing the legitimacy of the elections,'' Baumbach told reporters. ''And for now, Brazil does not recognize that legitimacy.''

''The president's position is clear,'' Baumbach said. ''Brazil does not intend to recognize a government elected in a process that was organized by an illegitimate government.''

Oh Lula, Lula, Lula. I had so much hope for you. Instead, you made the typical Latin Left move: you said you're against something and yet have not offered any alternative plan. Meanwhile, time moves on. The date for Zelaya's end of term approaches, at which point, no reasonable person could argue that he should be reinstated since his term was meant to be over anyway. So what now, President Lula? If you want a bigger role on the world stage, you have to show that you are capable of suggesting alternatives instead of just saying you're against things you don't like. Haven't you figured that out by now?

Mary Anastasia O'Grady revisits the Colombian version of the term-limit extension previously favored by Chávez/Ortega/Zelaya/Correa/Bloomberg in today's Wall Street Journal. Given what we've already pointed to here in several previous posts, there's not much new for me to say about what I think of the whole concept except that I think she buries what I consider one of the more significant implications of a 3rd Uribe term pretty far down in her column:

Many of Mr. Uribe's cohorts say that Colombia would benefit most with a new uribista government to tackle these problems and continue with economic liberalization. Third terms, they point out, are notoriously tired. They also worry that he is setting a precedent that will harm the country later on. If he can stick around endlessly, what's to stop a Chávez-like figure from doing the same some time down the road?

Most importantly, they argue that a modernizing Colombia requires leadership that defends the rule of law, not one that manipulates it when convenient. "We believe that Colombian law should apply," Luis Carlos Villegas, president of the Colombian business group known as the National Association of Industries (and a longtime supporter of Mr. Uribe) said in a media interview earlier this year.

The ongoing electricity service cuts to ration power in the city of Mérida has exhausted the patience of residents of Avenue Las Americas, who last night burned tires on the main roadway opposite the passenger terminal to demand a cessation of this measure because of the inconveniences it poses to the population. Protesters demonstrated against state-run Corpoelec and the national government, saying that they have had enough and warned that they will continue protesting because "no one can live a normal life." At 9 o'clock, the neighbors tried to burn down the headquarters of Corpoelec, but the police intervened and stopped the situation. The resulting gunfire left one policeman and one civilian wounded, both of whom were transferred to Social Security. The scuffle and the shooting continued until 11 o'clock at night. The residents of Villa Libertad also closed La Variante highway in protest of rationed electricity. Source: Diario Frontera

By Edo - diario El mundo:

President Chávez announced yesterday that "thousands of rockets" that the government purchased from Russia to strengthen Venezuela's armed forces have already begun arriving. "They are preparing a war against us," he said. His announcement comes amid strong friction between the governments of Venezuela and Colombia following a military cooperation agreement Bogotá signed with the United States that allows U.S. troops access to Colombian military bases. "They are preparing a war against us, that's true, and one of the best ways to counteract it is to prepare...and we'll keep doing it," Chávez said. "Thousands of rockets have begun arriving. Few countries have the strength that we have from the missiles and RPG-7 rocket launchers."

La Verdad is running an interview with Eligio Cedeño in two parts here and here. Following is a full translation of the transcript.

On Monday, November 30, President Chávez announced that the government was conducting a closed-door intervention with Banco Confederado, Banco Bolivar, Banpro and Banco Canarias. That same day, President Chávez announced the liquidation of the last two and the transferal of them into the public financing system. The owner of this group of financial institutions, Ricardo Fernández Barrueco, is under arrest, according to local Disip authorities, but so far nobody has been able to confirm this.

On Friday, Finance Minister Ali Rodríguez announced another decision. Sudebán - the Superintendency of Banks - conducted a closed-door intervention with Central Banco Universal, Banco Real and Baninvest. The owners of these banks were Pedro Torres Ciliberto and Arné Chacón, brother of the Minister of Science, Technology and Industry, Jesse Chacón. Since Saturday afternoon Chacón, the banker, has been held by the Disip.

The last time former Central Bank Governor Domingo Felipe Maza Zavala spoke out was in September on the Venezuelan economy at large and the prospect of a bolivar devaluation. Today, Noticiero Digital is carrying excerpts of an interview he gave, presumably over the weekend, to Ismael Garcia on Globovision about the recent bank intervention situation. Following are what I consider the most telling quotes. Original is here.

The government and "factors in its sphere of influence", namely the insufficient oversight of the Superintendency of Banks (Sudeban), are responsible for the financial situation that has made necessary the current government takeover of banks.

There is "a crisis within the crisis" that affects the functioning of the economy whose effects could have been "predicted, for the most part." The most affected by the crisis are small and medium sized depositors and employees of the banks in question, estimated to be some 1 million people.

I was traveling over the weekend so I'm once again in catch-up mode, and thought I'd start with some additional ideas on this Honduras mess, with a particular eye toward the fallout for Brazil.

Bloggings by boz, who if you are not acquainted with by now I would suggest doing so, has spelled out what I consider as of now the most reasonable dissection of where Honduras goes from here all thing considered.

With that out of the way, what does this portend for Brazil's future as burgeoning regional big cheese?

First, there was the Brazilian Congressman Raul Jungmann of the Popular Socialist Party (PPS), the only Brazilian to be part of the international observers' team monitoring the elections in Honduras, commenting that Lula and Co. risk isolation from the international community if Brazil does not reconsider its stance. Furthermore:

"It's inevitable that the government changes position, maybe not now, but at the end Brazil will have to recognize that the electoral process in Honduras did effectively abide by democratic principles."

Just a shot in the chest was enough for a 16-year old to see his final days on this earth. Pedro Emilio Coll was walking home, near his high school in the Caracas municipality of Coche. Nobody saw anything, they only heard the gunshots and saw the body of the 16-year old boy on the ground. Some acquaintances approached his home and his father, mother and brothers confirmed that it was Pedro in a scene full of pain and tragedy, captured by photographer César Suárez. It is not an isolated case, every day the same thing happens in neighborhoods and residential areas throughout the metropolitan area. Everyone complains about low police presence and some blame the police as being complicit in the crimes. Source: Diario 2001

By Néstor - diario El Impulso:

The Government will bring together in a new public financial institution several private banks that were taken over in recent days because of irregularities, which means a nationalisation, President Chávez said on Sunday. On Monday, the government closed the Banco Confederado, Banco Bolivar, Banpro and Banco Canarias, which were being inspected for numerous irregularities. The liquidation of Banco Canarias and BanPro was subsequently ordered as a result of their solvency issues, while Confederado and Banco Bolivar will become part of the public financing system. Last Friday Central Banco Universal, Banco Real and the investment firm Baninvest were shut down so that a "closed door" inspection could be conducted in order to "rehabilitate" them. With the creation of Bicentennial Bank, the government would also be implicitly nationalising Central Banco Universal and Banco Real. At the moment, the government controls 25 percent of the banking sector and is the most powerful actor in the financial system since nationalising Banco de Venezuela earlier this year.

Two students in Valencia, Carabobo were urgently to the hospital with serious health problems as a result of 10 days on hunger strike Ulises Rojas and Yoselyn Leal were forced to leave the protest in Valencia. Maria Rios, a civil society representative, maintains a peaceful protest at the distributor El Trigal. They are demanding a visit from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Venezuela. Source: Diario Notitarde

By Weil - diario Tal Cual:

National Assembly Representative Ismael Garcia denounced before the Finance Committee the existence of a report from the Directorate General of Intelligence and Prevention Services, also known as the Disip. During the Globovision program "Aló Ciudadano", in which part of the report was discussed, the MP said that President Chávez can not claim to have been unaware of the alleged irregularities in these banks. The Disip-originated investigation infers, according to Garcia, that three of the four banks were self-financing with the intent of turning a profit from it. That is, according to the report that is now in the hands of the National Assembly's Finance Committee, the federal government would have to have known about the alleged irregularities since February 2009. Garcia stressed that President Chávez did know businessman Ricardo Fernandez Barrueco and noted that there are videos where Chavez spoke positively of the banker. Garcia said that Fernandez Barrueco now under arrest because he no longer serves the Bolivarian revolution's purpose and that the national government was able to prevent the tragedy with these banks as it knew of their situation since February.

The regional initiative to solicit more resources from the National Assembly was again knocked down. The committee composed of governors Henrique Capriles Radonski and Cesar Perez Vivas, and Mayors Antonio Ledezma, Carlos Ocariz and Gerardo Blyde, requested a budget for the region from Parliament and was severely assaulted by Chávez supporters upon leaving the Parliament building. Blyde and dissident Congressman Wilmer Azuaje suffered splinter wounds and injuries after being hit by blunt objects thrown by a group of government supporters. Only the governors and Mayor Ledezma managed to escape uninjured thanks to the intervention of the National Guard. "They met their objective," said Capriles Radonski on seeing a large mobilisation of forces reaching Plaza Morelos. Source: El Universal

By José Alberto - diario La Mañana:

From the United Socialist Party of Venezuela to the National Electoral Council. Most of the National Assembly allowed no room for surprises and selected Congresswoman Tania D'Amelio and former minister Socorro Hernández yesterday to be principal rectors of the CNE. Before becoming rectors, D'Amelio and Hernandez served in the PSUV. Nevertheless, as soon as their nominations to the CNE were formalised, they recused their prior memberships. Now, alongside Tibisay Lucena, Vicente Diaz and Sandra Oblitas, they will form leadership of the body. Germán Yépez, who was aspiring to repeat in office, remained on track. Congressman Mario Isea, leader of the socialist bloc, was asked to swear in Hernandez. Isea stressed "the technical ability, courage and commitment" shown by Hernandez "when she had to help rescue the electronic brain of PDVSA."

Ok well call it what you like, but I just cannot be bothered to reinvent the wheel on all this Honduras stuff, nor on this Uruguay stuff. So I asked instead some people whose essential mission it is to be masters of all things Latin and all things election-y and were certain to have people already well onto the case - that would be the Council of the Americas - and they came back with the following:

Roundup discussion of the election of Honduras' next President, Porfirio Diaz Lobo is here. Reuters factbox on Porfirio Diaz Lobo is here.

Roundup on José Mujica's victory in Uruguay's presidential election is here.

Quality reference: a timeline for the Honduras crisis is here.

Look, frankly, I cannot for the life of me understand what Zelaya was thinking by calling for a boycott of the elections as a form of protest. This sounds like something AMLO would do. Yeah yeah yeah I know, AMLO wasn't a sitting president, Honduras doesn't have a dedazo, etc., etc. All I'm saying is that what the two men have in common is they both provide telling lessons to leaders from the Latin Left on how not to conduct yourself in the modern era if you want to enjoy any sort of broad-based credibility. I'll no doubt be coming back to this again in due time.

Desperate and concerned, dozens of customers and workers crowded Banco Canarias and Banpro branches in the early hours hoping to determine the fate of their money upon the announcement the government would be taking over the institutions for alleged irregularities in its management. "Now what will happen to my money, whom do I ask? No one is managing it," some asked, while others were asked, "the savings and current accounts in the banks are frozen? Or is there a chance that someone is available to answer our questions?" Source: Diario 2001

By Bozzone - diario El Carabobeño:

"First they took away my property, now the bank where I keep my savings, what else do they want?"

"I guess that's it."

Russia is building arms plants in the Venezuelan state of Aragua to produce AK-103 automatic rifles and cartridges and is finalising contracts to send 53 military helicopters to the Andean nation, a project that would employ more than 1,500 workers, Moscow's envoy to Venezuela said Monday. In recent years, Venezuela has bought over $4 billion in weapons from Russia, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets. Critics say Caracas is fueling an arms race in Latin America. Chavez says he is modernising the military for defensive purposes. When Chavez he returned from his latest trip to Russia in September, he said Russia had agreed to lend Venezuela $2.2 billion to purchase 92 tanks and an S-300 missile system that can shoot down fighter jets and cruise missiles.

I'm generally a fan of the FT's Lex column. And today's column on Venezuelan banks and the administration's lenient attitude toward contract law and property rights doesn't wander too far from the reservation. I would simply point out however that it relies on certain assumptions that have thus far managed to remain suspended from realisation on the ground in Venezuela, the most basic of which is that two plus two, indeed, equals four.

As John Maynard Keynes once famously quipped, "the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent." In other words, there is quite a difference between knowing the way things should be versus knowing when things finally manifest as such. In the Venezuelan context, knowing how things should be is only half the battle. Primo Hugo, like it or not, is forcing the market to stay irrational for as long as absolutely possible.

The foreign investors in Venezuela that Lex refers to surely know, as Lex and many of the rest of us do as well, that sooner or later the Chávez administration must start behaving itself and understand that it cannot go around expropriating at will without post facto repercussions. How far can it push the envelope? If Primo Hugo continues his current practices, at some point foreign investors - and that means not just Westerners but also the Chinese, Russians, Indians - will at some point push back and demand some notion of predictability to be built into the negotiations. We all know how things should be. When will they be as they should? If I were a gambling man, which I occasionally am, I'd sooner take my money to the roulette wheel.

Let's hope I'm wrong.