Dear British Reporters and Citizens of the Commonwealth:
You may be here trying to find the meaning of the word “cipote” where our esteemed President sent your Prime Minister today. In the heat of the moment I translated the word “cipote” as hell. This was an oversimplification on my part. The truth is that the word “cipote” means “carajo”, which is not exactly hell. The purpose of this note is to guide you into understanding where exactly Hugo Chavez wants your Prime Minsiter to go and whether this represents a threat to him or your country.
The word hell carries some religious connotations. It is the place where your soul goes to for eternal punishment when you leave this world. “Cipote” and “Carajo” carry no such connotation. First of all, it has nothing to with with religion or any organized group, it simply represents a very personal position on the part of the person sending you there. It is not eternal either, someone can be very upset and send you there, but regret it later and bring you back.
“El Cipote” and its relative “el carajo” represent something more temporary, a mysterious sort of place, which must not be very nice and is so far away that you want to send anyone you really dislike there. According to the Royal Academy of the Spanish language to send you to “el carajo” means to reject you with scorn, with disdain, with insolence. So it is not nice of the sender to wish you there.
Both words “carajo” and “cipote” are old, but in some sense they are very modern. You see, while it is done with disdain, in the end it is a “virtual” wish that is never carried out. It is nasty, it is a snub, a slight, but it is all done figuratively speaking anyway. In fact, look at us Venezuelans. Hugo Chavez has sent us, over half of the Venezuelan population to “el carajo” and “el cipote” at one time or another during the last seven years. But we are all mostly still here, wondering who will be next. In fact it is amazing how many of his own supporters he has sent our way, but we really don’t want some of them. In fact, we don’t like everyone in El Cipote, ex-Chavistas or opposition, but it is virtual anyway.
Today on the other hand, we are proud of having someone of the intelligence and eloquence of Mr. Blair joining us in el cipote. We are sure it will improve this virtual neighborhood and we are honored by his company.
Finally, maybe looking up what cipote and carajo mean, will teach you something about Venezuela and you may realize that we are not in el cipote after all, although our leader may appear to make it so.
With warm regards
The Devil from el cipote
The Devil's Excrement 
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