The Devil's Excrement

Protesters from the organization Reporters without borders were beaten up by Cuban Embassy officials while they were protesting the imprisonment of twenty six journalists in that island. I guess the Cubans keep making friends all over the world, including Caracas with thei tolerance and friendly gestures. Once you are in that page you should read the report on Venezuela entitled: “Caught between an authoritarian President and intolerant media”

The US Government used fairly strong wording today warning the Chávez administration that the delay in signing the agreement with the opposition is a “test” of Chavez’ committment to democratic principles. “Unfortunately, President Hugo Chavez refused to sign the agreements without modifying them” said Curtis Struble Assistant Secretary of the State Department for Latin America. The time has come to give a demonstration of good faith in the negotiations, the time has come for President Chávez to sign the agreement as is” added Struble.

In what was clearly a coordinated effort, which follows last weeks “activism” by US Ambassador to Venezuela Shapiro, the special White House envoy for Latin America, Otto Reich, also added his two cents saying: “The Interamerican community is vigilant. The democratic opposition has been following the rules, President Chávez has to follow them too, rules that were written by him”. Reich also said:”The first test will be if President Chávez decides to respect or not the agreements of April 11th or if he chooses to postpone or maneuver to raise doubts about the possibility of a just referendum taking place”. Reich also said: “The United States hopes that he and his political sympathizers behave in a manner consistent with the Bolivarian Constitution of Venezuela”

As reported here, the Chavez administration balked at signing the agreement reached and announced by the OAS on April 11^th., reportedly because Chavez’ MVR party did not agree with it. The true reason was that the agreement did not please the President himself once he learned the details of what had been agreed to. In particular, the agreement calls for international supervision of elections and the disarming of the population as well as a 90 day limit for the referendum to take place once the opposition has handed it the signed petitions with the required 2.2 million signatures.

The US has clearly decided not to speak softly on this issue and has clearly gone on the offensive. Separately, today after a meeting with the Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Chilean Foreign Minister announced that a meeting of the “Friends” of Venezuela will happen next week, most likely in Caracas. A local newspaper, also reported that Brazil’s President Lula da Silva also pressured Chavez during his visit to that country last weekend to sign the agreement.

While I am glad the Group of Friends is applying pressure to the Chavez administration, I think that it will achieve little but pressure the Chavez administration into publicly accepting that there will not be a referendum in Venezuela, even if it is in Chavez’  Constitution. He just never thought that his popularity would be as low as it has become and thus is trying to avoid holding it.

Guillermo sends these wonderful shots of live corrution in the Vth. Republic (no charge!). These are pictures of a boat which belongs to the Coast Guard unit of the National Guard being used for the recreation and enjoyment of their friends and family or whatever, during the Easter week holidays. Not only are civilians enjoying the boat, but obviously the boats are not doing what they are supposed to be in a country where smuggling  is rampant, all at taxpayers expense. Such a nice and corrupt revolution! Thanks Guillermo!

Curious how there is absolutely nothing about last night’s fire, which shut down the country’s biggest refinery, in the Venezuelan media and I have to read the Wall Street Journal to learn about it (from Dow Jones):

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

CARACAS — A fire has shut down one of the four hydrodesulphurization units at Venezuela’s giant 940,000 barrel-a-day Paraguana refinery complex, a refinery spokesman said Sunday.

The 84,000 b/d unit is expected to be back online within three weeks, the spokesman added. “Some repairs are needed, but the loss in output is easily offset by three other hydrodesulphurization units at the complex,” the spokesman said.

The fire broke out at midnight Saturday in the Amuay refinery, which is linked with the Cardon refinery. The two refineries make up the Paraguana complex.

No injuries were reported. “The fire remained limited to one unit, other areas have not been affected,” plant manager Ivan Hernandez was quoted as saying on PdVSA’s Web site Sunday. Hernandez couldn’t be reached for additional comment.

Separately, the refinery spokesman said the 60,000 b/d flexicoker unit was restarted last Friday. The flexicoker was the last unit out of order after a two-month opposition strike against President Hugo Chavez crippled company operations in December and January.

State oil firm PDVSA declared force majeure on exports of crude and gasoline shortly after the strike began Dec. 2 as thousands of employees stayed away from their jobs. The stoppage fizzled out in early February and Venezuela’s oil production has been restored to prestrike levels of around 3.2 million b/d.

Also, three refinery workers at a unit of the petrochemical complex of Jose in western Venezuela were seriously injured after an explosion Saturday, local media reported Sunday. No details were available.

PdVSA has been struggling to get its 1.3 million b/d refinery system back online. PdVSA lifted the final force majeure for exports of gasoline last week.

The Cuban Ambassador to Venezuela has been in the news quite a bit in the last few days. First he gave an interview in local paper El Nacional yesterday in which he accused the US Ambassador of intromission in Venezuelan affairs with his repeated statements. The US Embassy replied immediately by saying that the Ambassador’s statements were “boring and laughable”and that the US had a policy towards Venezuela and was part of the group of friends. (which Cuba is not). He further accused the Cuban Government of trying to distract attention from the human right violations taking place in Cuba.

 Additionally, there was a demonstration yesterday in front of Cuba’s Embassy to protest the shooting of the three people that hijacked the ferry as well as the numerous detentions and sentencing of opposition figures. Pro-Chavez groups part of the Bolivarian Circles showed up and there was stone throwing and aggressions between the two groups. The group protesting had a permit, while the pro-Chavez group did not. The Mayor of then district where the Embassy is accused the Cuban Ambassador of being responsible for the incidents saying that he called the Bolivarian Circles to come to the Embassy and defend it. Meanwhile, the Cuban Ambassador blamed the Mayor for allowing these demosntrations to take place and saying he had intelligence that the Embassy was going to be attacked. One opposition demonstrator was injured.

On January 20th. I made this post in which a guy on top of a jeep is showing shooting at the opposition demonstration in the town of Charallave:

The next day I showed these pictures of men with guns also shooting at the crowd:

One person died that day and 29 were injured by bullets, all part of the opposition march. A few days later, a judge ordered the guy on top of the jeep, its driver and one of the gunmen arrested. I just saw on TV the judge, whose name I believe is Pedro Natera, explaining that he was removed by the Government from his position in retaliation for this decision and that the three orders of arrest have been cancelled. All three men were activists of Chavez’ MVR party. Such is justice in the Chávez revolution.

After six months of negotiations an agreement was reached between the Government and the oposition and was to be signed on Tuesday. Today, the Government in its most cynical statement to date said the agrrement never existed and its signing was never contemplated. The agreement was announced on April 11th by Cesar Gaviria’s second in command at the OAS and that same day Gaviria himself hailed the agreement from New York. A very somber Gaviria said today there was no signing and for now, all conversations are suspended. Once again the Chavez administration twists the truth and shows that Chavez and his partisans are a bunch of liars, thiefs and an unethical bunch.

A year ago, Hugo Chavez was invited to speak at the International Human Rights Seminar at Oxford University. To me this sounded like a true oxymoron and led to a section in my page called the Requena Files, which contains the exchange between Jaime Requena and that seminar. Today the oxymoronic nature of that invitation was confirmed when the Venezuelan Government rejected the resolution at the OAS (Tal Cual page 3) backing Human Rights and democratic freedom in the island. The Venezuelan Ambassador to the OAS said that this was making the issue “political” and that these issues shoud be addressed at the Interamerican Human Rights Commission. Interestingly enough that same body has repeatedly found the Venezuelan Government violates human rights and the right of free speech and the Chavez Government has always disregarded its conclusions. Definitely a new level for the concept of oxymoron and the stupidity of the foreign left.

From today’s Tal Cual newspaper by Weil, pure genius

Article in today’s Wall Streert Journal (need subscription) related to what I wrote last night about the packaging being used in propaganda for Chavez and the Government and how the Government is competing with the private sector. (Except that the private sector has yet to be given a dollar in the 90 days since exchange controls were imposed). The advisors for the Chavez Government are none other than the same people that manage food provisions in Cuba, where there are rationing cards and people don’t eat complete meals. What a great example to follow!. Some quotes from the article:

The government’s new “Special Plan for Sovereignty and Food Security” aims to ensure the food supply “does not go back ever to being subordinated to private interests,” Mr. Chavez said in a radio address.

Government buyers, assisted by brokers from the Cuban state company, Alimport, have ordered shiploads of food products, bypassing private-sector companies that in recent years bought and distributed all imported food, about 70% of everything Venezuela consumes.

Cubans are helping Venezuela set up its new food-supply system, but so are experts from the U.S., Spain and Colombia, said Oswaldo Carnevali, Venezuela’s vice minister of agriculture and land. He said the government seeks to reclaim “an empty space” in the food-distribution system that has left about 30% of the population unable to afford a 2,400-calorie daily diet.

On the last quote, I can only add that Chavez eliminated all social assistance programs when he became President, so who is he blaming?