Venezuela

Stories 401 - 420 | << Prev   Next >>

Chavez Takes Over Intelligence Agencies

Extends domestic spying and requires citizens to be informers

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has ordered a draconian restructuring of Venezuela’s intelligence agencies, bringing them under his personal control, increasing domestic spying powers, and levying prison sentences on citizens who decline to cooperate, the New York Times reports. One justice on Venezuela’s top court expressed outrage, calling it “a...

US Navy Jet Buzzes Curacao, Venezuela Furious

Drug patrol jet violation 'deliberate,' officials claim

(Newser) - A US Navy drug-patrol plane violated Venuzuelan airspace Saturday night, exacerbating  the  already-tense relationship between the two nations. The S-3 Viking, used to spot and attack drug-running ships, flew over the line near the island of Curacao, reports CNN. The pilot realized he made a navigational error, contacted a Venezuela...

Portugal PM Gets Heat for Smoking on Plane

Was he just blowing smoke when he backed Portugal's cigarette ban?

(Newser) - Portugal banned smoking in public places five months ago but the country's prime minister appears to have forgotten the rule his own government enacted. Jose Socrates—known to be a smoker in private—stunned passengers and triggered an uproar when he blithely lit up in the first-class cabin of a...

Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler
 Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler 
May 12, 2008 10:26 AM CDT

Chavez Ties Merkel to Hitler

Venezuelan fires back after German chancellor advises neighbors to keep distance

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez fired back at Angela Merkel after the German leader suggested Latin American countries should be wary of ties to Venezuela. "She is from the German right," he said yesterday, "the same that supported Hitler, that supported fascism, that's the Chancellor of Germany."

Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel
 Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel 
May 9, 2008 8:46 AM CDT

Oil Breaks $125 a Barrel

And heads for $126 as weakening dollar opens investors' wallets

(Newser) - Oil climbed over $125 a barrel today, just ahead of the US driving season and propelled by investors jumping at a weaker dollar, the AP reports. Light, sweet crude for June rose to $125.98 on the New York Mercantile Exchange today, later dropping to $124.86 in Europe.

Rebel's Files Show Chávez Aided FARC

Laptops point to arms deals, training accords with Colombian rebels

(Newser) - A cache of computer files found on a dead Colombian guerrilla leader's laptops implicates Hugo Chávez in arms deals with the FARC rebels. The Wall Street Journal reports that Colombian and American intelligence agencies, which came into possession of about 100 files, have no doubt of their authenticity. Both...

Chavez Bans Simpsons, Brings in Baywatch Babes

Chavez takes unsuitable cartoon off air, tells kids to watch 'Baywatch' instead

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has bumped pudgy Homer Simpson from Venezuela's airwaves, reports the Times of London, opting instead for the decidedly more fit and furry David Hasselhoff. The dysfunctional Simpsons were deemed "inappropriate" for kiddies watching the morning TV lineup, but were replaced with the entirely, er, wholesome "Baywatch...

Venezuela Tried to Arm FARC, Colombia Says

Unverified docs reveal activities of Colombian rebels

(Newser) - Colombian officials claim to have computer files captured from its FARC rebels that indicate Venezuela sold arms to the terrorist group, the New York Times reports. If Interpol verifies the files, they would also suggest links between FARC and Ecuador’s government and provide insight into the rebel organization. Colombia...

Rice Snubs Argentina in Trip South
Rice Snubs Argentina in
Trip South
Mar 13, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

Rice Snubs Argentina in Trip South

Relations grow icier as Kirchner drifts toward Chavez

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice has embarked on a visit to Brazil and Chile, but the secretary of State won’t be stopping in neighboring Argentina, a sign of ever-frostier relations. “The United States is clearly snubbing Argentina,” one expert tells the New York Times. New Argentine president Cristina Fernández...

Recovered Data Links Venezuela to FARC Rebels

US, studying evidence, won't yet call Chavez a terror sponsor

(Newser) - Possible links between Hugo Chavez’ Venezuelan government and the Colombian FARC guerrilla group concern Washington, but US officials aren't yet saying the nation will be declared a state sponsor of terrorism, Reuters reports. Colombia said computers seized in a March 1 raid on a FARC base in Ecuador contain evidence...

Venezuelan Diplomats to Return to Colombia

Ecuador not ready to reconcile after standoff

(Newser) - Venezuela will return its diplomats to Colombia after last week’s border crisis was largely resolved at a regional summit. Ecuadorean diplomats say it will take longer for them to return, reports the BBC. Colombian forces killed an important rebel leader inside Ecuador last week, provoking a bristling regional standoff.

South American Crisis Ends With Handshakes

After spat over raid, Colombia, Ecuador make nice with promises for future

(Newser) - The threat of war involving Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela was diffused today with a bevy of handshakes televised all over Latin America, Reuters reports. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his opposite number, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, reached an agreement on combating insurgents in the future; the Colombian military's killing of...

Venezuela Adds Firepower on Colombian Border

Tanks, aircraft deployed as standoff escalates

(Newser) - Venezuela deployed tanks to the Colombian border, Reuters reports, as Latin American tensions remained high enough that Hugo Chavez warned of an Andean war. Though Colombia refused to send reinforcements to its border, the mobilization of heavy artillery, including support from air and sea forces, is the first in the...

Ecuador Wants Apology on FARC; US Backs Bogota

Bush to Colombia: We're with you

(Newser) - Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is in Brazil today, pushing for an apology from Colombia for its incursion into Ecuador to attack FARC guerrillas Saturday. While most Latin American nations, including Brazil, have condemned the cross-border attack, the White House yesterday unequivocally backed Colombia in the rapidly escalating crisis. Correa heads...

Colombia: FARC Was After Uranium
Colombia:
FARC Was
After Uranium
Mar 4, 2008 11:35 AM CST

Colombia: FARC Was After Uranium

Ecuador cuts ties, says slain rebel leader was key in hostage deal

(Newser) - Colombia has accused Ecuador and Venezuela of cooperating with FARC guerrillas who were trying to buy uranium, the BBC reports, even as Ecuador cut ties with Colombia and Venezuela expelled its diplomats. “FARC is taking big steps in the world of terrorism to become a global aggressor,” said...

Crisis Deepens as Colombia Links Ecuador to FARC

Ecuador, Venezuela send troops to Colombian borders

(Newser) - The tension in Latin America deepened last night as a Colombian general charged that Ecuador’s president had ties to a FARC leader killed by Colombian forces Saturday. Ecuador and Venezuela have both mobilized troops to their borders in response to the raid, which they claim took place on Ecuadorean...

Chavez Sends Troops to Colombian Border

Venezuelan prez angry after rebel is killed

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez sent thousands of Venezuelan troops to the Colombian border today after Colombia killed a FARC rebel leader, CNN reports. Chavez accused Colombia of being a US puppet and said Ecuador's border was violated in the attack. "We have to liberate Colombia," said Chavez, who is linked...

FARC Rebels Free 4 Hostages
FARC Rebels Free 4 Hostages
Feb 27, 2008 2:56 PM CST

FARC Rebels Free 4 Hostages

Prisoners were politicians, who had been held for more than 6 years

(Newser) - Colombian FARC rebels today set free four former Colombian legislators who had been held hostage for more than six years. The deal was brokered by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and three of the four will fly to Caracas to speak with him. The fourth is in poor health and may...

No Survivors in Venezuela Crash
No Survivors in Venezuela Crash
Feb 22, 2008 9:47 AM CST

No Survivors in Venezuela Crash

Wreckage of 46-passenger plane found

(Newser) - Search helicopters today found what was left of the Venezuelan passenger plane that crashed yesterday with 46 people aboard. No survivors were found in the wreckage, which was nestled among the Andes mountains at an altitude of 13,000 feet, the AP reports. The plane crashed into the mountain head-first,...

Plane Crashes in Venezuela; 46 Aboard

Caracas-bound turboprop went missing after takeoff; no word on casualties

(Newser) - A plane crashed in western Venezuela with 46 people aboard today, AFP reports. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the airliner soon after it took off from the Andean city of Merida bound for Caracas. People in the mountainous Coyado del Condor region reported seeing a plane go down. Merida's...

Stories 401 - 420 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser