By Courtney Costello-Talk Radio News Service

During a members’ briefing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee hosted by Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehitnen (R-Fl.), Venezuelan opposition governors decried what they described as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s attempt to gain more power and strip the Venezuelan people of their democratic rights.

“It is sad that many powers that be in this region are more concerned with the welfare of tyrants than the will and democratic rights of the people who are oppressed,” said Ros-Lehtinen.

The Republican Representatives chided Chavez for his lenient handling of drug trafficking in Venezuela, the kidnappings of natives and tourists, and the lack of meaningful investigations from his administration.

The mayor and governors stated that their mission was to use common democratic values to undermine Chavez.

Governor of Zulia State, Pablo Perez Alvarez and Governor of Tachira State, Cesar Perez Vivas were the two Venezuelan governors in attendance.

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

Human Rights Attorney Gonzalo Himiob Santome exposed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s judicial corruption at a press conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

“Several cases… have proved that the judicial system in Venezuela has been deteriorating in order to be used as a weapon for persecution and intimidation of the opposition and the political dissidents,” Himiob said.

Himiob was in Washington D.C to introduce a book he and attorneys Robert Amsterdam and Antonio Rosich wrote that documents the case of Eligio Cedeno, a victim of repeated human rights violations by the Venezuelan government.

According to Himiob, “In common crime, from 306, 000 cases reviewed by the general attorney’s office on 2008, only 8000 cases were submitted to formal accusation. That led us to a conclusion that there is a 97% impunity rate of common crimes.” Himiob added that “If the judicial system is not working for persecuting the criminals, what are they doing?”

“In this case, it’s very clear that it doesn’t matter that they are guilty or not. The thing is [they] use the procedures themselves as a punishment… no matter if [the accused] are innocent or not. They are showing that they can submit you to a trial and they can hold you in prison without any respect to the regulations, internal and international regulations. just because they want to make you feel their power over you,” Himiob added.

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

Latin American experts gathered in Washington on Thursday to deplore the blatant lack of democracy that currently exists in Latin America, magnified by the recent coup in Honduras.

Some of those who testified, such as Jim Swigert, Senior Associate and Regional Director of Latin America and Caribbean Programs at the National Democratic Institute, criticized the military for its forceful action, explaining that “I think those who decided to turn to the use of force to resolve the political dispute only exacerbate the situation [because] the military was engaged in the political process as the arbiter, as the enforcer.”

Adolfo Franco, Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at the Direct Selling Association, said that despite the international community condemning the coup, the world should also know that ousted President Manuel Zelaya should bear much responsibility for the crisis.

Franco defended the military’s role, saying “It [the referendum proposed by Zelaya] wasn’t against the will of the legislator, it was a violation of the Constitution of Honduras as that judicial body, the Supreme Court which is empowered to make those decisions, rendered a correct decision and issued a warrant for his arrest.”

Zelaya was forced out of power by military forces in Honduras after the former President scheduled a vote in late June asking the population whether a constituent assembly should re-write the Honduran Constitution. Zelaya declared that the constitution’s imperfections were the source of current national social issues.

Franco clarified that the events that occurred in Honduras should be no surprise as Honduras has been following the same pattern as its left wing homologues in the region.

“The model now in Latin America is don’t do coups; [instead] you get elected and you dismantle systematically democracy,” said Franco, adding that Zelaya had been an “increasingly anti-democratic president trying to use the mechanisms of democracy to destroy those [democratic] institutions and to perpetuate himself to power.”

By Celia Canon-Talk Radio News Service

On Tuesday, experts from the Inter-American Dialogue warned that Honduras would continue to be unstable as long as ousted President Manuel Zelaya was not allowed back into the country.

“Zelaya is the elected President… If things degenerate further you won’t have good elections,” said Peter Hakim, President of Inter-American dialogue.

Hakim advised the international community to pursue “open negotiations involving [the] interim government.” Once an agreement is reached among the global community, Hakim advised Honduras to hold an election but warned that the quality of these elections depends on the stability of the country.

On June 29th, the Honduran military led a coup to overthrow President Manuel Zelaya. Armed forces intervened hours before a national referendum was due to take place to determine whether the constitution could be modified to allow the President to assume a second term, rather than the single term outlined in the country’s constitution. Zelaya was replaced by interim-President Roberto Micheletti.

Though the future of Honduras is nothing short of uncertain, many actors, including the international body Organization of American States, have gotten involved in the reestablishment of peace and stability in the Central American country.

“The OAS could take a strong position but then [it could be better to] not put the de facto Honduran government against the wall,” Hakim said

Genaro Arriagada, a Senior Fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, added that besides the obvious necessary changes that should be brought to the Honduran government and constitution, further changes should involve the OAS 2001 democratic charter which was adopted by member states in order to ensure the presence of democratic institutions in all countries of the Americas.

The Charter needs to be reconsidered, explained Arriagada, “because it gives protection to the government but not to the opposition to the government.”

Human rights attorney Robert Amsterdam gives a brief summary of what caused Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, to be overthrown by the military. Amsterdam attributes the cause to fundamental differences between the “Chavez line” who favor “constitutional editing” and the “institutional elite” who do not believe that changing the constitution should be decided through a referedum. (0:30)

 

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Attorney Robert Amsterdam describes recently overthrown Honduran president Manuel Zelaya’s last term in power. In particular, Amsterdam cites the President’s surprising switch from his Liberal party to a Chavista school of thought; a change that may have brought Venezuela and Honduras closer, and could justify President Hugo Chavez’s recent declaration that he may intervene militarily in Honduras. (0:29)

 

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When asked what he believes President Barack Obama’s reaction to the military overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya should be, human rights attorney Robert Amsterdam insists that Obama should have “no major role” in the situation. Amsterdam says Obama will keep his distance because of the instability of the situation. (0:37)

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Sergio Bendixen, President of Bendixen and Associates; Dr Cynthia McClintock, Professor of political science and international affairs, and director of the Latin America and Hemispheric Studies Program at George Washington University, Eric Farnsworth, Vice-president of the Council of Americas and Ray Walser, senior policy analyst for Latin America in The Heritage Foundation’s Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy studies, gave testimonies today before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

The witnesses created a lot of attention, with people lining up outside to hear the testimonies on “U.S. Policy Toward Latin America in 2009 and Beyond”.

Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY), said: “You can tell by the way the room is filled today the interest in the Western Hemisphere”.

Subcommittee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) opened the hearing by welcoming Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL) as the committee’s new Ranking Member and then outlined some positive steps he would like the Obama administration to pursue.

“First and foremost, I believe that President Obama’s participation in April’s Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago would send an extremely positive message to the heads of the state from Latin America, to the Caribbean. Second, as Chairman Berman moves forward with foreign aid reform and the Obama administration prepares its FY 2010 budget, it is essential that we increase funding for countries in the Western Hemisphere…Third, cooperation between the US and Brazil significantly expanded during the Bush Administration. This relationship needs to be further deepened under President Obama…Fourth, we must continue to support our friends in Mexico through the Merida Initiative…Fifth, I would urge President Obama to focus on Ecuador and Paraguay…and sixth, we must continue to support disaster recovery efforts in Haiti”, Engel said.

Chairman Engel then went on to discuss the attacks in a synagogue in Caracus, Venezuela.

“On Monday, I sent a letter, along with 19 of my colleagues, to President Chavez urging him to end the bullying and harassment of the Jewish community in Venezuela and to extend the community the robust protection it deserves in light of the threats it faces. The Venezuelan government must quickly change its tune with regard to the country’s Jewish community”.

Dr McClintock said: “In Lationobarometer surveys between 2000 and 2005, approval ratings of the United States fell by more than 20 points in Ecuador, Chile, Brazil and Bolivia; more than 30 points in Mexico and Uruguay; and more than 40 points in Argentina, Paraguay, and Venezuela”.

Ray Walser commented on America’s dependence on the oil industry, with Congressman Ron Klein (D-FL) backing up his argument and stated that America needs to stop “buying oil from a country {Venezuela} that is hostile to our interests”.

The committee also discussed the American economy and its ability to assist Latin American countries. Sergio Bendixen said: “We need to be realistic. Not only about what our friends want but what Latin America wants…we have economic limitations”.

Other issues the committee discussed were the desires from the Obama administration, the April 2009 summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, human rights in Cuba, immigration, drugs control and free trade.

Eric Farnsworth suggested in his testimony that Brazil and Mexico should be allowed to join the G8. “Listening to Latin America is important…the rest of the hemisphere also has good ideas”.

Chairman Engel said: “We cannot ignore our own backyard”.

The committee hearing ended after 120 minutes as Congress was called to vote.

Senator John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) presidential campaign held a conference call on the one-year anniversary of Senator Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) declaration that he would hold diplomatic meetings with various dictators “without preconditions” once he becomes President. (more…)

 

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By Ellen Ratner

As I sit here writing this column from the oil rich Middle East, I am reflecting on the political oil wars that we are hearing so much about from President Bush, Congress and the presidential candidates. Yet, no matter our favorite party, branch of government or candidate, the whole story is not being told.

During the last week in April, there were press briefings galore in Congress with words and accusations flying everywhere. The price of oil is killing our economy, small airlines are folding and larger ones are laying off employees or trying to merge. Trucks and their drivers are parading around the Capitol on a daily basis, honking horns and making it clear that it is difficult to survive with the gas prices so high.

The Democrats want the president to stop adding to the strategic oil reserve, which is 97 percent full. So far the president has not budged. The Democrats figure that it could save Americans 5 to 24 cents per gallon. Their plan put forward in four congressional bills includes holding OPEC accountable for price fixing (HR 2264), cracking down on gas price gouging (HR 1252), repealing subsidies to oil companies, investing in renewables (HR 5351) and developing new mileage standards (HR 6).

(more…)