Sep
9
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 9/9/11

In this week’s roundup… The Unites States adds four top-ranking Venezuelan officials to its list of drug kingpins at the same time that new WikiLeaks cables reveal more ties between the Chávez government and drug trafficking; Irish cardboard maker, Smurfit Kappa Group Plc, will not be compensated for its confiscated land; Chavez’s gold repatriation could further hurt Venezuela’s credit rating; a new poll shows that the majority of Venezuelans disapprove of the Chávez administration’s performance as concerns about his health persist and 12-month inflation rate hits 25.8% through August in Venezuela.

U.S. Sanctions Venezuela Officials, Citing Drug Ties, The Wall Street Journal (By José de Córdoba)

The U.S. added a Venezuelan general, two legislators and a top intelligence official to a kingpins list for their alleged involvement in drug dealing and arms trafficking with Colombian guerrillas, the U.S. Treasury said Thursday.

Caracas Cables: Drug Trafficking Venezuelan Airline? Senator Dodd’s Meeting With Chávez; Wild West Border Region, The Huffington Post

For the past year or so, I’ve been writing steadily about WikiLeaks and U.S. diplomatic correspondence between various American embassies in Latin America and the State Department in Washington, D.C.

Venezuela Says Smurfit Kappa Won’t Be Compensated for Forestry Seizure, Bloomberg

Venezuela won’t compensate Smurfit Kappa Group Plc (SKG) for the seizure of 12,000 hectares of forestry plantations the Irish cardboard maker controlled in the South American country, Agriculture Minister Juan Carlos Loyo said.

ANALYSIS-Venezuela gold repatriation may hurt credit rating, Reuters via TD Waterhouse

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s plan to repatriate the country’s external gold reserves could weaken its credit ratings, causing losses for bondholders while attracting a new wave of high-risk investors. The 57-year-old socialist leader announced last month he was nationalizing the country’s gold industry and bringing back some $11 billion in international bullion reserves that Venezuela holds in banks abroad.

Venezuela poll: Chavez’s popularity unchanged, The Associated Press via Forbes (Also posted on The Washington Post)

President Hugo Chavez’s approval ratings remain in the 50 percent range, but a majority of Venezuelans disapprove of the government’s performance on key issues such as crime, corruption and the economy, according to a poll released Wednesday.

UPDATE: Venezuela’s August CPI Up 2.2% On Month, The Wall Street Journal

12-month inflation rate hits 25.8% Through Last Month – Venezuela’s Inflation Rate Jumps 2.2% In August – Food Prices Continue to Drive Inflation

Chavez expects cancer recovery to stretch, AFP via Emirates 24/7

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday said he would continue his cancer recovery through the end of this year but pledged to be fit and in form to run for reelection in the new year.

 
Sep
8
2011
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The SDN list continues to grow with Venezuelan newcomers

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC), today placed four high-ranking Venezuelan officials on the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) under the Kingpin Act for providing assistance to the Colombian terrorist group known as FARC.  The list was created to designate individuals who the United States has identified as participating in activities related to drug trafficking or terrorism.  The four Venezuelan newcomers are:

- Cliver Alcala Cordones, Major General of the Fourth Armored Division of the Venezuelan Army;
- Freddy Bernal, a prominent political ally of President Chavez who is currently a congressman for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and former Mayor of the Libertador municipality in Caracas;
- Amilcar Figueroa ,a deputy from the PSUV to the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO)
- Ramon Madriz Moreno, officer for the Venezuelan Intelligence Service (SEBIN).

Adam Szubin, OFAC director, said in a statement that “Today’s action exposes four Venezuelan government officials as key facilitators of arms, security, training and other assistance in support of the FARC’s operations in Venezuela. OFAC will continue to aggressively target the FARC’s support structures in Venezuela and throughout the region,”

These top-ranking officials join at least half a dozen other prominent Venezuelans who have been added to the SDN list for participating in drug or terror related activities. The others include Walid Makled, a business tycoon accused of running a major narco-trafficking operation; General Hugo Carvajal, Chief officer of the Military Intelligence Offices   for the Bolivarian Armed Forces;  Henry Rangel Silva, Chief of Operational Strategic Command for the Bolivarian Armed Forces; and Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former minister of Interior Relations.

Inclusion on the list means that these individuals will have any assets they have in the U.S. frozen. It also prohibits U.S. citizens from dealing with the individuals on the list.

 
Sep
8
2011
Posted by
editor
Comments

The SDN list continues to grow with Venezuelan newcomers

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC), today placed four high-ranking Venezuelan officials on the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) under the Kingpin Act for providing assistance to the Colombian terrorist group known as FARC.  The list was created to designate individuals who the United States has identified as participating in activities related to drug trafficking or terrorism.  The four Venezuelan newcomers are:

- Cliver Alcala Cordones, Major General of the Fourth Armored Division of the Venezuelan Army;
- Freddy Bernal a prominent political ally of President Chavez who is currently a congressman for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and former Mayor of the Libertador municipality in Caracas;
- Amilcar Figueroa ,a deputy from the PSUV to the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO)
- Ramon Madriz Moreno, officer for the Venezuelan Intelligence Service (SEBIN).

Adam Szubin, OFAC director, said in a statement that “Today’s action exposes four Venezuelan government officials as key facilitators of arms, security, training and other assistance in support of the FARC’s operations in Venezuela. OFAC will continue to aggressively target the FARC’s support structures in Venezuela and throughout the region,”

These top-ranking officials join at least half a dozen other prominent Venezuelans who have been added to the SDN list for participating in drug or terror related activities. The others include Walid Makled, a business tycoon accused of running a major narco-trafficking operation; General Hugo Carvajal, Chief officer of the Military Intelligence Offices   for the Bolivarian Armed Forces;  Henry Rangel Silva, Chief of Operational Strategic Command for the Bolivarian Armed Forces; and Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former minister of Interior Relations.

Inclusion on the list means that these individuals will have any assets they have in the U.S. frozen. It also prohibits U.S. citizens from dealing with the individuals on the list.