November 16, 2010 During his weekly radio and TV show, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez declared that recent expropriations of residential complexes were “special” and that developers would not be compensated by the government. The Chávez government has a poor record of compensating the owners of expropriated properties, and those owners have little legal recourse to challenge the government. According to a May report by prominent Caracas-based economic consulting firm, Ecoanalítica, the costs of the nationalizations…
Wall Street Journal November 16, 2010 CARACAS, Venezuela—President Hugo Chávez said he will on Tuesday promote to the rank of “General in Chief” a controversial top general who is on a U.S. blacklist for alleged drugs and arms trafficking. The general, Henry Rangel Silva, recently said the army wouldn’t accept anyone but Mr. Chávez as president even if he were to lose a re-election bid in 2012. Mr. Chávez, speaking Sunday on his weekly “Hello,…
November 12, 2010 In most democracies, when a military leader threatens a coup d’etat more often than not he will find himself in the unemployment line. Not in Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela. Witness the events that have led the headlines in Venezuela this week. Venezuelan General Henry Rangel Silva, head of the National Strategic Operational Command , who has been accused by the United States of helping Colombian guerrillas smuggle cocaine, stated this week that if…