In this week’s roundup…Opposition leader Oswaldo Álvarez Paz pays a high price for publicly criticizing the Chávez Administration; the Venezuelan president may need chemotherapy to treat his cancer, yet his illness has not slowed down his implementation of harmful economic polices such as price controls; the shortcomings of the Venezuelan prison system are exposed as the Rodeo riots come to an end; and experts continue to expose the ties between Caracas and terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.
Chávez Foe Convicted Over Remarks, The Wall Street Journal
A Venezuelan statesman and possible challenger to Hugo Chávez’s presidential re-election bid was convicted of publicly saying the country has turned into a drug-trafficking center, in what human-rights groups say is a government tactic to silence its foes through the country’s judiciary.
Chavez May Require Chemotherapy, Says Cancer Is No Longer a Death Sentence, Bloomberg
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he may need to receive chemotherapy or radiation treatment after undergoing surgery in Cuba last month to remove a cancerous tumor he described as “almost like a baseball.”
Venezuela to Approve Price Regulation Laws Today, Chavez Says, Bloomberg
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez will approve a law to regulate prices and profit margins at a cabinet meeting today, Chavez said on his Twitter account. Finance Minister Jorge Giordani said on May 3 that the government was working to develop a national pricing commission to regulate prices and profit margins in order to combat inflation.
The fifth circle of hell, The Economist
An inmates’ mutiny highlights violence and overcrowding
On June 12th a visiting day at the El Rodeo jail complex outside Caracas turned into a shoot-out between gangs. In the firefight 27 people reportedly died, and over 70 were injured. Three more were killed when National Guard troops retook the jail’s Rodeo I unit, where they found assault rifles, hand grenades, a submachine-gun and 5,000 rounds of ammunition.
Hezbollah and Iran south of the U.S. border, some experts say, The Daily Caller
While most American attention to Hezbollah has focused on the Middle East, the militant Islamic group with ties to Iran has been gaining a strong foothold in Latin America, experts said at a House hearing.
“I believe the Hezbollah and Iranian presence in Latin America constitutes a clear threat to the security of the U.S. homeland,” Roger Noriega, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Thursday in front of the House Homeland Security Committee. “They have the motivation, and they have been steadily increasing their capacity to act.”