This week: As opposition candidate Henrique Capriles calls for President Chávez to be more open about his health, Chávez names the members of “Council of State,” a body created in 1999 but not set up until now, which some analysts say is really a transitional body to transfer power to Chávez’s successor. The council’s first task: withdrawing Venezuela from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Days later, Venezuela’s foreign minister suggests that Latin American nations should create a regional human rights commission that excludes the United States. Meanwhile, Chávez’s government continues to establish oil ties with allied nations; the China/Venezuela joint refinery is set to open in 2014, and Bloomberg reports that Venezuela and Iran have reached a $130 million agreement to build a new oil-platform in Venezuela. As violence erupts at a Caracas prison, inflation continues to plague the Venezuelan economy.
Venezuela says Latin America should create human rights commission, exclude United States, The Washington Post
Venezuela’s top diplomat said Thursday that Latin American nations should create a regional human rights commission that excludes the United States as a means of preventing Washington from meddling in their domestic affairs.
Capriles Calls for Chavez to Be More Forthcoming on His Health, Business Week
Hugo Chavez’s opponent in October’s presidential election has called on the Venezuelan leader to be more transparent about the state of his health and his battle with cancer. “I see lots of uncertainty on the side of the government’s followers,” Miranda state Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski said today in comments broadcast on television network Globovision.
Ailing Chavez activates Venezuela political council, AFP
President Hugo Chavez, in Cuba for cancer treatment, named key members of a Council of State Wednesday led by his vice president, which some analysts see as a potential transitional body.
Venezuela: say hello to the junta, The Financial Times
Is Venezuela’s government preparing for transition? In the past few weeks Hugo Chávez, the president, has gone from denial about the lethality of his cancer to praying for a bit more life. On Wednesday night he appointed a Council of State, a consultative body created by the 1999 constitution but not set up until now. It’s first task? To withdraw Venezuela as quickly as possible from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, run by the Organisation of American States.
CNPC, Venezuela joint refinery set for 2014 opening, China Daily
China National Petroleum Corp said on Wednesday that its Guangdong-based mega joint refinery with Venezuelan partner Petroleos de Venezuela SA started construction last Friday and is set to open by the end of 2014.
Iran to Build Oil Facility in Venezuela, Tehran Times Says, Bloomberg
Iran and Venezuela signed an agreement valued at $130 million to build an oil-platform facility in the South American country, Tehran Times reported, citing an Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Co. official.
Chavez health problems plunge Venezuela’s future into doubt, CNN
Uncertainty rules in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez battles a cancer some believe has turned fatal. As Chavez shuttles between Venezuela and Cuba, where he is receiving treatment for a type of cancer he has declined to identify, speculation grows whether he’ll be in shape to campaign for the Oct. 7 presidential election.
Hugo Chávez’s agony, The Miami Herald
President Hugo Chávez’s Cuban doctors have already told him that he will most likely not be alive by October’s elections. It’s not a certainty but a statistical estimate.
Troops, inmates face off at Venezuela prison after official says escape prevented with gunfire, The Washington Post
Venezuelan troops and police stood guard outside a prison in Caracas on Monday after gunfire erupted during what an official said was the second escape attempt in three days.
Venezuela: when a drop in inflation is not a drop, The Financial Times
After falling for five straight months, with April figures showing the slowest increase in prices in the last four years, Venezuela’s economic officials seemed to suggest on Thursday that they were finally beginning to get inflation under control. It would be nice if that were the case. But it hardly seems likely.
PEDRO MENDOZA Venezuela’s top diplomat said Thursday that Latin American nations should create a regional human rights commission that excludes the United States as a means of preventing Washington from meddling in their domestic affairs.Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said the commission should be created by regional groups such as the ALBA bloc created by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the UNASUR grouping of South American nations and CELAC, an organization comprising 33 countries including Cuba.”We are hoping that through UNASUR, through CELAC, we can quickly … create organizations linked to the issue of human rights,” Maduro said.Maduro mentioned the proposal during a meeting of South American diplomats, defense ministers and security officials in Colombia’s coastal city of Cartagena. It was not formally discussed during the meeting.Chavez said Monday that his government should pull out of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, saying U.S. officials hold sway over it. The president accused the U.S. government of using the commission to attack his socialist-oriented government.Venezuelan officials are analyzing the proposal to leave the Washington-based commission, Chavez said.Chavez’s remarks drew criticism from Venezuelan human rights activists, the president’s political opponents and the U.S. government.The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been strongly critical of the human rights situation in Venezuela during recent years.