In this week’s roundup… Despite returning to Cuba for more cancer tests, Hugo Chávez’s “repression machine” continues to run smoothly at home. Defying an international human rights court ruling, Venezuela’s Supreme Court blocked the presidential candidacy of a popular opposition leader; the Chávez administration also imposed a hefty fine on Venezuela’s last remaining privately-owned TV station; also this week, the United States accused Venezuela of not cooperating with the war on drugs.

Venezuela’s Chavez returns to Cuba to undergo more cancer-related tests, The Washington Post

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to Cuba on Sunday to undergo a series of medical tests to evaluate his cancer treatment. The president, who finished what he described as his fourth and final round of chemotherapy in Cuba last month, said he will be undergoing what he described as “rigorous examinations.”

Venezuelan Court Bars Opposition Contender, The Wall Street Journal

Venezuela’s Supreme Court defied a ruling by an international human-rights court and blocked a popular political rival of cancer-ridden President Hugo Chávez from running in next year’s presidential election.

Venezuela fines TV station for prison coverage, Bloomberg Businessweek

Venezuelan regulators fined a TV channel more than $2 million on Tuesday for its coverage of a deadly prison riot that became a political headache for President Hugo Chavez. The hefty fine against Globovision sharply raises the stakes in an intermittent conflict between the government and the country’s only remaining channel that takes a staunch anti-Chavez stance.

US says Venezuela not cooperating with drug war, AFP

Venezuela is not cooperating with the United States in its fight against illegal drug trafficking, US officials told a congressional panel Wednesday.