Published on 20 April 2016 by teleSUR English

ecuador help

As the number of victims and injured keeps rising on the coast of Ecuador after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Saturday night and a series of strong aftershocks, the government has been organizing local and regional support. But with the devastating consequences of the earthquake, any help is welcomed.

The authorities have put in place a national and international relief effort. The National Assembly posted on Twitter a list of useful items to send to the devastated areas, such as first aid medicine, canned food, bottles of water, mattresses, tents, and mosquito nets.

Now those who wish to help from outside of Ecuador can donate through a national bank account set up by the government for reconstruction efforts.

Published on 13 Aril 2016 by teleSUR English

chavez assassination

According to the Iawyer and journalist, "there is a very strong possibility that President Chavez was assassinated."

Renowned journalist Eva Golinger spoke to teleSUR about the alleged assassination of Hugo Chavez.

Do you think that Hugo Chavez was murdered and, if so, who do you think might have been involved?

I believe there is a very strong possibility that President Chavez was assassinated. There were notorious and documented assassination attempts against him throughout his presidency.

Most notable was the April 11, 2002 coup d’etat, during which he was kidnapped and set to be assassinated had it not been for the unprecedented uprising of the Venezuelan people and loyal military forces that rescued him and returned him to power within 48 hours. I was able to find irrefutable evidence using the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), that the CIA and other U.S. agencies were behind that coup and supported, financially, militarily and politically, those involved.

Later on, there were other attempts against Chavez and his government, such as in 2004 when dozens of Colombian paramilitary forces were captured on a farm outside of Caracas that was owned by an anti-Chavez activist, Robert Alonso, just days before they were going to attack the presidential palace and kill Chavez.

There was another, lesser-known plot against Chavez discovered in New York City during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2006. According to information provided by his security services, during standard security reconnaissance of an event where Chavez would address the U.S. public at a local, renowned university, high levels of radiation were detected in the chair where he would have sat. The radiation was discovered by a Geiger detector, which is a handheld radiation detection device the presidential security used to ensure the president wasn’t in danger of exposure to harmful rays. In this case, the chair was removed and subsequent tests showed it was emanating unusual amounts of radiation that could have resulted in significant harm to Chavez had it gone undiscovered. According to accounts by the presidential security at the event, an individual from the United States who had been involved in the logistical support for the event and had provided the chair was shown to be acting with U.S. intelligence agents.

Published on 8 April 2016 by teleSUR

ven amnesty law

In only two days over two and half million Venezuelans have signed a petition expressing their rejection of a bill approved by the opposition-controlled National Assembly that aims to grant amnesty to a number of jailed opponents of the socialist government.

President Nicolas Maduro told a crowd of supporters Thursday that he believed the country's Supreme Court would declare the bill unconstitutional, which will now be sent to the country's highest court for final consideration. 

“The people should rebel against unconstitutional laws,” exclaimed Maduro.

“It is my duty as head of state to ensure constitutionality (and) justice so there may be peace in Venezuela,” he added.

Supporters of the government will continue to collect signatures against the law for the next few days before presenting them to the Supreme Court.

The protest was convened by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, or PSUV, and was joined by other social and political movements.

The so-called “Amnesty Law” covers the period beginning with the arrival of former President Hugo Chavez to the presidency in 1999 to the present.

 

The legislative measure seeks to release approximately 115 incarcerated convicted criminals, including some who participated in the coup against President Hugo Chavez in 2002, as well as many of those that both organized and participated in violent protests.

Published on 10 April 2016 by teleSUR

ayotzinapa

Independent investigations continue to continue to cast doubt on Mexico's official story about what happened to the 43 Ayotzinapa students.

The Mexican government’s claims about what happened to the 43 forcibly disappeared Ayotzinapa students has been dealt another blow, this time by Austrian forensic experts who found no DNA links between the missing students and human remains treated as key evidence in the case, the Mexican daily La Jornada reported Saturday.

Investigators from Austria’s University of Innsbruck studied 53 samples of bones, hair, and clothing found on the bus where the students were traveling before they were kidnapped and almost a dozen samples from the garbage dump and river where authorities claim the bodies were burned and dumped.

But with no DNA links to the 43 students, none of the samples offered evidence of the whereabouts of the 43 students’ remains.The Austrian experts plan to carry out new genetic testing to further investigate the samples.

The analysis comes as the relationship between Mexican prosecutors and the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts working on the case, known as GIEI, has suffered a breakdown after the Mexican authorities unilaterally presented study results that manipulated findings to serve the government’s political interests of closing the case.

Mexican authorities have insisted on solidifying the version of events they call the “historical truth” of the Ayotzinapa case. This official version claims that the 43 students were burned in the Cocula garbage dump, located about 18 miles (almost 30 km) south of Iguala, Guerrero, where they were kidnapped on Sept. 26, 2014.

Independent experts and families of the victims have rejected the story. An opposition lawmaker recently called it the “historical lie” of Ayotzinapa. Preliminary analysis by independent foreign fire experts recently found that there was enough evidence to prove that there was a fire in the Cocula garbage dump, but added that a “large scale test” would be needed to scientifically determine whether the students’ bodies were indeed burned. Mexican authorities argued the evidence suggests that “17 adult human beings were burned.”

Amnesty International has now joined the GIEI in slamming the Mexican government for exaggerating the findings of the latest study, saying it was “totally absurd” to paint this evidence as groundbreaking news in the case, La Jornada reported Saturday. The organization argued that by presenting the findings as “conclusive,” the Mexican government “only played with the suffering of the families, denying their right to truth and justice.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published on 28 March 2016 by venezuelanalysis.com.

activist

Caracas, March 28, 2016 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Haitian-Venezuelan political leader and solidarity activist Fritz Saint Louis, 54, was shot dead in his home by masked gunman on Saturday evening.

According to a statement by the Public Prosecutor’s office, Saint Louis was reportedly inside his home located on the outskirts of Caracas in Santa Lucia del Tuy, “when a group of armed men entered and, without a word, shot the politician various times, causing his immediate death.”

Saint Louis’ son, Louis Nervil Fritz Jr., 23, was also injured in the incident, suffering a shot to the arm.

Two suspects in the case, Victor Jose Cisneros (22) and Henry Anthony Torrealba (23), reportedly died in a shootout with police on Sunday afternoon, while three others were arrested by authorities. Police recovered two 16mm shotguns without serial numbers alleged to have been used in the murder.

Published on 5 April 2016 by Granma.

bario argento

CARACAS.—Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro approved funding of over $1.4 billion dollars this Monday, April 4, to strengthen the 2016 Cooperation Plan signed with Cuba in health, education, culture and sports.

The head of state signed the document during a meeting of the Cuba-Venezuela High Level Joint Commission, held at the Miraflores Palace, reported Prensa Latina.

Maduro highlighted the efforts made by his government to ensure a truly socialist healthcare system. “The right wing media devote themselves to silencing what is being done for the benefit of Venezuelans,” he stated.

The Venezuelan leader also approved the Cuba-Venezuela binational plan to strengthen the Misión Barrio Adentro (Inside the Neighborhood Mission) health care program.

He noted total investment of $1.428 billion dollars, as well as 6.954 billion bolivars in the case of health, which will be used to strengthen and expand the medical assistance provided through the Misión Barrio Adentro.

Published on 16 March 2016 by teleSUR.

MADURO

The rapporteur has been critical of the Venezuelan state without first requesting information from the government.

Venezuela spoke out against the rapporteur for freedom of expression Edison Lanza of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Wednesday.

Venezuelan Ambassador to the U.S. Bernardo Alvarez told the Organization of American States that he “categorically rejects” the official for his “loss of independence and lack of impartiality in regard to the Venezuelan state.”

Lanza publicly criticized Venezuela’s freedom of expression in an “irresponsible and biased” way and failed to contact the state before publishing a negative press release.      

“There is no doubt that this reprehensible behaviour is part of a national and international political-media campaign to discredit the Venezuelan state and its government on freedom of expression,” said Alvarez.            

“Venezuela today is characterized by a deep respect for the right to freedom of expression in the broadest sense, protecting the exercise of that right beyond vision of private media corporations to give space to all individual and collective expression, in a country where the plurality of opinions are expressed through social media and thousands of community and alternative media,” he added.

Alvarez’s speech ended with an appeal to respect the standards of ethics in the OAS and the human rights commission.

Published on 16 March 2016 by teleSUR.

pro morales march in bolivia

Taking to the streets of La Paz to defend their leader, President Evo Morales, supporters say the attacks against him must stop.

More than 5,000 community representatives marched through the streets of La Paz in a major show of support for President Evo Morales.

Shouting "We stand by Evo," the crowds brought a large part of the center of La Paz to a complete standstill.

Supporters of the president decided to march to show "that we still have a voice," said Quisa Cossio, who came from the town of Viacha to take part in the event.

She was referring to the recent referendum result where the "No" campaign scored a narrow and rare victory over the government supported "Yes" campaign.

Published 8 March 2016 by teleSUR

venezuala opposition

Venezuela's right-wing opposition launched a campaign Tuesday to remove socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power this year. The plan includes street protests for his immediate resignation, along with plans to hold a presidential recall referendum and to change the constitution so that there are immediate elections.

“We call on the entire Venezuelan people in order to force Maduro to resign as the President of the country,” the Executive Secretary of the Democratic Unity coalition Jesus Torrealba told reporters.

One of the mechanism sought by the opposition coalition is a constitutional amendment to cut Maduro's term short and hold new presidential elections. That could be requested either by the National Assembly or 2.9 million voters, paving the way for a recall referendum.