Iran poses one of three major threats to democracy in Latin America, along with drug cartels and the danger of U.S. disengagement from the region, House Speaker John Boehner said. Boehner said today that when he went to Latin America in January, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also in the region visiting Venezuela and Cuba. The U.S. State Department has designated Iran and Cuba as state sponsors of terrorism, and has criticized Venezuela under leader Hugo Chavez for human rights...

Ahmadinejad visits Venezuela in January 2012, seen here in the company of the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez. Details Background Information 1. Since Ahmadinejad was elected president in August 2005, Iran has extended and solidified its relations with several Latin American countries, especially Venezuela and Bolivia, and increased its efforts to obtain a political foothold in the others. According to findings brought before the American Senate Foreign Relations Committee,...

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez has tried for 10 months to conceal the fact that he is losing his bout with cancer, determined to appear in command of his revolutionary regime and the nation’s future. This past Holy Week, however, television cameras captured him pleading for his life before a crucifix in his hometown church, his mother looking on without the slightest glint of hope on her face. Chávez’s raw emotion startled his inner circle and led some to question...

The characteristically pompous announcement last week by Ecuador ’s president Rafael Correa that he would boycott the upcoming Summit of the Americas to protest the continued exclusion of the Cuban dictatorship reveals his vain hope of inheriting the mantle of the dying Venezuelan caudillo Hugo Chávez. Since assuming office in 2007, Correa has followed Chávez’s playbook, which was inspired by the master tyrant, Fidel Castro. Former Washington Post reporter Douglas...

After a decade of silence and an apologetic attitude towards the countries of the Bolivarian alliance (ALBA), the international community finally protested attacks against freedom of the press in Ecuador, forcing the Ecuadorian president to back off. For years the Organization of American States and countries of the region have been enablers and thus passive accomplices of the anti-democratic wave that has penetrated Latin America. Under the pretext of helping the poor and the...

If a narco-state or violent crackdown emerges in Venezuela, the White House will no longer be able to avert its attention from the mess or to ‘lead from behind.’ Contrary to statements by Venezuelan caudillo Hugo Chávez, a cancerous tumor discovered in his colon late last month has not been removed, according to my sources. Heeding the self-serving advice of Cuban doctors, Chávez has rejected surgery so that he can return to his public duties as soon as possible and...

At the time of writing this article, it is unclear if the Environmental Criminal Bill (the "Bill") had been published in the Venezuelan Official Gazette. However, everyone should know some of its implications and impact on human rights. Foremost, it is a superfluous initiative. A Criminal Law of the Environment has been in force since 1992. It has been regarded by the best experts as an excellent legal instrument. It is clear, very well written, with proportionate penalties and...

In recent months the government of Argentina has launched a new political and public relations campaign aimed at putting pressure on Great Britain to negotiate the future of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. The islands constitute an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean 300 miles from the Argentinean coast. These islands have been ruled by Great Britain since 1833 except for a short period in April 1982 after the Argentinean navy invaded and conquered the islands. Argentina has continued to...

I was expelled from Venezuela several years ago as a result of my political activism against the abusive rule of the Chavez government. Therefore, in the primary elections that took place on Sunday February 12, I was not allowed to register as a voter like a regular Venezuelan citizen living abroad. What happened to me reflects one among many aspects of Chavez’s despotic regime. However, my personal story of exclusion does not prevent me from seeing that something important has just...

Venezuela's dictator Hugo Chávez was informed five years ago that his close ally Gen. Henry Rangel Silva - the man whom he recently named Defense Minister - is involved in cocaine smuggling. Rangel Silva's appointment to that key security post - coming on the heels of the return of Chávez henchman Diosdado Cabello to senior political posts - indicates that narco-generals are positioning themselves to hold on to power in spite of elections scheduled for October. Any hope for...