According to Chavez, Lukashenka and Ahmadinejad will take part in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro on June 20-22. "They are going to Rio and would like to visit Venezuela to greet us and to promote peaceful joint projects", informs RIA "Novosti" quoting the Venezuelan leader. Chavez claimed earlier that we was expecting Lukashenka to arrive on June 26.

Venezuela is building unmanned drone aircraft as part of military cooperation with and other allies, President Hugo Chavez said, in a move likely to heighten U.S. anxiety over his socialist government's role in the region. Referring to a Spanish media report that U.S. prosecutors are investigating drone production in , Chavez said late on Wednesday: "Of course we're doing it, and we have the right to. We are a free and independent country." In a televised speech to military...

A new case of harassment of human rights advocates has been recorded in Venezuela. On Wednesday, armed men robbed Hernán Antonio Bolívar, the husband of Marianela Sánchez Ortiz, the legal coordinator of the Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones (Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, OVP). The criminals intercepted Bolívar when he was arriving in his place. There, he was forced to get into his car. The criminals threatened to retaliate against Bolívar and his...

Venezuelan NGO "Espacio Público" (Public Space) counted 244 reports of freedom of expression violations, registered in 201 cases/events during 2011, which represents an increase of 16% over 2010. According to a report presented by the NGO, "Each week of 2011, (in average) 4.3 cases of violations of the content and scope of the right to freedom of expression occurred in Venezuela. These data point out to continuous freedom of expression violations." The most...

Attacks against press and freedom of expression in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia are less serious than violations occurred in Mexico, Colombia and Honduras, said Roberto Viciano, a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Valencia (Spain), in a meeting of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) which is held in the Spanish city of Cádiz. Participants in the meeting discussed "The new Latin American constitutions and their impact on press freedom," Efe...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on its website a statement that not only confirms the abduction of Guillermo Cholele, Costa Rica's Commercial Attaché in Venezuela, but also reports that the kidnappers made a telephone call to the diplomat's home seeking money for his release. "A telephone call to the diplomat's home mentioned a ransom request. It added that he was in a good health condition," said the document issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ...

Colombia's government is criticizing a public event that was held in Venezuela's capital honoring the late leader of Colombia's largest rebel group. Colombia's Foreign Ministry expressed "indignation" over the tribute marking the fourth anniversary of rebel leader Manuel Marulanda's death. A group of radical leftists organized the event on Saturday in Caracas' 23 de Enero slum, where there is a bust of Marulanda. There was no immediate response from Venezuelan government officials. ...

US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, rejected Tuesday budget cuts to programs aimed at promoting democracy in Venezuela and Cuba, which were proposed by the US Department of State. "The sharp cut in democracy funds for Cuba and Venezuela sends a wrong message to the internal opposition in these countries," Ros-Lehtinen said during a hearing at the House Foreign Affairs Committee to review the budget of the US Department of...

Workers of Caracas-based private TV news network Globovisión rejected through a statement the accusations and threats made last weekend by several pro-government groups. "We categorically reject their accusations as absurd and totally unfounded," said the document. The workers also urged government authorities to "publicly repudiate and detach themselves from these acts of harassment against journalists and workers of Globovisión, and to ensure peaceful...

Washington, DC-South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan’s legislation concerning the Iranian government’s activities in the Western Hemisphere took a major step towards becoming law on Wednesday, when it passed out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee with strong bipartisan support. The legislation, which currently has 73 cosponsors, will now move to the House floor for a vote. “Congress is recognizing the seriousness of the threat that Iran poses to both Americans here at...