Monday 10

US considers including Venezuela in list of state sponsors of terrorism
The US Government is considering if Venezuela could be included in a US list of state sponsors of terrorism, following recent allegations linking President Hugo Chávez's administration and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), Monday reported daily The Miami Herald in Internet.

According to the newspaper, US President George W. Bush's administration has asked its lawyers to look into what gets a country on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, said DPA.

This process, an official source who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Miami Herald, is in its initial steps. And it is fundamental to confirm the veracity of the alleged links between the FARC -an organization the US deems terrorist- and the Venezuelan Government.

The connection was disclosed by the Colombian authorities after they captured some computers belonging to a guerrilla leader in a March 1 raid carried out against a FARC camp in Ecuadorian soil.

Tuesday 11

State Department report points to deteriorating human rights in Venezuela, Cuba
The United States administration Tuesday in an annual report criticized the human rights situation in Venezuela and Cuba, but it highlighted both the progress made in Colombia and the efforts made in the Organization of American States (OAS) to promote human rights, Efe reported.

The 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices the US Department of State published on Tuesday stressed that some countries made "significant progress," but rejected corruption in Russia, sectarian violence in Iraq, oppression in Iran, and freedom repression in North Korea.

The United States underscored the rejection in a referendum last December of the changes to the Constitution proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

"In Venezuela, a democratically elected leader's efforts to undermine democratic institutions and intimidate civil society met with vigorous resistance," the Department of State asserted.

Wednesday 12

Venezuelan Ombudsman rejects US report on human rights
While acknowledging that she did not know the contents of the 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices the US Department of State disclosed on Tuesday, Venezuelan People's Ombudsman Gabriela Ramírez shrugged off the document by wondering "How can they set themselves to certify respect for human rights in other countries, while they do not respect their own citizens' human rights?"

Reference was made to US President George W. Bush's veto on a law forbidding the police and military forces in the US to perform a set of interrogation practices to suspected terrorists which were deemed to violate basic rights.

Ramírez claimed that the Venezuelan 1999 Constitution is one of the most advanced constitution as to human rights protection.

Bush: Chávez's government is full of empty promises and thirst for power
United States President George W. Bush Wednesday said Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chávez's government was "full of empty promises and thirst for power," adding that in "his (Chávez's) efforts to promote an anti-US vision, he has left his own citizens with food shortages and threats against their neighbors."

Bush warned that at the present time "there is much at stake," and therefore people in the region should make important decisions, making a clear distinction between democratic governments and "terrorist" or "demagogue" governments.

The US ruler criticized the fact that Chávez mourned the death of the number two man of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), Raúl Reyes. Bush claimed that such action showed Chávez's closeness to the guerrilla group, and accused the Venezuelan President of using oil revenues to sponsor an anti-US campaign.

Rice declines making comments on Chávez's alleged links to the FARC
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Wednesday refrained from answering a question on whether Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was "actually involved" with the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).

In a hearing in the House of Representatives, Rice only referred to the latest information the Colombian government has disclosed based on the findings made in personal computers allegedly found in a FARC camp. However, she refrained from making any personal judgment, AP reported.

Rice appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs to discuss the State Department's budget for 2009.

"The Colombian government is investigating an apparent relation between Venezuela and the FARC. This work is still incomplete. They are reportedly considering the information they obtained recently from top leaders of the FARC. I just want to highlight publicly that the President of Venezuela has asked to remove the FARC from the lists of terrorists in a number of countries, when they actually are terrorists, because they are involved in abductions, and bomb attacks," Rice said, following her government's guidelines not to mention Chávez.

Shannon: it is too early to include Venezuela in list of state sponsors of terrorism
The United States is carefully studying the information on Venezuela found in the computers the Colombian Government says it seized from the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), and even though the information is "disturbing," Washington is far from a decision to put Caracas on a terrorism blacklist, said a US State Department high-ranking official.

"Declaring somebody a state sponsor of terrorism is a big step. It's a serious step," said US Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon, the top US diplomat for Latin America, in a press conference, reported AFP.

"And it's one (step) that we would only take after the very careful consideration of all the evidence," added Shannon, who is scheduled to travel to Brazil and Chile together with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Asked if the information was sufficient to build a case to put Venezuela on the list, which currently includes Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Sudan and Syria, Shannon said, "We don't know yet."

Thursday 13

The White House investigates Venezuela
The United States, conducted by President George W. Bush, voiced suspicions that Venezuela and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) are supposedly related.

In a harsh statement against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, Bush claimed that senior Venezuelan officials have met with guerrilla group leaders in Venezuela, Efe reported.

When speaking before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Bush raided on Chávez, but he would not mention his name, claiming he was "full of empty promises and thirst for power."

"As it tries to expand its influence in Latin America, the regime claims to promote social justice. In truth, its agenda amounts to little more than empty promises and a thirst for power," said Bush.

Rice: The US is to watch and act accordingly regarding Venezuela
The United States is to assess reports about alleged links between Venezuela and the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), an organization Washington views as a terrorist group, "and will act accordingly," said the US Secretary of State Condoleezza  Rice Thursday in Brasilia.

"We are going to watch the situation and act accordingly," Rice said in a joint press conference with her Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim. She would not clarify whether her country plans to enroll Venezuela in a list of nations sponsoring terrorism, as some news reports claimed, AFP informed.

Venezuelan FM: "Bush is reacting to the successful Rio Group Summit"
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro replied to the accusations US President George W. Bush launched Wednesday against his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez during an address before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington.

According to Maduro, Bush's remarks are a direct consequence of the results obtained in the Rio Group Summit, held in Santo Domingo last March 7.

"The US government took 72 hours to react to the Santo Domingo meeting; they remained quiet while Latin America and the world hailed the results and acknowledged the role of Hugo Chávez, (Argentinean President) Cristina (Fernández), (Nicaraguan President) Daniel Ortega and (Ecuadorian President Rafael) Correa," Maduro told Venezuelan official television network VTV.

Friday 14

Foreign Minister dismisses US criticism
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro said it was too soon to accuse Venezuela of "terrorist State," in a reply to an announcement made by the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon.

Maduro branded Shannon's remarks as "adventurous," adding that "Venezuela cannot be rated by anyone."

"Venezuela has a clear behavior. Nonetheless, we will see what is the real terrorist government as fate will be unveiled in the short term, through the opinion the US people themselves are to voice in connection with the violent and terrorist nature of the Bush administration for their country and the world," Maduro added, as quoted by Venezuelan official news agency ABN.

US lawmakers propose including Venezuela in list of state sponsors of terrorism
US Republican lawmakers Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Connie Mack Friday submitted a draft resolution to the House of Representatives urging the US government to include Venezuela in its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

"For more than 40 years, the FARC waged a brutal destabilizing war against Colombians," reminded Cuban-US lawmaker Ros-Lehtinen when presenting the motion together with one of the representatives who has criticized President Hugo Chávez most fiercely over the last few years.

"The evidence that the Venezuelan government could have given help and shelter to violent extremists is reprehensible and should not be disregarded," said Ros-Lehtinen, who is the co-chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Chávez challenges the US to put him in list of sponsors of terrorism
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Friday challenged Washington to dare to include Venezuela in its list of state sponsors of terrorism, branding such US threat as a politically motivated attempt at undermining his government.

The ruler said "the threat to include us in the list of terrorists" -which emerged on Thursday at the US House of Representatives- was Washington's "response" to his success in the region.

Chávez said the US could "stuff in its pocket" the list where Washington would write Venezuela's name once the country is labeled as a terrorist State.