April 28

Chávez has all the hallmarks of a caudillo, says Sub-Commander Marcos
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez "stands up with a foot on media politics, with the hallmarks of a caudillo, and another foot on the movement he is arousing in Venezuela, which is a strong process of change," said Sub-Commander Marcos, the leader of the Mexican Zapatista guerrillas.
 
His remarks are part of an upcoming book introduced in advance on Monday by Mexico's newspaper El Universal. "Venezuela and Bolivia attract our attention and we try to follow up them, without delving into it until knowing what's up, whether it is possible for a politician to move downwards and upwards at the same time. We say that in Mexico, that is not possible. We are not saying that it can be done elsewhere," the newspaper quoted.

Ortega lambasts those who demand accountability for  Venezuelan oil
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega blasted his critics, who requested him to account for the destiny of million dollars received under an oil supply agreement with Venezuela and used discretionarily.

Last Sunday, Ortega called "people's foes" those who queried about the revenues from the Venezuelan oil granted by means of a permissive loan, reported on Monday newspaper El Nuevo Diario.

The Nicaraguan Comptroller's General Office ordered last week to audit Nicaraguan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Nicaragua (Petronic) in order to learn about the management of the funds resulting from the oil received by Nicaragua as a member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).

April 29

Acuña rejects educational alliance of Pedagogical Institute with USA
A memorandum of understanding entered into by and between the Pedagogical Institute of Maracay and the Embassy of the United States was absolutely rejected by Minister of Higher Education Luis Acuña, in a statement released in a nationwide newspaper last Sunday.

The educational partnership is aimed to undergraduate students of English as a career to improve their skills at the American Corner Center, in central Aragua State.

According to Acuña, these centers "apparently promote espionage, conspiracy, and subversion activities against sovereign governments and encourage the submission and division of our peoples."

Venezuelan govn't not to give belligerence status to Tupac Amaru
The Venezuelan government has no plans to confer the belligerence status on the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), said on Tuesday Venezuelan ambassador Armando José Laguna.

The Peruvian government wants the armed group to be included in the list of terrorist organizations managed by the European Union (EU).

"We will not get involved in the internal policies of foreign states; therefore, we do not have to acknowledge any organization which is not inside our country," Laguna told Peruvian state-run TV channel TV Perú, Efe quoted.

The diplomat rebutted certain reserved reports quoted on Monday by Peruvian daily newspaper "Expreso." According to them, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was prepared to grant MRTA a belligerence status officially.

April 30

US leaves Venezuela out of the list of countries that sponsor terrorism
The US Government lacks evidence to ascertain that Venezuela is sponsoring terrorism, said on Wednesday US State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator Dell Dailey.

Dailey introduced on Wednesday the 2007 "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report, prepared annually by the US government as instructed by the Congress, DPA stated.

Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria remained in the list.

As it happened in 2006, Venezuela was included as a country that "does not cooperate fully" with the US counter-terrorism efforts.

However, Dailey noted that the United States was "worried" about the ties between the Venezuelan Government and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).

May 2

Chávez disregards US report on world terrorism
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said the United States "did not get the satisfaction" of including Venezuela in the list of countries sponsor of terrorism.

Chávez disregarded the US State Department report on global terrorism, AP reported.

"The United States did not get the satisfaction of including Venezuela in the list of countries sponsor of terrorism. But they will keep working on that," Chávez said.

Iran, Chávez's allied country, remains the "most active" state sponsor of terrorism, as it tries to build up regional influence and expel the United States from the Middle East, according to the report, which labeled Iran as "the most outstanding" country sponsor of terrorism.