Another "Oh Dear!" moment: Hugo Carvajal is arrested in Aruba

UPDATED AGAIN. Scant reports yet, little official confirmation but it seems that indeed Hugo Carvajal has been arrested in Aruba while he was awaiting his diplomatic placet from Dutch authorities to become Venezuela's consul in Aruba. This, my friends, can be a turning moment!

Carvajal 1, Welfare State 0, US of A offside, El Nacional -1

So, as I was afraid, Carvajal was released, and faster than I expected.  I must confess that for a while I thought the Dutch would be firmer, and at least negotiate something solid back for them. Why, the infamous plane blasting would have put enough outrage in its leaders to show resolve! And yet in my first two entries on the subject I was careful to note that there was still a stretch to see Carvajal rot in an US jail.

The Netherlands King visits the naked emperor of chavismo

But the Dutch are the Dutch, they are not principled like Scandinavians, they are not reckless like Latins. Business is ALWAYS business with them, nothing personal. At home they are paragon of civic attitudes and virtue. They will save Anne Frank while in Indonesia the natives did not miss them when the Japanese invaded. In the end they lost both but that is another story.

And let's face it, why would the Netherlands go to war with Venezuela over Aruba? Over what looks now like a botched DEA job? Did they not send Willem and Maxima to see Maduro last November? The only European head of states in a long time willing to breathe the foul air of Caracas.....

Carvajal affair fallout starts: Aruba flights banned

UPDATED Well, the least we can say is that the arrest of Carvajal in Aruba Wednesday has tied in knots the Venezuelan regime the way a downing of a flight by the Russian has not affected the Dutch, the way Gaza bombings have not created retaliations against Israel (yet, for both).  For us, mere mortals, the arrest of an accused drug lord cannot compare to the victims of a plane crash or with the victims on both side of the border in the middle East; but for the rulers of Thuggistan Venezuela, arresting one of theirs is a capital offense of unspeakable proportions. While the country gets ready to go to war, flights to Aruba are already annulled and threats of all kinds are uttered by people that should know better (but probably have been designated as sort of sicko designated hitter).

Informamos a nuestra clientela que nuestros vuelos comerciales hacia Aruba, quedan cancelados a partir de hoy 25/07/2014 y hasta nuevo aviso
— Laser Airlines (@laserairlines) July 26, 2014

Tweet from Laser Airlines announcing the suspension of its flights to Aruba.

La narco Venezuela salió del closet/armario

Vamos a estar claros: hace mucho tiempo que los que observamos Venezuela de cerca sabíamos que su régimen era militarizado, sufriendo las consecuencias que ello implica, corrupto y narcotraficante, que es lo que hay desde las ultimas décadas del siglo XX. Antes esos regímenes traficaban en esclavos, oro, trata de blancas y otras cosas, pero desde que el norte le sacó gusto a empolvarse las fosas nasales de blanco, evolucionó el sector.

Narco-chusma: 4 en las listas de la DEA y 3
a quien le falta poco para ingresarlas

Pero al mismo tiempo que empezó el norte a drogarse, apareció en el sur una ideología anti norteamericana, o mas bien, anti valores occidentales. El objetivo de las pandillas que van de los Castro hasta el foro de Sao Paulo es minimizar a los Estados Unidos. Eliminarlo seria mejor pero para eso esperarán que la migración desde el sur haga el trabajo. Es mas, esos sistemas políticos anti norte americanos favorecen aun mas la migración.

Una herramienta clave, promocionada por los hermanos Castro, ha sido el trafico de droga a los Estados Unidos y a Europa. En su amargura de fracasados y resentidos se adueñaron de un portaaviones en el Caribe desde el cual han hecho toda clase de fechorías para tratar de destruir los valores occidentales, sin ofrecer nada a cambio. O ofertas transitorias dependientes de los caudillos o guerrillas de turno. Y mientras que sus discípulos hacían esos tráficos, los de Colombia siendo los mas aventajados alumnos, los Castro cobraban su tajada por ayudar, por guardar el botín, por recoger los heridos y esconderlos.

The Political Prisoner count increases in Venezuela

Thursday 10, June 2004

Today was a rather infamous day for the chavista cause as a few people were either arrested, or maintained in jail, or indicted regardless of the judicial merit of their indictment which in some cases actually did not happen as people are being arrested for the lamest excuse such as the "he might flee the country" of Capriles Radonsky.

Let's see TODAY'S unbelievable count.

Maria Corina Machado was indicted today for "conspiracy" (as in betrayal to the father land) because she organized Sumate to remove Chavez from office. She is not arrested yet as apparently the case against her is a little bit shaky. But of course she cannot leave the country and risks final arrest at any time (I am sure as soon as the work of Sumate organizing the August 15 journey starts imporving the polls of the opposition).

Dulce Bravo and Vasco da Costa were denied their appeal against unfair arrest. Theirs is a more obscure case where apparently they claim that the "proof" was hidden in their belongings. Apparently the proof is some kind of pamphlet very far from explaining the complete scope of the conspiracy to which their name has been associated. Thus they will remain in jail while the prosecution tries to find something more convincing.

Three colonels arrested a few days ago lost an appeal and will have to remain 15 more days in jail while the prosecution tries to build a more convincing case. This was related with the "paramilitary" affair, for which NO HARD EVIDENCE has been shown to the press yet. But somehow the government will find somebody "guilty" long enough, at least until something else happens and people forget how clumsily the government directed the whole scam.

Leonardo Carvajal received a citation to the prosecutor office to account for charges of conspiracy and betrayal to the fatherland. The citation is for June 21, and according to Carvajal it is because this week end, while representing the opposition at the OAS Ecuador summit, he had strong words with the Venezuelan ambassador to the OAS. Carvajal came to notoriety in 2001 when he organized the very first street protest against Chavez, a movement that last week eventually managed to activate the Recall Election process. He landed in Caracas to find the citation waiting.

The Tachira 9, a group of people arrested in Tachira state for some of the troubles that occurred in Tachira during the April 2002 events. Today they reached 1 year in jail and their release was denied. Now, maybe they are guilty of something, but after one year they should have reached trial by now. Nothing of the sort, and actually their indictment seems quite shaky to justify ONE YEAR in jail.

And to close the day with a firework, ex-general, ex security director of Chavez, Ovidio Poggioli, has been put to jail. What is absolutely amazing is that Mr. Poggioli benefits from an order to the High Court against unjust prosecution and this was disregarded by the military judge on the case. Yet again the decisions of the High Court are disregarded by some of Chavez lackeys. Mr. Poggioli and his lawyer have refused to sign the indictment because it was, they claim, illegal and because the charges are not deserving of a preventive arrest.

Not bad for one day: 1 new arrest, 14 confirmed arrests and 2 indictments, all for political reasons. And this is already too long a post to recall the ones already jailed that were not in court today. Meanwhile some "journalists" overseas are claiming that there are NO political prisoners in Venezuela. You can see it all in my preceding post. And a long list for the reader to wonder how much of democracy is left in Venezuela.

Maybe I should start planning for the day when this blogger will be accused for "conspiracy and betrayal to the father land" for saying mean things against the glorious leaders of the gloriouser bolivarian revolution. Any one can point me to a good lawyer? I might be kidding at this time, but who knows, someday Venezuelan bloggers might not be kidding anymore. Because I am not stopping, nor anyone else, just as we salute all the people that were in the news today as ALL OF THEM SAID THAT IT DID NOT MATTER, THAT WE SHOULD KEEP FOCUSED ON THE RECALL ELECTION OF AUGUST. Brave people!

Gloria al bravo Pueblo!

Of dropeth shoes and rats out of ships: et tu Hugo Carvajal?

Well, looks like the "apontiada^2", famous epic poem on corruption and abuse of power is just starting.  Through a tweeeet, representative Ismael Garcia tells us that not only a second high court Judge has left the country (should we start using words such as defected?), but a famous drug trafficker suspect has just left.  Seeking the witness protection program?  Since it is a mere tweet we shall wait more until commenting on Marco Tulio Dugarte defection and even more, Carvajal escape..... Yet Globovision feels confident enough to put it on its website page. See you later.

Update 1: good thing I have a limited trust in tweets: Dugarte is reported to be in Venezuela by El Universal. Ooooh...   This is going to be so much fun to watch! Garcia lied? Was he hacked? Dugarte missed his flight?

2014: the year all and nothing changed

In Venezuelan history books, when the real ones will be written, it is possible that 2014 will be qualified as the year as all changed and yet nothing changed. 2014 will be framed between 2013 the year chavismo became an outright dictatorship and 2015 the year when all went to hell.

I suppose that a long time blogger must cave in to the routine of writing a year in review post. So might as well get over with it, even before writing a Merry Xmas post. And yet 2014 may still be full of surprise in Venezuela like the regime shutting out the opposition from any of the administrative post it deserves in a normal democracy (1). But the essential has been done: short of a major earthquake, tsunami or meteor crash, the deed that matters is done for Venezuela for 2014.

The year started after the infamous "dakazo" of November 2013, where allowing "legal" looting the regime ensured a municipal electoral victory the following December.  The stage was set for a regime ready for any trickery to flatter the bulk of a populace just out to grab anything regardless of the consequences. The first consequence was that the regime entered paralysis in doing anything that was not a give away, without cash for it. The second consequence was a division inside the opposition, between those that were not going to keep taking abuse from the regime and those who, well, may be talked into tolerating such abuses.

January woke up with empty shelves in all electronic, hardware, furniture stores and the like. These shelves never got replenished.  Some stores on occasion got some shipments that usually were tightly controlled by the Nazional Guard, if anything for them to have first pick. Thus started the constant item of this year, random scarcity of goods. Paper toilet did come back on a regular basis but never did milk while toiletries and laundry detergent are now treasure troves.

Karadzic para luminarias chavistas

Hoy nos enteramos que el serbiobosnio Radovan Karadzic ha sido sentenciado en la corte internacional de La Haya por crímenes de lesa humanidad y genocidio en las matanzas de Srebenica. La justicia tardo 20 años en llegar para los musulmanes de Bosnia, pero llegó. Amen que la sentencia coincide con una era de injustificada ira contra los musulmanes decentes por parte de gente como Trump y Cruz, o los políticos populistas de extrema derecha en Europa. Es justicia para los musulmanes de Bosnia que eran en esa época, posiblemente, los mas civilizados, los mas a tono con los valores de democracia hasta que un nacionalismo de corte fascista se empecino en destruirlos. Los crimines de Karadzic contribuyeron en algo al extremismo actual del islam radicalizado.

The week Hugo Chavez died

Before anyone reads what is not in the title of this post, what I am referring to is the death of the image of Hugo Chavez. I am using this title because I am repeating the title of what might be one of the few real good posts I ever wrote, The week the Bolivarian Revolution died, on May 2007. But do not expect any lyricism today, this is not going to be an inspired attempt at writing a memorable article: there is no lyricism in describing human misery, unless your last name is something like Homer or Hugo.

However it is important to note that this week events do mark a turning point in the projected image of Hugo Chavez. As of now, even those who did not care much about him, at home or abroad, will be faced with enough information that they will need to ask themselves questions. That is, of course, if these people know where Venezuela is. Never mind those who support him as they are faced with so much negative evidence: their hour of reckoning has come.

It has indeed been a bad week for Chavez, and a very bad if we look at the consequences of his projected image. After all he has only himself to blame as he uttered scatological words that no sane president of any country should ever utter in public anywhere. When he equated the US with shit he was not equating only the US, he was including anyone anywhere who did not do as he willed. Even if you live in Malawi you must wonder if such obscenity will ever reach the shores of Lake Nyasa. And I cite Malawi because I have had 9 hits form that country since I have been writing this blog.

Truly, Chavez has enough problems to perturb his delicate mental balance, or activate his Tourette syndrome as Gustavo Coronel claims he suffers from. But definitely it seems that the Miami trial of the 800,000 USD Argentina bound bag is acting as the final fuse in Chavez self revelation. Even though no verdict has been reached, the consequences are for all to see.

The latest revelations are complicating seriously Chavez panorama. In Argentina where the press is more efficient than in Venezuela, where there is a more articulated opposition and where a semblance of justice still exists, this week end brought to us a set of articles in La Nacion. We learn that in that fateful August 2007 flight, besides the 800,000 USD that were caught they might have been 4,200,000 USD more that did made it through the custom check. La Nacion also takes the opportunity to associate this Chavez funding of the Cristina Kirchner campaign with other somber funding attributed to some drug money laundering. Even her own vice president is increasing his distance with Cristina Kirchner. No wonder Cristina suddenly canceled her scheduled trip to Venezuela: she knew what was coming. Or maybe she also realized that the days to be photographed close to Chavez might be over.

On the US front we see a quick retaliation. Simon Romero at the NYT gives a complete update that even includes an MP3 podcast worth listening to. Besides the expected expulsion of the Venezuelan ambassador (who returned crazed to Caracas) it put on the security watch list of the Treasury department three high ranking Venezuelans officials: the head of Venezuela’s military intelligence agency, Gen. Hugo Carvajal, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, the director of Venezuela’s DISIP intelligence agency, and Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, who resigned as interior minister this week. By doing that the US sends a clear message to Chavez that the drug trafficking he tolerates, that the FARC connivance are duly noted, duly documented and that at any time Venezuela can be put on the pariah nation list. By not doing so at this time it allows other Chavez supporters that were dreaming about enjoying their loot that they might not be able to do so if they keep supporting Chavez antics, to give them a mild name.

In short, the clear message of the US is that Chavez is guilty by association. And this has profound implications all across our Western Hemisphere. After all from now on when Lula or Correa of anyone else cozies up to Chavez, all chancelleries in the world will be allowed to wonder about that link. Buy out? Extortion? Blackmail? Complicity? How much did he give to your election-reelection campaign? All the enablers of Latin America are now exposed as what they have been all long: enablers of the most corrupt regime in Venezuela history, a regime that has squandered the money and the future of the Venezuelan people for the sake of a crazed individual dream that hid behind an empty social redemption message. That also allows us to question about the sincerity of the social message of those enablers, by the way.

But in Venezuela things are not going too well either as the Chavez Teflon shows finally signs of deteriorating. And we know that once the first scratch holds, the other scratches come easier. The political opposition is the first to be congratulated: it leaves the follow up of Chavez obscenities and corruption to the media while it focuses on the real problems of the country. Chavez image is deteriorated enough that they do not feel obliged to reply to his provocations anymore. I could see that myself with the meager response of the chavista crowds in San Felipe to the alleged recent coup/assassination claim. A few dozens red shirted protesters in front of the State House of San Felipe, writing on cars "No al golpe" and not been offended, even smiling, when I did not let them write that on my car. I was not afraid, they did not care. A year ago I would have allowed them to write anything they wanted (washable liquid white chalk, by the way, very standard practice in the provinces, kind of our temporary bumper stickers). A year ago they would have insulted me had I refused, and be more numerous too.

As it was the case in May 2007, chavismo and Chavez cannot find the right chord, the creative reply. Then they tried to put up fast a pseudo Bolivarian student movement. It never took off, was shown early to be a sham as many of the promoted "leaders" were state employees. In fact, one of them is already a minister of Chavez, in what must be one of the fastest ascensions in Venezuelan politics. This time after having stone walled for over a year the "maletin" case, the only thing they could come up with was to demand that the prosecutors in Miami come to Caracas to explain themselves. The absurdity of this speaks by itself. The ridicule of their position must be making any serious tribunal following the case roll with laughter. I mean, the Venezuelan prosecutor office has yet to interrogate seriously the folks involved in that fateful flight, amen of questioning their bosses, and instead they are blatantly trying to shot the messenger, Thomas Mulvihill of the Florida prosecution office. We truly have seen it all....

It does not really matter that Chavez is starting some backpedaling by admitting that the coup and assassination attempt were really not that serious: the damage to his image he did this week is just too great, definitive. There is no repair. Now the road ahead of him is solitary, maybe long or maybe short, but solitary. All the people that matter will abandon him before they get dragged further into the Bolivarian muck (even the Bolivian military rejected in no uncertain terms the offer of Venezuelan intervention). Only rapists like Ortega, and vampires like the Castro brothers will keep clinging to him, depending on how many zeros are still on his checkbook. If you doubt it you need to watch the extraordinary satire against Chavez that Jaime Bayly gave last Friday in his show. When people can say such things on TV, even in Miami, set of anti chavismo/castrism, you know how ridiculous Chavez has become to the world (four 10 minute clips, worth watching if you undestnad Spanish, and if you support Obama).

But Chavez is not really sorry, nor is he able to be. Any sweetener he throws this late is a lie. As this week event proceeded, he went on to divide Venezuela into military zones were generals named by him will rank higher than governors elected by the people, ensuring future conflict and violence against the people. A nice way to admit that he is about to lose the November 23 election by a wider margin than he expected, and he will not recognize the resutl, just as the 26 decree laws enacted a few weeks ago were a slap at last December popular will.

To close this post I want to quote the last paragraph of today's entry of Milagros Socorro in El Nacional (subscription only). She has a meditation of sorts on the Stanislavski method which amounts in brief to use "emotional memory" that recreates in a way a situation form the past to give credibility to the present. That is, Chaevz appeals to the "legend" of the coup through the positive 1992 experience (according to his moral criteria) to revive his sagging fortunes today by refreshing his image. Unfortunately as Milagros points out, you need to care for your language if you want thsi to work.

El jefe de estos tristes extras, por su parte, no necesitó apelar a la memoria emotiva que aconsejaba Stanislavski. A ése le basta sentir el aliento de la justicia internacional en la nuca –que no otro parece ser el resultado del juicio de Miami– para que emerja su verdadera naturaleza primitiva. Y salga de su boca lo único que tiene para dar.

[Chavez] The boss of these sad extras, on his part, does not need to appeal to the emotional memory that Stanislavski advised. He just needs to feel the breath of international justice on his neck -which is nothing less than the Miami trial - for his true primitive nature to emerge. And from his mouth leaves the only thing he has to offer.

Truly a great way to view Chavez words last Thursday night.


-The end-

Cocaine and the commandante

The way the cocaine traffic connection in Venezuela is rapidly being exposed, we can understand much better why is Chavez so desperately trying to start a conflict with Colombia or why he is chewing coca leaves in public. In fact, the very best hypothesis today as to why Uribe took the damning chance to have Chavez as an "intermediary" with the FARC was perhaps to have Chavez expose himself for what the bolivarian revolution has become: a morally corrupt entity. The dangerous gamble seems to have paid off. Chavez now is totally exposed as being at best too lenient with some within his army benefiting from drug trafficking from Colombia. At worst? The readers will decide themselves with the links below.

First, in English, through Harry's place, I was sent the fabulous article from the Guardian. A lengthy, complete, research on the murky world of drugs, FARC, Venezuelan army and Bolivarian pseudo-revolution. Not to be missed. The title by itself leaves absolutely no room for ambiguity:

Revealed: Chávez role in cocaine trail to Europe

Now, the Guardian readers, no matter how to the left they might be, will have to see Chavez for what he really has become. Such as did long ago the readers of Le Monde in France or even longer ago readers from El Pais in Spain. True leftist democrats cannot accept the ways of Chavez and we can watch in amusement as some of the worst critics of chavismo are now coming from the European Center to Left arena, while the right still seeks to minimize Chavez while cashing in some deals such as Total about to renew some contracts in Venezuela. But then what can you expect from Sarkozy.....

For those who can read Spanish (hat tip P.B.) you have two articles from SEMANA. The first one describes with an amazing luxury of details one the main henchmen of Chavez, the one who is called by Semana as the Chavez 's Montesinos, namely general Hugo Carvajal. It seems that this nice man has accumulated power to an extent we have not seen since Pedro Estrada of the latest military dictatorship in Venezuela, the one of Perez Jimenez (greatly admired by Chavez by the way). [ADDED LATER! the translation into English at PMB, DO NOT MISS IT!!!!]

The second article from the same Semana issue is about the lives and times of the recent drug lord killed in Merida, Venezuela. In this article you will learn how Wilber Varela "Jabón" moved to Venezuela under Chavez rule (2004) where he did battle rival gangs while the Venezuelan armed forces did play a role as an umpire for sale much more than any anti drug enforcement agency. These crimes, covered up by chavista officials, one day will have to be explained.

And where is the answer of Chavez to this mounting sea of corruption and drug trafficking? Last night in "cadena" he commemorated his getting into office, 9 long years ago. And what did he meditate on? As to whether the "oligarchies" of Colombia are worse than the ones of Venezuela. Some body should have the good sense to tell Chavez that covering up for drug traffickers is probably the worst crime that exists against a society, and that the drug oligarchy he is creating will soil his name for ever. Not to mention bringing one day a vicious reaction against all what Chavez stood for, even the good stuff of his early years.


-The end-

Another day, another US sanction against Venezuelan apparatchicks

There was a small surprise of sorts today: an executive order from the White House removing visa to a few Venezuelan officials, with possible sanctions to follow of a strictly material nature. That is right, 7 Venezuelans folks who are accused justifiedly of human rights violations have had their travel visas to the US revoked. And they are under investigation for possible assets in the US that will be frozen. That is all, nothing much really, considering that today few chavistas should have significant assets in the US after the Carvajal affair.

Still, that was enough to make chavismo hyperventilate, reaching paroxysms such at Telesur which has totally forgotten what international media is supposed to be all about. I translate for you the tile of an article there: Threatening Venezuela, Obama declares war on the continent.

Just like that.

The April 14 2013 results: chavismo loses the metro areas, often big time

The more noteworthy result of Sunday 14 is that with electoral cheating and all, the regime admits that it has lost the control of the major urban agglomerations. That is, the victory of Maduro, if we can call that a victory, comes from places with less than a few dozen thousand folks. These places are much likely to depend on state largess for their survival (Misiones) whereas urban centers dispose of more qualified workers, more artisans, more professional  trades, more educated people and also more "rich" people, but now a relative minority in the new coalition the opposition is building.

In other words, what we have been seeing for a long time: the more educated people are, the more dependent they are on their skills and hard work to make a living, the less likely they are to vote for Chavez, or his heirs for that matter. Let's look out now at the numbers.

ELECTIONWATCH - UPDATE

by Alex Beech

I'll finish on this historical day by reporting that Manuel Rosales conceded defeat earlier tonight. He claimed the margin released by the CNE was a lie, but didn't elaborate further. I find it ironic that as two icons of Latin American politics, Castro on the left and Pinochet on the right, are dead or dying, Hugo Chavez is elected to the presidency again. When I get sleep and distance from this, I'll figure it what that means. God bless everyone, and thanks for visiting us today!

9:05 pm - In its first bulletin, the CNE announced that Chavez won the election with 61.35% while Rosales obtained 38.39%.

8:00 pm est. - An hour ago, Reuters reported that "Chavez won 58 percent of the vote, while Manuel Rosales, governor of an oil-producing province, trailed with 40 percent, said Evans/McDonough Co., a U.S. pollster commissioned by the state oil company." This isn't the last word. Rumors are swirling around like stinky laundry water. Both sides are celebrating; some are claiming that a curfew is imminent. Rosales is expected to make a statement.

___________

8:00 pm est. - Two members of the Rosales camp denounced in the local media that Caracas-based Telesur, a government-financed news network, announced figures giving Chavez a victory. While Chavez has warned the private media that it would face repercussions if it released elections figures before the National Elections, a government-financed network violated electoral norms. The figures were announced by Telesur president and former Information Minister Andres Izarra, a former journalist who gained political prominence in the Chavez government after claiming that the Puente Llaguno shooters were not aiming at opposition protestors on April 11, 2002.


Information Minister Willian Lara, who arrived moments ago at the electoral council, said that he wasn’t there “as Information Minister, but as a Venezuelan citizen and an activist for the campaign of Hugo Chavez…I want to say on behalf of the Miranda campaign that it’s false that centers have been forced to re-open, violating electoral laws.” Despite credible reports by electoral observers that armed soldiers had forced centers to re-open , Minister Lara insisted that the Chavez campaign camp had not organized illegal voting efforts. “Tomorrow, at 8 am, I’ll be a government official again,” said Lara. “For now, I’m a citizen and a political activist.”
___________

7:20 pm est. In perhaps the first credible report of irregularities by an accredited electoral observer, Education Assembly member Leonardo Carvajal said two electoral officials had authorized him to denounce in the media that at several voting centers, armed members of the National Armed Forces had forced electoral workers to keep centers open. At one center, a soldier bearing a machine gun ordered the center to remain open until 9 pm, violating electoral laws.

________

6:55 pm est. Speaking on behalf of opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, Tal Cual Editor Teodoro Petkoff, said that while the electoral day proceeded peacefully, questionable incidents had taken place after official voting, such as attempts to impede audits and to remove the voting materials illegally. Petkoff said that “centers which have been closed must remain closed. They cannot be reopened.” He called on the National Elections Council and the National Armed Forces to enforce the law, protecting “voters’ rights.” He said “the auditing process is slow…patience is required.”

__________

6:05 pm est. Alex's opinion: If the complaints of irregularities keep pouring in, (and they are, at least on Globovision), it is likely that the Rosales camp won't accept a result that favors the government. No matter how much the electoral authorities and government spin the day, many questionable incidents are being reported.

__________

5:55 pm est. - Reading off a list of voting centers, Rosales campaign representative Eliseo Fermin said that members of the National Armed Forces at several centers violated electoral laws by re-opening centers once they had closed. Earlier, CNE chief Tibisay Lucena said that once centers had closed, voting could not resume. Fermin told reporters that buses (some military) had arrived at several closed centers in Caracas carrying voters. Threatened by armed soldiers, electoral workers re-opened the centers to allow the arriving voters to cast their ballots. Addressing the complaints, electoral official Vicente Diaz said that "everything is normal...in the country."


__________

4:40 pm est. - Enrique Marquez, a member of the Rosales campaign, denounced on television that soldiers at several voting centers had refused to allow electoral authorities to close them despite a lack of voters. CNE chief Tibisay Lucena earlier announced that, according to electoral laws, empty voting centers must close at 4 pm.
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4:10 pm est. - During a press conference at the National Elections Council (CNE) at 5:10 pm, CNE chief Tibisay Lucena said that the voting process had officially “culminated." She said that one thousand centers were already transmitting results. She said that once a center had been closed, voting could not resume. She reminded the heads of centers to remain at the centers to wait for the random selection of ballots for audits. She reminded the soldiers guarding the centers to stay for the remainder of the process. Addressing a reporter's question, she said that she didn’t know what percentage of registered voters participated in the election. Regarding complaints, she said the CNE received a “great number” of complaints regarding the process, which she claimed had been addressed for the most part. She said that the CNE was prohibited from issuing briefings while the vote was taking place. She added that at 9:30 am, 99% of centers were open, and by 10 am, 100% were open. She said she didn’t know yet what percentage of voting machines malfunctioned during the vote. Concerning a question by the Associated Press concerning malfunctions in the fingerprint detection technology, she denied that any problems surfaced with the new technology itself. She said the problem was based on the fact that “a lot of people voted.” She denied any problems with the voting machines, alluding earlier complaints that some paper ballots were blank.

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3:40 pm est. - During a press conference at the National Armed Forces, General Wilfredo Silva said that the election a success. He said that by 8 am, voting centers around the country were prepared for the vote, breaking a record. He confirmed the arrest of one soldier in Valencia who was wanted by the authorities, though he didn’t provide further details. Concerning reports that Colombians were crossing the border, he said “security at the borders, air space, and seas hasn’t changed. Things have evolved normally, with a slight increase in security.” He said that “small incidents” had taken place at several centers, including people who tried to vote several times, and two people who destroyed voting machines. He said that several were detained for breaking machines and tearing up their electoral ballots. He confirmed that men on motorcycles wearing pro-Chavez shirts had ridden by centers intimidating voters. He said that he’d spoken to leaders from both camps to address that issue. He said he’d enjoyed a “courtesy” visit from Chavez and his family. Addressing a question regarding the closure of a center where voters were stills standing in line, he clarified that voting stations within centers may close, but that “As long as people are standing in line, voting centers must remain open”. He said that the so-called Plan Republica will function while voting continues. He added that once an audit has taken place, ballot boxes will be handed over to the National Armed Forces, which will transport the boxes to the National Elections Council.

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3:30 est. - Since 4 pm came and went in Venezuela, the most important news to report is that at 4pm, any empty voting centers were supposed to close. The ones with voters standing in line will remain open until voters have voted. An elections official acknowledged that several voting machines had malfunctioned.

3:30 est. - During a press conference which took place at 4:30 pm in Caracas, Rosales campaign representatives called for calm, and asked the military to protect the electoral process from those who "want to alter the order." Omar Barboza said the opposition planned to "defend the people's will." Rosales campaign head Leopoldo Lopez said "the process will now begin to end...but we want to be clear. We will now audit 54% of the ballot boxes. Our witnesses will be there to open the boxes." He called the military to ensure the safety of the witnesses. "The process begins with the audit," he said. "In the name of Manuel Rosales, congratulations, Venezuela."

Voting is still taking place at centers around the country.

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1:10 est. - The biggest complaint reported by voters thus far has been the extreme slowness of lines created by the fingerprint detection technology. Several voters said they’d been standing in lines since dawn. In several centers, voters complained of malfunctioning voting machines. In at least one center, voting hadn’t started. In some centers, voters chanted, “queremos votar,” or “we want to vote.” One opposition representative said on Globovision news network that the National Guard was turning a blind eye to the “thousands” of Colombian-Venezuelans who were crossing the border to vote. (The local media has not provided any images or evidence of this complaint.)

Muslim (or Orthodox Jewish) moment of the day: In one voting center in Margarita Island, a soldier divided voters by gender. Standing in line, one man said that he and his wife were taking part in “conjugal visits”, wandering over to each other once in a while.

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Following his vote, incumbent Hugo Chavez said "this is a great day for democracy"." He mentioned a new column which Noam Chomsky will write for the most widely read Venezuelan daily newspaper, Ultimas Noticias. When asked about earlier comments made by opposition candidate regarding irregularities in certain voting centers, Chavez said, "I hope that those who are already feeling defeated...aren't getting balls rolling without evidence." Further, he said that complaints made by "one of the candidates could be very negative." Throughout the campaign, Chavez has refused to acknowledge the principal opposition contender, Manuel Rosales, never mentioning him by name.

Chavez said he planned to spend the rest of the day at the Miraflores presidential palace working, "making government decisions", accompanied by family and some ministers. There, he said he would wait for the results announced by the National Elections Council. He called on Venezuelans to vote.

Surreal Moment: Greater Metropolitan Caracas Mayor Juan Barreto screamed at voters standing in line at the center where he cast his ballot. He demanded "respect", claiming that some in the crowd has called him a "homosexual and drunk." He said he would arrest anyone who disrespected him. When he asked those who supported him to clap, attempting to show that a "majority" supported him, a few languidly applauded.

Surreal question of the moment: During the press conference, the final question came from a Japanese reporter, who asked Chavez how he planned to engage with North Korea. "With all countries," Chavez answered. "we have cooperation. I understand why you're asking your question because of where you're from...for us, the focus you're giving it is not relevant."

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10:20 est. Elections official Sandra Oblitas called on all "political actors" to refrain from making statements in the media which could create "perturbances," alluding to opposition candidate Manuel Rosales' earlier complaint. The rectors emphasized that blank ballots are due to voter error. Elections official Vicente Diaz explained in detail why the machines print blank ballots, and gave explicit instructions on how to vote. A local reporter insisted that voters complained that they had voted correctly, and still received a blank ballots. Official Janeth Hernandez insisted that the machines were certified by technicians, and members of all political sides. She said there is "no possibility" that the machines could be printing blank ballots.

When a reporter questioned complaints that the indelible ink used in the vote could be washed off with clorox, (allowing voters to vote more than once), rector Vicente Diaz said the Elections Council had purchased the ink from the Central University, as customary.

Chavez Votes

At 10:23 est. (11:23 in Venezuela), incumbent Hugh Chavez arrived at the Manuel Palacios Fajardo in the 23rd of Enero neighborhood to cast his ballot. Wearing a red shirt, he greeted supporters as he pushed his way through the crowd.

My petty comment of the hour: CNE rector Janeth Hernandez would look great in a 70's inspired roller derby film.

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9:45 est. - After exiting the voting center in Zula state where he cast his ballot, opposition candidate Manuel Rosales expressed concern that the fingerprint technology was "strangely" malfunctioning at some centers located in opposition strongholds. He said his camp received reports from supporters who complained that their voting machines printed blank ballots after they voted for him. He also praised the work of the military during the electoral process, and called on Venezuelans to vote.

While there are scattered reports of malfunctioning voting machines, most complaints reported in the media centered around the slowness of the process.
Please note a one hour time difference between New York and Caracas

Tags: elecciones3D, rosales, chavez, venezuela

In Venezuela, we are not chained to the TV
It is the TV that is chained to Chavez

Friday 25, June 2004

Today's front page of Tal Cual is priceless.



As I wrote yesterday, most people in Venezuela could not see the Portugal/England football match. The reason was that Chavez decided that we should watch the military parade for 5 hours, perhaps in some sort of atonement to the military for not having protected them from Human Rights abuse inquirers. These pesky justice seeking peaceniks! I do tell you! The nerve of questioning our glorious Venezuelan Army! One could imagine him thinking. Not realizing perhaps that in the US trials have already started on the Iraq prison abuses while in Venezuela we ARE STILL WAITING FOR A SERIOUS INQUIRY ON ALL SORTS OF MILITARY ABUSES SINCE FEBRUARY 27. But I digress.

The fact is that "cadena" means chain. And to put the networks in "cadena" is to chain them to the official message. No doubt that it is Chavez's secret wish, to finally once and for all chain all the networks to his glorification. Hence the chains on the front page picture of the glorious moment when the Portuguese goalie, Ricardo, nailed once and for all the coffin of England's hopes.

Nobody in Venezuela that did not have access to cable could see a single live minute of that great game. Even chavistas talked about that today, surprised themselves by such a relentless "cadena". With the never ending cycle of "cadenas" there is no wonder that the impoverished country still manages to have a third of its TVs receiving some form of cable, legally or illegally.

But Chavez cadenas will not make us forget about the Fort Mara soldiers who died of a painful death. Nor the one that was drowned on purpose. Nor the Nazi-onal Guards that tortured Zambrano to death while raping his girl in front of him. Nor the prisoners vilely murdered in Puerto Ordaz. Nor the clouds of toxic gas released over Caracas after February 27 2004.

No, we will not forget that the ones really betraying the fatherland are those that are unable or unwilling to prove that they are not corrupt military officers such as Lopez Hidalgo, Cruz Weffer, Garcia Carneiro, Ivan Rincon and countless other selling their souls and Venezuela for a few perks and some stars on their shoulders. Chavez can throw any military parade at them, we will not forget.

And in today Venezuela, by writing these words I could be charged of treason to the father land, I'll have my gentle readers know. No more have done the Sumate people, Henrique Capriles, Carvajal, and countless other that are now in jail or waiting for jail any time soon.

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PS: the picture caption, "no me fodas", is a rather strong pun that I rather not translate in this family oriented blog :-)

Why the regime has/has-not "devaluated" the currency

WARNING! entry plagued with "quotation marks" for reasons that will become apparent.

One of the surprising things that this blog has been wondering out loud for the last year and a half is "how come that the regime knowing full well that disaster looms imminent is apparently unable to take any, ANY corrective measures"? The very latest entry on this was "the fiscal problem" last January. And yet, the change in currency rules over a week ago was, well, a mountain birthing a mouse.

Yes, there was a devaluation of the currency.

Flowers and letters: no romance for the revolutionary corpse

It is hard to underestimate the weigh of this week's events on an agonizing Maduro's headed regime. Even your prudent blogger is cautiously allowing himself to believe that yes, indeed, the regime's life should be counted in weeks... Or that at the very least a major change is just around the corner.

The week started with the reply sent to Tibisay Lucena by OAS Secretary Luis Almagro. See, Almagro got really upset about the flippancy of Tibisay Lucena, head of the CNE, Venezuela's electoral board. The woman, on orders from the regime that she is only too happy to oblige, is refusing ANY supervision to the crucial electoral process coming on December 6.

The current Venezuelan crisis for Dummies ®

With all that has been happening in Venezuela since September 26 the casual reader, as well as the informed reader, might have some trouble in figuring exactly what is going on.  Ever willing to help this blog will try to explain the core reasons and consequences of the current political crisis.  Yes, in case you have any doubts,  it is a political crisis that is taking place in Venezuela and the reaction of the regime in place is a not-so-slow motion coup d'état.

The basic reasons behind the regime actions

Regular readers and well informed people already know what is going on and why, but it never hurts to refresh memory and simplify the input.

Venezuelan weather vanes

I suppose that I should start with an apology: a lot of important stuff has been happening in the political country and I have not covered it. The only excuse is that things are changing so fast, and so nowhere, that I was vainly hoping for a weather lull to try to figure out the direction things were taking.  Alas, it'aint not happening.

The heavy sense of being adrift is permanent. Both sides of the political spectrum are at a loss as to what to do with themselves. And this is aggravated for the regime as it needs to find a way to keep ruling the country while maintaining it viable enough so that looting can go unabated. All measures, from both sides, are piece meal, expedient, often amoral, improvised, even politically rudimentary as the country is regressing not only in technology but also in political language and ideas. A home made weather vane would be more effective to give us direction.

This being said, let me take a shot at writing a rather long piece that some of you may find entertaining to read this week end if you are bored.