Venezuela is off to the beach, or something

Thursday 8, April 2004

I drove back to Caracas today and traffic was light. The last big rush was yesterday afternoon and until Sunday morning people will be enjoying their Easter holiday. Even the news are taking a break. I could not even get the papers as my newspaper stand did not open! Not that it matter, many papers will not come out today and tomorrow. And a very thin edition on Saturday.

Thus I have only the web for news and the pickings are slim. Mostly news about where the flow of people has been largest, car crashes due to the usual suspects of people on holiday being careless.

The only feature is that the gravely other burnt soldier, Pedreanez is not doing to well and got an infection. His relatives are complaining that the military are still trying to take him away to Caracas. They also have refused to travel to Caracas to meet Chavez. And they reported that the military is pointing out at Pedreanez as the one that started the fire, according to the version of the other 8 soldiers that were in detention. That might be so, a young soldier that starts a fire to get out of detention. But some things are not quite right. Why is the commander of Fort Mara forbidden to talk to the press? Why are these soldiers shielded from the press? Why is there no official communique from the Ministry of Defense at this late date? Etc, etc.... Certainly not the way an administration would act if it were sure of its facts.

Meanwhile in Washington Venezuela keeps trying to put all sorts of blame on the US, persisting in accusing the Bush administration of financing the Recall Election effort. The State Department and the OAS representative of the US refuse to take the bait. Actually one wonders how long the Venezuelan government will persist insisting that with a couple of million of dollars the US has been able to stir all the mayhem that has wrought Venezuela since late 2001. If this were true, this would be one of the most profitable destabilization programs ever launched by the US.

By the way, how much did Chavez spend in the Salvadoran electoral Campaign? And what about the money given to Morales in Bolivia?

Finally since this is the holy week for Christianity, I will suggest a reading with a religious line. El Universal has a translation of the article/interview that they did of Rosalio Cardinal Castillo Lara. It is interesting to read how who was one of the most important Cardinals in the Roman Curia sees the Venezuelan situation now that he retired in the village of his birth. From the Roman golds to rural Venezuela, unfortunately coinciding with the arrival of Chavez into power.