Tag Archives: prison riot

Feb
8
2013
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In Case You Missed It…Articles Roundup Week of 2/8/13

92073vencemos e1360359042638 In Case You Missed It...Articles Roundup Week of 2/8/13

Courtesy of: TalCual

This week: Questions emerge as a former Iranian official is caught in Germany with an undeclared check worth around $70 million in Venezuelan currency; oddly, the Venezuelan government then accuses the opposition of corruption, as doubts grow that “chavismo” will survive without President Hugo Chávez; the anniversary of Chávez’s failed coup in 1992 calls into question who is actually in control of Venezuela; and foreign minister Elías Jaua visits China seeking further loans as shortages continue to frustrate consumers. The Economist Intelligence Unit considers Caracas, Venezuela the most expensive city in the Americas by; in the two months since Chávez’s last public appearance, shortages of staple foods continue to pile up throughout Venezuela; and the state-owned oil company Pdvsa receives more money from the Central Bank, adding more bolivars into circulation and thus boosting inflation. Lastly, after slamming the idea of spending cuts during election season, Chávez’s government moves to enact spending cuts to delay a currency devaluation; the increasing political and economic uncertainties facing Venezuela continue to impact global markets; and Venezuelan officials find over 100 firearms and 8,000 rounds of ammunition inside the Uribana prison, where a deadly riot last month killed 58.

Iran Official Probed on Undeclared Check, The Wall Street Journal

Germany is investigating a former head of the Iranian Central Bank for smuggling after customs officials seized what they said was an undeclared $70 million check he was holding from a Venezuelan state-run bank.

Venezuela rivals trade blows on corruption, Financial Times

The Venezuelan government has accelerated a mud-slinging campaign to discredit the opposition, accusing it of corruption, as doubts grow that the socialist revolution can survive without President Hugo Chávez to lead it.

On Venezuela’s coup anniversary, the big question: Who’s in control?, The Dallas Morning News

Today is the anniversary of Hugo Chavez’s failed 1992 coup attempt against then-President Carlos Andres Perez. Chavez was an army lieutenant colonel at the time of the coup, and he was responsible for deaths and blood spilled in his attempt to subvert democracy and seize power by force.

Venezuela Foreign Minister Jaua in China For More Loans as Shortages Bite at Home, Latin American Herald Tribune

Venezuela Foreign Minister Elías Jaua Milano is in Beijing holding meetings with his counterpart of the People’s Republic of China, Yang Jiechi, as well as Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) leader Yu Zhengsheng, seeking further loans as shortages of goods caused by a lack of foreign currency as well as price controls continue to frustrate consumers in the oil rich Latin American nation.

Caracas, Venezuela Is Most Expensive City In The Americas, Says Economist Intelligence Unit, The Huffington Post

Caracas, Venezuela is the most expensive city in the Americas and the 9th-most expensive in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Venezuelan capital jumped 25 spots from last year, according to CNN.

Venezuela’s economy: Out of stock, The Economist

IT IS now two months since Venezuelans last saw or heard from their president, Hugo Chávez, who remains in intensive care in a high-security Havana hospital, battling what seems to be terminal cancer. But it is an absence of a different kind that is uppermost in many people’s minds

Pdvsa’s higher funding to central bank spurs inflation, El Universal

In a forum organized by the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce (VenAmCham), Pedro Palma, an economist and a professor at the Higher Business Studies Institute (IESA), remarked that since Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Pdvsa receives more funds from the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), there are more bolivars in circulation, thus boosting inflation.

Chavez Enacts Cuts He Once Slammed to Delay Devaluing, Bloomberg News

Hugo Chavez coasted to re-election last year warning Venezuelans that a victory for the opposition would lead to a “giant package” of spending cuts.

Venezuela faces increasing political and economic uncertainty, FTSE Global Markets

Due to Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez being unable to attend the inauguration for his next presidential term originally scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 10 because of his seemingly terminal cancer, Venezuela faces a period of heightened political and economic uncertainty.

Uribana Prison Arsenal: Guns, Ammo Found In Venezuela After Deadly Riot, Official Says, The Huffington Post

Venezuelan officials found 106 firearms and more than 8,000 rounds of ammunition inside a prison following a riot last month that killed 58 people, nearly all of them inmates, the country’s top prison authority said Thursday.

 
Aug
31
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 8/31/12

Explosion en Amuay In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 8/31/12

Courtesy of: AFP

A series of incidents in the past week – a prison riot, bridge collapse and explosion at an oil refinery – may have damaged Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s reelection hopes, as new polls show he has lost the lead to opposition candidate Henrique Capriles. The explosion at the refinery in Amuay has drawn attention to the state oil company’s decaying infrastructure and Chávez’s mismanagement of the country’s oil resources. Questions remain, however, about whether the guilty parties will face any punishment for the accident. Meanwhile, an NGO released a report about media attacks in Venezuela, Chávez uses the government-controlled media to attack the opposition and the electoral council bans an opposition ad about violence in the country – opposition leaders called the ban a violation of free speech.

Venezuela’s presidential campaign: Gaining ground, The Economist

Technical glitches, heckling from his own supporters, thinning crowds and bad polling news. With just over six weeks to go before Venezuela’s presidential election, Hugo Chávez’s bid for another six years in office no longer looks quite the push-over it once seemed.

Venezuela’s Chavez faces new election threats, Miami Herald

It’s been a rough month for Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In less than two weeks, he has had to deal with a deadly prison riot, a collapsing bridge, flooding, an embarrassing confrontation with steel workers on live TV and the country’s worst oil-industry disaster, which killed at least 41 and still has families digging through the rubble looking for loved ones.

Chavez Trails Rival Capriles for First Time in Poll, Businessweek

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez trailed opponent Henrique Capriles Radonski for the first time in a Consultores 21 poll ahead of elections in October.

Venezuela oil blast evidence of deteriorating infrastructure (+video), Christian Science Monitor

Venezuelan Vice President Elías Jaua said Saturday evening the death toll had reached at least 39 after a blast tore through the country’s biggest oil refinery, Amuay in Falcon state.

Venezuela’s Refinery Explosion: Has Chávez Made Petroleum Too Political?, TIME

When I visited Venezuela’s Paraguaná oil refinery complex, the world’s second largest, in 2007, anxieties seemed to flare like its burn-off pipes.

Critics question flow of Venezuelan aid, Financial Times

At the entrance to a rundown neighbourhood in the outskirts of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, a sign proclaims: “Welcome to District Hugo Chávez”.

The Misrule of Law, New York Times

Venezuelans are reeling this week from the deadliest accident in our nation’s industrial history.

Press freedom group: Venezuela media under assault, Associated Press

The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a new report Wednesday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s government has used threats and a barrage of restrictive measures to gradually weaken the country’s private news media.

Insulting Hugo Chavez challenger is prime-time TV in Venezuela, LA Times

It’s prime-time TV in Venezuela and the host is saying that opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, whose grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, is a Nazi and Hitler cultist.

Venezuelan electoral officials order political ad off the air, Chavez opponents cry foul, AP

Venezuelan electoral officials have ordered off the air a political ad that depicts the murder of a young man to highlight concerns about crime.

 
Aug
29
2012
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Explosion at Oil Refinery Raises Concerns about PDVSA’s Infrastructure

Amuay refinery explosion Explosion at Oil Refinery Raises Concerns about PDVSAs Infrastructure

Courtesy of: AFP / Getty Images

Early Saturday morning, a massive explosion occurred at Venezuela’s largest oil refinery, killing 48 and injuring 80, stopping production, and rocking the nearby town.

Residents reported smelling gas the night before, but many thought nothing of it, as the odor had occurred many times before. This time, however, was different. At 1 a.m. an explosion engulfed the refinery and also destroyed homes in the town of Amuay, injuring residents who were still sleeping. Two hundred homes were damaged by the blast and 33 families were displaced.

The fires burned for three days, causing several more oil tanks to explode, and were only extinguished yesterday. The refinery has not resumed production, and may not do so for several more days. Concerns remain that once production resumes, the fires may flare up again. Investors, meanwhile, worry that the halt in production from one of the world’s largest refineries could drive up prices.

President Hugo Chávez arrived on the scene Sunday, roughly a day and a half after the explosion first occurred, declaring three days of mourning for those killed in the accident. His initial response was to deny the residents’ reports of the gas leak, telling a reporter that it was “impossible” that there was any deficiency in maintenance at the plant. However, El Nuevo Herald reports that documents from a reinsurance agency that performed an inspection of the plant in March detailed a long list of maintenance problems and safety issues.

Chávez has promised a full investigation though, in light of his original remarks, some question how thorough it will be or whether it will be made public.

The accident calls attention to the decay of the PDVSA’s infrastructure, which has seen a steady decline in production since Chávez took power in 1998. Although Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves of any nation, it lacks the infrastructure to extract and refine this oil safely and efficiently, a shortcoming which has caused serious problems for its economy.

The event couldn’t come for a worse time for Chávez, as new polls show opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with a lead in the polls. It also comes on the heels of an embarrassing moment last week when Chávez was blindsided by protestors in a national broadcast as well as another large prison riot, on which Chávez has refused to comment.

Upon arrival at Amuay, Chávez expressed solidarity for the victims and then stated, somewhat oddly, that “the show must go on.” Indeed, with just over a month before the presidential elections, Chávez probably wishes he could put this all behind him.