Tag Archives: US State Department

Jan
13
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 1/13/12

In this week’s roundup… Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez again threatens to pull out of the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); Venezuelan diplomat is expelled from the United States; Chávez’s spending binge may exacerbate an already torrid inflation rate in Venezuela; concerns loom over Chávez’s controversial appointment of General Rangel Silva; and the Catholic Church urges Chávez to get a handle on crime.

Venezuela Weighs Exit From Forum on Disputes, The Wall Street Journal

President Hugo Chávez said Sunday he wouldn’t accept rulings by the World Bank’s tribunal for investment disputes and suggested that his leftist government should exit that global arbitration forum where Venezuela faces billions of dollars in claims. Mr. Chávez’ remarks came as he blasted Exxon Mobil Corp. which is seeking about $7 billion at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, for the nationalization in 2007 of its Cerro Negro heavy crude project. Initially, the oil company sought $12 billion in damages, but Venezuelan officials say Exxon has scaled down its claim.

US orders expulsion of Venezuelan diplomat, AFP

The United States has ordered the expulsion of Venezuela’s consul general in Miami amid reports linking the diplomat to an alleged Iranian plot to target sensitive US facilities with cyber attacks, the US State Department said. The US action comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was to kick off a Latin American tour in Caracas later on Sunday.

Chavez’s spending could boost inflation for suffering consumers, The Washington Times

President Hugo Chavez’s government is likely to spend heavily this year to rev up the economy during his re-election bid, and that could worsen one of Venezuela’s biggest problems: 27 percent annual inflation that is already close to the highest in the world. Mr. Chavez has started ramping up spending ahead of the October vote, and economists warn that more money injected into the economy will jolt prices. The government predicts 22 percent inflation in 2012, but the investment bank Barclays Capital projects that it could top 36 percent. The incomes of the poor are being squeezed in places such as Winche, a hillside community on the outskirts of Caracas where children play on dirt roads lined with shacks made of wood and corrugated zinc. Some residents say they’re being forced to spend more of their paychecks on groceries because of soaring food prices.

A person was killed every 30 minutes in Venezuela in 2011, El Universal

There were 18,850 homicides in Venezuela in 2011, according to sources of the Scientific, Criminal and Forensic Investigation Agency (Cicpc). This means that a person was killed every thirty minutes. If a murderer were involved in each case , 18.850 gunmen have put 29 million Venezuelans against the wall. If they had used a single bullet for every murder, the criminals would have spent a little more than 18 and a half boxes of bullets, with each box containing 1,000 bullets. And therefore, they would have spent some VEB 226,080 (USD 52,576, at the official exchange rate of VEB 4.30 per US dolar), as each box costs approximately VEB 12,000 (USD 2,790.7). Consequently, each bullet taking one person’s life cost USD 2.70.

Appointments Unsettle State of Venezuelan Politics, The New York Times

Ever since President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela fell ill with cancer last year, intense speculation has focused on his inner circle and who might be groomed as a possible successor. Now, with a lengthy re-election campaign ahead of him, Mr. Chávez has once again upended expectations, scattering some of his closest confidants and promoting some old associates in a way that seems certain to provoke alarm at home and abroad.

Venezuela’s Catholic Church raises concerns over rampant violent crime, urges crackdown, The Washington Post

The leadership of Venezuela’s Roman Catholic Church raised concerns Thursday about rampant violent crime, urging President Hugo Chavez’s government to curb the country’s rising murder rate. “The grave danger is that many crimes go unpunished in Venezuela,” Bishop Diego Padron, president of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, said in reading a statement prepared by the organization. The Venezuelan Violence Observatory, a non-governmental group that tracks violent crime, says at least 19,336 Venezuelans were slain during the first 10 months of last year — a 9.8 percent increase from 2010, when 17,600 people were killed.

 
Jun
29
2011
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Trafficking in Persons 2011 Report

The US State Department has included Venezuela on a list of nations that could face sanctions along with Cuba, Costa Rica, Panamá and the Dominican Republic for their lack of action in combating human trafficking. The 11th edition of the Trafficking in Persons Report did not see much progress in Venezuela’s efforts to  combat human trafficking, for which it can face a number of sanctions ranging from the suspension of non humanitarian and non commercial aid to the US opposing IMF or World Bank financing.

According to the report presented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Venezuelan women and girls are found in conditions of sex trafficking within the country, lured from poor interior regions to urban and tourist centers, such as Caracas, Maracaibo, and Margarita Island”.

The report also stated a number of reforms that must happen in order for Venezuela to get on the right track when it comes to combating human trafficking. These reforms include:

  • Modifying its current laws in order to prohibit and adequately reprimand any type of human trafficking
  • Intensifying its efforts to investigate and prosecute cases of forced prostitution and slave labor
  • Prosecuting and jailing the traffickers
  • Providing better specialized assistance to the victims
  • Identifying the victims among vulnerable groups
  • Improving the current databases in regards to these types of felonies

The listing of Venezuela in the report is likely to further deteriorate the already fragile diplomatic relations between both countries. Both countries lack the representation of ambassadors in their territories. Furthermore, the US imposed economic sanctions on the state owned oil company, PDVA, for their dealings with Iran.

 
Apr
12
2011
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U.S. State Department: Human rights abuses worsened in 2010 in Venezuela

The U.S. State Department’s 2010 Human Rights Report continues to generate public debate around the world. Surprisingly, Venezuela’s government – harshly criticized in the annual report – has remained silent…at least for now. Venezuela and Nicaragua were cited as the two countries were human rights abuses worsened in 2010 in Latin America.

The human rights abuses in Venezuela cited in the report run the gamut:

–Unlawful killings, including summary executions of criminal suspects
–Widespread criminal kidnappings for ransom
–Prison violence and harsh prison conditions
–Inadequate juvenile detention centers
–Arbitrary arrests and detentions
–Corruption and impunity in police forces
–Corruption, inefficiency, and politicization in a judicial system characterized by trial delays and violations of due process
–Political prisoners and selective prosecution for political purposes
–Infringement of citizens’ privacy rights
–Restrictions on freedom of expression
–Government threats to sanction or close television stations and newspapers
–Corruption at all levels of government
–Threats against domestic NGOs
–Violence against women
–Trafficking in persons
–Restrictions on workers’ right of association

“We’ve seen in Venezuela, for example, the government using the courts to intimidate and persecute civil society activists. The Venezuelan government imposed new restrictions on the independent media, the internet, political parties, and NGOs,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commenting specifically on Venezuela.

This is the third year in a row that Venezuela is cited among the worst offenders in the Americas. In contrast, Colombia was praised for making “significant positive developments” on human rights.