James Suggett

Latin America's Bolivarian alliance grows

In a summit in Venezuela on June 24, the Caribbean and South American integration organisation ALBA was strengthened by the addition of Ecuador, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda as its newest member countries.

Venezuela condemns Peruvian massacires

In response to the fatal clashes between indigenous protesters and the Peruvian government, Venezuela’s foreign ministry has released a statement expressing its solidarity with both the security forces and the indigenous people killed. Venezuelan indigenous affairs minister Nicia Maldonado called the Peruvian government’s violent repression “terrorism”.

Venezuela: Multinational rice plant taken over

Following a week of inspections of privately owned rice processing facilities aimed at assuring the supply of essential foods at regulated prices, the Venezuelan government announced plans to expropriate a plant owned by the multinational food company Cargill, which was found to be modifying all its rice in order to evade price controls on basic food items.

Venezuela: Unemployment drops, growth continues

Unemployment in Venezuela dropped from 8.8% in July 2007 to 7.2% in July 2008, the National Statistics Institute (INE) announced on August 14.

Venezuela: Land reform faces violent attack in valley

Cooperativist ecological farmers supported by the Venezuelan government’s land reform programs were attacked on August 7 by armed and masked men who, the farmers say, were hired by large estate owners in the area to cut short the changes heralded by the Bolivarian revolution in their rural Andean mountain valley of El Vallecito.

Venezuelan government dismisses \'FARC documents\'

Venezuela’s foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, has dismissed the authenticity of documents that the Colombian government claims were found in a computer that belonged to Raul Reyes, a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Venezuela: \'Media terorrism\' condemned

Journalists, communications specialists and other participants in a Caracas conference during the March 29-30 weekend demanded that political leaders in the region put the issue of “media terrorism” on the agenda of all international forums and meetings in which they participate.

Venezuela: ExxonMobil's attack defeated in London court, oil giant forced to pay legal fees

British Judge Paul Walker declared in a London courtroom today that the freezing of US$12 billion in assets of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA shall be revoked.