Word: chavezes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Chavez controls the hemisphere's largest oil reserves, but an equally valuable commodity - the one that shields him from U.S. accusations that he's a dictator in the mold of Cuba's Fidel Castro - is his democratic legitimacy. Despite his authoritarian bent, Chavez has been fairly elected three times, and he can't afford to forfeit that cachet. That's why he surprised his critics by respecting the will of the electorate when he lost last year's referendum. The need to maintain his democratic credentials is also the reason why, in the face of howls from civil rights groups...
...Either, way, pundits agree that it's as smart for Chavez to distance himself from the FARC as it is to backtrack on his new domestic intelligence law. They also suggest that the Venezuelan leader is keeping his radical burners on medium-low for now, in the hopes that fewer outbursts from Hurricane Hugo - who has previously called President Bush "the devil" and Uribe "a criminal" - could even help get a Democrat into the White House this fall. "[Chavez] may decide to go a little less gonzo in the coming months as a result," says Birns. Meanwhile, the rest...
...another crisis, when Colombian authorities announced the arrest of a Venezuelan army sergeant ferrying 40,000 cartridges for AK-47 rifles to FARC guerrillas. Venezuela insists the soldier was corrupt and acting on his own. Conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a key U.S. ally, has for months accused Chavez, a staunch FARC supporter, of funneling aid to the rebels. The charge, he claims, is supported by alleged evidence from laptop computers belonging to a top FARC commander killed in a commando raid last March. Chavez vehemently denies it and insists the laptop files are phony. But the case...
...Rather than dig in his heels and call the whole thing a yanqui-led conspiracy, however, Chavez on Sunday urged the FARC to end its 44-year-old guerrilla campaign, even declaring that the kind of Marxist insurgency he once championed has become a thing of the past. The FARC's armed movement, he said, is "out of place" in today's Latin America...
...That was an amazing statement for him to make," says Birns. Chavez also called on the rebels to release all of their more than 750 hostages, including three U.S. defense contractors, without conditions. "It would be a great humanitarian gesture," said Chavez, who earlier this year brokered the release of a half dozen hostages...