Venezuela soldiers allegedly beat several Guyanese at border

Guyana, Venezuela (Credit: Caribbean360/Bigstock)

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Monday June 30, 2014, CMC - A number of Guyanese were reportedly beaten by Venezuelan soldiers at the north-western border Guyana shares with its Spanish-speaking neighbour days ago.

While offering no comment on reports of the assault on the Guyanese, the Guyana Defence Force’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier Mark Phillips, was Saturday quoted assuring that it was not a clash of armies as no Guyanese soldiers were involved in the alleged incident, Friday.

“We have some reports of an altercation that we are investigating… nothing to do with Guyanese soldiers. There are no Guyanese soldiers stationed there,” he told one local media house.

According to a number of media, reports are that ‘rogue’ Venezuelan soldiers crossed the border and assaulted a group of men and women miners in an area called ‘Bruk- up Falls’, located on the Guyana side of the bordering Amakura River, in the North West District.

“They were taken from Bruk-Up Falls after more than two dozen armed soldiers attached to the Venezuelan military descended on the location and proceeded to beat and handcuff the Guyanese men who were in the area at the time” one report stated.

There have so far been no further reports on the location and well-being of the Guyanese.

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Guyana has a decades-old land dispute with Venezuela, which has laid claim to a significant portion of the CARICOM country. During the rule of late Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, he agreed with Guyana authorities to have the issue settled through a United Nations-appointed ‘Good Officer’. A process which continues.

But since his passing there have been several incidents between the two countries on land and in the territorial waters, with the latest being an incursion of Venezuelan soldiers into Guyana last year.

Observers believe that the 2013 incursion and other similar incidents were instigated by forces opposed to the Government of Chavez’ successor, President Nicholas Maduro, hoping to soil his declared continued friendly relations with Guyana.

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Venezuela soldiers allegedly beat several Guyanese at border

Venezuela govt claims sabotage in deadly blast

CARACAS, Venezuela — VENEZUELA’S oil minister said that sabotage caused an explosion and fire last year that killed more than 40 people at the country’s main oil refinery, saying someone deliberately loosened bolts and released highly flammable gas.

The minister, Rafael Ramirez, did not say whether anyone specifically was suspected and ruled out employees of the state-owned PDVSA oil company. Separately, President Nicolas Maduro blamed the political opposition, although without providing evidence.A former PDVSA security chief questioned Ramirez’s explanation, calling it speculative and saying it raised questions about why the leak wasn’t detected.Shortly after the August 25, 2012 conflagration at the Amuay refinery, reports emerged of faulty maintenance at the facility including dozens of accidents in the months before the disaster.Ramirez alleged the blaze was caused by the loosening of seven bolts at a pump, releasing gas that exploded when National Guard troops stationed at the refinery started up vehicles nearby to evacuate.He said the disaster caused US$1.1 billion in damage. It took four days to extinguish the fire, and 42 people died and five were reported missing by official count. Only recently has the refinery restored production to 645,000 barrels per day of crude.The former PDVSA security chief, Gustavo Benitez, said he found it difficult to believe that insurers would pay for damages caused by the disaster based on Ramirez’s explanation.Benitez said that “the pump would have had to have been damaged, the sensors (that detect leaks) would have had to have been damaged” and mitigation systems as well. He said it appeared, rather, that “maintainence had been highly inefficient”.Maduro’s claim that the opposition was involved in alleged sabotage follows his repeated blaming of political rivals for Venezuela’s ills. Since winning the election in April by a razor-thin margin, the hand-picked successor of the late President Hugo Chavez has accused the opposition of sabotaging the overstrained power grid, causing food shortages through hoarding and mounting four alleged plots to assassinate him.In no instance has Maduro substantiated the claims.Last week, he claimed opposition sabotage was behind a failure in the country’s main electrical transmission line that caused about 70 per cent of the nation to lose power for more than a half day.Maduro on Monday predicted that “a war plan against the country will increase” in coming weeks. Elections are to be held December 8 for mayors and municipal councils.Political opponents led by Henrique Capriles, who insists Maduro stole the April 14 presidential election through fraud, scoff at his claims of sabotage. They say he is making them a scapegoat for his government’s inadequacies and his waning popularity — and to cover up corruption in this country with the world’s biggest proven oil reserves.The Amuay disaster has raised questions about whether PDVSA has neglected maintenance while funnelling revenues into the social programmes that have made the socialist Chavistas popular with the poor.A report done for an insurance carrier published widely right after the disaster and obtained by The Associated Press found failures in the complex’s maintenance and listed dozens of accidents.It said the refinery had 222 accidents in 2011, including 100 fires mostly caused by breaks and leaks in pipes carrying combustible liquids.Lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, who belongs to an opposition commission that is investigating the Amuay disaster, said via Twitter on Monday that PDVSA’s accident rate is 12 times the world average.Critics say that in addition to refinery failures, PDVSA’s operations have suffered from the firing of nearly 18,000 oil workers in 2003, which was about 45 per cent of the payroll, after they joined a strike called by Chavez’s political opponents to press demands that the president resign.Chavez died in March after 14 years in power.Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro holds a small copy of Venezuela’s national constitution as he speaks during a press conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. (PHOTO: AP)

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Venezuela govt claims sabotage in deadly blast

Venezuela strip club attacker jailed

30 August 2013 Last updated at 19:07 ET The Antonella 2012 Club is located in an upscale neighbourhood in Caracas A Venezuelan man has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for opening fire on two US diplomats in a Caracas strip club.

The attorney general’s office said Carlos Mejias admitted wounding the military attaches after a brawl in May.

“He pulled out a gun and repeatedly fired at the Americans,” it said in a statement.

One of the diplomats was shot in the leg, the other in the stomach. But neither had life-threatening injuries.

The incident took place at the Antonella 2012 Club, a pole dancing bar in the Chacao neighbourhood of Caracas, the statement said.

Mr Mejias surrendered to the authorities five days later and was charged with attempted murder.

A second Venezuelan has been charged with being an accessory to attempted murder.

Caracas is considered one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America.

Diplomats have been targeted by criminals in recent years with officials from Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico and Belarus being briefly abducted.

Last year, the government introduced a new gun law banning the sale of firearms and ammunition.

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Venezuela strip club attacker jailed

Venezuela country profile - Overview

25 April 2013 Last updated at 08:55 ET Venezuela has some of the world’s largest proven oil deposits as well as huge quantities of coal, iron ore, bauxite and gold.

Yet most Venezuelans live in poverty, many of them in shanty towns, some of which sprawl over the hillsides around the capital, Caracas.

Venezuela’s economic fortunes are tied to world oil prices. A 1970s boom largely benefited the middle classes, but a subsequent price collapse condemned many of this class to poverty while eroding the living standards of the already impoverished.

National hero Simon Bolivar led several Latin American countries to independence from Spain

Unemployment is high and, according to official figures, around 60% of households are poor.

In 1998 Venezuelans broke the stranglehold of the discredited party system to elect the populist left-winger Hugo Chavez, a former army officer who proclaimed a “Bolivarian revolution”, named after South America’s independence hero. Mr Chavez died in 2013, but was succeeded by his vice-president, Nicolas Maduro, who pledged to continue his policies.

A country of striking natural beauty, which ranges from the snow-capped Andean peaks in the west, through the Amazonian jungles in the south, to the beaches of the north, Venezuela is among the most highly urbanised countries in Latin America.

Radical reform, political unrest and deep divisions characterised the President Chavez’s term in office. His supporters – known as “chavistas” – and his detractors both staged street protests.

Continue reading the main story Politics: President Hugo Chavez died in March 2013. He led a self-styled socialist revolution but polarised domestic opinionEconomy: Venezuela is a major oil producer; export revenues fund huge social programmesInternational: President Chavez was a strident critic of Washington; the US portrayed him as a security threat. Critics said he used fuel sales under preferential terms to extend political influence in the region

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Supporters said his economic reforms – including the nationalisation of much of the economy, especially the oil sector – and his expansion of social programmes helped the poor benefit from the country’s oil export revenues.

Critics said his actions damaged economic performance and encouraged inflation, running at 27.2% in 2010. In January 2010, the government had devalued the bolivar in an attempt to boost oil revenues and simulate domestic production.

Venezuela under Mr Chavez sought to strengthen its regional influence through diplomatic and economic overtures towards other South American and Caribbean nations.

This has been seen, in part, as an effort to counter Washington’s influence in the region, and has been a contributory factor in strained relations with US allies such as Colombia.

Mr Chavez also aligned himself with Russia and Iran, and frequently expressed support for anti-Western leaders in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The world’s tallest waterfall: Angel Falls in Canaima National Park, southern Venezuela

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Venezuela country profile - Overview

Russia official: Venezuela last chance for Snowden

Latest News

Sunday, July 07, 2013 | 9:00 AM

MOSCOW (AP) — An influential Russian parliament member who often speaks for the Kremlin encouraged NSA leaker Edward Snowden on Sunday to accept Venezuela’s offer of asylum.Alexei Pushkov, who heads the international affairs committee in Russia’s parliament, posted a message on Twitter saying: “Venezuela is waiting for an answer from Snowden. This, perhaps, is his last chance to receive political asylum.”Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said Saturday that his country has not yet been in contact with Snowden, who Russian officials say has been stuck in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport since arriving on a flight from Hong Kong two weeks ago. He has been unable to travel further because the United States annulled his passport.Jaua said he expects to consult with Russian officials on Monday about Snowden’s situation.Pushkov’s comments appeared to indicate that the Kremlin is now anxious to be rid of the former National Security Agency systems analyst, whom the US wants returned to face espionage charges.There has been no response from the Kremlin or Russian Foreign Ministry to the asylum offer made by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro in the early hours of Saturday, Moscow time.For Snowden to leave for South America, he would need for Venezuela to issue him travel documents and he would need to find a way to get there. The only direct commercial flight from Moscow goes to Havana, Cuba, and Snowden had booked a seat on this flight the day after arriving from Hong Kong, but failed to show up.The Moscow-Havana flight goes over Europe and the United States, which could cause complications. Some European countries refused to allow Bolivian President Evo Morales to fly through their airspace on his way home from Moscow last week because of suspicions that Snowden was onboard his plane.Pushkov joked that if Snowden does not find shelter in Venezuela, “he will have to stay and marry Anna Chapman,” the redheaded Russian spy who was among 10 sleeper agents deported from the United States in 2010. The 31-year-old Chapman proposed to Snowden, who just turned 30, on Twitter last week.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Russia official: Venezuela last chance for Snowden