O U R   A M E R I C A

• Venezuela wants peace with Colombia, confirms Chávez
December.29.09
CARACAS.— President Hugo Chávez today confirmed that Venezuela’s only aspiration is to live in peace with Colombia, although the winds of war promoted by the United States in the region are forcing the nation to prepare itself for possible acts of aggression.

• Argentines who earned medical degrees in Cuba open doctor’s office
December.29.09
ARGENTINE doctors who graduated from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana opened Casa Tatu, a doctor’s office for attending to residents of an extremely poor neighborhood in Greater Buenos Aires, on December 28.

• Chávez highlights results of the construction of socialism in Venezuela
December.28.09
CARACAS, December 27.— Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez today confirmed that the country is achieving unprecedented results with respect to the construction of socialism and satisfying the basic needs of human beings, reported PL.

• Corruption in the empire’s media campaign against Latin America
December.15.09
VOICE of the Americas (VOA) is “expanding its penetration” in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, a Miami newspaper has revealed. With this objective, the radio station that broadcasts U.S. propaganda worldwide is to requisition Radio/TV Martí production facilities.

• New page in the evolution of the continent
December.11.09
WHEN the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz and Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, the central driving force of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, signed the constitution of what was then called the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) on December 14, 2004 in Havana, it is possible that not everyone realized the profound historical and real significance of the step being taken at that time, when a  new page in the future of Latin America and the Caribbean was being opened.

• Fruitful balance in just five years
December.11.09
JUST five years have passed since the signing of the Constitutional Agreement of what was then the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, laying the foundations of a new way of exercising solidarity, an equality of duties and rights and mutual respect among the sister nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, liberated from imperial hegemony and oligarchical dominion.

• Venezuela and Cuba
December.11.09
Venezuela is bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Antilles, Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia,Martinique, Guadalupe,Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. It is bordered to the south by the Federative Republic of Brazil, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and the Republic of Guyana, and to the west by the Republic of Colombia. It has a population of 26.5 million inhabitants and is 912,100 square kilometers in dimension. Its capital is Caracas.

• Healthcare within everyone's reach
December.11.09
THE training of human resources in the area of healthcare and the development of essential services to guarantee universal and quality medical attention, should be seen as the most humane expression of solidarity put into practice among the countries comprising the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).

• ALBA in its natural scenario
December.11.09
THE fifth anniversary of the constitution of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which is taking place in Havana, could not have a better prologue than the overwhelming and impeccable reelection of President Evo Morales in the elections of Sunday, December 6, which constitutes an unequivocal signal that the process of change that opened up at the end of the 1990s has come to stay.

• President Correa describes Cuba as the world champion of solidarity and humanism
December.9.09
AFTER months of genetic and psychological-social research throughout one third of Ecuadorian territory, 192 Cuban collaborators, members of the Manuela Espejo solidarity mission, have returned to Cuba to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Revolution with their families and the nation as a whole.

• Resounding victory for Evo
December.7.09
LA PAZ, December 6.—"Today, Bolivia is once again demonstrating its democratic vocation and that it is possible to change," affirmed Evo Morales of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) this Sunday, after a convincing re-electoral victory of more than 63% of the vote.

• EVO MORALES
"There are only two ways: moving forward in support of change or going back to the past, going back to neoliberalism"
November.25.09
LA PAZ.—Evo Morales Ayma, the man who, four years ago, changed the history of Bolivia and shook the racist protocol of Western diplomacy, is virtually not sleeping in La Paz at the moment.

• Chávez discusses ALBA Summit with Cuban delegation
November.23.09
CARACAS, November 22.— Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez received in Miraflores Palace a Cuban delegation headed by Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, vice president of the Council of Ministers, as part of preparations for the upcoming ALBA Summit.

• Venezuelan President stresses importance of Fidel’s Reflection
November.19.09
VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chávez Frías stressed the importance of the "Reflections of Fidel," published Thursday November 19 and titled The Bolivarian Revolution and Peace, at a preparatory workshop for the 1st Extraordinary Congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) to the 772 delegates participating in the upcoming event.

• Resistance in Honduras calls for abstention from elections
November.17.09
TEGUCIGALPA, November 16.— The National Front against the Coup in Honduras has reiterated its call to abstain from voting in the November 29 elections, because it considers them an attempt to legitimize the coup regime dictatorship.

• Honduras: dictatorship recruiting right-wing extremists as "observers"
November.12.09
IN order to cover up the invalidity of the upcoming November 29 elections, the usurping regime of Roberto Micheletti is heavily recruiting—via an association of pro-coup businesspeople — "observers" from right-wing extremist organizations.

• U.S. bases threaten Latin America, confirms Evo
November.10.09
COCHABAMBA, November 9.— Bolivian President Evo Morales affirmed that the installation of U.S. military bases in Colombia is an open provocation to Latin America and, particularly, to those countries that are starting to bring dignity to their peoples and governments.

• The true intentions behind the US-Colombia Military Agreement *
November.9.09
AN official document from the Department of the US Air Force reveals that the military base in Palanquero, Colombia will provide the Pentagon with "…an opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America…" This information contradicts the explanations offered by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the U.S. State Department regarding the military agreement signed between the two nations this past October 30.

• Heavy rain in El Salvador leaves 91 dead and 60 missing
November.9.09
SAN SALVADOR, November 8. – The government minister of El Salvador, Humberto Centeno, officially reported on Sunday that the number of people dead as a result of the intense rainstorms that have lashed the country in the past few days has risen to 91. The rains were attributed to a low pressure system in the Pacific, intensified by the passing of Hurricane Ida. Ida alone caused the evacuation of 7,000 people, with 60 people reported missing to date, AP indicated.

• Agent Micheletti
November.3.09
THE late CIA agent Philip Agee, who dedicated himself to identifying and denouncing his crimes after resigning from the agency, would have predicted it some time ago: Robert Micheletti, current leader of the Tegucigalpa military/business junta, has all the characteristics of a yanki intelligence agent, recruited at a certain moment by some Langley official assigned to the Honduran Embassy.

• Fidel and Gabo: The most important Latin Americans of the 20th century
October.27.09
MEXICO CITY, October 26. — British essayist Gerald Martin stated on Monday in Mexico that the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez are, in their respective spheres of influences, the two most important Latin American figures of the 20th century.

• How to change the world from a bicycle
October.22.09
THE first time we talked with Evo Morales, on a cold winter night in La Paz in 2008, after learning the date of his birthday, one of us observed, "On that same day, Fidel in Havana called upon the people to create the National Revolutionary Militias." The Bolivian president nodded his head and after a brief silence commented, "That means that I’m a militia member, too."

• Evo Morales receives Machado Ventura
October.21.09
LA PAZ, October 20 (PL). — At his official residence in San Jorge, President Evo Morales received Cuban First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura.

• Machado Ventura visits Bolivian town of La Higuera
October.20.09
La Higuera, Bolivia, October 19.— First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura visited La Higuera, the town in eastern Bolivia where they murdered Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara 42 years ago.

• Vice President of Ecuador expresses thanks for Cuban cooperation
October.19.09
ON his arrival yesterday in Havana, Ecuadorian Vice President Lenín Moreno Garcés stated that the objective of his official visit was to express heartfelt thanks to the Cuban government and people for their cooperation on a very special campaign in that South American nation, namely the Manuela Espejo Solidarity Mission.

• Machado Ventura declared illustrious guest of Vallegrande
October.19.09
VALLEGRANDE, Bolivia, Oct. 18 (PL).— The city council in this eastern town today declared as an illustrious guest the Cuban First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura, who is on an official visit to Bolivia.

• Chávez receives advance brigade of Cuban doctors
October.9.09
CARACAS, October 8.— Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez today received the new advance brigade of Cuban doctors, who arrived in the country to boost the Barrio Adentro Mission healthcare program that is being implemented by the Bolivarian government.

• Chávez and Correa advocate unity for true independence
October.8.09
CARACAS, October 7.—The presidents of Venezuela and Ecuador, Hugo Chávez and Rafael Correa, respectively, today agreed to defend unity as the path to achieve real economic independence in the region, reported PL.

• HONDURAS
The inestimable value of the Resistance
October.7.09
ONE hundred days of heroic resistance against the coup regime’s repressive apparatus have been sufficient for the local fascists and their extreme right-wing U.S. sponsors to finally realize that the Honduran people are resolved to keep fighting until President José Manuel Zelaya is restored, as the first step in their strategic course to convene a national constituent assembly, for which they will have to sit down and find a negotiated solution to the conflict backed by the empire.

• Murder of two members of the Honduran resistance condemned
October.5.09
TEGUCIGALPA, October 4.—The Honduran resistance and human rights organizations have condemned the murder of teacher Mario Contreras, vice principal of the Abelardo Fortín Institute, and Lenca leader Antonio Leiva, two members of the resistance allegedly killed by hired assassins.

• Coup regime continues the repression
September.24.09
TEGUCIGALPA, September 23.— The coup government forces’ repression of Honduran citizens demonstrating in support of the constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya today led to the death of a young man, the looting of businesses and markets and numerous riots despite the curfew, EFE reports.

• Brutal repression in Tegucigalpa
September.23.09
TEGUCIGALPA, September 22. — From 05:00 today, hundreds of police and soldiers began to seal off the area where the Brazilian embassy is located and to violently attack peaceful demonstrators who had taken up position around President Manuel Zelaya Rosales’ current location.

• Honduran people now fighting alongside their president
September.22.09
THE legitimate president of Honduras, José Manuel Zelaya, has returned to his country and confirmed that he will continue the struggle until constitutional order is restored, Telesur reports after contacting the president at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

• President Zelaya in the Brazilian embassy in Honduras
September.21.09
TEGUCIGALPA, Sept. 21 (PL) Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is in the Brazilian embassy in this capital, according to media accounts that report seeing him greet a large crowd that had gathered there.

• Venezuela consolidating the Bolivarian Revolution
September.21.09
CARACAS, September 20.—President Hugo Chávez affirmed that he will continue working on the review and rectification process aimed at consolidating and extending the Bolivarian Revolution, Telesur reported.

• Another day of action against the coup in Honduras
September.10.09
TEGUCIGALPA, July 30.—A national strike in the state sector, marches, roadblocks and the takeover of public institutions today characterize the 33rd act of popular resistance to the military coup.

• Evo Morales makes plea for a democratic and peaceful campaign
September.9.09
LA PAZ, September 8.— Bolivian President Evo Morales has urged the eight political parties participating in the December 6 general elections to run democratic and peaceful campaigns, PL reported.

• Further 174 Cuban health professionals leave for Ecuador
September.8.09
THE brigade of 62 Cuban specialists who initiated a study of people with disabilities in Cotopaxi, Ecuador, this past July is to increase to 236 with today’s departure of a further 174 heath professionals, with the goal of extending this investigation to cover the entire country.

• United States: Plan Colombia and water
September.3.09
NATURE is passing the check on to the United States. However, savage depredation of the environment is not charging in dollars but in conditions for survival.

• TWO MONTHS AFTER THE COUP
The people continue the struggle
September.3.09
TWO months after the insidious civilian/military coup to oust President José Manuel Zelaya and democracy in Honduras, it would seem that all paths taken in an attempt to make the de facto government see reason have failed and its grip on power is inevitable. At least, that is the idea being projected by those who are celebrating having removed one of the pro-ALBA presidents from the regional political scene.

• UNASUR SUMMIT IN BARILOCHE
A sharp retort to U.S. military interference
September.3.09
IN the face of more than a few predictions that the UNASUR Summit of Heads of State in the Argentine city of Bariloche would be a failure, given the composition of its leadership and their distinct political and ideological differences, the dignity of America came to the fore, united more by the defense of its sovereignty and the weight of history than divided by those differences.

• Correa condemns U.S. blockade of Cuba
September.3.09
QUITO.— Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa sent a warm embrace to Fidel and Raúl Castro during his regular Saturday radio and television program, "Enlace Ciudadano" and fiercely criticized "the criminal U.S. blockade of the Cuban people."

• Strong popular rejection at start of electoral campaign in Honduras
September.1.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 31.—The campaign for the general elections on November 29 in Honduras officially began today and has been rejected by extensive social sectors opposed to the military coup that took place last June 28.

• Correa condemns U.S. blockade of Cuba
August.31.09
QUITO.— Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa sent a warm embrace to Fidel and Raúl Castro during his regular Saturday radio and television program, "Enlace Ciudadano" and fiercely criticized "the criminal U.S. blockade of the Cuban people."

• Evo to take proposal against military bases to UNASUR
August.27.09
LA PAZ, August 26.— Bolivian President Evo Morales announced today that he is to propose a continental referendum on the installation of U.S. military bases in the region at the upcoming Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Summit.

• Ecuadorian Parliament rejects U.S. bases and asks UNASUR for measures of confidence
August.26.09
QUITO, August 25 (EFE).— The Ecuadorian National Assembly has rejected the installation of U.S. troops on Colombia military bases and has called on the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to issue measures of confidence to be implemented throughout the region.

• Chávez: U.S. is trying to control South American resources
August.24.09
CARACAS, August 23.—The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez , warned this Sunday that the location of U.S. bases in Colombia is an attempt to dominate all of South America in order to take possession of its natural reserves of gas and oil, vegetation and fresh water located in the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela...

• Most powerful families in Honduras financed the coup
August.17.09
CARACAS, August 16.—Honduras National University researcher Leticia Salomón stated yesterday that 10 of the most powerful families in her country financed the June 28 coup against Manuel Zelaya, the legitimate and constitutional president.

• Evo condemns attacks in Boliva
August.14.09
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia, August 13.— Bolivian President Evo Morales has condemned two attacks with explosives perpetrated yesterday in La Paz, injuring seven people, including Arminda Colque, the wife of a social leader. Morales stated that, in the run-up to the general elections in December, the right-wing forces have no candidate and no election platform, and thus are once again resorting to violence to disrupt democracy.
 
• Honduran coup forces attack ELAM students
August.14.09
HONDURAN coup forces have attacked students from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) who are visiting the country and who were giving medical attention to injured demonstrators.

• Thousands on anti-coup march in Honduran capital
August.12.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 6.—Thousands of people marched today through the capital’s main streets, on the 40th consecutive day of resistance to the June 28 military coup in Honduras.

• Presidents of Venezuela and Argentina sign 22 bilateral agreements
August.12.09
CARACAS, August 11.—Cristina Fernández and Hugo Chávez, the presidents of Argentina and Venezuela, respectively, signed 22 trade agreements this Tuesday, including an important one on motor vehicles, thus confirming their cooperation and concretizing the replacement of Colombian products in Venezuela, AFP reports.

• Now the Citizens Revolution is of everyone
August.11.09
QUITO, August 10. —Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa began his second constitutional mandate from today to 2013 with the express will of intensifying the Citizens Revolution and prioritizing the poor, youth and indigenous peoples.

• "Today, 200 years after the beginning of our struggles for independence, we are in a similar situation"
August.11.09
"I feel very excited and happy," Raúl affirmed in the evening of Monday, August 10, addressing some 30,000 people in Quito and describing his unforgettable and intense visit to Ecuador, the first by the Cuban president to that Central American sister nation.

• Thousands on anti-coup march in Honduran capital
August.7.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 6.—Thousands of people marched today through the capital’s main streets, on the 40th consecutive day of resistance to the June 28 military coup in Honduras.

• Soldiers and police repress Honduran university students
August.6.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 5.— Police and soldiers violently removed thousands of university students who were blocking a street in the Honduran capital to demand the return of constitutional President Manuel Zelaya on Wednesday, journalists from the AFP reported.

• Violent repression in Honduran city of San Pedro Sula
August.5.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 4.—Approximately 50 arrests and injuries resulted from a police and military attack on demonstrators in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, human rights defenders said today.

• U.S. accused of double standards over military coup in Honduras
August.4.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 3 (PL).—The National Front against the Coup in Honduras today accused the U.S. of practicing double standards in its policy on the military coup, aimed at allowing the coup regime to gain time and consolidate itself.

• Honduran coup leaders continue the repression; another teacher murdered
August.3.09
TEGUCIGALPA, August 2.— Another teacher was murdered today in Honduras when he returned to his house in the capital after attending the wake of teacher Róger Vallejo, killed by a bullet to the head last Thursday.

MORE INFORMATION