Accredited Third States
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Warning issued against abuse of solitary confinement
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United Nations expert on torture has called on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the practise of solitary confinement and its harmful effects in the Americas, including the Caribbean. Juan E. Méndez, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture, also called for stronger regulation on solitary confinement. “I am concerned about the general lack of…
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New Pope Shifts Church’s Center of Gravity Away From Europe
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300…
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Standards and Poor’s downgrades Grenada
NEW YORK, CMC – The US-based Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Grenada to 'SD' (selective default) from 'CCC+/C'. “The downgrade to 'SD' follows the government of Grenada's announcement that it will not pay the coupon due March 15, 2013, on its U.S. dollar and Eastern Caribbean dollar bonds due…
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Venezuela: Panel Will Investigate Roots of Cancer That Killed Chávez
(New York Times) Venezuela will create a scientific panel to investigate the illness of Hugo Chávez, after an accusation by the interim president last week that the former president’s cancer was mysteriously caused by his enemies. “We have this intuition that our Commander Chávez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted to get rid of him to destroy the Bolivarian…
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CARICOM and Latin America after Chávez
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Much comment has been made, following the recent death of President Hugo Chávez, emphasizing forebodings about the fate of the PetroCaribe initiative and other forms of assistance, including the creation of the Alba; and the effects of any disappearance of these initiatives on the economic welfare of the Caricom countries, among other countries of the hemisphere. A…
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U.S. Expels 2 Venezuela Envoys
CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States said Monday that it had expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in response to the ouster last week of two American military attachés by Venezuela. “Around the world, when our people are thrown out unjustly, we’re going to take reciprocal action,” Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, said at a news conference. “And we need to…
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Legacy of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez will be hard to erase
What does Hugo Chávez leave to the Venezuelan people? Three legacies, all of which are poisoned: a harebrained way to govern, the mindless 21st-Century socialism, and a neopopulist model based on welfare-patronage. • First, he leaves them the memory of a colorful character who was very funny. He governed badly but was amusing and monopolized the newscasts. Fourteen years of…
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n Venezuela, some have mixed views on Hugo Chávez’s final resting site
CARACAS — On a hilltop, high above the Venezuelan capital, rises a 113-year-old structure called Cuartel de la Montaña or Mountain Barracks. On top of the old red and white building that resembles a castle stands a giant sign showing the number 4 next to the letter F. The reference is to February 4, the date in 1992 when then…
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Chávez Heir Faces Challenge in Ties With Armed Forces
CARACAS, Venezuela — The multitudes in red shirts, clenched fists thrusting in the air — a dominant image of the political movement that President Hugo Chávez left behind — convey a sense of followers united and loyal to the father of their revolution and his designated heir, Nicolás Maduro. But beneath the surface, the array of factions Mr. Maduro must…
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Human Rights group says Chávez disregarded basic human rights
NEW YORK, CMC – Even as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was laid to rest on Friday a major human rights group in the United States claims that his presidency (1999-2013) was characterized by a “dramatic concentration of power and open disregard for basic human rights guarantees.” According to Human Rights Watch after enacting a new constitution with ample human rights…
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