ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas INTERNATIONALFriday, February 8, 2013 | Nº 145 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

The Venezuelan people took to the streets of Caracas last Monday to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the attempted military insurrection that launched the nation’s Bo-livarian Revolution and marked the beginning of the political career of current Presi-dent Hugo Chavez. On February 4, 1992, Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez alongside a cadre of military personnel belonging to the Bolivarian Movement 200, named after the Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, organized an uprising against the neoliberal government of President Carlos Andres Perez. Page 2

Strengthening food sovereignty

The Venezuelan government continues its efforts to guarantee food security for the South American nation by increasing national production and access to consumer products. Vice President Nicolas Maduro presided over the inauguration of a multi-purpose agro-industrial complex in the state of Portuguesa last weekend as part of Venezuela’s bid to increase food sovereignty and boost technological development. page 3

Integration

Citgo Aids US CommunitiesThe Venezuelan government continuesto help people in the US with heating oil. page 4

Economy

Venezuela emphasizes science

2013 sees a budget increase for science and technology projects. page 5

Solidarity

World Conference Praises ChavezThe World Equilibrium Conference gathered hundreds of renowned intellectuals in Cuba. page 6

Analysis

Scandal: fugitive bankersfund opposition campaign page 7

Opinion

“Drones” a dirty wordin the United Nations page 8

Venezuela’s internet use up, cell phone use over 100%

T/ YVKE Mundial

Venezuela’s telecommu-nications sector finished 2012 with positive numbers, according to data for the fourth quarter of the year just released by the National Telecommunications Com-mission (Conatel).

Conatel announced that in the fourth quarter of the year, investments were up 54% compared to in 2011, while its profits were up 22.4%.

A 12% rise in subscribers to Conatel’s internet servic-es indicates greater access to web among Venezuelans. The fourth quarter of 2012 saw 3.67 million new clients.

There are an estimated 12.55 million internet users in Venezuela, up 6.2% in the last year, a share which now represents 42% of the nation-al population.

In terms of broadband, subscribers to this service grew 13.5% in the last quar-ter of the year, and 41% of those subscribers chose wireless. Meanwhile, “dial up” internet services fell by 5.7%.

Last year saw 315,000 new subscribers to local phone services in Venezuela, which were up 4.3% in 2012. An es-timated 93% of households nationwide have a home phone.

Venezuelans spent a total of 3.76 billion minutes on the phone and sent 59 million text messages in 2012.

The penetration of cell phone service is over 100% nationwide – meaning that there are more phones than people – and active subscrib-ers to wireless plans grew 6% last year. There are 30.5 million cell phone users in Venezuela, and 93% use pre-paid services.

Subscription television service in Venezuela was up 21.4% last year, reaching a total of 3.39 million clients.

Venezuela says Chavez“For now and forever”

Carnival, Venezuela style

A week-long celebration, starting on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, El Callao is home to Venezuela’s biggest and best carnival celebrations. This year it will be held from February 7 – 13. The origins of the carnival date back to 1850s when the gold rush attracted people from all over the Caribbean who came to settle in the area. Today, the carnival has evolved into a culmi-nation of music and dances from the British West Indies and French Antilles giving it a unique sound. Two of the main features of the carnival are the madamas and the devils – the madamas dressed in the flashy robes of Martinique and Guadeloupe and the dev-ils wearing distinctive African headscarves. Many people also dress up as mediopin-tos, covering themselves from head to toe in black paint and threaten to the same to anyone who does not give them a donation.

The artillery of ideas

Venezuelans celebrate Chavez“For now and forever”

2 Impact | Friday, February 8, 2013

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

The Venezuelan people took to the streets of Caracas last Monday to commemorate

the 21st anniversary of the at-tempted military insurrection that launched the nation’s Boli-varian Revolution and marked the beginning of the political career of current President Hugo Chavez.

Marches originating in vari-ous parts of the capital con-verged on the Presidential Pal-

stand against the injustice and inequality that marked Ven-ezuelan society 21 years ago.

For Roisnis Grisman, social-ist activist present at Monday’s demonstration, “February 4 represented the retaking of the people’s struggle”.

“Thanks to Chavez, we have awoken and we began to take power”, Grisman added.

THE HISTORYOn February 4, 1992, Lieuten-

ant Colonel Hugo Chavez along-side a cadre of military person-

ace of Miraflores where high ranking officials of the Chavez government spoke on the legacy that the civic-military uprising has left for the country.

Venezuelan Vice President, Nicolas Maduro, referred to the date as “the resurrection of our patriotic symbols”, calling the events some of the greatest moments for the country in the 20th Century.

“How beautiful it was to see the flag on February 4!” Ma-duro exclaimed at the rally, praising soldiers who took a

nel belonging to the Bolivarian Movement 200, named after the Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, organized an uprising against the neoliberal government of President Carlos Andres Perez.

The rebellion was the product of a series of economic austerity measures introduced by Perez as well as the brutal repression of street protests in 1989, known as the Caracazo that left more than a thousand citizens dead.

While the insurrection led by Chavez three years later was unsuccessful in toppling the discredited government of the time, it did succeed in planting the seeds for a greater political movement that would lead to the popular election of the revo-lutionary in 1998.

Diosdado Cabello, President of the Venezuelan Congress, was involved in the planning and execution of coup and was subsequently imprisoned alongside Chavez for his par-ticipation in the insurrection.

On Monday, Cabello ad-dressed the crowd gathered in front of the Presidential Palace and lauded how the Bolivarian movement that Chavez founded more than 20 years ago contin-ues to grow in strength.

“With each passing day we are more committed to the Bolivari-an Revolution, with Comandante Chavez and with the unity of the people of the Americas. We love Chavez as a father, as a brother, as a leader and as a colleague”, Cabello said of the Venezuelan President currently convalesc-

ing in Cuba from cancer surgery carried out on December 11.

The head of the National As-sembly also called attention to the attempts by the Venezuelan right-wing to take advantage of Chavez’s current absence by creating divisions in the social-ist party and capitalizing on the political situation.

“Those who believe that they’re going to return to power because [Chavez] is convalesc-ing are making a mistake with the people”, he warned.

Vice President Maduro stated that the Venezuelan President is “spiritually in the hearts of everyone here” and read a let-ter written for the occasion by the recovering head of state.

In the message, Chavez ex-pressed the need to follow the example set in 1992 and for the adherents of the Bolivarian Revolution to not fall into com-placency.

“February 4 was a day that generated a force that is still in expansion. February 4 has not ended. It’s spirit must be with us everyday because the powers that we are confronting for more than two decades still persist in their intention to stop the course of Venezuelan his-tory, of our America and of the world”, he wrote.

“We are all part of the insur-gent homeland, the homeland that at last has taken the Bo-livarian flag into its arms so that the light of dignity can be reborn from the depths of the people’s hearts”, the Venezu-elan President penned.

The artillery of ideas

The artillery of ideasFriday, February 8, 2013 | Politics 3

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro presided over the inauguration of a

multi-purpose agro-industrial complex in the state of Portu-guesa last weekend as part of the South American nation’s bid to increase food sovereign-ty and boost technological de-velopment.

The official opening of the Vuelvan Caras complex was held to mark the 14th anniver-sary of President Hugo Chavez’s coming to power and the politi-cal ascendancy of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution.

“We’re celebrating 14 years of revolution and the fact that the homeland will be sovereign and produce its own food”, Maduro said during the ceremony last Saturday.

Land Minister Juan Carlos Loyo, Industry Minister Ricar-do Menendez, and Alimentation Minister Carlos Osorio were also on hand for the event.

According to officials, the new Vuelvan Caras facili-ties will assemble tractors equipped with 160 and 200

horse power engines at a rate of five per week.

The complex will also be pro-ducing balanced livestock feed as well as the first graders to be assembled, in their entirety, in Venezuela.

“Today, at 14 years (since the swearing-in of Hugo Chavez as President), we are starting to take our first steps. Venezuela now has a factory to produce some of the most modern trac-tors in the world”, the Vice President said.

The engines utilized in the new assembly plant have been obtained from Brazil through Venezuela’s participation in the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) commercial bloc, Maduro informed.

With respect to the livestock feed, the new facilities will be processing corn, rice and soy for poultry, pork and beef, with a production capacity of 480 tons daily.

The technology for the pro-cessing plant is a result of ac-cords signed between Venezu-ela and Argentina.

“When you see these pub-lic works is when you say ‘the struggle, the sacrifices and the

victories have been worth it and it will be worth it all that needs to be done from here on out’”, the VP stated.

Financing for new agrarian projects and machinery for 516 small and medium producers was also approved as part of Saturday’s inauguration.

As part of the country’s Mis-sion Agro-Venezuela social program, more than 401 thou-sand bolivars ($93,000) were allocated for the elaboration of a cattle ranching initiative in Portuguesa while 25 mil-lion bolivars ($5.8 million) have been destined to increase the production of corn flour, a Venezuelan staple.

The interest rates for the credits have been set at four percent, a far cry from the 70 percent demanded by lending agencies during previous gov-ernments, Vice President Ma-duro said.

The second-in-command noted that while Venezuela has made great strides in eliminat-ing hunger in the country, the defense of food sovereignty in the country “belongs to every-one...and we have to be truly involved so that all Venezu-

elans have quality food at fair prices”.

The comments come as the private market for price-regu-lated staple products continues to suffer the affects of specula-tion and hoarding by distribu-tors who refuse to charge the legally mandated cost of basic commodities.

To fight the illicit trade of common products, more than 60,000 volunteers from grass-roots community councils have been organized into a new Net-work of Food Sovereignty and Security Defense.

FORTIFYING SECURITYAGAINST DESTABILIZATION

During the last weekend’s launch, the Venezuelan Vice President informed the nation on the progress of new secu-rity measures and condemned a recent between opposition leader Henrique Capriles and members of the Colombian right-wing.

Maduro reported on a meet-ing held between Defense Minis-ter Diego Molero and President Chavez, currently convalescing in Cuba, regarding the configu-ration of the country’s Strate-

gic Regions of Holistic Defense (REDI).

“The President instructed Molero on the development of the REDI in order to continue the training process and equip-ping of the armed forces”, the Vice President said.

Venezuela’s 2008 National Bo-livarian Armed Forces Law es-tablishes the nation’s REDI as a “national territorial space with geo-strategic characteristics” and divides the country into six such regions.

Governor of Portuguesa state and former soldier Wilmar Cas-tro Soteldo, spoke during Satur-day’s ceremony on what he sees as new military ethic in Venezu-ela following years of domina-tion from the United States.

“We were an armed forces that was configured with a North American scheme that car-ried out invasions and attacks against neighboring countries. It was an armed forces con-ceived under an elitist concep-tion that prohibited contact with the people”, Soteldo asserted.

For Vice President Maduro, both the military and the people need to be on alert for attempts by the Venezuelan opposition to take advantage of President Chavez’s absence by sowing pan-ic and fear in the population.

To this effect, Maduro de-nounced a recent trip to Colom-bia by opposition leader and Governor of Miranda State, Henrique Capriles, which saw the ex-presidential candidate of the Venezuelan right meet with various political actors in-cluding former Spanish head of state, Felipe Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, as founder of the Spanish newspaper El Pais, has been blamed by senior mem-bers of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) for publishing a falsified photo of President Chavez attached to a respirator.

Maduro said Capriles’ meet-ing with Gonzalez was “shame-ful” and accused the opposition leader of conspiring with para-military elements in Colombia.

Nevertheless, the Venezuelan Vice President exalted the unity of the PSUV, declaring that the country is ready “to confront what they are preparing”.

“This revolution has been getting stronger year after year. It’s passed tests of coup d’etats, oil sabotage, economic sabotag-es, national and international conspiracies. But with each test we have become stronger... [The right-wing] should know that if they try to enact the con-spiracies that they are prepar-ing, the people and the govern-ment will become even more radical”, Maduro declared.

Venezuelan continues to strengthenfood sovereignty, national security

The artillery of ideas4 Integration | Friday, February 8, 2013

T/ Ewan RobertsonP/ Agencies

Trade between Venezuela and Colombia increased 40.4% in 2012 compared

with the previous year, Colom-bia’s customs and tax authority has reported. This represents a jump in twelve months of al-most US $1 billion in commer-cial exchange, from $2.34 bil-lion to $3.28 billion.

The figures confirm that trade between the two Andean nations continues its recovery from the 2008 – 2010 crash, when bilateral exchange fell from $7.29 billion to $1.68 billion.

Analysts consider that the plummet and recovery is due to political rather than economic factors, in particular due to improved diplomatic relations since Juan Manuel Santos be-came Colombian President in August 2010.

“The trust between Juan Manuel Santos and (Venezu-elan President) Hugo Chavez has generated this recovery of trade between the two coun-tries”, said Pavel Rondon, a for-mer Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia.

He argued that bilateral trade crashed from 2009 due to “the aggressive position of ex-Colombian President Alvaro Uribe”, who, by declarations

made toward the end of his presidential term, appeared to be ready to declare war on Venezuela.

Uribe took an increasingly radical stance against Presi-dent Chavez and the Bolivar-ian revolution during his presi-dency. The former President subsequently admitted in an interview last August that he had indeed considered military intervention in Venezuela to-wards the end of his term, but said that he had “lacked time”.

However when Santos came to the Colombian presidency dip-lomatic relations were quickly restored.

In November 2011 thirteen new bilateral agreements were signed between the neighboring countries, including a new cus-toms regime to stimulate trade. This replaced Andean Commu-nity (CAN) agreements, from which Venezuela withdrew in 2006.

“Conditions are set for trade. It has been growing progres-sively in recent months and this should give it a definite boost”, said Santos at the time.

Meanwhile, Chavez heralded the agreements as evidence that “We want to strengthen our friendship, trust, and poli-cies”, and transform Caracas and Bogota “into examples of governments that put their [po-

litical] differences aside so as to benefit their peoples”.

CHANGING THE BALANCEHowever, Venezuelan offi-

cials have raised concerns that the balance of trade between Venezuela and Colombia con-tinues to be unfavorable to the OPEC nation.

Colombian exports to Ven-ezuela accounted for 81.8% of total trade in 2012, with Ven-ezuelan exports at 18.2%, and while both nations increased exports on 2011, Colombia did so at a faster rate.

Ex-ambassador Rondon ar-gued that, “It’s necessary to turn around the negative balance of trade with Colombia…this has to be a national objective”.

Observers also point out that the balance of trade between Venezuela and Colombia will not change overnight. “It’s go-ing to depend on market devel-opment and that the Caracas – Bogota political axis is main-tained, stimulating trust not only between the presidents but also producers”, said Rondon.

According to the trade report, the main products Colombia exports to Venezuela are cattle, diapers, sweets and biscuits. Meanwhile principal imports into Colombia from Venezuela are steel, iron, chemical prod-ucts and oil derivatives.

Trade between Venezuelaand Colombia back on track T/ CITGO

Last Thursday, at the Night of Peace Family Shelter in

Baltimore, Citgo Petroleum Corporation President and CEO Alejandro Granado and Citizens Energy Corporation Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy II launched the eighth annual Citgo-Venezuela Heating Oil Program with the first heat-ing oil delivery of this winter’s initiative.

The program, which began as a single donation in 2005 in response to the high prices of heating oil resulting from hur-ricanes Katrina and Rita, has grown well beyond its original scope. Today, it has become a humanitarian symbol of unity between the people of Venezu-ela and those in need in the United States.

This year, the program has a heightened sentiment as it comes at a time when Venezu-elans and many in the world send their wishes for the health and prompt recovery of Presi-dent Hugo Chavez, who has supported this initiative since its creation eight years ago.

“The Citgo-Venezuela Heat-ing Oil Program has been one of the most important energy assistance efforts in the United States. This year, as families across the Eastern Seaboard struggle to recover from the losses caused by Hurricane Sandy, this donation becomes even more significant”, said Granado. “This energy assis-tance program is an integral example of the humanitar-ian principles endorsed by the Citgo ultimate shareholder, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (Pdvsa), the national oil com-pany of Venezuela”.

Over the years, the program has helped more than 1.7 mil-lion people stay warm during the coldest months of winter by donating more than 200 million gallons of heating oil worth more than $400 million. It is estimated that this year the program will help more than 100,000 families in 25 states plus the District of Co-lumbia, including members of more than 240 Native Ameri-can communities and more than 200 homeless shelters.

“Citgo invests relatively more than any other major oil company in social responsibil-ity projects. As a matter of fact, our percent of revenue spent

Eighth annual Citgo-VenezuelaHeating Oil Program launched

in social programs has been five times more than those of other much larger, vertically-integrated competing global brands. It is a core principle of our business to use the strength of our resources to help people in need”, Granado said.

Since the program’s cre-ation, Citgo has partnered with Citizens Energy Corporation, a non-profit organization cre-ated in 1979 by former US Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II. Citizens Energy Corporation, which has used successful ventures in the energy and health care industries to finance chari-table programs in the US and abroad, has provided energy assistance to families in need for more than 30 years.

“We are so grateful for this generous donation from the people of Venezuela and Citgo Petroleum Corporation. After eight years and more than 200 million gallons of heat-ing oil distributed within the US, the burden of another difficult winter threatens the livelihood and safety of se-nior citizens and low-income families”, Kennedy said. “It is critical that we continue to support US families through this program. Thanks to this partnership, we will help more than 400,000 people stay warm and safe this winter”.

Kennedy emphasized the commitment Citgo has made to US communities. He said that he has approached major US oil companies and oil-producing nations to ask them to assist the poor in bearing the burden of rising energy costs. “They all said no”, he said, “except for Citgo, President Chavez and the people of Venezuela”.

Claudia Salerno Caldera, Venezuela’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America, addressed the plight of poor people and why human-itarian assistance is so vital. “The vision of social respon-sibility in the energy policy of Venezuela has allowed us to assure that our profits ben-efit the neediest people in our country. Just as the govern-ment of President Hugo Chavez has made significant efforts in the fight against poverty and in the promotion of social jus-tice in Venezuela, this program demonstrates that our commit-ment to the poor transcends all boundaries, ideological and geographical”, Salerno said.

The artillery of ideasFriday, February 8, 2013 | Economy 5

T/ COIP/ Agencies

The Venezuelan government invested more than two bil-lion bolivars ($465 million)

in over 1,600 scientific and tech-nological projects in 2013, the country’s Vice Minister for the Strengthening of Science and Technology, Guillermo Barre-to, reported last Saturday.

The announcement was made during an interview on state television in response to criti-cisms from the opposition that accuse the Chavez administra-tion of divesting in the nation’s public universities.

According to Barreto, a full 46 percent of the projects fund-ed by the government have been carried out by higher edu-cation institutions in the South American country.

“What is going on is that we’ve democratized the ac-cess to resources. Now it’s not just a few universities or a few actors inside the universi-ties that receive the benefits but rather a lot of universities with many actors”, Barreto af-firmed during an interview on public television.

The Vice Minister ex-plained that public financing had been allocated last year to 40 colleges and universi-ties, breaking with a tradition that has seen the lion share of the higher education budget disbursed to the largest and oldest institutions.

The diversification is part of the Chavez government’s bid to increase the opportunities for economically disadvantages students who have been exclud-ed from the nation’s top-tier universities.

Barreto highlighted the fact that the majority of the financing

Venezuela sees budget increasesfor technology, innovative projects

T/ Paul DobsonP/ Agencies

Venezuela was classified as the country that has made

most advances in the strug-gle against hunger this week by the UN Committee for Ag-riculture and Alimentation, a claim which was supported by figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) regarding the dietary status of the population.

Vice President Nicolas Ma-duro, in an event in which the government handed over 516 agricultural machines to rural workers to improve production levels, explained that the Chavez administra-tion is committed to those who produce the food which feeds the country, and those who struggle on a daily ba-

Venezuelans are “eatingmore and eating better”

sis to produce the food that the country depends on: “We are supporting those people who, on their shoulders, carry the food sovereignty of the coun-try. Honest people, hard-work-ing people, who can count on a government which is equal-ly honest and equally hard-working”.

The positive evaluation comes as Venezuela was re-cently announced as the coun-try that will host and lead future meetings of members of the Community Of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) regional bloc with the particular goal of eradicating hunger.

President of the INE, Elias Eljuri, reinforced this claim by the UN by explaining that the social programs of the revolu-tion have all but erased hunger

in the country: “It is considered that Venezuela has eliminated hunger as a problem, according to all international indicators”, he stated.

He went on to explain that Venezuela has achieved all of its Millennium Goals, in a fur-ther demonstration that the so-cialist government of President Chavez fulfills and achieves the policies and goals it presents to the nation, unlike so many other governments in the world

which will promise the world just to win votes.

“Regarding poverty, we achieved the Millennium Goal, because in 1990 it was at 24%, and the goal was to reduce it to half of that, and we achieved this commitment in 2006”, ex-plained Eljuri.

He went on to analyze the INE figures about the dietary status of the country. Regarding social strata’s 1,2 and 3, which are the wealthiest sectors of society,

and which make up roughly 8 million citizens, he stated that 94.8% of them eat three or more meals a day.

In the 4th strata, which are people who live in “con-solidated communities” and which make up roughly 50% of the country, similarly 94.9% consume three or more meals a day.

Even in the 5th strata, which are people who live in situations of low resources, 97.3% have access to three or more meals a day, prov-ing that hunger has all but been eliminated across all social sectors. “In Venezu-ela we are eating more and eating better”, summarized Eljuri clearly.

Eljuri cited the numerous social programs of the gov-ernment as key factors in this achievement, especially those which make low cost and subsidized food available to the nation, such as Mercal, Pdval, Bicentenario super-markets and others.

for the projects is a product of the reconfiguration of the country’s Science, Technology and Inno-vation Law (Locti), which oblig-es companies with high profit margins to contribute funding to national initiatives.

The Locti was reformed in 2011, establishing a lower

threshold for revenues that must provide funding, result-ing in a 253 percent increase in the resources available for scientific projects.

From 2007 to 2010, the con-tributions made by companies via the law resulted in a budget of between 226 and 343 million bolivars ($52 and $79 million), while in 2011, the reformed mandate saw the funding for projects increase to 1.6 billion bolivars ($372 million).

“[The reconfigu-ration] allows us to make significant in-vestment in all areas of research and for diverse programs that include technologi-cal innovation and the incorporation of these innovations in the pro-ductive sector”, the Vice Minister said.

Thus far this year, more than 170 million bolivars ($39 million) in funding has been allocated for 211 initiatives with public safe-ty being the focus of 40 of

those projects. The government has also

prioritized energy efficiency, Barreto informed on Saturday, emphasizing a new measure that will see the erection of a micro-LED light bulb factory in Venezuela.

The bulbs will generate less heat, will last longer and have less impact on the environment owing to their greater efficien-cy, the Vice Minister asserted.

The artillery of ideas6 Solidarity | Friday, February 8, 2013

T/ COIP/ Agencies

In the context of his ongoing recovery from cancer-relat-ed surgery, Venezuelan Pres-

ident Hugo Chavez recently received the ardent support of numerous authors, intellectu-als, and political figures gath-ered in Havana, Cuba for the Third International Confer-ence for World Equilibrium.

Meeting to discuss the nature of today’s globalized economy and the need for a multi-polar world, Spanish journalist Ig-nacio Ramonet and Brazilian liberation theologian Frei Bet-to, among others, voiced their “heartfelt solidarity” with the Venezuelan President, wishing him a “prompt recovery”. For-mer Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who gave the closing speech at the glob-al conference, described Ven-ezuela’s Chavez as “a comrade who has everything to do with what is currently taking place in South and Latin America”.

SEEKING EQUILIBRIUMAmong the many issues dis-

cussed by some 800 delegates from 44 countries during Cuba’s Third International Conference for World Equilib-rium, participants insistently reiterated the vital role played by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution he has led for over 20 years.

The opening day of the con-ference, for example, as Bra-zilian theologian Frei Betto received Unesco’s 2013 Inter-national Jose Marti Award, the Dominican friar turned political analysts told those gathered that he hopes “God and the Cuban doctors, with all their capacity and talent, are able to achieve the recov-ery of his (Chavez’s) health, for the benefit not only of the Venezuelan people but of all of Latin America”.

Using Venezuela as an ex-ample, Betto explained that “the peoples of our continent, who suffered so much during the final decades of last cen-tury’s military dictatorships, who went on to be deceived by neoliberal governments, now choose to elect leaders who govern on behalf of their ma-jorities, who defend their peo-ples’ sovereignties, and who negate the dictates of foreign power in the region”.

Betto later affirmed that he is “convinced that both (Hugo) Chavez and Fidel (Castro) live within the evangel because both have given themselves to others”.

“They could be very comfort-able, living like the bourgeoisie, living in tranquility like many others, but no, they have risked their lives so that others have life and that is the most evan-gelical there is”, he said.

Commenting on the recent scandal surrounding false medical images published by Spanish daily El Pais, aimed specifically at portraying President Chavez in a vulner-able state as he continues his bout with cancer, Betto told participants that it is crucial that “we be critical of the mass means of communication”.

“That paper (El Pais) uses unreliable sources”, he af-

firmed, “and, as a result, pro-duces unreliable news”.

Agreeing with Betto, inter-nationally-acclaimed journal-ist and intellectual Ignacio Ra-monet linked corporate media attacks on Venezuela’s Chavez to a wider effort to stop the ad-vance of a multi-polar world led by an independent Latin America.

“Oligarchs of the press”, Ramonet stated, “are current-ly carrying out a campaign aimed at putting the brakes on progressive and democratic re-forms taking place across the (Latin American) continent”.

Referring to the aforemen-tioned El Pais scandal, Ra-

Participants at worldconference praise Chavez

monet added that the paper committed “one of the crudest manipulations in press histo-ry” and, by doing so, “revealed its systematic opposition to the Bolivarian Revolution led by President Chavez as well as other progressive politi-cal processes such as those of Cuba and Ecuador”.

In contrast to the corporate media’s “total lack of human-ity”, Ramonet said, those gathered at the Havana-based conference sent Chavez “a love-filled embrace, full of solidarity and best wishes for a prompt recovery”.

In 2007, Ramonet published an editorial in Le Monde Diplo-matique in which he affirmed that “in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador, inspired in the Venezuelan model, real life experiences are keeping hope alive for the emancipa-tion of poor people”.

“In this regard”, Ramonet wrote, “Chavez’s sense of bal-ance is outstanding, which is why he has become a reference in many poor countries”.

Former Guatemalan Presi-dent Alvaro Colon joined oth-ers in the calls for Chavez’s recovery. Colon told those at the conference that “nothing in life can exist without bal-ance, which is why we’re here

gathered in pursuit of world equilibrium”.

“As such”, he said, “we ask that the medical profession-als attending to Hugo Chavez be protected, be strengthened, and be given the wisdom they need to carry out their work”.

On Sunday, political com-mentator Eleazar Diaz Rangel pointed out that “Venezuela and, in particular (President) Chavez, find themselves in the epicenter of the changes” tak-ing place in the Americas and around the world.

“While efforts by the United States to isolate Venezuela have failed miserably”, Rangel wrote, “never before has Ven-ezuelan foreign policy had so many links and so much influ-ence in Latin America and the Caribbean, so many ties to the rest of the world”.

LULA PAYS TRIBUTEAs part of his closing words

at the conference, former Bra-zilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he hoped “the positive energy at this meeting serves to help our dear comrade Chavez recov-ery quickly”.

Flanked by former Domini-can President Leonel Fernan-dez and Nobel Peace Prize win-ner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Lula explained that he “didn’t come to the event dressed as the Cu-bans do, in a white guayabera” but instead wore a red version of the typical Caribbean dress shirt “to pay tribute to another one of our comrades (Chavez), a man who has everything to do with what is currently tak-ing place in South and Latin America”.

In July 2012, as Venezu-ela prepared for presidential elections, Lula issued a video recording praising President Chavez and backing his re-election bid. In it, the Brazil-ian labor leader and ex presi-dent detailed his appreciation for Chavez.

“Progressive governments are changing the face of Latin America”, Lula said.

“Thanks to them, our con-tinent is developing rapidly, with economic growth, job cre-ation, distribution of wealth and social inclusion. Today, we are an international reference point for a successful alterna-tive to neoliberalism”.

“With Chavez’s leadership”, he added, “the Venezuelan people have made extraor-dinary gains. The popular classes have never ever been treated with such respect, love and dignity. Those achieve-ments must be preserved and strengthened”.

The artillery of ideas Friday, February 8, 2013 | Analysis 7

Scandal: Meet the fugitive bankers whocontributed 700 million dollars to CaprilesT/ LaIguanaTV.comTranslation by COI

The links between a pool of corrupt protagonists have existed for years, providing

further evidence of the kind of person the opposition wants in the presidency.

WHO FINANCED THE 2012 CAPRILES ELECTION CAMPAIGN?

Campaigns require candi-dates, slogans, publicity, trips across the country, etc. In short, they require finances. For this, the opposition’s 2012 presidential candidate, Hen-rique Capriles Radonski, had no trouble reaching out to individuals sought after by Interpol and the Venezuelan government for fraud against the Venezuelan state and its citizenry – fugitive bankers who provided him some $700 million dollars in campaign contributions.

Who are these bank-ers? Among the long list of Capriles contributors are the Bozo Brothers – Gabriel and Leopoldo Castillo Bozo, both of which have Interpol war-rants out for their arrests dating back to 14 November 2010. What are they accused of? Among other things, they are accused of an ille-gal operation relating to the Bonds of the South, financial bonds issued by the Venezu-elan government in 2007. In a totally illegal act, the Bozo Brothers usurped the identi-ties of their employees and requested the adjudication of bonds issued by the Venezu-elan Central Bank (BCV). The Bozo Brothers prepared a list of over 1,000 employee names and submitted it on behalf of their now defunct bank, Ban-Valor, securing the brothers between $6 and 10,000 dollars per employee.

Once they realized what had taken place, BanValor’s employees denounced the Bozo family at the Ministry of Public Affairs, affirming none of them had authorized the bankers to request bonds on their behalf. Leopoldo Cas-tillo Bozo, then President of BanValor, was found respon-sible for using his employees’ identities to obtain the public bonds, that is to say, for com-

mitting the crime of simulat-ing securities operations. His brothers, Gabriel and Juan Jose, were accused of the same crime. However, the legal pro-ceedings later stalled. Power, excuse the redundancy, has power.

For the past two years, the Bozo brothers have lived in Miami, though their last real known residence is found in the Dominican Republic. There, they continue to enjoy the mon-ey stolen from the Venezuelan people.

Before continuing, it’s impor-tant to remind readers of the 2009 incident in which Capriles and the Bozo Brothers were mutually involved. On Febru-ary 17, 2009, some two months and 18 days after taking of-fice as Governor of Miranda, Capriles illegally handed over the health insurance policies of the entire governorship’s employees to the Bozo Broth-ers. Capriles granted BanValor Insurance (owned by Gabriel and Leopoldo Castillo Bozo) the right to cover his employ-ees even though BanValor’s was the most expensive of pos-sible policy choices and, in ad-dition, despite the fact that an agreement had already been reached with another insur-ance provider (Multinational Insurance, owned by Tobias Carrero).

Second on the list of fugi-tive bankers who helped fi-nance the Capriles campaign is Humberto Ramirez, former Director of Banco InverUn-ion. Ramirez dodged the Ven-ezuelan Justice System along with Gonzalo Tirado, former President of that same bank, and both men now live freely in Miami, Florida.

What are these men ac-cused of? Back in 2009 and 2010, when the National Gov-ernment intervened in the financial affairs of 12 Venezu-elan banks conducting illegal operations, some 17 bankers were detained while another 16 were prohibited from leav-ing the country. Unfortunate-ly, another 25 bankers fled the country. Humberto Ramirez and Gonzalo Tirado are two of the fugitives. They are accused

of corruption and wanted by both the Venezuelan govern-ment and Interpol.

The list of fugitive bank-ers who financed the Capriles campaign is rather lengthy, and here we have space only to list another 11: Ignacio Sal-vatierra, Ruben Osuna, Luis Gustavo Kowalski, Juan Fer-nandez Lara, Carlos Dorado, Gonzalo Ernesto Vasquez, Gustavo Jose Mancera, Eligio Cedeno, Alvaro Gorrin, Carlos Ponce Fuente, and Jose Omar Contreras.

The question to ask, how-ever, is how did these bank-ers actually hand the money over to Capriles given their illegal status outside of the country and their inability to carry out normal financial transactions? The answer to this question has a name to it,

and that name is Jose Antonio Briquet, regional lawmaker in Miranda, brother to, and political operative of Capriles. Proof exists that Briquet was tasked with serving as the link between the aforementioned bankers and the former presi-dential candidate, making frequent trips to Miami in the very recent past.

WHY DID THESE MENFINANCE CAPRILES?

The platform defended by the opposition’s 2012 presi-dential candidate was always and continues to be an essen-tially anti-Chavez platform. In other words, the platform is conservative, anti-popular, and tasked with restoring old privilege. With that shared ob-jective numerous characters of different personal histories came together, from members of the oligarchy to sectors of the bourgeoisie, members of the displaced political casts to, of course, the fugitive bankers mentioned above.

Of the many factors that bring these people together there is one element that best explains their alliance: all of them want to recover all that they’ve lost during the past 14 years of Bolivarian Revolution. The bourgeoisie wants their companies back, the oligarchy wants its lands back, the displaced political cast wants its jobs back, and the fugitive bankers want two things – impunity for crimes committed and the return of their properties. All of these people want Pdvsa back, back under control of Venezuela’s once dominant classes.

To achieve their shared goals these people known they need a candidate that represents them and that can win an elec-tion. In 2012 they thought that candidate was Capriles. What is clear is that they will con-tinue to finance all those they believe can win any election against Chavez and the politi-cal movements that back the Venezuelan President. What is unknown, for now, is precisely how much money the Capriles campaign actually obtained though what has been de-scribed above is just a part of the shady movements involv-ing some $700 million dollars.

ing research firm, told IPS that besides the United States, there is a very long list of countries manufacturing these UAVs.

These countries include UK, Israel, France, Germany, Po-land, Czech Republic, Canada, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Russia, China, South Korea, Austria, India, South Africa, Ja-pan and Singapore.

Ben Emmerson, a British law-yer and UN special rapporteur for human rights and counter-terrorism, is in the process of preparing an investigative re-port on the use of drones.

He is focusing on 25 drone strikes, specifically in Afghani-stan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and the Palestinian territories (by Israeli drones), where these attacks have reportedly resulted in civilian deaths.

The report is expected to be presented to the General Assem-bly next October or November.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has already expressed “concern” on the use of armed

drones for targeted killings, “as it raises questions about compli-ance with the fundamental prin-ciple of distinction between com-batants and non-combatants”.

Associate UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters last month that drone attacks have also reportedly caused “substan-tial casualties, raising questions about the ability to ensure full compliance with the principle of proportionality”.

He said the secretary-general has asked relevant member states to be transparent about the circumstances in which drones are used, and the means by which they ensure that at-tacks involving drones comply with international law.

According to Amnesty Inter-national, there have been more than 300 drone strikes in Paki-stan alone over the last few years, which have killed both civilians as well as suspected militants.

Responding to a report that the administration of President Barack Obama was finalizing guidelines for “targeted killings” by drones, Susan Lee, Amnesty’s Americas program director, said bluntly: “There already exists a rulebook for these issues: it is called international law”.

Any policy on so-called target-ed killings by the US government, she said, should not only be fully

telligence it gathers with regional bodies in Africa, besides UN force commanders on the ground.

The “green light” for the use of unarmed drones in DRC – a country battling a violent in-surgency – was given by the 15-member Security Council last November, and is aimed at mon-itoring the movement of armed groups by the 17,500-strong UN Organization Stabilization Mis-sion in DRC (Monusco).

But some UN diplomats fear that UN drones may eventually be armed, if and when the conflict in DRC takes a turn for the worse.

The drones used by the United States are fully armed and have resulted in the killings of both suspected terrorists and civil-ians in countries such as Af-ghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

According to published reports, more than 40 countries either de-ploy or manufacture drones.

Larry Dickerson, defence sys-tems analyst at Forecast Inter-national, a US defense market-

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INTERNATIONAL Friday, February 8, 2013 | Nº 145 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

“Drone” a dirty wordin the United Nations lexicon

Opinion

T/ Thalif Deen – IPSP/ Agencies

United States in its war against terrorism, is obvi-ously a dirty word in the

United Nations lexicon.So when Under-Secretary-

General for Peacekeeping Op-erations Herve Ladsous was asked about United Nations plans to use drones in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), he demurred.

“I would not use the word drones”, he told reporters Wednesday, opting for a mili-tary euphemism: “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAVs).

Ladsous said the United Na-tions plans to use “unarmed UAVs” only for surveillance purposes – but with the ex-press permission of the govern-ment of DRC and neighbouring countries.

“We will see how this experi-ment works”, he said, adding that the United Nations will be “open” to sharing whatever in-

disclosed, but must comply with international law.

To date, the justifications pub-licly offered by senior Obama administration officials have shown only that US government policy appears to permit extra-judicial executions in violation of international law, Lee added.

Asked how far behind are China and Russia in deploy-ing drones in conflict situa-tions, Dickerson told IPS that both countries are increasing their UAV inventories, “but remain far behind the United States in terms of numbers fielded and the sophistication of these systems”.

“Neither have the battlefield experience in the operation of UAVs that the US military gained over the last 10 years”, he said.

Dickerson also said that the United States has the largest market share and produces more UAVs than any other country in the world.

He said the worldwide mar-ket for UAVs is worth a stag-gering 70.9 billion dollars over the next 10 years: 39.2 billion dollars related to the produc-tion of these systems; 28.7 bil-lion dollars for research and development spending; and around 3.0 billion dollars for UAV services contracts.

Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera

INTERNATNN IONAL Friday, February 8, 2013 |Nº145 |Caracas |www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

Opinion