The blog This Ain’t My First Rodeo recently linked to one of my posts on Chávez’s growing ties with Iran, a story I ran with from Mexico’s largest and most respected newspaper El Universal that reported that at least two of Mexico’s drug cartels were sending some of its personnel to Iran for training. Apparently, I am “poisoning the well” for some future US invasion of Latin America. His post is so full of misinformation that I have decided to lasso him with a rope of facts.

Here is the relevant part of his post entitled appropriately enough World War III DEA Disinformation Chatter Sending Red Flags in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela:

Just this week, my news filters started picking up what increasingly appears to be a disinformation campaign aimed at “poisoning the well” in Latin America:

* “DEA Reports Show That Mexican Cartel ‘Thugs’ Are Receiving Training From Iranian Revolutionary Guard”

* “Mexican Drug Cartels and Islamic Radicals Working Together”

* “The Caracas-Tehran Axes”

Something is up. They are cranking up the propaganda machine perhaps in preparation for a future deployment of U.S. forces in Mexico, Colombia and/or Paraguay. For now, their intention seems to be to threaten and to terrorize. Imagine that.

Mexico, in stoking up the heat on the drug cartels, has fallen into anarchy within its northern states along the U.S. border. Although the Bush Administration recently announced funding support for the Mexican military in their violent struggle against the Sinaloa Federation and Gulf Cartels, it is possible that more direct support may have been “placed on the table,” even though the cartels have devolved into interior power struggles and internecine wars for territorial control.

Bolivia and Ecuador are lining up with our OPEC “enemy,” Venezuela, who currently supplies 25% of our imported oil. Both are currently experiencing diplomatic conflagrations with the right-wing government of Colombia, which the Bush Administration supports. Issues involve Colombia’s alleged cross-border incursions into Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela in pursuit of left-wing guerrillas whom Colombia claims have been given sanctuary by them. Venezuela has vehemently denied any support.

All the while, the Bush Administration has recommissioned the 4th Fleet and sent it to the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. The Navy has already launched acts of provocation, in the form of “accidental” flyovers of Venezuelan island territories in the Caribbean, drawing protests from Chavez. At the same time, Ecuador demanded that the United States close its airbase in that country, which we did, moving it to Colombia.

Last week, it was revealed that George W. Bush’s man in Bogota, President Álvaro Uribe [right], just happens to be one of the former captains of Colombia’s infamous Madeline cocaine cartel, led by Pablo Escobar [left], who was “reportedly” killed in a joint operation of DEA and Colombian government forces in the 90s. What appears to have occurred is that CIA and Mossad handlers lost control over both Escobar and Daniel Noriega of Panama after Vice President George H. W. Bush, Oliver North and John P. Walters, who is not surprisingly the current “Drug Czar” under George W. Bush-43, spent so much “persuasive” effort in bringing them into the CIA Colombian “plaza” in order to benefit the Contra counter-revolution against Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.

This should be fun. Where to begin. Let’s start with the assertion that the United States imports 25% of its oil from Venezuela. It’s actually more like 9%. According to the Energy Information Agency, the United States imported 1,166,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela in May 2008 out of a total import of 12,742,000 barrels. Doing the math, that’s 9.15%. The United States imports more from Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico than it does from Venezuela. Furthermore, not all hydrocarbons are created equal. The ideal is light sweet crude and that comes largely from the Middle East. Venezuela’s oil is a heavy gook which requires special refineries for processing. Those refineries are largely in the United States and the Virgin Islands so Venezuela’s oil of necessity has but few markets. Not to say that if Venezuela were cut its supplies to the US that wouldn’t hurt the US, it would, but it would also cripple Venezuela, a country that cannot even feed itself. Venezuela is, for now, more dependant on the US than the US is on Venezuela.

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Here is the Saturday, July 19th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.

Nepal Set to Elect Its First President
Having abolished the monarchy, Nepal is set to elect its first Chief of State this week. The role of President is largely ceremonial but Nepal will choose a higly symbolic one. He is to come from the ethnic minority Madheshi ethnic group of southern Nepal. The story from Reuters.

Thai-Cambodian Border Dispute Grows
Cambodia and Thailand continued to reinforce their troops along a disputed border area near an 11th century temple Saturday, even as they prepared for talks to avert a military confrontation. A report from the Associated Press.

French Nuclear Leaks
Long seen as the world’s most effeciently run nuclear power industry, the French nuclear power industry has had an embarrassing set of setbacks. Areva confirms second leak in two weeks, this time at a nuclear plant in south-eastern France. More from the UK Guardian.

Mbeki To Heed UN and OAU on Zimbabwe
Under pressure to expand his troubled mediation efforts, South African President Mbeki agreed on Friday to work more closely with the African Union and United Nations to bring an end to the Zimbabwe crisis. More from Johannesburg’s Mail & Guardian.

Russia’s Energy Clout
The Asia Times looks at Russia’s growing clout in the world’s energy markets and how Russia is unabashedly using its energy muscle to achieve its political goals.

Credit and Energy Tight in Vietnam
Thahn Nien News reports that companies in Vietnam are airing their grievances at a conference as tightened monetary policy and a power shortage have left them without money or electricity.

Spain’s Real Estate Crisis
Since the 1960s, in effect, Spain has been the centre of housing and real estate boom that has seen its warm coasts transformed with condos galore serving as second homes for cold-weary northern Europeans. And with increasing prosperity, many Spaniards too bought homes and vacation homes to boot. That boom is at an end. Germany’s Der Spiegel reports:

Spain’s economy is in trouble. Rising property values earlier this decade lured many Spaniards into the market. Now that the bubble has burst, the crisis is quickly spreading through the country’s economy.

Texas Approves Mega Wind Farm
Kudos to Texas. Texas sate regulators have approved a $4.93 billion wind-power transmission project, providing a major lift to the development of wind energy in the state.

The planned web of transmission lines will carry electricity from remote western parts of the state to major population centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The lines can handle 18,500 megawatts of power, enough for 3.7 million homes on a hot day when air-conditioners are running.

More from the New York Times. Wind power is a potent and clear-energy solution that requires full development.

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Here’s a round of news and articles on Latin America.

Chávez To Announce More Constitutional Reforms
Freddy Bernal, head of the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), noted today in Caracas that President Hugo Chávez will introduce another round of proposed Constitutional reforms including indefinite reelection after the November regional elections. Chávez failed in his bid to seek indefinite reelection in a referendum held last year.

Chávez’s Frequent Flyer Miles
Out of the ten years in power, Chávez has spent over a year outside Venezuela. This week he attended a mini-summit in Manta, Ecuador with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. The purpose of the trip was to kick-off the construction of the largest oil refinery on the west coast of South America. Chávez intends to diversify Venezuelan oil exports by building a pipeline to Ecuador for processing and then for shipping to the far corners of the Pacific Rim. Tomorrow, Chávez leaves for Europe on state visits to Spain, France, Belorussia and Russia. King Juan Carlos will not offer a state dinner in case you were wondering. The highlight of Chávez’s Europe tour will be in Moscow where he will purchase more weapons including a new generation of tanks and where he and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev will sign a series of bi-lateral agreements including the establishment of a new Russian-Venezuelan Development Bank. In the last three years, Venezuela has purchased over $2 billion in arms from Russia including 24 Suzoi Jet Fighters and 50 Helicopter Gunships.

The Effect of Oil Prices on Latin America
The Los Angeles Times explores the question: Are exploding oil prices about to burn Latin America?

With the largest petroleum reserves outside the Middle East, the region has been on a roll in recent years. Record exports of crude and grain fueled economic growth not seen since the 1970s. The region’s stock markets roared. Easier credit spawned a consumer class that snapped up homes and cars. About 26 million Latin Americans climbed out of poverty between 2002 and 2006, United Nations figures show.

But the same forces behind that prosperity are now, paradoxically, creating misery in the midst of bounty. Surging fuel prices have ignited inflation throughout the region, driving up the cost of food, whose prices were already on the upswing thanks in part to ravenous global demand for Latin America’s farm products.

A gallon of gas now costs more than a typical day’s wages in some countries in the region. Food prices have escalated an average of 15% over the last year, according to the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Prices of many staples have increased much more than that.

The inflation is leaching workers’ paychecks and eroding years of progress against hunger and indigence. At least 500,000 people in El Salvador and Guatemala toppled into poverty last year, the U.N.’s World Food Program estimates. Across Latin America, an additional 15 million people could join the region’s 190 million poor if prices keep rising at their recent pace, the commission predicts.

Police Chief in Coahuila Abducted
The commander of the police unit that investigates organized crime and kidnapping in Coahuila State was himself kidnapped on Monday, law enforcement authorities said. The commander, Gerardo Valdés, was seized by at least six men while he was driving in Saltillo, Coahuila’s capital, the state prosecutor’s office said. An anonymous caller told the police that Commander Valdés had been captured by the Juárez drug cartel, the prosecutor’s office said. Coahuila is in north-central Mexico, bordering Texas.

Argentina Takes Control of Its Air Carriers
The Spanish group Marsans has transferred control of Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral to the Argentinian state. Combined these airlines account for 80% of Argentina’s internal air traffic. No dollar figure was released. A previous deal that fell apart earlier this year would have kept 36% of the stock in Spanish hands.

Uribe and Lula da Silva To Meet in Leticia
The Presidents of Colombia and Brazil will meet this weekend in the Colombian Amazonian port of Leticia. The two leaders will sign numerous bi-lateral agreements including a defense pact.

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The Mexican newspaper El Universal is reporting that the Sinaloa and Gulf drug cartels are sending its members for combat training in Iran. The training is arranged through Venezuela. Both Iran Air and Conviasa fly a Caracas-Damascus-Tehran route. It is increasingly clear that Caracas has joined an axis of evil that runs counter to the interests of the United States and the cause of freedom in the West. Meanwhile, El Universal also reports that the FARC is training the rival Juarez drug cartel.

Entrenan en Irán sicarios de Sinaloa — También viajan gatilleros del Golfo Advierte DEA sobre riesgos para seguridad nacional

Los cárteles de Sinaloa y del Golfo han contactado a grupos extremistas de Irán para enviar a ese país a sicarios de élite, generalmente ex militares, con el fin de que reciban entrenamiento en uso de armas y explosivos, de acuerdo con información del gobierno estadounidense.

Desde 2005 el narcotráfico mantiene relación con esas organizaciones, según reportes de circulación restringida de la Agencia Antidrogas (DEA) a los que tuvo acceso EL UNIVERSAL.

Para llegar a esa región asiática los integrantes del crimen organizado se desplazan a Venezuela, de donde parten vuelos cada semana. En algunos casos viajan con pasaportes venezolanos, mencionó un funcionario del Departamento de Estado.

Explicó que los sicarios se entrenan debido a que no han utilizado al 100% las armas de alto poder que poseen, como las bazucas.

Las dependencias estadounidenses consideraron que se trata de un elevado riesgo de seguridad nacional tanto para México como para Estados Unidos, debido a que el entrenamiento se enfoca en cinco áreas: tácticas, líderes, operaciones de comando, armas y explosivos.

Uno de los grupos que han sido contactados son las Guardias Revolucionarias Islámicas que dan adiestramiento avanzado en cohetes, armas automáticas, rifles para francotiradores y explosivos.

De acuerdo con el reporte, el cártel de Juárez envía a sus sicarios a Colombia para ser entrenados por las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FARC) o solicita a ese grupo entrenamiento en México.

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Talk about drama. In the clip below from Argentine television, the Vice President of Argentina Julio Cobos explains his vote on the government’s export tax policies. The clip is in Spanish but worth a look even if you don’t understand Spanish just to see Argentina’s government squirm literally. The vote was taken at 4:25 AM in Buenos Aires and set off celebrations across the country among those hardy enough to await the outcome.

Ganó el campo
In a severe blow to the government of Argentina over its export taxes on a wide array of agricultural products, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner tonight lost the vote in the Argentine Senate by one vote. Her own Vice President Julio Cobos cast the decisive no vote against her tax policy. The New York Times reports:

In a cliffhanging ballot after more than 18 hours of debate, Argentina’s Senate voted early Thursday to reject agricultural export tax increases that inspired months of protests by rebellious farmers.

The outcome — a severe setback for the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — was uncertain to the very end, when Vice President Julio Cobos cast a tie-breaking vote to end a 36-36 deadlock between opponents and supporters of the legislation.

Mr. Cobos had angered Mrs. Kirchner in recent weeks by speaking out in favor of the farmers.

The vote was the climax of a saga that began in March when President Kirchner imposed the tax measures. Facing plummeting approval ratings, Mrs. Kirchner took the calculated risk last month of sending the measure to Congress for debate. Supporters of Mrs. Kirchner’s Peronist bloc control both house of Congress.

The lower house approved the tax system earlier this month by just seven votes after debating for 19 hours. But approval by the Senate was critical for the government.

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Mexico is slipping into chaos, perhaps unnoticed but certainly not quietly. The number of dead are astonishing. Twenty-one people were killed this past weekend in Sinaloa. Two weeks ago, five people were found decapitated in Mexico City. Two weeks before that another seven headless. On June 23, 2008, 21 people were found dead execution style in Chihuahua, 38 deaths nationwide on that day. Five hundred have died in drug-related violence in Ciudad Juarez alone this year. Sixty-five percent of the deaths have been in two states — in Chihuahua and Sinaloa. But the dead are not just members of rival gangs, it includes innocents caught in the crossfire, policemen and the head of the Mexico City Federal Police. In May, a gun battle left seven Mexican Federal Policemen dead, another four wounded. Mexico slips into chaos.

Some 300 tons of cocaine are estimated to pass through Mexico to the United States each year, and Mexico is considered the largest foreign supplier of crystal methamphetamine to the United States. President Calderon has attributed the wave of violence to drug cartels fighting for supremacy and has said the carnage was unavoidable in the government’s quest to turn back the tide. Unavoidable? An odd choice of words. Perhaps accurate but at the same time what is the Calderon government doing? This is will make or break the Calderon government and that has reprecussions for Mexico, the United States and Latin America.

Kudos to the Los Angeles Times for covering the story diligently. Some of the sensationalism is carried in the US media and both the New York Times and the Washington Post may write a serious article now and then but the Los Angeles Times is covering this story day-in and day-out. The paper is to be commended. As a Colombian who lived through the drug wars if not for the honour, I would have rather not lived through them. In Colombia, they began quietly enough. Drug lords fighting over turf in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the late 1970s. Whatever, we said. Son pandillas. No tiene importancia. They are gangs. They are not important.

On April 30, 1984, we began to learn of our mistake in paying these gang wars no heed. That day, Colombia’s Justice Minister, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, was assassinated. That day we fell into an abyss that would take over a decade to climb out of and one from which we have not yet fully escaped. The dead in Colombia run in the thousands at this point. Never mind the sicarios as we call the drug gang members, let’s talk policemen. In the first half of 1990, two hundred alone died in Medellín. From 1989-1992 at the height of the cartel wars, at least 3,500 policemen died in Colombia. It is a debt that we as Colombians have yet to fully repay their families.

Then there are the judges. In the 1980s, 43 were killed in addition to another 222 court workers. Over 200 judges went into exile. Three presidential candidates were murdered in span of eight months — Luis Carlos Galán on August 18, 1989, Bernardo Jaramillo on March 22, 1990 and Carlos Pizarro on April 26, 1990. I had voted for Bernardo Jaramillo in the 1986 elections and I was working for Galán. So was Ingrid Betancourt. Few deaths have been more painful for me than that of Luis Carlos Galán. There was also the assassination of Carlos Mauro Hoyos, the Colombian Attorney General, on February 25, 1988. This is Colombia’s past, the question is, is it Mexico’s future?

The story from the Los Angeles Times is below the fold: (more…)

Here is the Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.

ICC Warrant for Omar al-Bashir
Egypt, China and Algeria voiced concerns over the warrant for the arrest for the Sudanese President on charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. “China expresses grave concern and misgivings about the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s indictment of the Sudanese leader,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regularly scheduled news conference in Beijing. The Washington Post covers the Chinese response while Xinhua Net covers Algeria’s. Lastly, an op-ed from the Wall Street Journal.

Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim Arrested
Police arrested Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday, less than an hour before a deadline for him to appear at police headquarters to answer allegations that he sodomized a male aide. Details from Al Jazeera.

Chávez-Correa-Ortega Summit in Manta, Ecuador
The Presidents of Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua are meeting in Manta, Ecuador (home to a US military base slated to close in 2010) this week. Their gathering is to celebrate the beginning of construction of the Refinería del Pacífico, the largest oil refinery on the west coast of South America. Chávez has made clear that he wants to increase Venezuela oil sales to Asia and diminish sales to the United States. More (in Spanish) from Noticias 24.

Egypt After Mubarak
The Los Angeles Times has a feature on Omar Suleiman, the head of Egypt’s foreign intelligence service. The article ponders whether Suleiman may be the next in line for Egypt’s Presidency. Not that Mubarak is going anywhere. Elections, such as they are in Egypt, are not due until 2011 on the one hand and on the other, we may yet see a Mubarak dynasty rise in the land of the Pharoahs. Gamal Mubarak is also being groomed for the Presidency.

Japan-Korea Squabble over Islets
Korea’s Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul-hyun temporarily returned to Seoul yesterday in protest over Tokyo’s claim that the Dokdo islets in the East Sea belong to Japan. The Korea Herald covers the story from Seoul while the Japan Times takes up the story from Tokyo. The story has great importance in Korea than in Japan. However, there are plans for demonstrations later this week in Seoul and South Koreas has cancelled a cultural exchanged slated for August.

Fishermen Strike in Tokyo
The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations and 16 other fishing industry bodies launched a strike involving some 200,000 fishing boats Tuesday to protest against the fuel price increases. Japanese fishermen’s one-day strike cut Wednesday’s fish supplies on the Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market in Tokyo’s Tsukiji by 20 percent from the previous day to 401 tons, prompting wholesalers to warn further strikes would induce a serious supply disruption, market officials said. “Prices of some fish underwent increases of some 10 percent” due to supply decreases, a market source said after morning auctions. Such fish included flatfish and sea bream from Japan’s home waters. They are often used by up-scale sushi shops.

Indian No Confidence Vote Scheduled for July 21
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s UPA government will introduce a measure of confidence on July 21, 2008 over the US-India Nuclear deal according to The Hindu. This article from The Hindu lays out the government’s case why the pact should be approved. Opposition to the deal is coming largely from leftist parties, including the Indian Communist Party, that feel that the deal impinges on India’s sovereignty.

Drug Gangs Blamed in Guatemalan Lawyer’s Killing
President Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador blamed drug gangs for the killing of a Guatemalan state prosecutor who was investigating the murder of three Salvadoran deputies to the Central American Parliament. Juan Carlos Martinez was shot Monday while driving near his home southeast of Guatemala City. The three Salvadoran deputies were killed in February 2007. Eduardo D’Aubuisson, William Pichinte and Jose Ramon Gonzalez were deputies in the Guatemala-based regional Central American parliament from El Salvador’s conservative ruling ARENA party. The remains of a fourth man were found with them. Villagers discovered their bodies in a blazing car up a dirt track an hour’s drive east of Guatemala City. The suspected murderers are members of Guatemala’s police force but they are being protected by Guatemala’s military establishment. None have been charged.

Russia’s Medvedev Criticizes the West
President Dmitri A. Medvedev chided the West for paternalism in a foreign policy speech in which he criticized the United States and Western Europe for creating a missile defense shield and for recognizing Kosovo’s independence. More from the New York Times.

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In a communique dated the 26th of June 2008, the FARC thanks Nicaragua’s President for his positions in the face of:

“en momentos tan difíciles para nuestra organización como los asesinatos de Raúl e Iván Ríos, y la muerte de nuestro Comandante en Jefe, Manuel Marulanda Vélez”.

“Muy valiente su decisión de concederles asilo político a las guerrilleras Susana y Diana, sobrevivientes del ataque artero de Bogotá y Washington al campamento transitorio de Raúl, cuando la hipócrita política antiterrorista del imperio intenta chantajear el decoro de gobiernos independientes y satanizar las luchas de los pueblos”

“Las FARC surgidas del ataque militar a Marquetalia en 1964 son una respuesta popular legítima a todas las violencias del Estado. Mientras se mantengan las causas políticas, económicas y sociales que la generaron, la lucha armada nunca perderá vigencia. Nos alzamos en armas por la paz con justicia social, y triunfaremos. Habrá nuevo poder, Nueva Colombia, Patria Grande y Socialismo”

“Sólo un nuevo gobierno, verdaderamente democrático, surgido de un Gran Acuerdo Nacional, podría retomar el camino de la búsqueda de una solución política al conflicto social y armado que vive Colombia”

In English below the fold: (more…)

Here is the Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.

Turkish Coup Plot
Turkey has indicted 86 people on charges of membership in an illegal ultranationalist group and plotting a coup against the government. More from the Financial Times.

Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir Charged with War Crimes
The Sudanese government has responded angrily after an international prosecutor accused President Omar al-Bashir of genocide in Darfur. He has been charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. A report from the BBC and a video report from the Associated Press:

In Defense of the Gypsies
Though in my personal life they have been nothing but trouble, I cannot stay silent with what is going on with the Roma, the Gypsies, in Italy. An op-ed by Seumas Milne in the UK Guardian speaks to the problem.

Italy’s campaign against the Roma has ominous echoes of its fascist past, and the silence of our leaders is deafening.

French and Regional Languages in France
Language Log covers the debate over language in France.

Did Lee Kuan Yew Commit Perjury?
Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew testified to a laudatory letter that was never sent by an international legal organization. Lee, Singapore’s octogenarian Minister Mentor and the country’s first Prime Minister, volunteered under oath during cross-examination in the May trial of Chee that the International Bar Association, following its October 2007 convention in Singapore, wrote a letter to the organizers, the Law Society of Singapore, describing “how impressed they were by the standards they found to obtain in the judiciary…Standards of the rule of law and the judges, the meritocracy which is practiced throughout the judiciary.” In fact, says the International Bar Association, it did no such thing. The story in the Asia Sentinel.

Syria’s Diplomatic Isolation is Ending
The Asia Times looks at Syria’s diplomatic offensive from Doha to Paris. Meanwhile, the New York Times takes a different view on Syria’s diplomatic moment in the sun.

Sinaloa Gripped in a Drug War
At least 21 people, including a 12-year-old girl and other ordinary citizens, have been killed by warring drug gangs since Thursday in the western state of Sinaloa, in one of the worst spasms of violence in memory in a region long conditioned to narcotics-related savagery. More from the Los Angeles Times. I will keep on harping on this but Mexico is sliding into chaos. Its drug wars are escalating past the point of no return that will require massive outside assistance to quell. This is a repeat of what Colombia endured between 1985 and 1992, only now it is on the doorstep of the United States.

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The Linnean Society of London is to publish a biological survey of the Yasuní National Park located in Ecuador’s Amazon basin. Studying an area of just two hectacres, a team of German scientists counted over a 100 different species. Most surprising was the find that ten different species of bats roosted in the zone. It is unclear how so many different species of bats coexist.

Unfortuntately, Yasuní is threatened by logging and oil and gas exploration.

My own personal fascination is with catepillars. I just think them amazing. In the first video, check out the one at the 1:10 mark and another at the 1:39 mark. Just amazing. In my native Colombia, I have seen so many amazing specimens. Frogs in Colombia are unbelieveable. The second video boasts a giant tree sloth that has to scurry for safety when its tree is felled by loggers.

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