by the El Reportero’s news services
Hugo Chávez
The biggest news event in Latin America over the last week, at least in the judgement of the world’s media, was an announcement by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez that he plans to repatriate the country’s gold reserves forthwith.
The biggest news event in the world over the last week is the imminent fall of Libya’s leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Is the juxtaposition of the two developments apposite?
Cuban assets abroad to be targeted
On Aug. 24 Miami-Dade Circuit court judge Beatrice Butchko, awarded $2.8bn in compensation to Gustavo Villoldo in relation to the damages caused by the Cuban state for his father’s “forced suicide” as a result of the 1959 Revolution. The award beat the world record in compensation.
In his remarks before judge Butchko, Villoldo said he was tortured for five days and that he had been the target of murder attempts several times after he left Cuba.
Villoldo added that his father committed suicide as a consequence of the many threats his family received –by the way, he was a shareholder in society with dictator Fulgencio Batista of a vehicle manufacturing company.
According the Cuban News Agency, the “candid” judge forgot that the plaintiff, 72, joined the American army in the 1960s, used to be a CIA employee, and brags about having helped in capturing Argentinean-born guerrilla fighter Ernesto Che Guevara in Bolivia, in 1968.
Russia says no to Iran-Venezuela missile deal
On Aug. 24 the Russian news agency Interfax cited a source closely involved in the proposed S-300 surface-to-air missile purchase by Iran, through Venezuela, as saying that Russia would not agree to the deal under any circumstance.
Iran expects international courts to authorize the supply of Russia’s S-300 air defense systems to Iran. The Russian authorities have refused to sell the surface-to-air missile to the Asian Islamic republic following international sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
“From a legal standpoint, we consider that the supply of S-300 does not fall under the UN resolution,” Sajjadi said Wednesday at a press conference in Moscow, as reported by Russian agencies.
Counter-cyclical policies
The region’s two big economies, Brazil and Mexico, are bracing themselves for another bout of international economic turbulence. Mexico argues that its healthy reserves, its industrial competitiveness and low foreign debt make it armor-plated against any crisis. We’re not so sure and prefer Brazil’s more dynamic and broader defensive economic strategy.
