Monthly Archives: February 2014

Who’s who: These are the key figures in Venezuela’s political crisis As protesters and security forces continue to clash in Venezuela, here’s a breakdown of all the major players.

Who’s who: These are the key figures in Venezuela’s political crisis As protesters and security forces continue to clash in Venezuela, here’s a breakdown of all the major players.
  • February 26, 2014
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Venezuela is close to breaking point. Shortages of basic goods and some of the world’s highest crime and inflation rates triggered protests earlier this month that appear only to intensify with each attempt to repress them. As the government and opposition struggle for the upper hand in bitterly polarized Venezuela, GlobalPost runs down the key players in the fight. Nicolas Maduro Before his death in March, El Comandante Hugo Chavez personally anointed Nicolas Maduro as his political heir, a decision the nation then ratified in April when the 51-year-old former bus driver and…Read more …

Ecuador, cocaine’s stopover on the way to market This Andean nation produces no coca leaves, but more than 100 tons of cocaine cross its borders every year.

Ecuador, cocaine’s stopover on the way to market This Andean nation produces no coca leaves, but more than 100 tons of cocaine cross its borders every year.
  • February 21, 2014
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If smuggling cocaine onto an airplane sounds dicey, then imagine navigating 2,000 miles on the open sea in a homemade submarine with half a ton of the white stuff and no oxygen tanks. This 30-foot fiberglass sub can dive just 15 feet and stay under for a maximum of 15 minutes — barely long enough for passing coastguard patrols to disappear. It has no toilet, kitchen or, for that matter, legroom. Even four months after Ecuadorean police captured it at a clandestine dock deep in a mangrove forest, the smell of diesel fumes…Read more …

Venezuela: Why they protest Anti- and pro-government protesters have clashed in Venezuela this week. Here’s what’s making them angry.

Venezuela: Why they protest Anti- and pro-government protesters have clashed in Venezuela this week. Here’s what’s making them angry.
  • February 13, 2014
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Nearly a year after the cancer death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his self-styled “Bolivarian” socialist revolution appears under siege. Anti-government protests this week have convulsed the country and descended into violent clashes with government sympathizers. On Wednesday, at least three people were killed by gunfire, two of them opposition students and one a pro-government demonstrator. Chavez’s folksy style — think him calling George W. Bush “the devil” for invading Iraq — and populist anti-poverty policies made him wildly popular both at home and internationally. But his political heir, President Nicolas Maduro, lacks…Read more …