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U.S. Rep. William Delahunt blew nearly $560,000 in campaign cash last year - much of it on lavish meals and a family-friendly payroll that includes his ex-wife, son-in-law and daughter - stoking speculation the Quincy Democrat is emptying his war chest and won’t seek re-election. -snip- Delahunt told the Herald last week that he was still weighing whether to seek re-election, but Democratic Party sources have privately indicated his departure is anticipated - and expected to draw a host of candidates-in-waiting out of the woodwork.

Health Care: Remember Cuba's vaunted medical missionaries — those who treated the poor abroad for nothing, supposedly out of selfless motives? A lawsuit shows they were nothing but a communist slave racket. It ought to bear a few lessons for our own country as the role of doctors in the health care debate drags on. Back in 1963, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro launched a much-praised initiative to share Cuba's medical doctors with the poor around the world. The idea, of course, was to appear to be acting on higher motives than the profit-driven doctors in free societies. It was small...

Venezuela-owned CITGO is preparing yet another effort to polish a corporate image seriously tarnished by its association with anti-American dictator Hugo Chavez. A major polling organization is surveying consumer attitudes and measuring the impact of CITGO’s ongoing campaigns which are coming up short as many Americans vote with their tires and buy gas elsewhere.

Why is ACORN's chief organizer friendly with the Marxist anti-American governments of two South American countries? Within ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis's storied rogues gallery of a rolodex may be found contact information for then-Bolivian ambassador Gustavo Guzman and for Sabine Kienzl, a professional propagandist employed by the Venezuelan embassy. The listing for Guzman contains what appears to have been a direct office telephone number.An ACORN insider I spoke with confirmed the authenticity of the rolodex which I have seen. Erick Erickson of the website RedState recently did an excellent job unveiling the rolodex.Both Bolivia and Venezuela are now headed...

SNIPPET: "Most importantly, Chavez has friends - powerful friends -- around the world who are assisting him in his goal of establishing communism as the dominant force in the world. Both Russia and China are assisting Chavez in spreading the message that the United States is "the most savage, cruel, and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world," and Chavez's solution: 21st Century Socialism." SNIPPET: "The Moscow elite are not only supporting Chavez the dictator with weapons, but also Chavez the Marxist revolutionary with a high profile platform for his revolutionary rhetoric. In early September 2009...

Joseph P. Kennedy II said today he will not make a bid for the senate seat held by his late uncle Edward M. Kennedy, in a bombshell announcement expected to draw candidates-in-waiting out from the wings. “Given all that my uncle accomplished, it was only natural to consider getting back involved in public office, and I appreciate all the calls of support and friendship that have poured in,” Kennedy said in a statement posted on the web site of Citizens Energy, of which he is the founder. “My father called politics an honorable profession, and I have profound respect for...

Joe Kennedy’s business ties to Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, through Citizens Energy Corp., will likely become a major issue if the former congressman decides to run for the Senate seat held until last week by his late uncle. Joe Kennedy yesterday hadn’t even made a decision on a run when he came under blistering attack by Republican gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos and a Mihos spokesman. “It should be an issue,” said Mihos of the nonprofit Citizens Energy’s acceptance of oil from Venezuela to help needy residents heat their homes. Mihos described Chavez as a “communist dictator and avowed enemy of...

Political pundits say former Rep. Joe Kennedy II (D-Massachusetts) may be in the running to be successor in the U.S. Senate to his leftist uncle Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) who died earlier this week.Kennedy is a friend and ally of Hugo Chavez, who as Venezuela's head of state controls Petroleos de Venezuela SA which in turn controls the U.S.-chartered CITGO.Just like Uncle Ted, Joe Kennedy is a communist enabler too.At the direction of Chavez, CITGO provides low-cost fuel to Kennedy's nonprofit, Citizens Energy Corporation, which he created in 1979 to provide discounted home heating oil to low-income people in Massachusetts. The CITGO effort is part...

The global-warming debate is shifting from science to economics. For years, the fight over the Earth's rising temperature has been mostly over what's causing it: fossil-fuel emissions or natural factors beyond man's control. Now, some of the country's biggest industrial companies are acknowledging that fossil fuels are a major culprit whose emissions should be cut significantly over time. A growing number of these companies are pushing for a mandatory emissions limit, or "cap." Some see a lucrative new market in clean-energy technologies. Many figure a regulation is politically inevitable and they want to be in the room when it's negotiated,...

Venezuela's socialist strongman Hugo Chavez ordered the expropriation of some 60 oil service companies and assisted government-owned oil company PDVSA (parent of CITGO) in looting those firms unfortunate enough to have invested in the workers' paradise. "To God what is God's, and to Caesar what is Caesar's," said the Venezuelan president as he stole at least a dozen oil rigs, more than 30 oil terminals, and more than 300 boats. "Today we also say: to the people what is the people's," said Chavez, who is a hero to his American friends and admirers including actors Sean Penn, Danny Glover, Kevin Spacey, Ed Asner, singer Harry Belafonte, and...

(CNN) -- Venezuela will give a 300-acre island in the Delaware River to the state of New Jersey, the governor's office announced. The Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp. had bought Petty's Island -- between Camden, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- to use as a fuel storage facility. The island is home to a pair of American bald eagles as well as several great blue herons and state-endangered black-crowned night herons, New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine said in a news release Wednesday. Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez announced the island's transfer as part of Wednesday's Earth Day celebrations. Plans are being...

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24351 Chavez, Joe Kennedy and Oil Math by Gen. Donald Blaine Smith and Christopher Brown It’s hard to avoid the commercials starring former Congressman Joseph Kennedy II explaining how friendly Venezuela and Hugo Chavez are to the American people. After all Chavez and Kennedy are bringing relief to the poor people of America who suffer under the evil tyranny of high fuel costs. However, reality has a tendency to get in the way of press events for Citgo and Citizens Energy Corporation such as the scenes of Joe Kennedy driving up to house in a Citgo truck to deliver 40%...

Just days after Venezuelan-owned CITGO suspended its fuel oil assistance program in the U.S., that nation's Marxist strongman Hugo Chavez has reinstated it, according to reports. Evidently, winning the hearts and minds of America's poor remains important to Chavez, who allows Islamist terrorist groups to openly operate in his country. We profiled Chavez and his American friends in the March 2008 Organization Trends and I wrote about Chavez in the Boston Herald on March 19, 2008.

Joe Kennedy announced yesterday he’s laying off 20 employees and temporarily halting most of his winter fuel-assistance programs due to Citgo yanking $100 million in support for the nonprofit Citizens Energy. Citgo, owned by the Venezuelan government led by leftist loudmouth president Hugo Chavez, recently informed Kennedy that it was “temporarily” suspending its oil donations for the low-income program.

Citgo has suspended its fuel-assistance program for low-income homeowners, putting added financial pressure on Joe Kennedy’s Citizens Energy Corp. Citgo, owned by the Venezuelan government, is pulling out of the program that provided home-heating oil to thousands of Northeast customers, via contributions to Kennedy’s nonprofit Citizens Energy. Kennedy has been criticized for accepting money from Citgo at the behest of controversial Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, whose notorious anti-American rants have upset many Americans. Kennedy has defended Citgo’s donations, saying the goal of fuel-assistance program is to help the needy. Kennedy is holding a press conference this afternoon.

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, who funds Iran-aligned terrorist group Hezbollah, has given $1.5 million to a Washington, D.C.-area charity that advocates for illegal aliens, the Washington Post reports. (See my previous Boston Herald op-ed about Chavez and terrorism here.) As part of Venezuela's "public diplomacy" (i.e. propaganda and subversion) program in the United States, the Silver Spring, Maryland-based Casa de Maryland will receive the grant from CITGO, Venezuela's government-owned oil company that is controlled by Chavez. Of course the Washington Post buried the story, placing it on page D8, as Ken Shepherd of NewsBusters noted. The Post reported that The...

<p>SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Immigrant-advocacy group Casa de Maryland on Monday received a $1.5 million donation from Citgo Petroleum Corp., a subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company that is controlled by President Hugo Chavez.</p> <p>The funds will be used to strengthen Casa's $4.4 million social-service, small-business and vocational-training programs... Kim Propeack, advocacy director for the Montgomery County-based organization, said it's the largest corporate gift Casa has received. "Like many nonprofits, Casa has been trying to grow its corporate investment," she said. "Citgo is very committed to ensuring that the profits they earn through their business are shared by low-income people...." A Monday news conference to announce the donation was postponed because of a personal emergency of Citgo President Alejandro Granado, who was to attend with the Venezuelan ambassador. Ms. Propeack said the contribution would still be finalized Monday.</p>

The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, today arrived in Moscow on his latest arms-buying spree, saying that his country needed to buy more weapons to defend itself from the United States. Chávez met Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev this morning. He is expected to sign a billion-dollar arms deal with Russia for new missile defence systems and diesel-powered submarines. "I have great hopes we will be able to continue building our strategic alliance," Chávez said after landing in Moscow for a two-day trip. He added: "The deals will guarantee the sovereignty of Venezuela which is being threatened by the United States."

(CNSNews.com) - A Houston-based oil company will distribute free compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to low-income residents of 11 U.S. cities in a new program praised by a liberal activist but criticized by a conservative analyst on Friday as “shameless self-promotion” for Venezuela President Hugo Chavez. The project was announced last Tuesday in Washington, D.C., where 1,500 households will receive an estimated 30,000 CFLs throughout the summer and early fall from CITGO, a corporation owned by the Venezuelan socialist government that refines, transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. “I am proud that CITGO invests over...

Venezuelan President Hugo chavez (left) with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in September 2006. The acronym shown on their helmets, PDSVA, stands for Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the parent company of CITGO. * * * * *We already knew that Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez provides safe haven to Islamist terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas in his country, but now we know he actually funds Iran-aligned Hezbollah too. (See my previous Boston Herald op-ed here.) From a Washington Times report today: The Bush administration is accusing the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of providing cash and refuge to the militant...

March 10th 2008 BY PABLO BACHELET pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has launched a preliminary inquiry that could land Venezuela on the U.S. list of nations that support terrorism because of its alleged close links to Colombian rebels, a senior government official has confirmed. The inquiry, by government lawyers, is the first step in a process that could see Venezuela join North Korea, Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Iran as countries designated by the State Department as supporters of terrorism. U.S. laws permit some leeway on the scope of sanctions, but experts say that adding Venezuela to the list could...

Question: What do you get when you help terrorists seek dirty bombs, give sanctuary to Hezbollah and Hamas, taunt America, and threaten war on U.S. ally Colombia? Answer: Hugs and kisses from members of Congress like Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, academics like Cornel West, and Hollywood celebrities like Danny Glover - and a pass from the press. And what's there not to love about Venezuela's Marxist strongman Hugo Chavez, who crushes dissenters, muzzles the media, and takes from "the rich" to give to "the poor"? With a Kennedy clan member as his spokesman, he even gives discounted...

Would you believe it if we told you that the U.S. House of Representatives voted to raise the price you pay for gasoline at the pump and -- at the same time -- give a huge tax break to that America-hating dictator Hugo Chavez? Well, that is exactly what our so-called elected leaders-- led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her liberal colleagues in the House -- just did. In common parlance, we call that a "twofer" and as unbelievable as it may sound, Pelosi and company have yet again proved that they have never met a socialist tyrannical despot thatthey...

CRC's Matthew Vadum talked about Hugo Chavez and his many American friends and admirers on "The G. Gordon Liddy Show" March 6. Liddy and Vadum discussed the saber-rattling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his many friends on the American left. Specifically, they discussed: Ted Kennedy’s nephew, Joe Kennedy of nonprofit Citizens Energy Corporation, and the fact that Joe, a former congressman, is a shill for Chavez, who controls Venezuela’s big oil company, CITGO; American actor-director Danny Glover who accepted $20 million from the Venezuelan government to make movies; and Chavez’s complicity with Colombian terrorist group FARC which wants to buy uranium,...

Now more proof of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's ties to international terrorism have emerged. According to a news story, a laptop computer belonging to Raul Reyes, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader killed days ago by the Colombian military, contains documents indicating that "Chavez, seeking to raise the FARC's stature and relieve it of its international pariah status, shares their goal of isolating and discrediting Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe." The laptop also discloses a $300 million gift from Chavez to Colombian rebel groups. Previously, Chavez angered Colombians by urging its government to stop calling the communist FARC and...

The Bush administration may be trying to ignore Hugo Chavez, but some local gas station owners are moving to protect themselves from the backlash against the Venezuelan president's anti-American rhetoric. Calls by some across the country to boycott gasoline sold by Venezuelan-owned Citgo are cutting into sales, prompting some station owners to move to other suppliers. George Vazquez, owner of a convenience store and gas station on Kingston Pike in West Knoxville, is among several local independent Citgo station operators who will be switching to Marathon Oil of Findlay, Ohio, in the coming weeks. "My gas sales were down 30...

If there's anything more dumbfounding than the House's imposition of $18 billion in taxes on oil companies, thereby guaranteeing higher prices at the pump, it's the exemption voted for Venezuela's state oil firm, says Investor's Business Daily (IBD). Consider: H.R. 5321 scrapped the tax deduction routinely given to the major integrated oil companies -- Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips -- that helps them explore, extract, refine and market the energy that drives our economy. However, Congress ensured that its discrimination against the big oils would benefit Citgo, which happens to be owned by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Under the bill,...

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, like his friend Fidel Castro, has earned a place in the pantheon of the modern American left. Chavez, who has aligned himself with America’s terrorist-sponsoring enemies abroad, understands public relations, and his policies have earned him the admiration of leftist nonprofits and activists..... Many U.S. lawmakers are fans of Chavez. His admirers include Senator Chris Dodd, Representatives John Conyers and Dennis Kucinich. Other fans include Jesse Jackson and the Marxist writers Howard Zinn and Naomi Klein. ..... Clearly, Hugo Chavez is a man only American leftists could love – and they do. U.S. activists such as...

The Op-Ed "Shills for Chavez" condemned the nonprofit Citizens Energy Corp. for accepting a charitable donation of oil to provide much-needed heating assistance to poor, elderly and American Indian families in 23 states — the same kind of help we have provided to poor families..to help ease the burden felt by consumers depending on this commodity to survive....For three years, we have worked with Citgo Petroleum and Venezuela because they were the only company...to respond. We acknowledge their generosity as we would recognize any...that answers our calls to help the poor. Unfortunately, some find it more appropriate to direct their...

Jack in the Box is operating more than 50 of these co-branded sites in California, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Idaho, Washington and Illinois, and is contracting with petroleum marketers, including Chevron, Shell, Arco, Exxon, Texaco and Citgo to supply fuel for the locations.

Although former U.S. Congressman, Joseph Kennedy III has been criticized for his Citgo commercial last year promoting discount heating oil provided by the Hugo Chavez Venezuelan government as a PR ploy, his latest commercial goes way beyond mere syrupy praise. Kennedy is now using the most recent Citgo commercial as a launchpad to blast the U.S. government and "Big Oil" as you can see in this video. After an introduction similar to the previous commercial showing poor people suffering from the cold, Kennedy goes on the attack: ...Yet our own government cut fuel assistance. And the Big Oil companies with...

Remember those tear-jerker telephone commercials of the ‘70s and ‘80s? Do you recall how they were as sappy and almost romantically sad, pulling on your emotional strings? Well, I don’t know if they are the same writers or not, but the new public relations campaign by embattled Citgo leaves that same weird taste in your mouth...

By PABLO BACHELET McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government eagerly reached out to Venezuelan presidential candidate Hugo Chavez in 1998 and moved quickly to denounce a rumored coup plot against the man who's become one of the Bush administration's archenemies, newly declassified State Department documents obtained by McClatchy Newspapers reveal. State Department officials initially appeared dazzled by Chavez's oversized persona and his promise for sweeping reforms, and seemed sincere in their efforts to help him, the documents show. Some of those overtures drew positive responses from Chavez, who said he wanted U.S. help in fighting corruption and drug trafficking....

"Water, water every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water every where, Nor a drop to drink." --Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ----------------------------------------------------- Iran isn’t an energy-independent country. I’m well aware that Iran produces more than 4 million barrels of oil per day, the fourth-highest production in the world. And with the near-constant reporting about Iranian crude reserves during the past six months, I find it difficult to believe that anyone could be unaware that Iran has 132 billion barrels in proven reserves--or, at least, they claim to. But what’s often ignored is that...

Citgo distributor says sales lapse By Rick Stouffer TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Greg Marnell thinks everyone has a right to do business in the United States, even Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. While filing his gas tank at Tyke's Citgo in Monroeville, Marnell said he is aware of Chavez's ties to the gasoline company. "America's the melting pot, isn't it? Everybody has the right to come here and make money," said Marnell of Monroeville. But Chavez's increasing anti-U.S. antics may be hurting the oil-rich South American nation at the gasoline pump. So says gasoline distributor Don Bowers, who acknowledges motorists...

It's about time that an American stands up to an enemy of the United States and fights against people freely giving their hard earned cash to the criminal Hugo Chavez Junta. This man is not only an enemy to the USA but is an enemy to liberty and freedom and any American who buys gas from a Citgo is a traitor to both. 3 Letter Word on Billboard Draws Attention Cameron Adams made a U-turn to get a picture. "Don't Buy Gas From This Ass! That's what it says right there in yellow and blue and red." Once you spot...

The Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez has anointed himself president for life by proposing sweeping changes to the country's constitution. Setting out his plans for completing his socialist revolution in the oil-rich Latin American nation, he proposing radical constitutional reform which has at its centre indefinite re-election for himself. In a rambling televised speech reminiscent of his close ally and friend Fidel Castro, Mr Chavez told the national assembly of 33 changes he plans to make to the constitution he introduced in 1999 which will cement his grip on power. "We have broken the chains of the old, exploitative capitalist system,"...

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said he opposes creation of a Palestinian state at this time and would take a tough stand with Iran, including destroying its nuclear infrastructure "should all else fail." "It is not in the interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamist terrorists, to assist the creation of another state that will support terrorism," the former New York mayor said. "Palestinian statehood will have to be earned through sustained good governance, a clear commitment to fighting terrorism, and a willingness to live in peace with Israel," Giuliani...

Remember Chavez owns Citgo, we can put him out of business. Chavez is NOW getting a Russian Weapons Factory built by Putin. The RUSSIANS are building an AK-47 Kalashnikov Assault Rifle factory in Venezuela, to give armament support to Communist Rebel groups throughout the Americas. Chavez NOW has IRANIANS operating his oil refineries in Venezuela for him. It is likely only a matter of time, if not already, before Chavez has Iranian built LONG RANGE missiles, with a variety of warhead types aimed at: Guess Who? CITGO is NOW in the process of Changing Its Name to PETRO EXPRESS due...

CEV fires back Chávez These attacks do not offend bishops, but people of the Catholic Church, the Catholic people.

ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. could hold a powerful card to make Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez bet his country's sizable American assets in the high-stakes nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry, experts say. The Citgo subsidiary of Venezuela's national oil company has five refineries in the U.S. experts say could be targeted for seizure if a stalemate prompts one or both U.S. oil majors to seek recompense through international arbitration. Neither Citgo nor its Venezuelan counterpart Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PDVSA, returned repeated messages seeking comment. Houston-based ConocoPhillips and Irving-based Exxon Mobil walked away from the table last week...

ELKHART -- When Yoder Oil company switched to Citgo-brand oil in the early 1990s, the move was in part a political decision. Citgo is owned by the national government of Venezuela, explained Kent Yoder, chief executive of the Elkhart-based Yoder Oil company, and his company wanted to invest in oil produced in the Western Hemisphere rather than send its business to the Middle East. But that was then. Before Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called President Bush "the devil" during a September address at the United Nations. Those remarks, plus complaints about Chavez's handling of human rights in Venezuela, led to...

Venezuela’s state-owned oil company is taking over multibillion-dollar projects owned by ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, Rafael Ramirez, the country’s energy minister, said. The action was being taken following a failure to agree the terms of a handover of operations in the oil-rich Orinoco belt, said Mr Ramirez. The oil groups refused to sign an agreement on how the Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PdVSA would take majority control of heavy crude oil projects in the Orinoco belt, which are valued at a total of at least $25bn. The loss of its Venezuelan operations would be a particular blow to ConocoPhillips. Its operations...

My friend and former pro-troop demo wingman Scott advises me that he's staging a Citgo Boycott/Pro-Troops demo at the following time and location: 6pm Friday, 15 June Citgo station at Spring Hill Dr. and Mariner Dr. Spring Hill, FL 34609 If you need to coordinate with Scott, freepmail me for his phone number. I'll be posting some pics later today of their previous demos.

The reporter in question being Adam Housley, who’s been covering the protests in Caracas all week, and the apologist being NYC Councilman Charles Barron, whom you’ll remember more recently from his violent threats towards the NYPD and less recently as host to Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. Here he gives us a glimpse of what the western left must have sounded like during Stalin’s heyday. Don’t call him a useful idiot. He’s not an idiot; he’s just on the other side. The dispute here is over Chavez’s shutdown of RCTV, the opposition television station in Caracas whose closure inspired the street...

CARACAS, Venezuela - National Guard troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets Monday into a crowd of protesters angry over a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a critical television station off the air. University students blocked one lane of a major highway hours after Radio Caracas Television ceased broadcasting at midnight and was replaced with a new state-funded channel. Chavez had refused to renew RCTV's broadcast license, accusing it of "subversive" activities and of backing a 2002 coup against him. Two students were injured by rubber bullets and a third was hit with a tear gas canister, said...

There is very sad news from Venezuela this weekend. Hugo Chavez is proceeding with his plan to silence all opposition. The doors to freedom are closing in Venezuela. It is so disheartening to see the people of Venezuela quickly disappear under the Marxist blanket made by Hugo Chavez. This weekend was an important step for Chavez in silencing the opposition in Venezuela. Chavez warned (via BBC): "Venezuelan armed forces are ready. Anyone generating violence will regret it."

Milka Duno and Hugo Chavez bantered back and forth like a couple of flirty schoolchildren. When the two hooked up on the phone this week, Chavez invited Duno to "go for a ride" in his red Volkswagen Bug. Duno countered with an offer to attend a race, drawing a big laugh from the Venezuelan president "Give me a ride!" he exclaimed. "With you, I'll go anywhere." For many Americans, Chavez is a pompous blowhard, the world leader who called President Bush "the devil" and positioned himself as a righteous warrior against U.S. imperialism. Come Sunday, though, Chavez will have a...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- When the state oil company recently took over the last privately run oil fields in Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez declared it a victory against Washington and a giant leap toward a new energy policy that would diversify the market for Venezuelan crude to include rising powers like China. "Down with the American Empire!" shouted Chávez, who often warns that he'll shut off the oil spigot to the United States if the Bush administration invades Venezuela or hatches an assassination plot against him. But new study of trade and oil consumption data shows that Venezuela appears ever more...

Officials expect Mr Castro to return to public life soon Cuban President Fidel Castro has strongly criticised the use of biofuels by the US, in his first article since undergoing surgery last year.He said George W Bush's support for the use of food crops in fuel production would cause 3bn deaths from hunger. The article in the Granma newspaper did not mention Mr Castro's health. Officials say they expect Mr Castro - who temporarily handed over power to his brother last July - to resume activities in government soon. Last month, Mr Castro appeared in a live radio broadcast...