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MIAMI (Reuters) - A lawyer for a defendant in the Argentine "suitcase scandal" said a U.S. government witness has sworn that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was personally involved in the affair, according to a U.S. court filing. The government witness, Carlos Kauffmann, pled guilty in March to U.S. charges arising from the seizure of $800,000 in a suitcase in Buenos Aires and agreed to testify against former associate Franklin Duran in exchange for lighter punishment. U.S. prosecutors have indicated that they had been told the $800,000 was intended for the election campaign of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the former first...

N.B. Apologies to Pink Floyd for my lyric thievery in the title… The old adage that history repeats itself gets too much airplay and too frequently obscures the dynamics at work in a particular era. However, some things do seem to happen with a depressing regularity. Even when Thome has homered in the first and again in the 3rd, every roster in Major League Baseball has at least one idiot who would gladly pitch to him again in the 5th or the 6th instead of issuing the intentional walk. Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner seems to be winding up and preparing...

It was Christmas week in the Colombian city of Villavicencio and the events, as they were set to unfold, had all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. If only the "heroes" hadn't been exposed as liars. A 3-year-old boy, his mother and another woman, all hostages of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), were about to be freed. Credit for their release was to go to Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela. Former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner had flown up from Buenos Aires to take part in the show. Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone was on hand too, eager to document...

Argentina's new President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner attacked U.S. foreign policy on Thursday and said American claims that Venezuela smuggled $800,000 into Argentina to fund her election campaign were "garbage." Three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan were arrested in Miami earlier this week on charges of covering up a scandal that began in August when a Venezuelan-American businessman tried to enter Argentina with a suitcase full of undeclared cash. U.S. prosecutors say the suspects represented the anti-U.S. government of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and the money was to help finance Fernandez's campaign for the October 28 presidential election. Fernandez, who easily...

Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires Rages Against Abortion "Death Sentence" Calls the related abuse of children "demographic terrorism" By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman BUENOS AIRES, October 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the wake of a clandestine abortion performed on a retarded woman with the help of the nation's health minister, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio and other Catholic authorities have let loose a torrent of criticism against the promoters of the "death sentence" for unborn children in Argentina, as well as other anti-life policies and customs. In a speech given to a gathering of priests and laity on October 2nd, the cardinal pointed...

Argentine Legislators Seek to Establish Abortion as Protected "Right" Constitution prohibits all abortions but penal code does not punish abortions for rape, health or life of mother By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman ARGENTINA, September 18, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Hearings were conducted yesterday in the Argentine Congress on several measures that would protect the practice of abortion in a broad number of cases, including the "health" or life of the mother, fetal deformities, and pregnancies caused by rape. The Penal Legislation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Congress), heard testimony from four legal experts yesterday, two pro-abortion...

Argentina asks Iran to help in 1994 bombing probe Sep 22, 2007 BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine President Nestor Kirchner on Saturday asked Iran to answer petitions for arrests and information in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center, state news agency Telam reported. Argentina has accused former high-level Iranian officials in the bombing in Buenos Aires and last year asked for their arrest. Iran denies any involvement in the attack. In a speech set for Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, Kirchner is expected to criticize Iran for failing to collaborate in the investigation of the...

CARACAS, Venezuela – The Venezuelan government on Friday denied any link to a businessman who was stopped at an Argentine airport carrying a suitcase filled with nearly $800,000 in cash. The Venezuelan businessman, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson, carried the money from Caracas to Buenos Aires on a flight chartered by the Argentine government, and the undeclared funds were seized by customs agents last weekend. “We don't have anything to do with that plane or with that trip ... nothing to do with that businessman,” Venezuelan Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas told reporters. The incident has shaken the Argentine government, prompted one...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Argentina's first lady and front-runner in the October presidential election rejected on Wednesday comparisons with U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton despite both women's hopes to follow their husbands into office. Sen. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York, also are lawyers who met their husbands at universities but Fernandez said the comparisons ended there. "Hillary was able to position herself nationally because her husband was president. She didn't have a political life beforehand and that isn't my case," Fernandez de Kirchner said in an interview with CNN en Espanol, referring to...

MEXICO CITY - A U.S. plan to expand fences along the Mexican border to stem illegal immigration is an insult to all Latin Americans, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner said Tuesday during a visit to Mexico. "It's not just an insult to our sister nation of Mexico, but to all the nations of Latin America and all the nations of the world," the leftist president said to the applause of Mexican lawmakers. President Bush and Congress have approved plans for a 700-mile fence along the border. The Department of Homeland Security is committed to completing 370 miles by the end of...

!-- S IIMA --> Chavez attacked Bush in front of the Buenos Aires crowd It was the kind of situation that the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, loves - 40,000 flag-waving supporters joining him in hurling insults at the US President, George W Bush.He was at a football stadium in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, leading what he called an anti-imperialist rally to coincide with Mr Bush's arrival in neighbouring Uruguay. Most of the crowd were members of trade unions, left-wing and human rights organisations, those who already supported Mr Chavez and what he calls his brand of socialism for...

Argentina`s first couple, a power pair often compared to Bill and Hillary Clinton, won`t say whether it will be a his or hers candidacy in this year`s presidential election. President Nestor Kirchner boasts soaring approval ratings amid an economic recovery. His wife, Sen. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is also popular — and unlike Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, she established her own political career long before her husband became president. With both Kirchners doing well in the polls, they`ve been floating the idea that she should run to succeed him while he`s still in office. Cristina Kirchner flew off without her...

Chávez lashes out at Mexico On the same day the Calderón administration took steps to ease rocky relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez on Thursday hurled personal insults at his Mexican counterpart Wire reports El Universal Viernes 02 de febrero de 2007 On the same day the Calderón administration took steps to ease rocky relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez on Thursday hurled personal insults at his Mexican counterpart. Chávez´s ire was raised as he attacked Calderón for comments the latter made in Davos, Switzerland, last week criticizing countries that "nationalize industries" and "interfere in the...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday stepped in to help his leftist ally Argentine President Nestor Kirchner by bailing out an Argentine firm to prevent its purchase by a fund involving billionaire investor George Soros. Chavez, whom Kirchner wished good luck before his landslide re-election on Sunday, said he would lend $80 million to Sancor, a struggling private cooperative dairy sought by Adecoagro, a fund in which currency speculator and philanthropist Soros has a stake. "The capitalist magnate wanted to buy it out. Now I have signed the first part of the deal. We are going to issue credit of...

Okay, today our theme, for this fourth "class," is emotional expressionism. This developed in the first decade of the twentieth century and features Matisse, as a French Expressionist (or Fauvist, if you want to get really picky) and the two branches of German Expressionism: the Bridge and the Blue Rider. They are all inspired by the work of van Gogh and Cezanne which we saw in the last “lesson”: the emotional power of van Gogh and the strong composition of Cezanne. Henri Matisse (1869-1954) dropped out of a career as a lawyer. He became a leader of the Fauves (which...

...Russian news services are reporting that both U.S. and Colombian military sources have confirmed that Venezuela's defense ministry has purchased several advanced MiG-29 fighters and that that U.S. sources have detected them on training missions. ..."Venezuela plans to spend approximately $5 billion on acquisition of Russian fighters including purchase of armament, airdrome and airborne equipment." ...UPI: "letters addressed last year to the director general of Russian Aeronautic Corp., Nicolai F. Nikitin, the Venezuelan air force requested the 'latest version' of the MiG-29 SMT equipped with high-tech weaponry, including radar-guided missiles and 2,000-pound bombs." UPI: "The plane must have the capacity...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Thousands of Argentine supporters of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro broke through security Monday night, creating pandemonium and forcing authorities to cancel Castro's first speech in Argentina. The University of Buenos Aires Law School was slated to host Castro's speech in the homeland of fellow revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevarra. Authorities late Monday were trying to arrange for Castro to address the country via a televised broadcast. Supporters of Castro overran security to overflow an auditorium beyond double its 3,200-seat capacity. People fainted and were trampled in the chaotic confusion. There were no reports of deaths or...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - To the cheers of thousands of screaming Argentines, Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America in a speech Monday. Castro, who attended Sunday's inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner, was on his first trip to this economically troubled South American country since 1995. Dressed in a dark blue suit and tie, Castro drew shouts of "Ole! Ole! Ole!" and "Fidel! Fidel!" as he spoke for more than two and a half hours outdoors on a crisp winter night. Castro began by paying homage to Argentina-born revolutionary Ernesto...

Argentina's Chief Is Sworn In and Comes Out Fighting By LARRY ROHTER BUENOS AIRES, May 25 — Promising to "reconstruct our identity as a people and a nation" after the worst economic crisis in Argentina's history, Néstor Kirchner was sworn in as president today. He immediately issued strong challenges to foreign creditors, the armed forces and the political establishment, which has opposed his unexpected rise to power. In a 50-minute inauguration speech, Mr. Kirchner, who for the past dozen years has been the governor of a remote and sparsely populated province in Patagonia, took a markedly nationalist tone. He made...