Venezuelan Politics

"Star Witness" in Poleo Case in Jail Again

Castro Who?

Chavéz Chat Fest

Terrorists Weigh in on Supermodel Visit

King Juan Carlos and Chavez do Trance

Chávez bid deflated, win for democracy?

Chavez Takes a Page from 1984

BEST SPANISH-LANGUAGE RADIO PERSONALITY

Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero

Concierto Aniversario

Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero

Jury In "The Suitcase Trial" Can't Reach A Verdict

Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero

Guilty Verdict in the "Suitcase Trial"

Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero

Hugo Chavez Stinks, but Rafael Correa...Not

Today's Hugo Chavez's tenth anniverary in power. He's messed with everybody's brains since taking the oath of office -- and he has brought a voice to a lotta poor Venezuelans, many of whom have come to Miami. But this caudillo ain't slick. He's lucky. Oil revenues have soared to the point where he's ... More >>

Haven and Hell

As Chávez grabs more power, three Venezuelans who fled death threats find their struggles don't end with asylum.

War on Hugo Chávez

An outlaw and former spook takes on the Venezuelan dictator

The Fugitive

Patricia Poleo, a Venezuelan journalist and political activist, is accused of murder. She's in exile in Miami.

How to Organize a Peace Protest in Little Havana

First, get unified; next, give out food

Miami in the Meantime

With the future of their country in flux, Venezuelans are setting up shop, and opposing camps, in Florida

Have Cars, Will Travel

Why are all those South American cop cars parked off Le Jeune Road? Ask salesman Ricardo Callado.

Hugo Chavez is in a Silent Cat Fight with Miss Universe

​Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez loves celebrities. He was Oliver Stone's date to the Venice International Film Festival, could probably convince Sean Penn to agree to be held captive and perform a stage rendition of his parts in Simple Jack I Am Sam, and is perhaps the only known person on the p ... More >>

Hugo Chávez Calls Twitter a Tool of Terrorism

Socialist crank Hugo Chávez doesn't much care for communication he can't control, so it was only a matter of time before he put the kibosh on Twitter in Venezuela.Last week, the tag #FreeVenezuela became a trending topic thanks to citizens protesting Chávez's crackdown on press freedom and ca ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Accuses U.S. Plane of "Electronic Warfare," Hints at Aggression with Colombia

​Venezuela and Colombia are starting to become the Ned Flandars and Homer Simpson of Latin America: two neighbors with very different world views that are really starting to hate each other.Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez has even implied that if Juan Manuel Santos, the chosen successor of curre ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Accuses "Gringo Government" of Harboring Luis Posada Carriles

Chavez's Twitter Icon​Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is picking a fight with America in the most mature of way: Tweets complete with derogatory slang and swears. Such a refined statesman that Chavez is."The gringo government accuses us of anything and everything, but today marks 5 years since th ... More >>

Crying Hugo Chavez Exhumes 19th-Century Corpse to Prove Conspiracy Theory

​Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez seems to be acting absolutely insane. At least more than usual. He took to Twitter to let the world know he cried tears of joy after seeing the 180-year-old remains of South American hero Simón Bolívar. Chávez had the corpse exhumed with the hopes of ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Doubts Whether 9/11 or Moon Landing Ever Happened

​Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hit new levels of ego-infused insanity last month when he had the bones of South American hero Simon Bolivar dug up to prove some weird conspiracy theory, and then live tweeted about crying over the remains. Inspired by the insanity, Christopher Hitchens ... More >>

Latin American politicians say the craziest things

​Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hit new levels of ego-infused insanity last month when he had the bones of South American hero Simon Bolivar dug up to prove some weird conspiracy theory, and then live tweeted about crying over the remains. Inspired by the insanity, Christopher Hitchens ... More >>

In Chavez's Crime-Torn Venezuela, No More Front-Page Photos of Bullet-Riddled Corpses

One opposition paper reacted to the ban with a front-page "Censored" photo.​Last year, more than 16,000 Venezuelans were felled by bullets, bombs, knives and other violent instruments of crime -- but don't look for their grisly death photos on the front pages in Caracas. A Venezuelan court yesterd ... More >>

Hugo Chávez Annouces Another Run for President, Accuses Globovisión Boss Guillermo Zuloaga of $100 Million Plot to Kill Him

Hugo could be in office long after we are all dead...​Brace yourself. This news is as newsy and shocking as it gets: Hugo Chávez is running for president... again.The Venezuelan comandante has been in office for 12 years and has said he plans to stay there -- elections willing -- for another deca ... More >>

Latin American Round-Up: Hugo Chávez Gets Decree Powers, Raúl Castro Gets Depressed

Cheer up buddy. I've got decree powers!​Hugo Chávez won't be making any Obama-like compromises in 2011. The Venezuelan National Assembly is expected to pass a ley habilitante today that would allow the bombastic president -- best known for his twitter histrionics -- to pass laws by decree for 12 ... More >>

Carlos Andres Perez Would Have Made a Better Venezuela

​So the last sane president of Venezuela died in Miami Saturday. Carlos Andres Perez was the probably the first Latin president to flex his muscles over oil, thus setting the stage for his one-time nemesis, the half wit Hugo Chavez, to take power. I interviewed Cap -- who was 88 at the time o ... More >>

Carlos Andres Perez, Ex-Venezuelan Prez, Has Burial Delayed While Wife and Mistress Argue Over the Gravesite (Update)

Perez led Venezuela until 1992, when Hugo Chavez ousted him. His mistress pledges his body won't return until Chavez is gone.​After a week of kind eulogies for Carlos Andres Perez -- including our own arguing the world would be a better place if he could have just held off the coup-crazy Hugo Chav ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Emerges as Voice of Reason in Fight Over Carlos Andres Perez's Remains

Hugo Chavez: Voice of reason?​We have taken our fair share of shots at Hugo Chavez over the years. But in the tug-of-war over the remains of former Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez, Chavez has somehow come across as a veritable voice of reason.Yesterday Chavez pleaded for a quick resolutio ... More >>

Lat Am Round-Up: Leaders Play Game of Libyan Hot Potato

Agência Brasil via Wikimedia CommonsHugo Chavez: democratically elected, but a supporter of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi​What do Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and Fidel Castro have in common? Berets, cigars, military fatigues, state-controlled economies... Errr... scratch that. This could take ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Rallies Against Boob Jobs

​Move over, America. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has found a new evil to target: boob jobs. He might actually have a point, for once. Venezuela has become one of the biggest markets in the world for breast augmentation, and the plastic surgery trend has become so severe that often women who ... More >>

Hugo Chávez Cured by Evo Morales and His "Magic Plant"

Fit as a fiddle thanks to Evo's "magic plant"​Oprah may have taped her last show yesterday, but we've still got another plump drama queen -- perhaps for decades to come. With the Big O saying goodbye, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez is now the western hemisphere's premier entertainer. And injuri ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Needs To Hurry Up And Heal

One of these men is a crazed, dangerous narcissist. The other is -- oh, you know the joke.​It's been almost two weeks since Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has made a public appearance. The 56-year-old leader, a television regular since he took power in 1999, hasn't been heard from publicly sinc ... More >>

Where in the Hell is Hugo Chavez?

Help us find Hugo.​Where in the hell is Hugo Chavez?The normally voluble Venezuelan president has been missing for nearly a month. The official explanation is that he's recovering from surgery to remove a pelvic abscess in Cuba, but rumors abound.Is he pissing into the Mississippi to make it flood ... More >>

Where In The World Is Hugo Chavez? Watching Porn Perhaps

​Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still officially recovering from surgery. Although, we think his people would have come up with a better excuse than he needed to have an abscess removed from his pelvic region. Cuz that only makes us wonder where he's been dipping his stick if you catch our dr ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Has Cancer

Hugo Chávez has cancer, he announced Thursday night.​Hugo Chávez has cancer.For nearly a month, rumors have been circling about the Venezuelan president's health. But his mysterious sojourn to Havana became a little less murky Thursday night when a noticeably thinner Chávez announced in a live ... More >>

Cancer Stricken Hugo Chavez Intends to Run for Reelection in 2012

​News of Hugo Chavez's mysterious cancer diagnosis has Miami's el Exilio buzzing over the possibility that the Venezuelan president, and one of Fidel Castro's biggest allies, will not be in office for much longer. In an interview today with the BCC however, Chavez admitted that he may need fur ... More >>

Venezuelan Exiles Throw Arepa in Chavez's Eye with Spinning Simon Bolivar Statue in Doral

This Simon Bolivar statue in Caracas will soon have a rival in Doral​Venezuelan exiles announced today that they are installing a statue of their country's founding father, Simon Bolivar, in front of the Arepazo restaurant in Doral.The life-size, revolvable statue is intended as an arepa in the ey ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Releases Exercise Video

​It's the hottest aerobics video starring a communist-sympathizer since The Jane Fonda Workout.It's the craze sweeping hoards of South Americans looking to drop a few kilograms in time for summer.It's the latest sign that Venezuela's president is further sinking into some sort of out-of-touch Kim ... More >>

Eligio Cedeño: A banker battles Hugo Chavez

​It's the hottest aerobics video starring a communist-sympathizer since The Jane Fonda Workout.It's the craze sweeping hoards of South Americans looking to drop a few kilograms in time for summer.It's the latest sign that Venezuela's president is further sinking into some sort of out-of-touch Kim ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Hit With $1 Billion Lawsuit By Boca Raton Businessman Nelson Mezerhane

Chavez is now battling a $1 billion lawsuit in addition to cancer​Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had one crappy week.First, reports surfaced that he is, in fact, not cancer-free but rather has only a few months to live. Then the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos d ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Says His Navy Chased Off a Mysterious Submarine Engaged in "Espionage"

Hugo Chavez suspects that The Empire is watching him...​Hugo Chavez is no stranger to conspiracy theories. Shortly after a January 12, 2010 earthquake destroyed much of Haiti, one of his spokesmen claimed the disaster was the result of the United States testing a secret weapon ultimately intended ... More >>

Sean Penn Gets Called "Communist Asshole" in Airport Fight with Former Co-Star Over Hugo Chavez

​There's a reason we don't see outspoken actor Sean Penn visiting Miami more often. Probably because the Hollywood star who keeps warm company with the likes of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro would be accosted every time he walks down the street. Kind of like he was by former co-star and Cuban-Ameri ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Thinks The U.S. Secretly Gave Him And Other Latin Leaders Cancer

​Hugo Chavez has struggled through cancer over the past year, losing his hair, gaining weight and traveling repeatedly to Cuba for surgeries. Chavez has never said precisely what stage of the disease he has, but on Wednesday the Venezuelan president suggested that he knew the source: A secret U.S. ... More >>

Castro, Chavez Make Top Ten List of World's Worst Dictators

​We just usually read Parade magazine for Howard Huge cartoons and "Ask Marilyn," but the magazine actually keeps a somewhat frequently updated list of the world's worst dictators. For the first time this year, Raúl Castro and Hugo Chávez made the top ten list.

Hugo Chavez Says He's Closing Venezuela's Consulate in Miami

​Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez says his country will close its consulate in Miami. The news comes after a Venezuelan diplomat headquartered in Miami was expelled by the state department earlier this week for her alleged role in a cyber-terrorism plot against the United States.

Annual Study: Cuba Has the Worst Press Freedom in the Americas

​The annual Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index is out, and Cuba continues to have the least freedom of the press in our part of the globe. No other country in the Americas even comes close to Cuba's lowly ranking. Meanwhile, the United States fell 27 places in the rankings in a worrisom ... More >>

Hugo Chavez's Daughter Poses With a Wad of American Cash

​Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez may think America is an evil imperialist empire, but his teenage daughter Rosines sure seems to love our dollar, dollar bill, y'all. The 14-year-old snapped a picture of herself posing behind a fan of United States currency and shared it on Instagram.