Politics
January 19

Insulza: Obama is not trying to pick a fight with Chávez
José Miguel Insulza, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), said on Monday, January 19 that US President-elect, Barack Obama is not trying to pick a fight with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Obama made some statements about Chávez last week in an interview with US Spanish-language media company Univisión.

In statements to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, Insulza claimed: "I believe that President Obama has said something very general about Venezuela. I think he is not interested in trying to pick a fight with President Chávez. It is just a one-sided fight. Nothing more than that," EFE reported.

In an interview broadcast on Univisión, which was divided into two parts and aired on Tuesday and Sunday, the US President-elect said last week: "Chávez has been a force that has interrupted progress in the region." 

"We are open to starting diplomatic talks with Venezuelan and we are ready to improve our relations," said Obama. However, the President-elect clarified: "We need to be firm when we see the news that Venezuela is exporting terrorist activities or supporting malicious entities like the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC)."

Meanwhile, President Chávez replied to Obama in a public ceremony held last Saturday night by saying: "if a country has a perverse force that has halted progress, freedom and life in this hemisphere is the country that you (Obama) are about to rule."

January 20

Chaderton: Insulza's statements about Obama, Venezuela are "pathetic"
Venezuela's ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Roy Chaderton, described as "pathetic" the statements made by the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, who said that US President Barack Obama is not trying to pick a fight with President Hugo Chávez.
 
"The statement of the Secretary General of the OAS on the bilateral controversy between the Venezuelan government and the incoming US administration can only be described as pathetic, disrespectful and silly," said Chaderton, according to a statement issued in Caracas by the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AFP reported.
 
Insulza expects renewed US-Cuba-Venezuela relations
The secretary general of the Organization of the American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, said on Tuesday, January 20 that the expects that the induction into office of President Barack Obama changes the relations of the United States with Cuba and Venezuela, as part of a greater understanding with Latin America and the Caribbean.

"We can expect a different attitude from him (Obama). We hope he promotes dialogue and multilateral cooperation rather than the unilateralist policy that was implemented by the previous government," Insulza told Colombian radio station Caracol, as reported by DPA.

Referring to the recent verbal clashes between Obama and President Hugo Chávez, Insulza said that he hoped that the disagreement "will not become a serious issue" and that the ties between the two countries will improve after the prevailing tensions under the administration of George W. Bush.

US Chargé d'Affaires advocates respectful dialogue with Venezuela
Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Caracas John Caulfield advocated on Tuesday for a "respectful dialogue" between his country and Venezuela, despite "differences" and said he was optimistic of the upcoming relationship, Efe reported.

"I think that both countries are willing to start a dialogue that could lead to a normal relationship, because the relationship is not normal now," the US diplomat told Efe at the US Embassy in Caracas, where the inauguration of President Barack Obama was directly watched.

"Despite the differences we have, and the differences we will have, I think we can hold a respectful dialogue, where we can take issue with certain things, but at the same time, we can realize that we have more things in common than we think," he said.

Inauguration of new US president will not affect trade with Venezuela
The president of the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Venamcham), Edward Jardine, does not believe that the inauguration of a new president in the Unites States will affect trade relations with Venezuela.
 
Referring to the inauguration of Barack Obama as US President, Jardine said that this event is not going to have "any impact on bilateral trade." "They are two separate things."
 
The president of Venamcham said in an interview aired in private TV news network Globovisión that "the trade ties between the US and Venezuela have been very strong and have climbed dramatically in the last few years. Estimations suggest that in 2008 bilateral trade stood at some USD 70 billion."

January 21

Chávez sees a likely change, but is not very thrilled about Obama
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez said that he has no big expectations about the arrival in the White House of the new US President Barack Obama, but he showed satisfaction at the end of the government of George W. Bush.

"No one here should have any illusions, this is the North American empire," Chávez warned, as reported by EFE.

The Venezuelan leader accused Bush of being the "more repudiated president in his country and in the whole world," since he spread "terror and violence."

Chávez hoped that "the inauguration (of Obama) would lead to real change in the relations of the United States with the Third World."

Venezuelan FM asks Obama to "rectify" statement about Chávez
Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro asked US President Barack Obama to "correct" his criticisms against President Hugo Chávez. The diplomat claimed that the new US president is not aware of the new realities of Latin America, AP reported.  

Maduro told state TV channel VTV that he "hoped Obama to rectify," following his declarations last week to a US network claiming that Chávez "has disrupted progress in Latin America."

"President Chávez has won 12 of the last 14 votes in Venezuela over the last 10 years. He is a legitimate president and his leadership has gone beyond the regional sphere," said the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, as quoted by official news agency ABN.

January 23

Washington prepares agenda for dialogue with Venezuela
James Steinberg, who was appointed Deputy Secretary of State, the second most important official of the US Department of State, said that the United States needs to restore that sense of  "leadership and united work" of the country with the region. "And now we have the opportunity to do it."

"Our friends and partners in Latin America are looking to the United States to provide strong and sustained leadership in the region, as a counterweight to governments like those currently in power in Venezuela and Bolivia which pursue policies which do not serve the interests of their people or the region," Steinberg said.

He stated that the US relationship with Venezuela "should be designed to serve our national interest, which means to speak out clearly on issues of concern to the United States, while seeking cooperation where it is important to our interest, as is the case in fighting the increasing flow of illegal drugs."

Chávez: Obama is a man with good intentions
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez considers that the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, is a man with good intentions. The Venezuelan leader made his remarks in the neighborhood 23 de Enero in western Caracas, where he was giving a workshop on electoral machinery to the followers of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

"Now, he is the new President of the United States. I think it is worth giving him some time. The reflections of Fidel are very wise. Obama is a man with good intentions. He has shut by decree the prison of Guantánamo; he has banned torture. This is a very important signal."

Chávez said that the Venezuelan government can not say that "everything coming from the United States is bad for people." He rejoiced that a man as Obama has taken office in the US and that his first measure was to sign a series of decrees to end several terror policies."