So, in Leno’s absence and Conan’s presence on the 11:30pm time-slot, I started searching for other comedians who could tickle my brain. Then I came across Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert.

I barely remember how I got hooked. Perhaps it was a segment, but I started watching. I will confess that initially, when I saw him in that suit, and all the “republican iconography” in his set, I was a little suspicious. He usually starts off by seemingly picking on the progressives, but upon hearing him deliver, I realized the brilliance of his lines. He puts a funny twist on the Fox News network tone, stressing its antithesis of the Fox “fair and balanced” take on events and politics.

Last March, walking from The Armory Show on Pier 92, west side on 54th street, looking for a cab, I came across the Colbert Show studios, and the long line outside its doors. I approached the young people with the clipboard at the door, and they told me I could sign up for tickets on the website. When I had a free moment in the late Spring, I went online looking for tickets. To my disappointment they were not available. So I signed up to be advised by email.

The Colbert Report team is very good at advising you when tickets are available via email. The trick is to jump on the email VERY QUICKLY. If you wait even an hour to do it, by the time you get there, chances are there will be none. The tickets are free, but they do go fast. So after a few failed attempts to rush to get tickets after being emailed, in late June I was successful getting them. I invited a friend who was as excited as I.

August seemed a long way, but completely a worthy wait. The Colbert Report team is diligent enough to remind you on the day of the show of your reservation, asking if you must cancel to click on a link, I suppose to open up seats for the standby line. Yes, there is a brave and daring standby line.

The show taping begins at around 7pm or so, but they advise that you get in line and meet your friends no later than 5:30pm. When I spoke to the young clipboard-holding staffer earlier in that cold March day, she advised it was best to show up at around 4pm or so. So my guest and I showed up at 3:30pm, imagining we’d be the first in line. What were we thinking? LOL! There were already about 20 people ahead of us.

The team is also very diligent in checking your government-issued ID and recording it. You must bring a printed copy of the confirmation email when they check you in at the line. The staff is really nice and really courteous. Given it was a very very hot day, they gave us water bottles, enough to keep us hydrated, but not large enough to have us running to the bathroom and losing our place on line.

I will confess that the wait from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm or so –when the line finally started moving– was a long one.

Recommendations here: bring something portable to sit on. You can also sit on the floor. So, don’t dress up, unless you’re a VIP and have quick access to the show. There was a couple in front of us. The poor girl was wearing heels and a dress. At one point she kept taking turns lifting her feet. Standing two hours on heels must have been painful. I was wearing comfortable sandals, and ended up sitting for a bit, but even on comfortable shoes, it hurts to stand online that long. Also, it’s best if you go with someone, this way you can hold each other’s place in the line in case you want to run across the street for a bite of food or a bathroom break. If it’s on an extreme weather day, make sure to bring the right clothing. You’ll certainly be standing out there for at about two hours or so. The Colbert Show has ensured that the waiting area outside is covered and the audience is not exposed to inclement weather. In the end, the wait is long, but worth it.

The Colbert Report audience waiting in line

Between 5:30pm and 6pm, when they are finally about to let us in, a young, handsome security guy came out to greet us and tell us the rules.

The rules for the live audience of the Colbert show are:

1. No cameras, no video taping while inside the show.
2. No weapons of any kind.
3. Everyone attending must have a government issued photo I.D.
4. Everyone attending must be at least 18 years old.
5. The person whose name appears on the ticket must be present.
6. Past 5:30 pm no one will be allowed to join the line.
7. No tickets are issued. Proof of reservation is a printed copy of the email. Make sure to bring it.
8. No yelling out and screaming obscenities during the taping of the show.

Basically, the expectation is for members of the audience to behave themselves. It makes sense.

Shortly after that introduction, we were given numbered admission passes. These are returned upon entry on to the studio. I took a snapshot of mine as a souvenir. Even the admission pass is funny.

Even the entrance passes are funny at The Colbert Report

I was very appreciative of the bottles of water they passed around as we waited patiently in the line. As I began to move forward I read on the wall along the line, a ton of great entries worth sharing here. So, given that I could not take pictures while inside the studio, I decided to photograph the mementos left on the wall by other Colbert fans. I photographed the ones that caught my eye the most. Check out the pictures below. It certainly tells of his fan base. And one important point here. The Colbert audience is VERY diverse. There were people of all ages, backgrounds, etc. So, any of Colbert critics who claim otherwise, are completely wrong.

Yes, it does say, "Stephen, be my baby Daddy." Funny!!

Colbert for President 2016. Why not?

I second that sentiment! Go Colbert Nation!

Hofstra Salutes Stephen - Do you think the Dean will approve? LOL!

Long Island Loves Stephen - Well, so do the rest of us.

Yes, it does say, "Len n Stephen" Well, Stephen. I had no idea! LOL!

Once inside, everyone goes through a metal detector and bags are checked by security. There is a picture of Stephen on the wall, where you can pose next to it and be photographed, “with Stephen”. The headliner picture here is from that wall.  After the excitement of photographing ourselves with Stephen’s friendly wall pic, we all continued to stand around and wait to be called into the studio itself. At least this time we were inside an air conditioned room. The Colbert team is very good at keeping us entertained and updated.  At certain intervals, a member of the staff would tell us what was going on inside and what to expect. There is a water cooler and bathrooms.  It is highly recommended you go before entering the studio. Why disrupt the show just because you have to go to the bathroom while they tape?

We began to enter the recording studio at about 7:30pm. Apparently going in this late was an exception. They usually start at about 7:00pm. They were running a bit behind schedule that day. In the meantime, to keep us entertained, there were videos of Colbert’s greatest hits being played in screens around the room as we stood around chatting and impatiently looking at our watches. Every half hour or so, a member of the staff would update us and continue to stress how appreciative they were of our presence and patience while they got ready for the show. It made the waiting more bearable.

There is this segment they show at the waiting room, where Jane Fonda flirts with him and even kisses him. I found that hilarious and endearing. I can also tell he likes having the super cool and legendary Gloria Steinem on his show. I liked him even more after watching those clips.

By the time we got into the recording studio and were in our seats, it was almost four hours of standing around waiting to see “the man” live: about two in the hot weather outside, and under two at the waiting room inside. My feet hurt. So, when you go, either bring a good book, good music in your mp3 player, or make sure you have an entertaining friend around, in addition to comfortable clothes and shoes.

As a member of the audience, I have a few suggestions to the great and diligent Colbert production team.

1. Providing seats is very important. I know you want to make sure people’s energy remains up, so seating gives people a break and renews them.
2. I think in the summer, besides the water, an electrolyte-rich beverage (gatorade-types) will certainly keep us energized and pumped. In the cold days of winter, I’d imagine coffee or hot chocolate can do the trick. You may already be doing that.
3. I understand you may have a budget for the show, so you may not have the funding for beverages besides water, so if we’re going to stand around that long, how about putting a snack and drink machine inside the waiting room?  Some of us wouldn’t mind having the option of paying for a snack or beverage. Truth is, after all that standing in the heat, I was exhausted and my energy was low by the time I finally sat in the studio. The wait is too long, but no doubt truly worth it.
4. My last suggestion, please have a souvenir shop. Perhaps inside the waiting room, you could sell Colbert stuff. It’d make the waiting experience that much better, the time would go faster, and I bet it would add some revenue to your show. I’m sure the staff wouldn’t mind the raise, especially those interns.

Other than that, once we were allowed in (and you’re allowed in by numerical order, according to your spot in the initial line– so it pays to be early), we were assigned our seating areas. Members of the production team shared with us how important we are to Stephen’s taping. I have no doubt about that, because a comedian feeds off the energy of the audience.  With Colbert is easy to laugh at anything he says. He’s just hilarious.

Once we’re seated, there is additional waiting time, but this time around there is a comedian doing an “opening routine” before Stephen comes out. The comedian is pretty good. Most of his routine involves speaking with the audience and keeping us engaged and laughing.

The best treat of the night is that Stephen comes out and spends some personal time with the audience and answers questions!!

They just requested that the questions be polite, not to ask for “things” or favors, you know, keep them clean and smart. When Steven finally comes out, we’re all pumped. He is so worth the wait. He takes the microphone and thanks us for being there, then begins to answer questions from the audience. I find that endearing. They warned us this portion would be “Stephen off character”. Truth is, Stephen is the character! I saw very little difference between the witty Colbert and Stephen with the mike taking questions from the audience. So many questions came to mind. I waited too long and the session ended without asking one of my many questions, to my regret. But I hope to return soon and get to ask him a question the next time.

Sadly I found out he rarely tweets himself, but he did credit his wonderful and witty staff for tweeting for him. It’s understandable. Most famous people rarely tweet themselves. The good news is that his staff does. So, our tweets to him are not wasted.

Watching the taping of the show, and participating as part of the audience was an exciting experience, as I expected. Colbert does not disappoint.  The wait was a bit much for me, but worth it. Perhaps this is coming from someone who avoids crowded places and long lines. So, keep this in mind when reading my feedback. Some people don’t mind standing in line. I noticed inside the waiting room, that aside from the general admission tickets, there were two other types of ticket holders: VIP ticket holders and red ticket holders. I imagine these are people who know someone in the show. They are usually the first to go in and get to sit on the front rows. I guess these people don’t go through the long wait in line.

One of the most endearing aspects of watching Colbert tape his show was watching him lose it at times as he starts laughing as he reads his own lines. Twice we had to cut and restart. Even those re-dos were perfect. The fact that he flubbered his lines, showed the guy is human and truly enjoys his job. I also learned that the audience is very important to him. We are his cue in many aspects. After every segment, his writers go up to the desk and they go over the script. He is not shy about taking the pen and crossing out lines and adding lines as they review the next segment. Also on the famous Stephen Colbert red bracelets bands, he randomly shoots them out to the audience throughout the taping. I missed one by an inch. But of course, I wasn’t throwing myself to catch it. I was hoping for a store of Colbert souvenirs where I would have gladly spent my money, but there isn’t one.

Colbert is impeccable in his manner, his style and his behavior. I was very impressed at the professionalism displayed by Stephen and his staff. They were all very enthusiastic and showed much appreciation of us, the audience. He’s lucky he’s that good that he got this New York City girl to wait. I think the last time I stood in a line that long I was in high school on a trip to Great Adventure. Not even for my i-gadgets!

So,  Stephen Colbert, you must be a very special guy to get me standing in line that long just to see you.

Despite the “Republican” facade, Stephen’s show and his type of comedy, appeals to the independent-minded. You don’t have to have party affiliations to enjoy him. Republican strategist Mary Matalin said not long ago that she enjoyed Jon Stewart but preferred Colbert. I hoped that she liked him for the same reasons I do, and not for the fact that he comes across as Republican, because he truly shows his independent colors. And if I were a fanatical follower of either party, or one of those people who took my politics a bit too seriously, I’d be afraid to watch Colbert because he makes the politicians and the parties look far from smart, especially the republican party and Fox News.

By the time the taping was over, it was a bit after 9pm.  I was thirsty and hungry. I think we all were. I saw a few cars outside the studio, but among them stood a long black limo. I wondered if it was Stephen’s or perhaps belonged to a special guest.

Overall, my first time experience with Colbert live, was just as I expected, minus the long, long wait and lack of electrolytes. I hope the Colbert team reads some of my suggestions and takes them into consideration. It would make the Stephen experience that much better, and the audience would be that much more energized. Not that we weren’t, but imagine the audience on a sweet snack after a long wait, and souvenirs in hand! We’d be very appreciative and happily demonstrate it.

Overall, it was a great job done by the staff. They were professional, friendly, energized and energizing. Stephen was even more awesome in person, especially when he showed his human side such as laughing or missing his lines. We the audience missed our cue once too. It was funny. Stephen looked at us with that look of his. We laughed and got it.

If you’re considering participating in the live Colbert experience as part of the studio audience, I highly recommend it. If you don’t like standing in lines for hours –like me– I highly recommend trying to get those VIP or red passes. I don’t know where they come from or who is the conduit, but I’m sure there is a way.  Overall, Colbert is worth the wait. I am sorry I don’t have more pictures of the experience inside the studio, but, I think the ones I collected and I’m sharing here with you will take you closer to what it was like being there.

If you have attended, I’d love to hear your comments. Please post them and share with the rest of us here.

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JOIN families and community leaders from Arizona as they deliver messages and stories about SB 1070 to President Obama and Congress.

For more than 76 consecutive days at the State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, community leaders have been holding a continuous vigil to protest Arizona’s SB 1070 law. They have shared their stories and have stood their ground firmly against this divisive law. Now thirteen representatives have traveled from Arizona to Washington, DC – holding prayer vigils along the way – to bring their message to President Obama and our Congress. On Wednesday, July 7th at 11:30am this delegation from Arizona will explain why we must stop SB 1070 and push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform now. They will bring stories from Arizona families, written on paper doves and deliver them to the President and Congress after holding a vigil in Washington DC.

When: Wednesday, July 7th at 11:30 am eastern time

Who: Families and community leaders who have been maintaining vigil for the past 75 days.

Where: Lafayette Park, immediately north of the White House

Contact: Shu Ohno, Reform Immigration For America Campaign / National Immigration Forum,sohno@immigrationforum.org , cell 202-309-5645

For updates, you can also follow @PromiseArizona on Twitter.

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To brief you on what the Honduras situation last year was about, and its significance in the defense of democracy in Latin America, it was basically the dethronement of a Chavez ally, also known as President Zelaya, by the two other branches of the Honduras government, for breaking constitutional laws, in his quest to perpetuate himself in power, following the example of his buddy Chavez, and friends of the ALBA gang in Latin America. Honduras, as small as it is in size and GNP, it’s a key conduit right south of Mexico and Guatemala, and a valuable stop-over for drugs, weapons and people, as they are smuggled into Mexico and eventually the United States. For enemies of the U.S., Honduras is a valuable rest stop on their way up north. After all, it is small, it is classified as the second poorest country of the Western Hemisphere, and therefore it could be assumed that its government and citizens are corruptible. It was an assumption Honduras citizens proved wrong to the entire world.

Until June 28th of 2009, Mel Zelaya was the president of Honduras. And he exemplified the corruptible assumption. He, after all, had aligned himself with Chavez and his ALBA gang, and it was no secret that Venezuela-registered private planes would land in various clandestine spots in Honduras, with drugs, weapons and people. But boy was the world mistaken about Honduras and its people. The country may be small, there may be a high degree of poverty, and even corruption, but when it comes to democracy and Chavez, people know the difference well and they stood their ground when the time came and president Zelaya pressed them politically so he could imitate the example of Chavez and his ALBA buddies. On June 28th of 2009 we saw the Honduras’ spirit arise, and they legally fired their corrupt president.

Despite the international condemnation of this brave move, and despite the infiltration of Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and FARC operatives into this little country, all financed by Hugo Chavez, to lead a so called “opposition” in support of reinstating deposed Zelaya, Honduras stood strong. Its citizens, led by their congress, supreme court and military forces, went to the streets by the thousands, as peaceful demonstrators, all dressed in white, carrying their country blue and white flag, and stood strong, despite freezing of sorely needed international aid, despite the chaos and thuggery set off by the Chavez-financed operatives that had infiltrated the country. Honduras citizens would prefer to go hungry than to bow to Chavez and Zelaya. They knew the implications of the situation if they gave in. They knew it better than the rest of the world, which simply comdemned their brave move as a “military coupe” without looking into the facts and Honduran law. Hondurans instead, would rather go without the international aid than be subjugated by Chavez and his strong international influence.

Aside from the language barrier, which hurt Honduras’ ability to tell their story to the world, Chavez and his influential ring, orchestrated an international media campaign to depict Zelaya’s dethronement as a military coupe, in order to gain international support and pressure little Honduras into putting their corrupt president back. It was important to Chavez to win this one. So he deployed his propaganda campaign that reached deep into credible institutions such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the New York Times, CNN en Español, and certainly El Diario, the highest circulation Spanish newspaper in New York.

While the above-named respectable institutions stepped back on their attacks on Honduras once the real story got out, there was one writer in El Diario who did not relent. In fact, her columns were harsh, attacking the Hondurans as well as the United States government supposed involvement, even though president Obama and Hillary Clinton were also denouncing the “military coupe”. This writer, Vicky Pelaez, of Peruvian origin, stood out as one of the harshest critics of Honduras’ defense of its democracy against Chavez. Reading her columns raised many red flags in my head and it made me wonder why was she even allowed to write such lies and communist propaganda, praising Castro and Chavez, under the banner of the well-read and respected El Diario.

Vicky Pelaez not only condemned the Honduras defense of its democracy, and attacked the United States government, but in her subsequent writings, continued attacking the U.S. government, while praising that of Hugo Chavez and his so called Bolivarian revolution, which is code name for 21st century communism.

I won’t bother translating her columns, full of the Chavez propaganda, an echo of lies coming from Venezuela and from Cuba. No one deserves to read that garbage and the typical resentful hate of chavistas who advocate extreme-left measures, to the point of supression of those freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the U.S. constitution. What’s really anger-provoking is watching these people, Castro/Chavez and their allies, who have perfected the communist style of silencing dissent, hide under our democratic values that protect the freedom of speech here, and use the same freedoms granted by our democracy, to fight the very democracy they advocate against.

Reading Vicky Pelaez columns often angered me as much as listening to Hugo Chavez. It is known that since Chavez is in power, the presence of Russia, Iran and China has increased dramatically throughout certain countries in Latin America, namely those that belong to the ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance). It is no secret that Chavez has spent millions of dollars purchasing Russian military technology, weaponry, has signed hundreds of agreements, including nuclear ones, with Russia and Iran. It is also known that he has opened visa conduits for Russian, Iranian, Hezbollah and Chinese operatives to come to America via Venezuela and the ALBA countries. To give you a quick background on ALBA, it’s an alliance founded by Venezuela and Cuba. Other countries that joined later are: Antigua, Bolivia, Domenica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Honduras, which after Zelaya’s ouster, officially withdrew from the alliance. Note that these countries serve as stops along a path to the north, especially those in the Caribbean.

All that being said, when I read about Vicky Pelaez from El Diario, being arrested for spying, I had that ah-ha! moment. Of course! It all made sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is a Chavez operative, probably recruited to aid his cause here in the United States on behalf of his allies, Cuba and Russia. It doesn’t surprise me that she has been part of this spy ring. Her columns were so incendiary, so anti-American, that I found it alarming that a paper with such high circulation and so well read here in NYC, by millions of Spanish speakers, especially immigrants from Latin America, could be influenced by her words. Her columns concerned me greatly.

Of course, those columns themselves could serve as her cover. I won’t be surprised if she claims that because of her writings she and her husband have been detained. It’s the perfect cover. She will claim that her freedom of speech has been violated and she has been falsely accused in order to be silenced.

It is my understanding that for 10 years she has been tracked by the FBI, and the evidence is there. I find it outrageous when people who come to this country, and who benefit of its democracy, take advantage of it to destroy it. I’m relieved she has been removed. She was a dangerous echo of the Chavez Castro agenda here in the United States.

My concern is during the years she wrote her propaganda in El Diario, how many people were influenced by her? How many likely recruited among the Spanish speaking communities in NYC?

It is such a fine line to walk as a government in a democracy. The first amendment guarantees us all the right to freedom of expression, but Vicky Pelaez exemplifies the extreme dangers when that delicate balance is lost. She was not only advocating for enemies of the United States in a highly circulated paper, but is now suspected of spying for foreign countries.

To quote Bill Maher in Larry King last night, “We no longer have to fight them over there, so we don’t have to fight them here. They are already here.”

The time for Chavez and his ring of ominous influence around the world needs to come to an end. He has aligned with countries with an interest to see the United States fail and our democracy end. I am appalled at the fact that Latin American citizens are now involved in these spy rings from across the world. It sickens me. Chavez’ presence in the south of our continent is a severe threat to democracies across the American continent, from north to south. He’s the gaping hole letting in those interested in obliterating democracy.

I ask our brave opposition citizens in Venezuela, what does it take?  Imagine living in a world like Cuba, and that is what could happen if we allow this man and his malignant alignments prevail. Castro has prevailed. Can we afford to let Chavez do as well?

1. For more information from local NYC papers, check out:

From the NY Daily News: Suspected Russian spy Vicky Pelaez, a Spanish-language journalist, led many lives

NY Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/06/30/2010-06-30_suspected_spy_led_many_lives.html

2. A Cuban “dissident” wrote his comments on Pelaez here. This will give you insights on her writings and her Latin American influence and ties:

Castro regime scribe (Vicky Pelaez) among the 11 charged in Russia spy case

http://babalublog.com/2010/06/castro-regime-scribe-vicky-pelaez-among-the-11-charged-in-russia-spy-case/

3. From CBS News: FBI: 10 Russian Spies Arrested in U.S.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/28/world/main6627393.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;6

4. From MSNBC.com – Venezuela’s Chavez welcomes Russian warships

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27907501/

5. And how is our congress here in the United States handling the whole situation? Here is input from someone living in Honduras with wise observations.

Left Steps Up Attack on HONDURAS; Members of Congress Drink Kool Aid! – http://bit.ly/9HTF3v

While on that topic of “the left” here in the United States. I beg you all in the left, to really think hard before blindly backing the communist-left of Latin America. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING AS THE LEFT HERE IN THE USA!

By backing Zelaya in Honduras, without understanding Honduras politics, its constitution and its laws, you are wrong to assume that things run the same as here.  You would be considered centrists in Latin America, or moderate left. Zelaya and allies are not like you. They are aligned with Castro and Chavez et all. They are against basic human rights guaranteed by our constitution.What’s more. It was Zelaya’s own leftist party who took him out. What does that tell you? Know your facts, please.

Don’t make a mistake and back the wrong horse, lefties in the U.S.A. If you don’t know the facts, don’t meddle. Of course, this is why conservatives quickly assume I am a Republican. I’m not. I’m an independent and I know the facts about Latin American politics.

I support progressives here in the States, but I know the difference between the Chavez left movement and the progressive movement here. I hope once you learn the difference, you will stand with the people of Honduras, and not with Hugo Chavez, Castro, Zelaya and all their anti-American alliances.

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The world needs to know that despite Honduras’ attempt to remain democratic, defending its true democracy at all costs, Chavez and his henchman, Zelaya, remain active at plotting against it.

See CNN’s report by clicking here, or follow the link below:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/09/honduran-president-warns-of-new-coup-plot/?iref=allsearch

Héctor Ygonet Céspedes has reliable sources that have prompted him to publish the write-up I’m translating here. He wants the world to know what is in the plans for the usual thugs: Chavez, Castro and Zelaya. After all, at the end of June it’ll be the one-year anniversary since Zelaya was fired for his illegal actions against the government and the people of Honduras, as he tried to imitate the Chavez template for long-term dictatorship.

It wouldn’t be a surprise, if at the one-year-anniversary mark, Chavez and Zelaya would attempt to “take the country back”. Honduras President, Pepe Lobo, just announced this week he found out there is a plot in the making to overthrow him. I wouldn’t doubt for a moment that Zelaya is salivating to return to power, despite the illegality of a second presidency. I wouldn’t doubt it if Chavez and the Castro brothers are behind this. I would only hope that this time the OAS and the UN do the right thing and side with true democracy and not with those communist USA-hating nuts, Chavez and Castro.

I hope the right people read this, investigate it and shed the public light on this. We can’t let Zelaya disrupt the new democratic government of Honduras, and allow this small but important country become one more stone in Chavez’ path to ease his drugs, terror and weapons cartel into Mexico and the United States.

So, here are the wise words of a man who sees the danger and is sounding the alarm.

A coupe against Porfirio Lobo

(Translation into English, original in Spanish below)

By Héctor Ygonet Céspedes of Cespedes Consultores

A coupe, (from the French term, “coup d’Etat”) refers to the take-over of political power in a sudden and violent manner, from a powerful group, endangering the institutional legitimacy established in a state, meaning the legal norms of succession that rule. The term coup d’Etat began to be used in France on the XVII century, to refer to a series of violent and sudden measures taken by the king, without any respect for legislation nor moral norms, generally to rid himself of his enemies, when the king himself would consider them necessary in order to maintain the security of the state and the common welfare. In this original sense, the concept is quite similar to what is known today as “coupe”, meaning the deployment of certain authorities of the state, on behalf of a supreme authority.

Honduras’ constitutional president, Porfirio Lobo, just shared with the world that he has first-hand information of a deadly plot against his government, possibly financed by a foreign government.

Just like in the worst moments of the 70’s and 80’s, when the Cuban revolution would finance terrorist groups in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, the chavista regime today finances all types of “projects”, whether they are political, legal, or not, in order to introduce its damn formula to conquer power vacuums in any country with weak governments, such as the one in Honduras.

No one can be that naïve to think Chavez would just sit back and do nothing when the organized forces of Honduras deposed his right-hand man, Manuel Zelaya, and interrupted what he calls, “the new revolutionary process in Central America.”

Hugo Chávez and Raúl Castro, coarsened by hate, greed and bitterness, conspire secretly and publicly, to depose the constitutional Honduras government. The Dominican Republic, as Manuel Zelaya’s host country, should not allow under any circumstances, that from its land, an action to delegitimize the Honduras government and its president Pepe Lobo be allowed.

I call upon the Dominican democratic forces, represented by our chancellor Don Carlos Morales Troncoso, Rafael L. Alburquerque, Honorable vicepresident of the nation, Hipólito Mejía, Ex president of the republic and general (r) José Miguel Soto Jiménez, so that they commit the Dominican government to clarify the clandestine and continuous meetings taking place at the house of Manuel Zelaya, in the Caribbean resort, “Casa de Campo”, the most luxurious and expensive in the country, paid for by the Dominican taxpayers, and which is utilized today by Zelaya to conspire against the government of his own country, throwing mud over the hospitality and generosity of the Dominican people.

The free world needs to pay very close attention to the likely events that could happen in Honduras within the next few months or weeks, or even days. We hope that organizations such as UNASUR, OAS, Rio group, won’t become the lackeys of the golpistas operating under the cover of the chavista doctrine of “an eye for an eye and a coupe for a coupe.”

Original en español:

Golpe de estado contra Porfirio Lobo

Héctor Ygonet Céspedes, Cespedes Consultores

Un golpe de Estado (palabra proveniente del francés coup d’État) es la toma del poder político, de un modo repentino y violento, por parte de un grupo de poder, vulnerando la legitimidad institucional establecida en un Estado, es decir, las normas legales de sucesión en el poder vigentes con anterioridad. El concepto golpe de Estado (coup d’État) comenzó a ser empleado en Francia en el siglo XVIII, para referirse a una serie de medidas violentas y repentinas tomadas por el Rey, sin respetar la legislación ni las normas morales, generalmente para deshacerse de sus enemigos, cuando el Rey mismo consideraba que eran necesarias para mantener la seguridad del Estado o el bien común. En este sentido original, el concepto era muy similar a lo que se denomina en la actualidad “autogolpe”, es decir el desplazamiento de ciertas autoridades del Estado, por parte de la autoridad suprema.

El presidente Constitucional de Honduras Porfirio Lobo, acaba  de revelar al mundo, que tiene información de primera mano de una mortal conspiración contra su gobierno legítimo, posiblemente financiada por un gobierno extranjero.

Como en los peores momentos de los años 70 y 80, cuando la revolución cubana financiaba a los grupos terroristas que actuaban en Nicaragua, El Salvador y Guatemala, el régimen chavista hoy financia todo tipo de proyectos políticos legales o no, que busquen introducir su formula maldita para conquistar espacios de poder en cualquier país con instituciones débiles como es el caso de Honduras.

Nadie puede ser tan ingenuo de pensar que Chávez se quedaría tranquilo y con los brazos cruzados, cuando las fuerzas organizadas de Honduras depusieron a su hombre de confianza, Manuel Zelaya, e interrumpieron lo que él llama, el nuevo proceso revolucionario en centro América.

Hugo Chávez y Raúl Castro, embrutecidos por el odio, la codicia y la amargura, conspiran en secreto y en público para derrocar al gobierno constitucional hondureño. La Republica Dominicana como país anfitrión de Manuel Zelaya, no debe permitir bajo ninguna premisa, que desde suelo dominicano de urda una acción para deslegitimar  al gobierno hondureño y su presidente Pepe Lobo.

Hago un llamado a las fuerzas democráticas dominicanas en las personas de nuestro Canciller Don Carlos Morales Troncoso, Rafael L. Alburquerque, Honorable vicepresidente de la nación, Hipólito Mejía Ex presidente de republica y general (r) José Miguel Soto Jiménez, para que comprometan  al gobierno dominicano en una aclaración pertinente al ex presidente Manuel Zelaya, sobres las reuniones constante y clandestinas, que este realiza en su casa en el balneario caribeño de “Casa de Campo” el más lujoso y caro del país, pagado por los impuestos de los dominicanos, y que hoy es usado por Zelaya para conspirar contra el gobierno de su país, echando lodos a la hospitalidad y generosidad del pueblo dominicano.

Muy atento debe estar el mundo libre a los acontecimientos que podrían pasar en Honduras los próximos meses, semanas o días. Esperamos que organismos como la UNASUR, la OEA, Grupo de Rio, no se conviertan en lacayos de los golpistas, amparados en la tesis chavista del “ojo por ojo y golpe por golpe”.

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Este artículo fue escrito con una audiencia mundial en mente, ya sea la de los Estados Unidos, Europa, el Medio Oriente, Asia, Africa, etc. La meta es compartir en el idioma inglés, lo que ya muchos latinoamericanos conocemos, los abusos y la desgracia que están ocurriendo en nuestra región, especialmente en Venezuela. Por lo tanto muchos encontrarán la información aquí ya muy conocida y muy básica. La meta de este escrito es introducir al que no conoce la penosa situación a la que se enfrentan los Venezolanos, y que el mundo tiene que reconocer. Lo que ocurre en Irán y lo que ocurre en Venezuela es un paralelo y no es  coincidencia. El mundo necesita saber eso, y gracias a Twitter, es lograble.

Aquí va la tradución al español, para aquellos de ustedes que tienen curiosidad de saber que escribí acerca de Venezuela. No dudo que me saldrán por ahí los chavistas a insultarme, pero los insultos de esa gente los llevaré como banda de honor. Dado que hablo la verdad, como latinoamericana que conoce muy bien la situación, compartirla con el mundo es mi deber.

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Para aquellos de ustedes que se están preguntando por qué tanta bulla, por qué de pronto las etiquetas, conocidas como hashtags en Twitter, #FreeVenezuela, y ahora #IranVzla han logrado ser uno de los temas mas candentes de Twitter, y aunque no hayan oído de Chavez, o quizás tengan una idea de quien es el, quizás se estén rascando la cabeza preguntándose, “¿Que es lo que está pasando?”

A menos que vivan en América Latina, o sean de América Latina, o conozcan a alguien de América Latina, es posible que se sientan lejos de la situación de los Venezolanos. Hace décadas, durante el tiempo que crecí en América Latina, recuerdo haber oído sobre gente que buscaba un nuevo comienzo y no lograban visa para irse a los Estados Unidos, recogían sus cosas y se iban a vivir a Venezuela. Aquel era el país vecino en donde existía la oportunidad y la prosperidad.

Sin duda alguna, como en cualquier otro país, Venezuela siempre ha tenido un cierto nivel de corrupción, pero era lo suficientemente manejable como para que la gente tuviera éxito a pesar de ello. Aquí hay una pregunta clave. ¿Que tanto creció la corrupción ahí en las últimas tres décadas?

En América Latina, la Venezuela de los 70 e incluso de los 80, era una tierra conocida por producir muchas candidatas Miss Universo, en donde el petróleo era abundante, de donde venían las grandes telenovelas, actores, cantantes, la gente linda y exitosa. Los canales de televisión, ya sea de noticia o farándula, eran fuerte competencia para los que provenían de Méjico, España y los Estados Unidos.

A la llegada de este nuevo siglo, este gran país, que era un modelo de éxito, de democracia y capitalismo, ya no es ni siquiera la sombra de lo que solía ser. Yo no soy de Venezuela, así como tampoco de Honduras, sin embargo, como latinoamericana, he estado siguiendo muy de cerca los eventos políticos de la región a lo largo de mi vida, al principio desde la misma región, y ahora desde lejos.

En el año 1992, no estoy segura cual era la situación política en Venezuela, pero podrán leer un poco más acerca de eso aquí. Quizás la corrupción ya estaba fuera de control. Quizás la pobreza estaba subiendo. La verdad es que yo no le podría decir que fue la razón, pero lo que si le diré es que el tiempo fue propicio para una rebelión. Yo invito a mis amigas y amigos venezolanos a que comenten en este hecho y agreguen información a los eventos que condujeron a la subida de Chavez al poder, pero lo único que sé es que este coronel, con una inteligencia por debajo del promedio, de quien me cuenta uno de sus ex-compañeros de colegio, que era”un burro”, logró arreglar y llevar a cabo un golpe de estado, un golpe que falló y lo hizo terminar en la cárcel. Dos años mas tarde fue perdonado por el nuevo presidente, y ya libre comenzó a fortalecer un movimiento populista que lo puso en el poder en el año 1999.  Sin duda alguna, la gente estaba cansada de la situación y votaron por un cambio. Pero ha sido un voto que les ha costado muy caro a los venezolanos.

Desde el año 1999, Hugo Chavez ha logrado mantenerse en el poder, no exactamente de forma limpia ni transparente. El ha logrado cambiar la constitución para permitir perpetuarse legalmente en el cargo mas alto de Venezuela. El abolió la independencia de las ramas de poder. El legislativo y el judicial, así mismo como el militar, hoy dependen de él para aprobación y subsistencia.  Los medios de prensa también han llegado a depender de él para existir.

La libertad tradicional de la prensa ya está casi extinguida. Cualquier cadena de noticias que se rehuse a transmitir sus largos y torturadores discursos, es cerrada. Venezuela, en donde imigrantes de otros países buscaban oportunidad, va hoy por un proceso seguro a convertirse en otra Cuba, en donde los ciudadanos empobrecidos comparten las mismas penurias, miedos, mirando sobre sus espaldas y traicionándose el uno al otro para supervivencia. Hoy, la gente busca salir de Venezuela.

No es secreto que Insulza, Secretario de la OEA es muy amigo de Chavez, aquí con el y Zelaya - Crédito: Jairo Cajina AFP Photo

En lo que he comenzado a conocer a venezolanos en Twitter, muchos de ellos residen aquí o están exiliados. ¿Exiliados? ¡Yo pensé que eso solo le pasaba a los cubanos! ¡Qué tan mal tienen que haberse puesto las cosas en la última década, desde que Hugo Chávez subió al poder! De lo que ya me he enterado, la persecución política en Venezuela es bastante mala. Lo triste es que la OEA, que está supuesta a ser la institución internacional que mira por los ciudadanos del continente americano, se hace ciega y sorda en respecto a las transgresiones de Hugo Chavez en contra de los ciudadanos de Venezuela, el fraude electoral de las supuestas elecciones que lo mantienen en el poder, sus alianzas con terroristas y narcotraficantes en la región, y su financiamiento de la propagación de su agenda comunista en América Latina. Me pregunto cual es la razón por la que el secretario de la OEA, el chileno Miguel Insulza, tan convenientemente se haga el desentendido de esta situación, mientras presiona por reintegrar a Cuba a la organización. Todo esto ciertamente no es coincidencia.

Entre más tuiteo con los ciudadanos venezolanos, enfurecidos por los abusos y faltas del régimen de Chávez, entre más sigo el mar de información sobre Venezuela que viene por Twitter, mas me doy cuenta de lo gravemente que peligra la verdadera democracia bajo Hugo Chavez, no solo en Venezuela, si no en toda la región latinoamericana.

Este video aquí está en inglés, pero contiene mucha información original en español, enseñando el ascenso peligroso de este nuevo Hitler del siglo 21, y de las posibles implicaciones si se le permite lograr sus propósitos:

Los venezolanos ya no pueden contar con la seguridad de sus calles. La policía y los militares ahora se les considera una militocracia y cometen abusos criminales impunemente, en contra de los ciudadanos. Ellos tienen privilegios especiales tales como un cambio de divisas mas alto que el que tiene el pueblo. A los venezolanos les hace falta servicios básicos ahora: el agua, la luz, ambas vienen y se van esporádicamente. Se dice que Chávez culpa a la famosa corriente del Niño, por estos eventos. Pero muchos ciudadanos inteligentes se dan cuenta que solo países vecinos inclinados a Chávez y con cercanía a Cuba pasan por los mismos problemas, países como el Ecuador y Bolivia. Interesantemente, países que no son parte del ALBA (el club especial de países amigos de Chávez) no parecen tener estos problemas. ¡Y todos están en la misma región!

Ya la gente ha comenzado a darse cuenta y preguntarse. Han empezado a darse cuenta que las mimas cosas que ocurren en Cuba, les está ocurriendo a ellos: el típico racionamiento comunista de los servicios básicos.

Al principio mi reacción a los diez y pico años de Chávez era mas o menos así: “Bueno, si ustedes lo eligieron al tipo, entonces… ” pero entre más me entero de la situación, más me doy cuenta lo caro que están pagando los venezolanos por ese único error de haber votado por Chávez una vez, solo una vez.  Porque una vez que llegó a la presidencia, el se aseguró de colocar todas las legalidades necesarias para mantenerse en el poder. No es un secreto que hay elecciones y referendums fraudulentos, incluyendo el que cambió la constitución, que ahora le permite mantenerse en el poder sin límite. De acuerdo a sus últimos discursos, Chávez ha expresado abiertamente, no solo que es marxista y apoya el comunismo, pero que también está listo a quedarse en el poder por otros 11 años.

Muchos venezolanos tienen que estar arrepentidos de haber votado por ese tipo al final de la década de los 90. Mucha gente aquí en los Estados Unidos, que habían votado por George W. Bush en el 2000, estuvo aliviada cuando llegó el veinte de enero del 2009 y un nuevo presidente entró al poder. Ese es un lujo democrático con el cual los venezolanos ya no pueden contar, dado que Chávez se ha asegurado de que la constitución y todos los poderes del estado queden legalmente bajos su mando, posiblemente hasta su muerte. Se dice que Chávez tomó el modelo de Fidel Castro, y con los petrodólares venezolanos está financiando una nueva versión de éste modelo opresivo comunista y diseminándolo a través de América Latina, via una plataforma populista. Ya está dando fruto en el Ecuador, en Nicaragua y en Bolivia. Está empezando a dar sus señales en el Brasil, y afortunadamente, las semillas no lograron tomar raíz en Honduras a través de Zelaya. No fue fácil, pero los Hondureños lo lograron.

Es increíble ver a los militares usar armas en contra de los ciudadanos desarmados. - Agradecimiento al tuitero @Jose_Enrique por compartir esta foto

En Venezuela, sin embargo, en donde la raíz de la propagación del comunismo existe, Chávez ha logrado quitar todas las libertades y servicios básicos muy lentamente, lo suficientemente lento para que los ciudadanos lo traguen poco a poco. Eso sí, ellos si han salido a protestar, muchas veces durante esta última década, pero el resto del mundo no los ha visto.  Tal como en Irán, Chávez ha vuelto los militares en contra de los ciudadanos.  Adicionalmente se conoce que envía matones armados a mezclarse con los protestantes y de allí dispararles. Una mente tan mala como la de Chávez, que alguna vez falló en la escuela, ha tenido éxito tramando planes para lucirse bien en frente de la comunidada internacional, mientras por atrás lentamente abolir la democracia en Venezuela y al mismo tiempo financiar la propagación del comunismo en latinoamérica. El la llama la “Revolución Bolivariana”, o “Socialismo del Siglo 21″. Pero en verdad, es peor que eso. Es comunismo despótico, una dictadura totalitaria con conexiones muy peligrosas con los enemigos de las democracias libres del mundo, principalmente los Estados Unidos, a quien el normalmente llama el “Imperio Yankee”. Chávez dice que no quiere estar sujeto al servicio del “Imperio Yankee”, sin embargo, lo único que ha hecho es sustituír la alianza con los Estados Unidos, con alianzas con naciones enemigas de los Estados Unidos y de la verdadera democracia, naciones como Irán.

Este video les enseña la última visita de Ahmadinejad a Venezuela, aquí sostenido de manos con Chávez, ambos halagándose y prometiéndose lealtad. Es un matrimonio arreglado en el infierno, sin duda alguna. Me perdonarán la calidad del video, pero si escuchan el contenido, apreciarán la importancia de lo que se dice aquí. Este fue un reporte hecho por la cadena ecuatoriana de noticias, Teleamazonas, que también está bajo amenaza de clausura por Correa, el otro pupilo de Chávez en el Ecuador.

Por coincidencia, al aliado amigo de Chávez, Ahmadinejad, logró conseguir una supuesta re-elección exitosa para quedarse en el poder en Irán, al estilo Chávez, llamando el voto de victoria un poquito demasiado pronto, mientras se conoce bien que los tribunales electorales están bajo su control. Los números no coincidieron. Esto les olió a fraude a los ciudadanos iraníes, que se volcaron a las calles a protestar los resultados.  Cuando el régimen iraní sacó del país a los medios de prensa independientes, los protestantes iraníes, conocidos como el Movimiento Verde,  se volcaron al Internet para que se escuchen sus protestas y compartieron con el mundo su situación terrible.  En la ausencia de la solidez y dependabilidad de los medios de prensa tradicionales, Twitter, YouTube y Facebook sirvieron de canales para que salga la verdad. Y tuvieron éxito sacando dicha verdad, pero al mismo tiempo, la tecnología que les ayudó, regresó, como un boomerang, y les hizo daño, porque también fue usada por el régimen para perseguirlos y encontrarlos. Y en Irán, en donde las ejecuciones públicas son parte de la tradición cultural, muchos pagaron caramente con sus vidas. Hablaremos mas en detalle sobre esto en un futuro artículo, para el cual estoy investigando. Por ahora es suficiente decir que la tecnología puede ser un arma de dos filos, pero si se usa correctamente y cuidadosamente para luchar contra dictadores déspotas, puede ser un arma muy poderosa.

Hasta ahora, Twitter ha demostrado tener éxito incomodando mucho a dictadores como Chavez y Ahmadinejad, tanto que han amenazado a los ciudadanos que lo usan.

Los venezolanos, muy al tanto de los apuros de los iraníes, y habiendo presenciado personalmente las visitas de Ahmadinejad a Venezuela y a otros países de América Latina, después de haber visto la presencia de miles de cubanos Castristas invadir sus vecindades, formar parte de la dictadura injusta y corrupta de Chávez, también se sienten en apuros. El último bastión de la prensa independiente en Venezuela, Globovision, está en este momento bajo severas amenazas de ser clausurado o dominado por la gente de Chávez. Es en estos instantes cuando muchos están llegando a Twitter para comunicar su lucha de casi una década al resto del mundo.

Esto explica tags en Twitter como #Venezuela, #IranVzla, #Vzla, #FreeMediaVe, #FreeVenezuela, subir en la lista de temas mas candentes de conversación durante diferentes horas del día en dicha red, especialmente durante estas últimas semanas. Lo que es también asombroso es que, similar a la alianza entre Hugo Chavez y Ahmadinejad, su oposición también se ha aliado para trabajar juntos y unir sus voces en contra de ambos dictadores.  Este escrito excelente, titulado en inglés, “La Próxima Parada de la Revolución de Twitter — Venezuela.(“Twitter Revolution’s Next Stop – Venezuela” ) nos cuenta de la nueva alianza entre el Movimiento Verde de Irán y la creciente oposición en Venezuela. Ellos se dan cuenta muy bien que están luchando contra el mismo tipo de enemigo. También hablaré más en detalle sobre esta alianza en un escrito futuro.

Ambos dictadores, Ahmadinejad y Chávez se han vuelto más atrevidos. Sus tácticas represivas se han empeorado. Hagan click aquí para ver fotos de las últimas demostraciones y la represión brutal.  Son tan similares a las de Irán. Arriesgando ir a la cárcel o la muerte, los ciudadanos siguen usando a Twitter para compartir su lucha con el resto del mundo. Chávez tuvo la audacia la semana pasada de declarar usar Twitter como un acto terrorista. Por más ridículo que parezca, veo el peligro atrás de esa declaración. Si logra convertirlo en ley, podría usarlo como excusa para perseguir sin piedad a aquellos que coja usándolo.  He recibido información de contactos en Europa que Chávez ya ha adquirido un centro de monitoreo, similar a aquel que compró el régimen Iraní, para perseguir sus ciudadanos que sacaron la verdad via el Internet.  Parece que tarde o temprano los venezolanos tendrán que empezar a usar formas mas sofisticadas de despistar la vigilancia electrónica, tal como lo han hecho los iraníes.

Mientras el resto del mundo se entera de los abusos de derechos humanos de parte del régimen de Chávez, no dudo que los ciudadanos venezolanos se volverán mas sofisticados usando Facebook y Twitter, de una forma que protegerá sus identidades y las de las personas en sus redes sociales. Se dice que el nuevo ministro de energía que Chávez importó recientemente de Cuba, para supuestamente liderar el arreglo de la crisis de energía, es en verdad un experto en represión brutal.

No dudo que la dictadura represiva, que se siente amenazada por el uso de Twitter, va a empezar a portarse como un animal acorralado. Suficiente sangre ya se ha regado.

Como dije inicialmente, si usted no vive en América Latina o no tiene suficiente conocimientos de ella, o no conoce a alguien de allí, existe un gran chance que se sienta alejado de todo esto. Pero le ruego que reconsidere ese pensar. La alianza de Chávez con Ahmadinejad, y ahora último, sus discursos sobre el “poder nuclear” es una amenaza muy clara a nuestro continente y a nuestras vidas cotidianas. Le ruego que pida a sus representantes políticos que presten más atención a lo que está sucediendo en nuestra vecindad aquí en las Américas.  Mientras Irán parece una amenaza lo suficientemente lejana, no dude que estos dictadores deshonestos, usarán sus alianzas aquí en este continente, para pasar el terrorismo y armas de destrucción masiva de contrabando.  Cualquier cosa que ellos hagan, no me sorprendería.

Por lo que es importante que nos familiarizemos con la situación de los ciudadanos de nuestros países vecinos, quienes trabajan duro por diseminar la verdad de su lucha contra la dictadura de Chávez. Necesitamos darles nuestro apoyo. La lucha más difícil está en Venezuela, en donde está la raíz del problema. Sin embargo hay otros países que también luchan y de los que oimos poco: Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua. Algunos también estan entrando a Twitter y compartiendo su información con nosotros. No los ignoremos. Necesitamos estar al tanto de esta lucha, porque si pensamos, que eso es allá problema de ellos, y no hacemos nada al respecto por apoyar, podríamos estar en peligro de recibir una mala sorpresa, una que puede ser mas urgente que nuestras crisis del sistema de salud o de la economía.

Así que tratemos de darle mas atención a esos tweets, su mayoría ya están saliendo en inglés ahora último, asociados con los las etiquetas o hashtags mencionadas en este escrito.  Démosles nuestro apoyo, de la forma que se lo hemos dado a nuestros amigos al otro lado del mundo, en Irán, porque estos son nuestros vecinos cercanos. No tenemos que dar nuestro dinero. Simple conocimiento y compartir de información será suficiente. Yo tengo la confianza que nuestro gobierno ya está al tanto de la situación y están atentos. Nosotros necesitamos hacer lo mismo también. Es tan fácil como leer aquellos tweets informativos, que le harán estar más agradecidos de vivir en un país como el de los Estados Unidos, con sus problemas e imperfecciones, sigue siendo la tierra de la verdadera democracia, un lujo que no viene fácilmente y que hoy es solo un sueño para tantos alrededor del mundo.

Para cerrar, me gustaría invitarle a ver este video conmovedor, con fotos de los eventos mas recientes en Venezuela. No necesita entender el español para darse cuenta de la lucha que enfrentan los venezolanos. La canción de fondo habla de no violencia y deseando paz y libertad. Verá la famosa etiqueta que se ven en Twitter #Tasponchao, que es un dicho para Chávez, avisándole que ya perdió sus chances con el pueblo. Eso es todo lo que necesita saber. Tome unos minutos para verlo. Creo que estará tan conmovido como yo lo estuve.

Quiero agradecer a los siguientes excelentes tuiteros, @IKching, @kakoparu, @Wtiger50, @_Gyermo, @Jose_Enrique, @agamez, and @urru_urru por compartir fotos, videos e información para este escrito. El video que sigue es hecho por @no_al_comunismo.  Un bello trabajo. Una muy especial mención a @Orvex y a @FreeVenezuela, luchadores de hace tiempo, por haberme permitido conocer mas a fondo su lucha. Otra mención especial al nuevo equipo recientemente formado: @IranVzla, liderado por @Fratizia de Venezuela y @Lissnup de Irán, dándlole a este moviemiento un nuevo momentum digital.

Hay mucho mas que compartir, información y personas que mencionar, quienes son parte clave de esta lucha, pero creo que por ahora esto debería darle una idea de la gravedad de la situación.  Tengan la libertad, por supuesto, de dejar sus comentarios, los cuales siempre son apreciados. Por ahora, haga click en el botón de tocar el video y véalo.

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Unless you live in Latin America, are from Latin America or know someone from Latin America, chances are you’re far away from the plight of the Venezuelans. Decades ago, as a kid growing up in Latin America, I recall hearing about people who wanted a fresh start and couldn’t get a visa to go to the United States, pick up and move to Venezuela. That was the neighboring country where there was opportunity and prosperity.

No doubt, like any other country, Venezuela has always had some degree of corruption, but it used to be manageable enough so that people could succeed despite it. The key question is, how much did the corruption grow in the past three decades?

In Latin America, the Venezuela of the 70’s and even the one of the 80’s, was a land that produced many Miss Universe candidates, where petroleum was abundant, where the great telenovelas, actors, singers, beautiful and successful people came from. The entertainment and news networks from Venezuela were big contenders of those that came from Mexico, Spain and the USA.

At the turn of this new century, this great country, that used to be a model of success, of democracy and capitalism, is not even the shadow of what it used to be.  I’m not from Venezuela, just like I’m not from Honduras, yet, as a Latin American, I’ve been closely watching the political events of the region as I grew up, at first within the region, and now from afar.

In 1992, I’m not so sure what the political situation was in Venezuela, but you can read more on that here. Perhaps the corruption was getting out of control, perhaps the poverty levels were on the rise. I really couldn’t tell you what it was, but what I will tell you is that the timing was right for a rebellion. I invite my Venezuelan friends to comment on this and add to the events that lead to the rise of Hugo Chavez, but all I know is that this colonel, with below-average intelligence, whom –from what I hear from one of his former classmates, did very poorly in school– managed to stage a coupe, a coupe that failed and landed him in jail. Two years later he was pardoned by a new president and he begun a populist political movement that put him in office in 1999. No doubt, people were tired and voted for change. But that vote has cost Venezuela dearly.

Since 1999, Hugo Chavez has managed to remain in power, not exactly in a transparent and clean manner. He has changed the constitution to allow him to perpetuate himself in the highest office in Venezuela. He has abolished the independence of the branches of powers. The legislative and judicial, as well as the military today depend on him for approval and survival. The free press has also become dependent on him to exist.

The freedom of the traditional press is just about extinguished. Any news networks that refuse to transmit his long torturous speeches, is shut down. Venezuela, where immigrants from other countries sought opportunity, today is in the certain process of becoming another Cuba, where impoverished citizens all share the same woes, fears, looking over their shoulders and betraying one another for survival. Now, people look to leave Venezuela.

From L to R: Zelaya, Chavez & OAS Sec'y Insulza. Credit: AFP Photo - Jairo Cajina - Click on photo for source

As I’ve began to make acquaintance of Venezuelans in Twitter, many of them are residing here or are in exile. In exile? I thought that only happened to Cubans. How bad things must have gotten in the past decade, since Hugo Chavez rose to power. From what I’ve learned, the political persecution in Venezuela is quite bad. The sad thing is that the OAS, which is supposed to be the international body designed to protect citizens all over the American continent, looks the other way when it comes to Hugo Chavez’ transgressions against the citizens of Venezuela, the rigging of the supposed elections that keep him in office, his alliances with terrorists and narco-dealers in the region, and his financing of the spread of his communist agenda in Latin America. I wonder what is making the OAS and its Secretary, Insulza, look so conveniently the other way, while pressing to have Cuba re-integrated into the organization. This is all certainly no coincidence.

The more I tweet back and forth with Venezuelan citizens outraged by the Chavez regime, the more I follow the Venezuela tweet-stream, the more I realize how severely endangered true democracy has become under Hugo Chavez, not just in Venezuela but in the entire Latin American region.

This video shows the dangerous rise of this new Hitler of the 21st century, and the likely implications if he’s allowed to succeed:

Venezuelans can no longer count on safety as they walk down the streets. The police and military are now considered a militocracy and commit crimes against their citizens, with impunity. They get special privileges such as a higher currency exchange rate, as compared to civilians. Venezuelans lack basic services nowadays: water, electricity both come and go sporadically. It is said Chavez blames el Niño for these events. But many smart citizens take a look at neighboring countries and realize that only countries that are friendly to Chavez and closely aligned with Cuba experience the same issues, countries like Ecuador and Bolivia. Interestingly enough, countries that are not part of ALBA (Chavez’ special country club), don’t seem to have these issues. And they are all in the same region!

So people have begun questioning. They have started realizing that the same things that happen in Cuba, are happening to them: the usual communist rationing of basic services.

At first my reaction to 10+ years of Chavez was, “well, you guys elected the guy, so…” , but the more I learn of the situation, the more I realize how dearly Venezuelans are paying for that single mistake of having voted for Chavez once, just once. For once he made it to the presidency, Chavez made sure to put in place all legalities to remain in power. It is no secret he rigs elections and referendums, including the one to change the constitution, that now allows him to remain in power without term limits. As per his latest speeches, he has expressed openly, not only that he is a Marxist and supports communism, but that he is ready to stay in power for at least another 11 years.

Many Venezuelans must regret having voted for that guy back in the late 90’s. Many people here in the United States, who voted for George W. Bush in 2000, were relieved when January 20th 2009 came around and a new president came to power. That is a democratic luxury that Venezuelans can no longer count on. For Chavez has made sure the constitution and all powers remain with him, likely until his death. It is said Chavez took the Castro model, and with the Venezuelan petrodollars, is financing a new version of it and disseminating it throughout Latin America, via a populist platform. We see it blooming in Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia. It’s beginning to show signs in Brazil and fortunately enough, the seed was not allowed to take hold in Honduras via Zelaya. It wasn’t easy, but the Hondurans succeeded.

Unbelievable to see the military use weapons against unarmed citizens - Thanks to Tweep @Jose_Enrique for sharing this picture

In Venezuela, however, where the root of all this spreading communism exists, Chavez has managed to remove all liberties and basic services very slowly, slowly enough that the citizenry can take it one bite at a time. Oh yes, they have come out to protest, many times during the past decade, but the world has not been watching. Just like in Iran, Chavez has turned the military against the citizens. Additionally he is known to have armed thugs blend in with the protester crowds and shoot at them. A devious mind like that of Chavez’, that once failed in school, has done very well coming up with ploys to make himself look not so harmful to the international community, all while slowly abolishing democracy in Venezuela and financing the spread of communism in Latin America. He calls it the “Bolivarian Revolution” or “21st Century Socialism.”  Truth is, it is worse than that. It is despotic communism, a totalitarian dictatorship with very dangerous connections to the enemies of the United States of America, what he normally calls, “The Yankee Empire.” He claims he wants no longer be “subservient” to the “Yankee Empire”, yet all he’s done is substitute the alliance with the United States with nations unfriendly to the United States, nations like Iran.

This video below, shows the latest visit of Ahmadinejad to Venezuela, holding hands with Chavez and swearing loyalty to each other. A marriage arranged in hell, no doubt. Pardon the quality, but if you read the captions, you will appreciate the importance of the content. This was a report by Ecuadorian news network Teleamazonas, also under threat of closure by Correa, Chavez’ other pupil in Ecuador.

Coincidentially, Chavez’ close ally, Ahmadinejad in Iran, managed to pull off a supposedly successful election to remain in power, a-la-Chavez, calling a vote for his victory a little too soon, all while the electoral powers were under his control. The numbers did not coincide. It all smelled of fraud to the Iranian citizens, who went out to the streets to protest. When the Iranian regime chased out the independent media, the Iranian protesters, also known as the Green Movement, turned to the Internet to be heard and share with the world their awful plight. In the absence of reliable, independent traditional media, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook served as means to get the real story out. And they succeeded in getting their message out, but the same technology that helped them has come back to hurt them, for it was also used to trace them. And in Iran, where public executions are part of the cultural tradition, many have paid dearly with their lives. We’ll address that in more detail in a future article, for which I’m currently conducting research. Suffice it to say that technology is a two-edged weapon, but if used correctly and carefully to fight against despotic dictators, it can be very powerful. So far, Twitter has shown to be successful at making dictators like Chavez and Ahmadinejad quite uncomfortable, enough to threaten the citizens who use it.

Venezuelans, quite aware of the plight of the Iranians, and having personally seen the constant visits of Ahmadinejad to Venezuela and other countries in Latin America, having seen the presence of thousands of Castro-loyal Cubans invading their neighborhoods, form part of Chavez’ already corrupt and unfair dictatorship, are feeling the heat. The last bastion of independent press in Venezuela, Globovision, is now under severe threat of being closed or taken over by Chavez’ people. It is at this point when many are turning to Twitter to communicate their decade-long struggle to the world.

This explains tags like #Venezuela, #IranVzla, #Vzla, #FreeMediaVe, rise to the top of global trending topics at various times of the day in Twitter within the past few weeks. What is also amazing is that, similar to the alliance between Hugo Chavez and Ahmadinejad, their opposition is also working to unite their voices against both of these dictators. This great blog entry, “Twitter Revolution’s Next Stop – Venezuela” tells of the new alliance between the Green Movement of Iran and the growing opposition in Venezuela. They are well aware they are fighting the same enemy. I will also cover this new alliance more in detail in a future article.

Both dictators, Ahmadinejad and Chavez have become emboldened lately. Their repressive tactics have gotten worse. Click here for pictures of the latest demonstrations and the brutal repression. It is so similar to what is happening in Iran. Risking jail or death, citizens continue to turn to Twitter to share their struggle with the world. Chavez had the nerve last week to declare using Twitter a terrorist act. As ridiculous as that sounds, I see the danger of that declaration. If he makes it a law, he could use it to persecute mercilessly those who are caught using it. I have gotten information from contacts in Europe that Chavez has acquired a monitoring center, similar to the one the Iranian regime acquired to persecute its citizens who got the word out via the Internet. It looks like sooner or later Venezuelans will have to turn to more sophisticated ways of overcoming electronic surveillance, just like Iranians have.

In the meantime, as the rest of the world acquaints itself with the Human Rights abuses of the Chavez regime, I have no doubt the Venezuelan citizens will become more sophisticated at using Facebook and Twitter, in a manner that will protect their identities, and those of the people in their networks. It is said that the new energy minister that Chavez imported recently from Cuba, to supposedly head the energy crisis fix, is in truth an expert at brutal repression.

I have no doubt, the repressive dictatorship, which has become quite threatened by the use of Twitter, will begin to behave like a cornered animal. Enough blood has been spilled already.

As I initially stated, if you don’t live in Latin America, are not acquainted with it, or anyone from there, chances are you feel far away from all this. But I urge you to reconsider that stance. The close alliance of Chavez with Iran, and lately their talks of “nuclear power” is a clear threat to our continent and our way of life here in the United States. We need to urge our political representatives to pay close attention to what’s happening within our immediate neighborhood in America. While Iran sounds like a far-away threat, don’t put past them the chance of using their connections with rogue dictators like Chavez and his allies here in our continent, to smuggle terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.  I don’t put anything past them.

Which is why it is important that we become more acquainted with the plight of the citizens in our neighboring countries, who are fighting hard to get the word out on their struggle against the Chavez dictatorship and its spread. We need to support them. The hardest struggle is in Venezuela, where the root of the problem lies. Yet there are other countries that are also fighting, these are countries we hardly hear from: Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua. Some are also joining Twitter and sharing their information with us. Let’s not ignore them. We need to be aware of their fight, because if we think it is only their problem, and do nothing about it, we may be in for a serious wake up call, that may be more urgent than our current economic and healthcare crisis.

So, let’s pay attention to those tweets, mostly in English nowadays, with the tags mentioned here. Let us give them our support, the way we have given it to our friends across the world, in Iran, for these are our immediate neighbors. We don’t have to donate our money. Simple awareness and sharing of information will do. I trust our government is well aware and paying attention. We need to do the same as well. And it is as easy as reading those informative tweets, that will only make you more thankful to live in a country like the USA, with its troubles and imperfections, it remains the land of true democracy and freedom, a luxury that does not come easy, and today is only a dream for so many around the world.

To close, I would like to invite you to view this very touching video, with pictures of the most recent events. You don’t need to know Spanish to see the struggle Venezuelans are currently facing. The background song tells of no to violence and desiring peace and freedom. You’ll see the famous Twitter tag #Tasponchao, which is meant for Chavez, that he’s struck out with the people. That’s all you need to know. Take a minute to watch. I think you’ll be as touched as I was.

I want to thank the fine tweeps, @IKching, @kakoparu, @Wtiger50, @_Gyermo, @Jose_Enrique, @agamez, and @urru_urru for sharing the pictures, videos and information for this entry. The video below is by @no_al_comunismo. A beautiful job. A special mention to @Orvex and @FreeVenezuela, long-term freedom fighters, for having allowed me to learn of their struggle. And another special mention to the newly formed team @IranVzla, led by @Fratizia of Venezuela and @lissnup of Iran, giving this movement a new momentum on line.

There is so much more, information to share and people to mention, who are a key part of this struggle, but I think for now, this should give you an idea of the gravity of the situation. Feel free, of course, to leave your comments, which are always appreciated. For now, click on the play button, and watch.

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Unfortunately, many nations around the world are not that lucky. When basic services such as the ones mentioned above, are considered a privilege, you know you’re living in a third world country. It is no secret that poverty is the cause of many ills in our society, for it can turn into hopelessness, desperation, anger, hate, violence, corruption, etc.. We’ve seen what happens, decade after decade, when poor countries ail under regimes that exploit their resources, the hope and ideals of the people, in order to come to office, and once in office, force their extended stays, enriching the henchmen in charge, strenghtening their power and remaining via intimidation, while trying to maintain the facade of democracy to the outside world. Take for example, Chavez of Venezuela and Correa of Ecuador.

Corruption reigns in countries like these, all while nations of the first world look away, or choose to do nothing. After all, it is not in “their backyard”, in their neighborhood. And it is in times of major catastrophes when the light is shed on corrupt governments, their poor management. The United States, and its corrupt administration at the time, was not exempt during the time of Katrina. Thankfully, the constitutional system here allows for political change and now we have an administration in charge that gives us hope. But imagine had an incompetent and corrupt administration remained. Imagine that magnified by a hundred. That is what happens in third world countries.

But why should we care?

After all, it does not affect us.

Truth is, it does.

While we focus on “our problems”, ignoring the rampant corruption and abuse of foreign governments in our neighborhood right here in the Americas, we’re allowing the rise of majorly and blatantly ominous and oppressive regimes, bent on destroying our way of life. I know many of you don’t take Latin America seriously. You don’t think it’s important enough. I only urge you –if you feel that way– to reconsider your position. Our enemies around the world are counting on your very attitude, because while we’re choosing not to look, they are aligning with the rogue U.S.-hating regimes rising south of our border. All these regimes have one thing in common. They start off by oppressing their people, suppressing their voices which claim loudly in defense of their democratic way of life. Once they are successful crushing the people, and intimidating them into submission, the goal is to strengthen their corrupt power and ultimately become a major threat to us.

Haiti today is a sad example of what happens when good men do nothing, time after time. As one of the poorest nations of the Western Hemisphere, Haitians have worked hard to progress, but they have been subjected to shamelessly corrupt governments. In the 1990s they had the guts to depose one of their crooked leaders.  But the U.N., the U.S. and other international organizations put enough pressure on the already economically fragile nation, forcing the Haitians to return their deposed crooked leader back to power, that was the infamous president Aristide. A Democrat was at the time the president of the United States, our beloved President Clinton. As much as I am a strong supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, I look back at that time and realize what a foreign policy mistake that was. No doubt, even our best leaders can at times make mistakes, and Bill Clinton is one of our best. After all, they are human. I have no doubt that once Aristide went back in power, he made sure to avenge those who deposed him. But I will acknowledge, I was too young and too busy and too selfish, leading my own life to pay attention back then.

Once a corrupt leader is in charge, many things are done corruptly. Construction projects maximize the investment by asking the highest amount and providing the lowest quality materials and labor. It happens all the time. I see it too often, all over countries where corruption is rampant. Most construction projects are done poorly, with low quality materials. No one watches, or those who watch, are paid to look the other way. There is always money oiling the machinery of corruption, especially money marked as “aid” from well meaning first-world countries. So now, after a 35-second 7.0 Richter scale shake up, the majority of buildings in the capital of Haiti have crumbled like gingerbread houses.  The already fragile infrastructure, due to the massive corruption that has reigned there for decades, while the world has been looking away, has fallen apart. Tonight, 24 hours later, thousands still lie under the rubble, probably took weak to continue calling for help. How many Haitians, knowing the way their country works have just given up?

When corruption is this rampant, and a major catastrophe occurs, it sheds bright lights on how badly things have been managed thus far. We saw it in the shameful reaction of the Bush administration after hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and its poor management in the aftermath. We saw the devastation when Myammar, under a corrupt military junta, was victim of a natural disaster. We see it in the poor quality or dangerous quality of many products made in China. Remember all the houses that also crumbled during the last earthquake in China? Corruption, payoff, looking away, desperation, poverty, all sooner or later take lives, especially when mother nature reminds us who is in charge of this planet.

I am not closely acquainted with Haitian politics, but it is easy to see what has gone on during the last few decades, when a nation that dwells along a continental fault line, builds the way they do. I see the destruction and I’m not sure how many of you see what I see.

I ask, who was in charge of the construction of these buildings?

Who allowed these projects to move forward?

How much sand did they mix into the cement?

Have we asked ourselves what a coincidence that the United States embassy building survived the earthquake? Do you think it is because the Americans are lucky? We all know the answer. I bet the Americans were in charge of that construction, aware that they were building over a fault line and invested and spent well in the construction of a sturdier building, which is something the ongoing corruption of these third world nations don’t allow.

So many of these hundreds of thousands of deaths did not have to happen.

Too many have looked the other way for too long. These buildings were poorly built, no doubt, by corrupt companies, under corrupt regimes that were allowed to flourish and approved by the international community. Why are these corrupt governments allowed to thrive? Too many good people have looked the other way for too long. So, now the world has to come to aid in a catastrophe that perhaps didn’t have to be of such proportions.

Millions of dollars will be poured into Haiti. Now the world is looking, not only the good men, but also the bad ones, who without a doubt, will take advantage of this situation to make themselves look good while ignoring the basic needs of their citizens at home. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Christina Kirchner of Argentina, and the Castros have already sent in their assistance, I’m sure, in people, equipment, supplies, all while back home, their citizens lack the basic services such as running water, electricity, safety, freedom of expression. Don’t be fooled. These countries are also drowning in corruption. They are another Haiti waiting to happen. Their people at home are also living a slow motion catastrophe, all while these so called leaders, choose to throw sorely needed money outside of their boundaries to make themselves look powerful and affluent, to gain political power, all while the rest of the world lets them get away with it.

In the case of Honduras, what has been done, is worse than doing nothing. It’s called erroneous interference. They thought Honduras, being the second poorest nation of the Western Hemisphere, right behind Haiti, was another Haiti. When the smart Hondurans saw the dangerous alliance developing throughout Latin America was going to include them, they rose and said no. They deposed their corrupt president and stood strong in the face of international condemnation, including that of the US and yes, the new Clinton in charge of foreign affairs. Honduras did not crumble under international pressure. They did not put their corrupt president back in power. I am sure there is corruption, some level of corruption in Honduras, like in every other country. What’s different here is that good men chose to do something and even at the point of endangering their lives and those of their loved ones, they stood against the wave of global dissapproval, of threats, of economic pressure, of bad press, and are still swimming strongly against the current.

The Honduras ordeal is not over yet. For even though good men inside Honduras chose to do something and defend the true democracy of their country, come wind or high water, the suppposedly good men in the international community are doing something, but to hurt Honduras. They want to repeat the Clinton mistake with Haiti back in the nineties. This time they are yielding to dictates of anti-U.S. regimes right here in our neighborhood, regimes that have become powerful enough to exert some level of influence in the region, rogue and dangerous regimes such as that of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

Venezuelan citizens are tortured under the Chavez regime, living in fear, without basic services, standing abuses and putting up with the lies of their military aristocracy, led by the Chavez cartel. I always wonder, when will the good men in Venezuela do something? How much more will they take before they say enough? I’m beginning to see the citizens in Ecuador and Argentina, standing up to do something against their abusive and corrupt regimes, knowing well their lives could be endangered. The whole world has seen what the Iranian Green Movement is doing, despite the failure of foreign governments –like the U.S., Russia, the U.K., China–, Human Rights organizations and those like the U.N., to look and do something, instead they look the other way and do absolutely nothing. Yet, the courageous Green Movement keeps at it and will keep at it, knowing they’re giving up their lives to gain their freedom, all while the world watches, and those who can, do nothing to help them.

If we look at Cuba, North Korea, and other nations living for decades under oppressive regimes, I wonder, what happened? Where are the good men? Why are they not doing anything? When did people give up? The world has been looking away for too long, good men have been doing nothing for too long in these nations. Today the results of this global neglect are highlighted in Haiti. The world runs to their aid. Millions of dollars are already being poured. I wonder, will these investments fall in the right hands, finally, or will they be mismanaged, again, by corrupt leaders, who will pocket the maximum, while putting in the minimum effort and material into rebuilding. Once the Haiti catastrophe falls back into the background, and the country tries to return to some degree of normalcy, will it be allowed to fall into its corrupt ways? Will we look away again? Will we focus back again into our own little worlds? Will we not learn the lesson and perhaps look at what else is going on?

If we keep ignoring what is so blatantly happening, right here in our own neighborhood, in our own continent, if we keep looking away or doing nothing about it, let’s hope we don’t experience a rude awakening, for I feel what  is happening in our neighborhood, the issue of Haiti, the struggle to defend true democracy in Honduras, the rise of Correa’s anti-U.S. dictatorhip in Ecuador, the corruption of Christina Kirchner in Argentina, the FARC in Colombia, the military oppression and drug cartel out of  Venezuela, the drug wars in Mexico, each a piece of a big picture, one we’re refusing to see. And let’s hope we don’t get to connect the dots like Monday morning quarterbacks, when it’s too late to do something.

I encourage you dear reader, to pick a neighboring country per month, per week, and read up on it. Start with one of the countries mentioned here, with something as easy as Wikipedia and learn about it, its history, its political situation. You’re going to see pieces of the puzzle come together. In the end, you’ll see that we, and our way of life, are under threat, if we choose to keep looking the other way, or worse, continuing to do nothing. For we cannot continue our great way of life at home while ignoring what’s happening in our neighborhood.

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1. President-elect Pofirio Lobo asks that president Micheletti step down before his inauguration on January 27th. What is Pepe Lobo thinking? Who’s going to run the country in the meantime? Zelaya? Chavez? Who? Interim president Micheletti has stood strong in the face of unfair condemnation, protecting the peace-loving citizens of Honduras, from the red thugs that have invaded it, sent and financed by Chavez, to keep stirring trouble, kill with impunity, and later blame the military and the Honduras interim leadership. (For facts and link backs on these statements, please read my previous posts about Honduras.)

2. Soon after that, it was announced that interim president Micheletti will NOT be present at Porfirio Lobo’s inauguration.

3. Porfirio Lobo extended instead, an invitation to his inauguration to Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega, yes the Sandinista president of Nicaragua, who rose to office under questionable circumstances! What is wrong with Lobo? Is he also inviting Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Ill of North Korea, Kadafi, the FARC, Hezbollah and all the other dictators around the world? Is president Obama going to be invited too? Will he stand among the enemies of the United States?

4. Yesterday it was all over the Twitter Honduras feed, that the brave military general, Romeo Vasquez, who executed the orders of the Supreme Court to remove Zelaya, is now under indictment and will be prosecuted. For what? For following an order of the judiciary? Apparently the courts are going after him, the very courts that issued the order to have Zelaya removed from power!!

And where is president-elect Porfirio Lobo in all this? Why is this coincidentially happening soon after the visit of the United States envoy? As much as I am a staunch supporter of my home country, the United States, of its president and current administration, I am in total disagreement with the way the Honduras situation is being handled.

It is clear by the actions mentioned above, that someone is trying to reverse the discontent that the ALBA club has expressed lately against the United States, accusing them of supporting the so called, “coupe.” Why are, our president, the U.S., the U.N., the O.A.S., the new Honduras president, all bowing down to the will of Hugo Chavez and his dictator friends, his narco friends? Don’t they know the truth behind the Miraflores Cartel? Don’t they have intelligence on what is really happening?

A dear Honduran expatriate in Europe shared with me the possible connection between Chavez’ Citgo, Citizen’s Energy led by one of the Kennedys, which gives free oil to poor Americans, and president Obama. I would find it appalling and very disappointing to even begin to concede that this is one of the reasons why our president is bowing down to the Miraflores Cartel out of Caracas. While it was understandable George Bush’s attachment to the oil connection, it is NOT understandable, it is not even conceivable, to think that our president is bowing down to Hugo Chavez because of the Kennedy/free-cheap oil connection. I would be outraged, majorly disappointed and I would find the new administration no different than the previous one.

As a result, below is my open letter, to our current leadership, to Mr. Obama, to Secretary Clinton, regarding Honduras:

Dear Mr. Obama:

You came in under the premise of change. You charged into the White House, full of energy, hope, optimism, promise. And now, why do so many of us see you fold under secrecy, under so much hesitance. What are you not telling us??

The Honduras situation, where so many of us Latin Americans, not only in Latin America and here in the US, but also around the world, are closely following, has proven to be a test where you and my dear Secretary Clinton, seem to be well on the path to losing credibility. Why all of the sudden did you send someone, this week, only a few weeks away from the inauguration of Pepe Lobo, to scratch and dig up the wounds that had begun to heal after the successful November election in Honduras? Please help us understand.  Why the need to please the Miraflores Cartel?

I still believe in you, Mr. Obama and in Mrs. Clinton. I’d still like to believe that you’re being ill-advised, that someone is manipulating the facts and presenting you the wrong information. Perhaps there is something that you both know and see, something that millions of us are not seeing.

Let me tell you what we see. We see a dangerous anti-democratic alliance growing south of the border. Many of the United States enemies, who will do anything to obliterate us, are dangerously uniting, taking advantage of our internal challenges, or our internal division, to gather force right south of our border. Why don’t you see what we see?

1. Iran’s Ahmadinejad is visiting Latin America more than Bush or you ever have, signing hundreds of agreements, including nuclear ones, exchanging money and God only knows what else.

2. Dangerous alliances between Hugo Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah, Castro

3. A rise of oppressive regimes, who after being democratically elected to office, change the constitution, via a rigged, referendum to extend indefinitely their terms in office, dissolve congress and do away with the checks and balances of power.

4. Dangerous alliance between Chavez, Correa, Morales and the FARC, where it makes sense that Morales from Bolivia would be a key piece. After all, it is known all over South America that in Bolivia is where most of the coca is grown. Why has Iran committed so many millions of dollars to Bolivia?

5. The suppression of freedom of the press in Ecuador and Venezuela, persecution of anyone who opposes Chavez and Correa, rampant crime, impune deaths, coincidentially, of many political opponents of these dangerous men, usually by way of drive-by shootings or motor-rides, a-la-Iran style.

6. People who always have treasured their freedoms all over Latin America, are now nervous, looking over their shoulders, since now “neighborhood committees” have been set up for neighbors and family members to snitch on each other, communist style.

Why can’t you see what millions of us see? Why can’t you see what Honduras pulled itself from?

When you give into Chavez and his dictator ALBA friends, who have bought control of the O.A.S.’ Insulza and the U.N., you lose credibility, each day a little more with millions of us here at home and around the world. My heart breaks in disappointment. My heart sinks when I read of your alignments with these men. Don’t you realize that the left here in the States is NOT the same as the left in Latin America? Those men want the end of democracy as we know it. They mock it by creating “constitutions” that legalize their dictatorships and extend indefinitely their term in power.

I don’t know how else, in how many ways to tell you this. I urge you, Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton, to reconsider your stance with Honduras. I truly believe you’re ill-advised. This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Please do not look at it through that lens, for millions of us stand to lose, not only our freedoms but possibly our lives and those of the ones we love. Millions of Latin Americans support the United States, you, and have been loyal to the United States. Please don’t disappoint us.

Are you willing to also sacrifice the lives of thousands of us who are in danger for speaking up, just like you have allowed the butchery in Iran, so that you can be in good terms with the henchmen who illegitimately have remained in power?

I know you’re smarter than that.

All I ask is that you look at the facts, not only presented by your advisors, but look at what’s in the papers all over Latin America. You may not read Spanish but I’m willing to translate, just like I do for my fellow readers here. There is so much information out there, I don’t understand how can you miss it.

Please don’t sacrifice true democracy for the sake of keeping the bosses of the Miraflores Cartel happy (AKA ALBA). See my previous article for additional information on that reference. If you side with them, you won’t only lose credibility with the voters here in the States, but also with millions of people around the world, who filled with hope, celebrated your election.

Right now our hearts are sinking.

Still a believer, that yes we can.

MariaNYC

One last word, I’d like to link here a great article, written by Mark Klugmann, in BigJournalism.com. It is titled, “Storyboarding the News: How the MSM Turned the Honduran Crisis into A Comic Book”. A realistic look at the bill of goods sold to us by the Main Stream Media, likely the same bill of goods being sold to President Obama and Secretary Clinton. I hope this sheds some light on the real story in Honduras, and its meaning on the future peace in our continent.

Click here to go to Mark Klugman’s article.

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Under the excuse of “21st century socialism”, which is really communism in disguise, Chavez and his ALBA friends look to cover the real reason for their bravado, the establishment of an unprecedented drug cartel in Latin America, one sanctioned by constitutional laws. This piece makes sense out of the necessary cooperation of the United States with the Colombian government in fighting the drug traffic down south, which is currently aided and financed by Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan petrodollars and the growing narcotraffic.

This is exactly why Honduras fought back. This is one more piece of the puzzle that the world needs to see.

Please take a minute to read this translated post, written by the brave and diligent editors of the Ecuadorian paper, El Diario.

Authored by Héctor Ygonet Céspedes Ramírez, and published Monday, January 4th, 2010.

For the original article, as published, in Spanish, please click here.

Online version of Ecuadorian paper El Diario, "Free Thinker Manabita".

The Phantom Menace

The old method used by comandante Fidel Castro, in order to keep the Cuban armed forces alert, yielding and fearful, constantly scaring them with the imminence of an invasion by the empire up north, keeps coming back, like fruitcake during Christmas time, week after week in the lengthy speeches of the comandante of the other revolution, coronel Hugo Chavez.

The constant threat of an invasion serves as a pretext to create and arm Bolivarian militias, following the exact pattern of the German SS Hitler forces.

Recently, coronel Chavez uttered new accusations against the USA and Colombia, charging that they were preparing an invasion of Venezuelan territory, via the military bases in Colombia. He also stated that in the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao, which belong to the Netherlands, radars and high tech military installations have been set up to detect low flying planes in the Caribbean sea, as an American contribution to the fight against international narcotraffic.

The truth hides behind the statements of the coronel, which attempt against the common sense of the facts and reality of the Caribbean zone. What’s now known as the Miraflores Cartel (Miraflores being the name of the Presidential palace of Venezuela), led by the Venezuelan dictator, has been responsible for the traffic of over 150 tons of cocaine hydrochloride, just within the past two years, using the Caribbean Antilles route. The main stops are Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The efforts of the Caribbean nations, within the past 18 months, have resulted in detours of these narco-routes, targeting less risky destinations such as Nicaragua and Honduras in Central America.

The American strategy aims to place a defense line and control of the Venezuelan airplanes along the Antilles arch, where dozens of islands of all sizes come together. Only in the Dominican Republic the armed forces and drug control authorities have made a dramatic call for alert, upon the confiscation of over 100 planes of Venezuelan registration, which have yielded positive in lab results, proving these were used for the transportation of cocaine hydrochloride.

We are talking about the real deal here in need of protection and hiding. It isn’t the defense of the “Bolivarian Revolution”, but that of the international narcotraffic and the capability of the Miraflores Cartel, with its Colombian partners, against the Mexican cartels of the Gulf and Sinaloa.

The presence of over 20,000 Cuban paramilitary troops in Venezuela, with the mission of “socializing and training” members of the Bolivarian militias, is the main threat to the opposition groups, which day after day are persecuted and subjected to the narco-socialist regime.

Authored by Héctor Ygonet Céspedes Ramírez.

Published Monday, January 4th, 2010 in El Diario.com.ec.

For the original article, as published, in Spanish, please click here.

My thanks to the editors of El Diario.com.ec for allowing the translation and publication of this piece, in English, making it available here for worldwide reading.

I will continue to work with other news media outlets  from Latin America, to translate the message of these brave voices,  for they live and work over there, seeing first hand what goes on. These journalists and citizens are brave enough to speak the truth and cut through the Chavez/narco-dollar-sponsored propaganda that shouts falsehoods, trying to pull the wool over the eyes of many who only watch from afar.

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The decade that just ended less than 24 hours ago, surely marked a new era. The year 2000 began a period, here in the United States, marked with a strong political divisiveness that grew under the pretense of the so called “great uniter” message in George W. Bush’s mud-slinging campaign. I wonder if millions, like me, saw through that lie, one among the many, coming from a man who spoke in generalities and when pressed for details seemed at a loss for words and facts, and who often was.  Every time he claimed to be the “uniter”, to be “reaching out to the other side”,  I cannot comprehend why would people believe him. This, yes, the same man who played dirty in the primaries, just to get the nomination. George W’s ascendancy to the presidency of the United States, as decided by 5 robed men, ignoring the will of millions, over half of the country, marked an era that even back in November of 2000, as I watched the election being decided, gave me an awful feeling at the pit of my stomach.

From that time on, the political bickering, corruption, hypocrisy, hate, fear mongering has been rampant, and many agree, it has reached new heights. With the election of Mr. Obama in 2008 we were all filled with hope, not just here in the USA but around the world. We hoped that that the 8 prior years would be healed and a new era of peace and unity would begin. But who were we kidding? Obama may have the best of intentions, but he’s no magician. He needs to reverse an ugly trend that’s been growing for eight solid years, unchecked.

The repercussions of the selection of George W. Bush, by those 5 judges, against the will of the majority of the country, is one that continues to be felt at the global level, even nine years later. Not only did the disgrace of September 11 occurred under George Bush’s watch, but a “war against terror” theme was born. And under the concept of “chasing after terrorists”, so many things have happened and been allowed to happen, not just here in the United States, but around the world. Not only did the revered rights spelled out in the U.S. constitution –by our founding fathers who encountered similar evil and corruption– were trampled by the so called “Patriot Act,” but we invaded a country that had nothing to do with the people who were blamed for the attacks of 9/11,  prompting the worldwide increase of anti-U.S. rhetoric, starting in the Middle East, and spreading through Asia, Africa and now in our own continent, Latin America.

The self-serving fear mongering that came out of the Bush White House and the Republican congress majority helped all the wrong causes, here and abroad. There is now the issue of torture being investigated, secret documents, betrayals, all contributing to the rise of new anti-U.S. regimes around the world. These regimes are currently led by cunning men –no different than Dick Cheney– who took advantage of people’s fear, of their hopes and aspirations, to feed their own power-thirsty agenda and line their bloody pockets.  Unless you have CNN International, unfortunately you won’t hear much about the horrors in Africa, the genocide and other murders being committed in the name of “God”, a doctrine spread by terrorists who point their finger at mistakes of the U.S. foreign policies, especially during the Bush/Cheney era that exacerbated the fire of hate.

In Latin America, as Cuba’s Fidel Castro communist leadership was in its twilight, he managed to find a new, younger and richer ally, who is taking his dream, financing it, dressing it in a more palatable color and spreading it under the name of democracy, a new cunning sham of what is now known in Latin America, as 21st century socialism, or Bolivarian socialism. If this were some kind of real socialism, like there is in Canada, France, the UK, Spain, it’d be acceptable to many Latin Americans, but in truth, the new version of the oppressive Castro dream, now taken up by Chavez and allies, is really communism in disguise.  While socialist European countries have systems in place that help citizens thrive, the expected freedoms of a democracy are allowed. In Latin America, instead of that model of socialism, there is a bad smell of communism, where political persecutions and disappearances occur, freedoms are suppressed, and hateful, anti-U.S. political propaganda is on the increase.

What concerns me the most is that during the Bush/Cheney era, when they were sleep at the wheel in regards to anything that didn’t concern the Middle East, these communist-minded henchmen rose to power right in our Latin American neighborhood. While we hoped Cuba were the last bastion of the failed communist philosophy, Hugo Chavez came along, after a botched coupe attempt where he tried to overthrow the president of Venezuela. He learned the game and came back a few years later and  managed to appeal to enough people to “get elected”. His military coupe attempt should have been a red flag, no pun intended, since red is the color of the Chavez “Bolivarian movement”. Chavez took advantage of the fact that “the Americans” were distracted with the Middle East, and began to spread his doctrine, based on hate, pointing at the “gringos” and the “Yankee corporations” –which unfortunately did take advantage of little regulation to do as they pleased in Latin America– thus causing discontent and adding to the hate doctrine that served Chavez well to convince other Latin American leaders to join him in his anti-”Yankee Empire” cause.

Today, as I actively participate in Twitter conversations, and as I keep track of tweets on the topics of Honduras, Venezuela and Ecuador in the various Twitter-feeds, I am appalled at the hate that’s being spread there, by people in Latin America, who believe Chavez and their ALBA gang are the saviors from the “Yankee Empire.”

To clarify, I follow Venezuela because like Iran, the opposition which fights to regain true democracy is suffering major repression and are experiencing persecution. Unlike Iran, Venezuela is not getting the mainstream media attention. I follow Honduras because of the very interesting developments that occurred beginning in the summer of 2008, with the ousting of Chavez’ friend in Honduras, deposed president Zelaya, which in my opinion, is the very first step towards saying no to the Chavez  agenda. Ultimately, I follow Ecuador closely because there, president Rafael Correa is another Hugo Chavez in the making. He has already moved to suppress freedom of expression, and like his friend Chavez, his rhetoric is hateful against the United States. What’s interesting is that Ecuadorians are known for overthrowing their presidents when they do something that angers them enough to do so.  I watch tweets about Ecuador because knowing their political will and history, I wonder how long is it before Correa is overthrown by its own citizens. After all, in the last 7 years, Ecuador has had 10 presidents. And the nation survives. So far, during those 7 years, no international condemnation or meddling has occurred, and when the next president steps into power, they are simply acknowledged by the international community.

Things may be a little different for Ecuadorians this time around should they manage to get rid of their dictator in the making, Correa. For one, Chavez and his influenced allies are around. Second, there is the issue of Honduras. As you know, Honduras freed itself from Chavez-ally Zelaya and had him replaced, –not without some pain from the international community led by Chavez himself. So, it makes me wonder how the events would unfold this time, should the brave and tough Ecuadorian people manage to overthrow Rafael Correa. I fear he and his allies will make even more noise than when Zelaya was deposed. I can only hope the country of Ecuador will be as strong as Honduras to overcome the difficulties likely to follow a potential Correa overthrow.

So these three Latin American countries have captured my attention, for I believe if the “Bolivarian ideology” is erradicated there, the way it has been avoided so far in Honduras, there will be hope for some peace and less hate, at least in the Americas, and perhaps then we could face together, enemies further out.

But for now, I watch, feeling hopeless when I see so much hate rhetoric, so many lies, coming from the Chavez ideology supporters, utilizing a medium that would be banned if they were in charge (Twitter, Facebook, blogs). I also follow Iran, and I watch, appalled and at the edge of my seat, the bloody developments as the Green Movement there tries to rid itself of a suppressive dictatorship, which is not only feeding the hate fire in the Middle East, but is obviously building nuclear weapons and aligning itself with the new enemy regimes of the United States surging south of its border in Latin America.

If you have not connected the dots already, then I don’t know what to tell you. The more I look at the situation from the global point of view, the more I see the relation between Venezuela –and its allies in the Western Hemisphere– with their new alignments in the  Middle East such as Lybia and Iran dictatorships, with China, with North Korea, with Russia. And these alliances are indubitably ominous, for as I read the Twitter feeds on these topics, there is too much hate, based on lies and exxaggeration being spread around the world. I watch as the people in charge of these ideologies, in charge of these hateful, oppressive regimes, finance violent propaganda, finance militia, with our own money, money we spend in buying oil and yes, illegal drugs. In other words, we are financing the very people who want our demise. It is a very vicious and dangerous cycle indeed.

I would feel a bit more hopeful if at least here at home I’d perceive political good will on all sides, the commitment to unite, but it looks like our enemies abroad are taking advantage of our division, to feed their political agendas in their own regions. They are counting on our fear, on our hate for each other, on our political and ideological differences, on our careless spending on oil, on illegal drugs, for all of that feeds them and empowers them abroad to attack us. Over the holidays, the terrorist attempts, successful and unsuccessful, the threats, the hate doctrine, all that, emboldens those who will benefit from the demise of the light of liberty and hope around the world.  For with its imperfections, its virtues, vices, the United States is still a land that many around the world, seek as refuge, when their own countries are unable to provide for them, to fulfill the basic necessities that any human being deserves.

I see the levels of hate, of fear, of resentment over past mistakes, feed into new levels of violence and death, starting in our own turf.  My question is, how much more can we take? What will it take for this ominous trend to reverse itself? Can it reverse itself? What can each of us do to help this situation? Despite the seemingly hopeless state of things, I believe that perhaps each one of us in some small way can contribute to restoring a more peaceful, harmonious state of affairs around the world.

If perhaps each of us were to take a  moment to stop worrying about our own little world and our immediate personal needs and wants, and try to see the repercussions of our personal choices. Perhaps we could see a way to stop feeding the financing of our enemies abroad. Perhaps use alternative energies, help someone get off illegal drugs, perhaps try a way to bridge the political divide here at home and lower the divisive rhetoric. We could help somehow.  Perhaps by doing something for someone, starting a positive global trend of good will, while at the same time remaining alert. But how do you walk that fine line?

Whatever it is we can do, we need to do something immediately to reverse this dangerous trend. For I believe there are billions of us –who just want to live in peace, with opportunities to reach a decent lifestyle– against thousands who are making so much of the hate noise to take advantage and spread violence, chaos and death. The majority of us know instinctively what’s right, we know injustice when we see it. Perhaps it is time we stop looking the other way.

After all, as it is known, Friedrich Nietzche said, “Evil will prevail when good men do nothing”.

For how much longer can we afford to keep looking away and expecting the next person or institution to do something. Let’s make the beginning of this new decade be the mark of a movement that will reverse this dangerous trend of hate and violence. Each one of us can make a difference. I can only hope that. We just have to find our own personal way of making it happen. I believe that we are capable.

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