
A former Venezuelan defence minister who has become a staunch critic of President Hugo Chávez was sentenced to almost eight years in prison for alleged misappropriation of funds in connection with the purchase of military equipment.

Amnesty International has condemned the Brazilian Supreme Court's blocking of a reinterpretation of a 1979 Amnesty Law that protects members of the former military government from being put on trial for extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.