Decision to revoke visa for Venezuela's ambassador to Washington follows rejection of US choice for Caracas.
Venezuelan lawmakers have imposed broadcast-type regulations on the internet, barring some types of online messages under measures that opponents say are a threat to freedom of speech.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was granted decree powers to pass laws without congressional authorization for the next 18 months, after pro- government lawmakers extended the period from the originally proposed 12 months at the last minute. This means he will have special powers until six months before the next presidential election in 2012 when he anticipated he expects to run.
Venezuelan opposition leaders fear President Hugo Chavez will use special decree powers he has requested to override an electoral setback that stripped him of a super-majority in parliament.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva defended Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks.org website that published more than 250,000 of U.S. diplomatic cables sent to or from embassies around the world and asked where are those rabid defenders of freedom of expression.
Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo for the second time in a year withdrew the request from Congress for the approval of Venezuela’s incorporation as a full member of Mercosur. This leaves the issue for next year.
Candidates from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s party PSUV won seven municipalities and one state in regional polls, the populist socialist leader’s first test since suffering a setback in September legislative elections, state television reported.
President Fernando Lugo called on the Paraguayan political establishment “not to identify Venezuela with President Hugo Chavez” and reiterated support from lawmakers to vote for the incorporation of Venezuela as a full member of Mercosur.
Venezuela agreed to pay Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA 690 million US dollars for an 81% stake in the Saint-Etienne, France-based company’s local supermarkets, said Elias Jaua, vice president of the Venezuela’s official news agency, AVN.
The Paraguayan Executive sent this week to congress a bill requesting the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur. Paraguay’s legislative confirmation is the last step to complete the long process, begun in 2006, for Venezuela to become a full member of the South American block currently made up of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.