FYI: Heritage WebMemos are now called Issue Briefs. On February 12, nearly 3 million Venezuelans voted in the nation’s first genuine presidential primary. Voters selected a single candidate—Henrique Capriles Radonski—to face Venezuela’s authoritarian populist leader Hugo Chavez in a presidential…
On June 10, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez arrived in Havana for high-level meetings. Two days later, the press reported he underwent surgery to repair a pelvic abscess. Speculation regarding his health increased with each passing day. Possible diagnoses included acute peritonitis, prostate cancer, or liposuction gone wrong. …
President Obama undertakes his March 19–23 trip to Latin America at a time when the international scene is in enormous flux. In three stops—Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador—the President will send an upbeat message of equal partnership and offer broader U.S. engagement in Latin America. President…
Last week in New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the press that if the United States attacked Iran over its nuclear program it would face war like it had never seen. Bluster? Maybe, but it ain’t an empty boast if…
On September 26, Venezuelan voters selected 165 members for its single-chamber National Assembly. Approximately 66.45 percent of an estimated 17 million eligible voters cast ballots. As with every election since 1998 in Venezuela, these elections became a referendum about the rule of authoritarian populist President Hugo Chávez. Despite alarmist predictions…
Seven months after the tragic Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti is at last on the path to reconstruction. Thanks to a substantial flood of assistance, with billions of dollars more promised, the minimal needs of the Haitian people are finally being met. Yet the pace of recovery is painfully slow. …
The August 10 summit between newly inaugurated Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez is a potentially positive step in the Americas. The summit lowered tensions that were recently heightened when officials of the outgoing Uribe government presented evidence showing that an estimated 1,5000 fighters of the Revolutionary…
When someone sticks his face in yours and shouts you're his biggest enemy, it's a good idea to take them at their word. Enter, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Recently, while hosting Syria's Bashar al-Assad, Chavez publicly committed to…
Next week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Lima, Peru, to attend the Organization of American States (OAS) general assembly. She is also planning a brief visit to Ecuador, Colombia, and Barbados in what will be her second swing through the region in 2010. Clinton cannot afford to…
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has long been Iran’s greatest ally in the Western Hemisphere, but as Chavez’s cancer grows and...…
Since 1999,Venezuelahas continued sliding deeper into authoritarianism, populism, militarism, and anti-Americanism....…
Standing before a mural of Eva Peron Duarte (wife of Argentina’s legendary strongman Juan Domingo Peron and the “first...…
Puerto Rico has long flirted with the idea of becoming the 51st state. This year voters will once again have their...…
As Syrian tanks and artillery continued to rain indiscriminate fire on the defenseless city of Homs and as the world...…
As he readied for the visit of a close ally, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez undertook a...…
In an infamous and vulgar U.N. speech delivered in September 2006, Venezuela’s populist authoritarian President Hugo...…
In this week's Heritage in Focus, expert Ray Walser discusses the increasingly anti-U.S. policies in Latin...…
With his win in the November 6 election, Daniel Ortega secured his third presidential term in Nicaragua. While few would...…
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez will host what is billed as the founding conference of the Community of Latin American and...…