Venezuelan migrants surprised to learn that they will be returned to Mexico under new Biden admin policy

A group of roughly 30 Venezuelan migrants were surprised to learn that they will be returned to Mexico under a new Department of Homeland Security policy announced on Wednesday.

Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins approached the migrants in Eagle Pass, Texas, shortly after they

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Rights activists hail Venezuela’s departure from UN Human Rights Council

Venezuela has lost its seat on the United Nations Council of Human Rights — a development hailed on Tuesday by activists and human rights defenders in Venezuela as cause for celebration.

The Council, a 47-member multilateral body, is tasked with promoting human rights and addressing

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Days after disastrous landslide, Venezuelan officials fear death toll will soar

A landslide in Las Tejerias, a city in Venezuela, has destroyed hundreds of homes and left a death toll of at least 43 with around 56 still missing as of Tuesday afternoon. Officials fear the death toll will approach 100 as hopes of finding survivors diminish in the wake of what

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Death toll rises to 50 in Venezuela landslide

“So far we officially have 50 people who unfortunately lost their lives and (their bodies) have been handed over to their relatives,” Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos told a local television channel, updating the earlier toll of 43.

Unusually heavy rains on Saturday had caused a

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‘Get me out’: Search for Venezuela landslide survivors continues

Rescue workers continue to try to locate missing residents of a central Venezuela town, clearing rocks and mud from the streets of Las Tejerias three days after it was hit by a massive landslide that killed dozens.

Neighbours and rescuers — approximately 3,000 police, soldiers and

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Death toll rises to 50 in Venezuela landslide

Las Tejerías: The death toll has risen to 50 from a devastating landslide that swept through a Venezuelan town near the capital Caracas, officials said on Thursday.

"So far we officially have 50 people who unfortunately lost their lives and (their bodies) have been handed over to

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US will take in some Venezuelans, expel others to Mexico

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration agreed to accept up to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants at U.S. airports, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted since Russia’s invasion, while Mexico has agreed to take back Venezuelans who come to the U.S. illegally over land, the U.S.

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Venezuela: Bankers back closure of troubled banks

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's two leading associations of bankers support a move by President Hugo Chavez's government to close four banks after authorities uncovered major financial problems.

The National Banking Council and the Venezuelan Banking Association say the decision this week to permanently close two of the banks, Canarias and ProVivienda, and auction off their assets was "adequate and necessary" to protect clients.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, both groups also supported the government's decision to take over the management of two other banks, Confederado and Bolivar.

Authorities have said investors were unable to show the origins of the funds used to buy the banks.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: moneycentral.msn.com/

Venezuela condemns countries that endorsed vote in Honduras

The Venezuelan government repudiated on Tuesday the endorsement of Honduras elections by several countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs termed it "a serious attack against democracy," and branded the US stance as "shameful."

"Venezuela condemns the fact that a small group of countries have voiced their endorsement, as this represents a serious attack against democracy in the hemisphere," said a communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The official text describes as "bizarre" the fact that some governments have recognized the elections, since they adopted, in early November, a declaration which called for the reinstatement of ousted President Manuel Zelaya before the elections, in a meeting of the Rio Group.

"The position of the United States is particularly outrageous (…) as the statement endorsing the fraudulent elections organized by the Honduran dictatorship came even before the de facto regime issued the official results," added the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: eluniversal.com/

How long could Venezuela's slump last?

Recession has hit Venezuela, South America's top oil exporter, after declining output and low prices for crude, plus a collapse in manufacturing and imports, brought an end to five years of economic good times. Some questions and answers about the downturn and its impact on President Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution.

Why did GDP fall an unexpected 4.5 per cent in the third quarter?

Oil production nosedived this year, with GDP in the sector down a shocking 9.5 per cent in the third quarter after a drop of 4.2 per cent in the second quarter. Economists and the government underestimated the decline, which reflects lower production more than international prices. The government blames lower output on OPEC cuts but the nationalization of companies in the Lake Maracaibo oil region probably played a part too, with some docks barely working.

Manufacturing and commerce took big blows, in part because Mr. Chavez slashed spending and strictly limited access to foreign exchange when oil prices dropped to about $30 (U.S.) a barrel in January, chilling demand and the supply of imported goods at the same time. Car factories were particularly hard hit, with some production grinding to halt because of a lack of parts.

The public sector actually expanded, reflecting Mr. Chavez's model of state-led growth. Construction and telecoms also grew, the latter due to fast-growing mobile and fixed line networks.

How long could the recession last?

Venezuela has entered recession when many other countries are edging out of it, and many economists say the downturn will last for several months at least. Finance Minster Ali Rodriguez predicts recovery by the first quarter of next year. Mr. Chavez's pro-cyclical cutbacks are at odds with the big stimulus packages that have softened many countries' recessions.

Some economists say Venezuela needs to spend hard to dig itself out of the crisis and after a relatively frugal 2009, Mr. Chavez can be expected to do just that. With many analysts predicting oil prices of around $70 per barrel next year, well above the budget estimate of $40, he will increase off-budget outlays ahead of legislative elections in September.

Venezuela also has healthy foreign reserves and has issued $11-billion in foreign bonds this year.

Mr. Chavez himself argues that traditional GDP methodology under-represents growth in the public sector and his policies of subsidies, price controls and free health services aimed at protecting the poor among Venezuela's 28 million people.

What does this mean for Mr. Chavez's popularity

A decade after first winning power, Mr. Chavez is still a popular president. But it remains to be seen whether a burst of spending now will revive the economy in time to bring back the good-times feeling he has counted on in recent elections.

The sputtering economy, combined with irregular water and electricity supplies, have hurt him, bringing support down to around 50 per cent from a peak of around 60 per cent early this year after he won a referendum allowing him to run for office as often as he likes.

Mr. Chavez could see his massive parliamentary majority heavily shaved in September if the economy stays weak, inflation remains high, and problems with services are compounded by shortages of consumer goods - a perennial problem in heavily regulated Venezuela.

However, few believe he will actually lose control of parliament.

Will Venezuela devalue its overvalued currency?

Mr. Chavez is opposed to devaluing partly because of fears it will stoke already high inflation. Most economists and many in the cabinet agree that it is unavoidable at some point, as the overvalued rate is costly to the government and makes it hard for local industry to compete with imports.

Mr. Chavez reintroduced controls on foreign exchange during political turmoil in 2003 to prevent capital flight. The local bolivar is also fixed against the U.S. dollar.

The restrictions on taking money out of the country helped Venezuela preserve its foreign reserves, but the wide gulf between the official 2.15 rate and the parallel rate - currently around 5.5 to the U.S. dollar - causes many of the distortions and opportunities for corruption that are prevalent in the economy.

Inflation

Another hardy perennial in Venezuela is rampant inflation - double digit price rises have been the norm for as long as most Venezuelans can remember. In Mr. Chavez's boom years, it was not much of an issue - large minimum wage hikes and increases for public workers softened the blow. But recession combined with high inflation - 26.7 per cent was the annualized rate in October - could really upset people next year. Prices are likely to keep rising rapidly. Government spending next year may increase money supply and its usual anti-inflation measures - price controls and regulation - often backfire by reducing supply of goods.

Source: theglobeandmail.com/

Chavez threatens to nationalize Venezuelan banks

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned the nation's private bankers on Sunday that they must comply with the law or face nationalization, regardless of their banks' size.

“I'm telling the country's private bankers, ‘he who slips up loses, I'll take over the bank, whatever its size,'” he said.

“You want me to nationalize the banks?” he said in his weekly Sunday television show “Alo Presidente.” “I have no problem with that.”

He said banks wanted to “collect people's money ... to make more money.” He added that the purpose of banks was not to enrich a minority of the populace but rather help the development of the country.

In power for a decade, Chavez has nationalized broad swathes of the economy. In July, the government took control of Spain's Banco Santander unit, Banco de Venezuela, for a purchase price of $1.05 billion.

On Nov. 20, the bank seized four small banks, accounting for about 6 percent of Venezuela's deposits.

Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez then said the takeovers were due to concerns about credit portfolios, problems explaining the source of funds and failure to comply with some obligations.

Chavez spoke Sunday from nationalized farmland in central Lara state, from where he broadcast his multi-hour show.

Addressing the banking theme, he said unnamed bankers “are not complying, they do not want to comply with the function for which a bank should exist (such as) that is in the law.

“This is occurring right now with a group of private banks, that's a demonstration that those private banking sectors don't want to learn, they don't want to accept that there is a constitution ... and that there are laws.”

Venezuela's banking sector is dominated by 10 banks that control 70 percent of the total funds.

The four banks seized on Nov. 20 were Banco Confederado, Banco Canarias, Banco Provivienda and bolivar Banco.

On Friday, a court acting on prosecutors' request banned travel abroad of 16 executives – eight from Confederado, six from Provivienda and two from bolivar Banco.

Chavez said if it were up to him, he would have jailed the 16 executives due to flight risk.

Source: theglobeandmail.com/

Russia to Build Rifle Factory and Sell Helicopters to Venezuela

Mérida, December 1st 2009 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – On Monday, Russia’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Vladimir Zaemskiy, confirmed that Russia will assist Venezuela with the construction of a factory to produce Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles and will sell fifty-three Mi-17 military helicopters to Venezuela.

The deal is part of an accord that was signed and announced publicly on August 15th of this year.

The ambassador said Venezuela’s replacement of obsolete military equipment is a “natural process of any country,” and assured that “the military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela is carried out according to the same rules that govern other cases.”

Moreover, “the government of Venezuela is being guided by a new concept of national defense” that “requires different technologies, and that is what [Russia] is offering Venezuela,” said the ambassador.

The United States, which was Venezuela’s top military supplier before Russia, stopped selling military equipment and replacement parts to the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, which openly opposes U.S. imperialism and advocates the replacement of capitalism with “21st Century Socialism.”

This year, Venezuela stepped up its efforts to prepare for the defense of its territory and natural resources, in response to Colombia’s attack on a guerrilla encampment in Ecuador in March and its October 30th military pact with the United States, which will allow U.S. military personnel to act with legal immunity on seven Colombian bases and expand military and spy operations across the continent.

Venezuela has purchased $4.4 billion worth of Russian military equipment since 2005, and last September Russia approved a $1 billion loan to Venezuela for future arms purchases.

In addition to military cooperation, Venezuela and Russia have created joint companies to exploit oil and build transportation infrastructure in Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt, and to explore natural gas off the Venezuelan coast.

In June, the two countries created a binational development bank with $4 billion at its disposal. They also discussed the construction of a civilian nuclear power facility in Venezuela with Russian assistance and signed accords to increase Venezuela’s exports of coffee, cacao, rice, fruit, and other agricultural products to Russia.

On Monday, Zaemskiy also confirmed Russia’s intention to construct a Russian Lada brand automobile factory in Venezuela sometime next year

Source: venezuelanalysis.com/

Venezuela HIV/AIDS Infection Seen 3 Times Higher Than Diagnosed Cases

The incidence of infection with the HIV/AIDS virus in Venezuela may be at least three times as high as the number of diagnosed cases.


By Jeremy Morgan
Latin American Herald Tribune staff

CARACAS -- The incidence of infection with the HIV/AIDS virus in Venezuela may be at least three times as high as the number of diagnosed cases, according to a non-government organization which warned that insufficient studies had been carried out to establish with any accuracy just how many people in the country might have the disease.

Using data from 2003 and making the appropriate adjustments, Feliciano Reyes of Accion Solidaria estimates that between 110,000 and 150,000 people are infected with the virus in Venezuela. At present, he added, only 32,000 people had been registered as being treated for HIV/AIDS infection.

The worst of it all, perhaps, is that a lot of Reyes' suspected unknown patients may not even be aware that they've been infected. "It's very possible that 100,000 people have it and don't know," he said. "A long time passes from when a person contracts it until the virus starts showing itself."

But, he continued, the lack of "solid and clear" data about the prevalence of the virus worked against efforts to analyze the incidence of the disease across the country, or to establish how the number of cases was increasing. Accion Solidaria was detecting at least 90 new cases a year, Reyes said, but was still in "land of uncertainty" when it came to establishing who was being infected.

The existence of an AIDS epidemic in Venezuela was formally recognized by the authorities in 1982. Between then and 2006, 61,426 cases were diagnosed in the country, according to a Venezuelan government report to a United Nations meeting in June last year.

The age range most at risk of infection is estimated at between 25 and 45 years. However, experts warn of a "tendency towards a sustained increase" in cases of infection in younger sectors of the population.

As is the case in some other Latin American countries, Macho culture is deemed to make if difficult to persuade males to seek medical attention at an early stage of possible infection, according to health sector social workers. Similarly, it's said that women are reluctant to come forward for fear of arousing hostility and suspicions about their personal morality.

Source: laht.com/

Venezuelan Oil Upgrader Out Of Service Amid Boiler Problems

CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela said Monday its Petroanzoategui upgrader is temporarily out of service because of more problems with boilers.

"A paralyzation has occurred with the boiler "06F201B," which has been sustaining the operations of the upgrader," PdVSA said in a statement. "As a result of this problem, the supply of vapors from the upgrader...has been interrupted."

The 130,000 barrel-a-day Petroanzoategui upgrader, located in the Orinco region, also had issues with a boiler last week. PdVSA reported output had been cut by 15,000 barrels a day due to a leak in one of the boilers.

It wasn't clear if the problems from last week and the ones from Monday were related.

ConocoPhillips (COP) previously had a 50.1% stake in the upgrader, formerly called Petrozuata, until it was nationalized in 2007.

-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-212-284-5651; dan.molinski@dowjones.com

Source: wsj.com/

Venezuela says delivers Carabobo oil auction terms

CARACAS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela delivered the final terms for the auction of the 1.2 million barrel-per-day Carabobo extra-heavy crude project late on Monday, a government source said, after long delays to its first tender in more than a decade.

"They were handed over last night close to midnight," the source, who has knowledge of the project, told Reuters.

Worried by lukewarm private sector interest in its first oil auction since the late 1990s, Venezuela recently said it was lowering taxes and extending the production timeline for the project.

The final conditions were softened slightly more to include all the previously announced sweeteners such as lower royalties, along with new incentives such as a longer period to pay starting bonuses for the project, the source said.

Companies including Britain's BP (BP.L: 行情) and U.S.-based Chevron (CVX.N: 行情) have been waiting for weeks for the final version of the terms, the first improvement in conditions for private oil under socialist President Hugo Chavez.

The massive heavy crude project will involve seven areas, each of which is expected to require an investment of between $10 billion and $20 billion. The goal is to raise Venezuela oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day by 2015.

Venezuela is due to accept offers for Carabobo in January, although such deadlines are frequently missed in South America's top oil exporter.

Other companies interested in the auction for minority interests in the three Carabobo joint-ventures include China's state oil company CNPC, France's Total (TOTF.PA: 行情), Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: 行情) and Portugal's Galp Energia (GALP.LS: 行情), as well as consortiums of Russian and Japanese businesses. [ID:nN06184958].

Other conditions offered include allowing the private companies to chose a greater number of executives in the ventures, which are to be controlled by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.

Venezuela want to increase output in its Orinoco tar-like crude belt to 2.8 million barrels over the next decade via Carabobo and the development of its Junin fields, to be developed with Chinese, Russian and Vietnamese companies.

Source: reuters.com/

Venezuela's Weak Economy May Advance Long-Delayed Oil Auction

CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela's economy is tumbling just as the rest of the world begins to recover, which may create the perfect combination needed for the country's long-delayed oil drilling auction to finally get under way.

Industry sources say a contracting local economy alongside stronger global growth, which has pushed up worldwide oil prices, is providing incentive for both sides--the Hugo Chavez-led government and foreign oil firms--to make concessions and find common ground on the terms of the so-called Carabobo oil tender.

Observers still hesitate to assert the Carabobo auction, the most important drilling project in oil-rich Venezuela in more than a decade, will take place by January as scheduled. There is still more tweaking of contract terms to be done, and both parties want to get it right since the deals would last for decades. What is important, though, is the two sides seem to be getting closer to a deal, not farther away.

Private-sector sources confirmed Friday that oil companies are still waiting for the government to deliver the revised contract terms for the auction. Once received, the firms would have until late January to make official bids. The auction is for a handful of heavy and extra-heavy oil blocks in the eastern Orinoco region that together could produce a total 1.2 million barrels of crude a day, and would require investments of around $30 billion.

More than a dozen companies are interested, and at least five consortiums are being set up, whereby companies partner to reduce costs and share benefits.

Observers say higher global oil prices have made the petroleum companies, including heavyweights such as Chevron (CVX), Chinese state oil firm CNPC (0135.HK) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), more willing to accommodate some of the government's demands, which could include a down payment of up to $1 billion from winning bidders. Global crude oil prices pierced $80 a barrel recently, putting more cash in oil companies' hands.

At the same time, Venezuela's government also seems ready to make concessions. The South American country's economic cycle has lagged the rest of the world, only recently falling into recession, and that's forcing the socialist government to reluctantly seek foreign investment.

Oil accounts for more than one-third of gross domestic product, over half of government revenue and about nine-tenths of exports.

"There's a political will on the part of the Chavez government that hasn't been seen before," said one person in the industry who is familiar with the Carabobo process. "The government is realizing consumption-driven growth won't last forever, and they see that private-sector investment is essential."

Such an environment, this person said, is making the government more flexible to some companies' efforts to ensure they have decision-making power once drilling begins, even though they would be minority stakeholders. The current plans call for Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, or PdVSA, to have a 60% stake in all the projects, while the other companies or consortiums would have the other 40%.

The Chavez government provided for similar flexibility on decision-making roles in renegotiated contracts with oil companies a few years ago.

The government's apparent willingness to negotiate comes after Venezuela's central bank announced last week economic growth contracted 4.5% in the third quarter. Not only was that a shock to analysts, who on average forecast a 1% to 2% contraction, but it also surprised Venezuela Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez. A week earlier he had said he thought the quarter would see an improvement from the second quarter's 2.4% contraction.

Among the sectors with the sharpest decline was retail sales, down 11.5%.

The data might also help sway the government into providing tax relief to companies related to a levy on consumption, which the government initially indicated winning bidders would have to pay.

-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-212-284-5651; dan.molinski@dowjones.com

Source; wsj.com/

Ahmadinejad hails anti-US 'brothers' on Venezuela trip

CARACAS — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Wednesday beside firebrand President Hugo Chavez that Iran and Venezuela would "stand together until the end" in the face of US "imperialism."

Ending a tour of Latin American allies, Ahmadinejad praised his "brave brother" Chavez, saying: "Today the people of Venezuela and Iran, friends and brothers in the trench warfare against imperialism, are resisting.

"We'll stand together until the end," he yelled, raising Chavez's hand in front of the television cameras and shouting in Spanish: "Viva Venezuela! Viva Chavez!"

Before arriving in Caracas late Tuesday Ahmadinejad was in Bolivia, where he and President Evo Morales, another close Chavez ally, hailed their own alliance against "imperialism," meaning the United States.

The Iranian leader's three-day regional tour has been seen as a clear affront to Washington, a fact illustrated by an unusual letter sent by US President Barack Obama.

After Ahmadinejad's first stop in Brazil, it emerged that Obama had sent a letter to the regional power urging it to be more critical of the Islamic republic and its suspect nuclear activities.

The letter, written to Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the eve of Ahmadinejad's visit, outlined Washington's foreign policy goals and opposition to Iran's nuclear program.

After receiving the letter on Sunday, Lula went ahead Monday and recognized Iran's right to develop nuclear energy, although he urged Tehran to seek a peaceful settlement in talks with Western powers.

US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed Obama's letter on Wednesday and also urged Venezuela to join world powers in expressing concern over Iran's pursuit of a "nuclear weapons capability, its support of terrorism, and its human rights record."

Chavez, long a thorn in the side of Washington, has publicly backed Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear program and supported the Iranian leader's disputed re-election in June that led to days of violent protests in Tehran.

He said he had made a "lightning" visit to Cuba on Tuesday, where he met for seven hours with ailing former president Fidel Castro, who told him to deliver a big "hug" to Ahmadinejad on his return to Caracas.

"Fidel told me: 'tell Ahmadinejad that reaching Venezuela is like reaching Cuba, because it's the same homeland. So I'm also welcoming you to Cuba, brother,'" Chavez said.

But Ahmadinejad was also greeted with anger from the Jewish community in Venezuela and the Venezuelan opposition, which planned to hold protests later Wednesday.

"Venezuela's democrats repudiate the visit of the undesirable Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Venezuela," the Table of Unity opposition group said, describing Ahmadinejad's alliance with Chavez as "dangerous."

A statement from Venezuela's Jewish community called Ahmadinejad an "ominous character" who could produce "greater misery for mankind."

Ahmadinejad's arrival in Venezuela came as Germany said there was "broad support" for a resolution at a meeting this week of the UN's atomic watchdog condemning Iran for concealing a second uranium enrichment plant.

Tehran and six world powers known as the P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany -- have been at loggerheads for weeks, failing to reach a nuclear fuel deal aimed at allaying Western concerns.

Iran denies it is seeking to produce an atomic bomb under cover of its civilian nuclear energy program.

On the economic front, Venezuela and Iran, both members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), launched joint projects, including a binational bank, housing programs and bicycle, car and tractor assemblies.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gA4jWnW6hqZezzc1MryY5WNl09ug

Venezuela Raises Dollar Allotment for Some Travelers

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela increased the maximum amount of dollars that individuals can buy for travel to $3,000 from $2,500, and slashed the allotment for travel to neighboring Colombia 72 percent amid a deterioration of relations.

The Foreign Exchange Administration Commission, known as Cadivi, will sell a maximum of $3,000 annually at the official exchange rate of 2.15 bolivars per dollar to individuals for trips of eight days or more to Asia, Africa or Europe. Travelers to Colombia will be allowed to buy no more than $700 per year, according to a resolution published in the Official Gazette.

“They’re trying to tighten the regulations, but in the end people will find ways around it,” said Boris Segura, a Latin America analyst at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut, in a telephone interview. “With Colombia, there’s an added political implication.”

As part of currency controls established by President Hugo Chavez in 2003, Venezuelans must seek approval from the government to buy dollars at the official exchange rate. The government slashed allotments to travelers in half last year after oil revenue plunged from a sharp drop in prices.

Venezuelans who are unable to gain approval to buy dollars from the government, turn to the parallel currency market where the bolivar traded at 5.50 per dollar on Nov. 27.

Chavez “froze” relations with Colombia in July in protest over a deal to allow U.S. troops access to seven military bases for counter-narcotics operations. Chavez says the agreement threatens Venezuelan sovereignty.

Individuals traveling to countries that belong to Chavez’s political bloc, known as ALBA, which includes Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Ecuador, will be allowed a maximum of $2,500 per year. The $2,500 limit also applies to U.S. travel.

Travelers to Panama and most Caribbean islands will be capped at $1,000 per year, according to the resolution.

The allotment for Internet purchases will remain unchanged at $400 per year.

Source: bloomberg.com/

Home News News Colombian Congress to debate Venezuela war threat

Colombia's House of Representatives plans to hold a closed session on Tuesday to debate the possibility of war with neighboring country Venezuela and Colombia's ability to defend itself in a possible attack.

The debate was called by coalition lawmakers who want the country's ministers of defense, foreign relations and trade to attend the session, Caracol Radio reported Tuesday. None of the ministers has either confirmed or denied that they will be present.

In the closed session the lawmakers want to hear from Defense Minister Gabriel Silva what the probability is that Venezuela attacks Colombian soil following President Hugo Chavez's calls to Venezuelan soldiers and civilians to prepare for war and the recent destruction of cross-border footbridges by the Venezuelan armed forces.

The lawmakers also want to know if the Colombian army is able to deter a Venezuelan attack and what precautions are taken to protect the country's airports, seaports and oil refineries.

According to the radio station's report, Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez will have to clarify what he is doing to show that the "Hugo Chavez's regime is an authoritarian and dangerous government" and what the government plans to do to counter Chavez's "insults, threats and hostile commercial actions."

Of Trade Minister Luis Huillermo Plata the lawmakers want to know if Venezuela's restriction on Colombian imports fit within the regulations of the World Trade Organization and what the possibilities are of finding alternative export markets.

Source: colombiareports.com/