Free Republic

The operation involved at least three boats, though only one was captured. One of its commanders sent audio recordings to Venezuelan military and police WhatsApp groups, calling for troops to rebel and take to the streets. Alemán, a Venezuelan lawmaker now living outside the country, said Sunday he had been involved in Alcalá’s operation in Colombia since last year. He said the group had to “make some adjustments” after a shipment of weapons destined for the camps was seized by Colombian authorities in March. Alemán said the plan was for the boats to land at La Guaira, home to Venezuela’s...

With U.S. policymakers distracted by the situation in Honduras, Nicaragua continues to move toward authoritarianism. On October 19, a Nicaraguan Supreme Court panel overturned a constitutional provision limiting presidents to two non-consecutive terms in office. The ruling will allow incumbent Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega--the Sandinista party leader, former Soviet client, vociferous critic of the United States, and current Hugo Chávez acolyte--to run for another term in 2011. If there were any doubts that Nicaraguan democracy is slowly being extinguished, this latest development should remove them. The Nicaraguan Supreme Court is composed of 16 members. Thanks to a political deal made...

EDINBURG — Six people accused of a February drug-related slaying faced capital murder charges Thursday morning. The sextet of suspects are allegedly part of a local drug smuggling group that ordered a hit of one of their own after he allegedly stole a load of marijuana delivered to a customer in February, investigators said. Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies found Gilberto Aguilar beaten and shot to death on Feb. 6 in a remote field north of Palmview. Investigators believe Aguilar was kidnapped, beaten with brass knuckles and fatally shot after he stole a load of marijuana. Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño...

The political analyst believes that López Obrador has seeded doubt about the election because he is not a democrat and does not know how to lose The results of the district vote count and the triumph of Felipe Calderón are nothing more than the confirmation of those institutions which are solid, believable, and trustworthy; believes political analyst Ricardo Alemán. Alemán believes that there was no electoral fraud against López Obrador, and affirms that the candidate of the For the Good of All coalition has seeded doubt about the election for one basic reason: because he is not a democrat and...

It was bound to happen, sooner or later – threats and lawsuits against the nonprofit, Washington-based National Security Center (NSC) for boldly going into the lion's den and telling the truth – in this case, into the Republic of Panama, jealously coveting its precious new treasure, the Panama Canal, and extremely sensitive to any hint of perceived threat. Exposing the truth is how the NSC operates, and now they've hit pay dirt after all these years and deserve high praise for such courage and perseverance.Panama Wants Blood The president of Panama, Mireya Moscoso, and her foreign minister, Jose Miguel Aleman,...