Free Republic

One of Venezuela’s most powerful leaders may have put out an order to kill Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a fervent critic of the South American country’s government, according to intelligence obtained by the U.S. last month. Though federal authorities couldn’t be sure at the time if the uncorroborated threat was real, they took it seriously enough that Rubio has been guarded by a security detail for several weeks in both Washington and Miami. Believed to be behind the order: Diosdado Cabello, the influential former military chief and lawmaker from the ruling socialist party who has publicly feuded with Rubio. At...

Luis Alberto “El Pelochas” Blanco Flores, 30, pleaded not guilty to the charge of illegal re-entry to the U.S. when he was arraigned in federal court on Wednesday morning. Blanco, who authorities say is a former member of the Gulf Cartel and Zetas criminal organizations, entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan. During the hearing, Blanco smiled at his wife and had a jovial demeanor. In a previous hearing, Blanco had openly cried in court when he saw his wife, mother and sister. The judge scheduled Blanco’s trial for November. If convicted of illegal re-entry, Blanco faces up...

An Afghan enemy combatant convicted on drug charges has been sentenced to life in prison. Heroin dealer Khan Mohammed received the sentence on Monday from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. In addition to selling drugs, federal prosecutors said Mohammed also was an arms trafficker who targeted Afghans and U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. He was held as an enemy combatant before he agreed in 2006 to face trial in the United States.

The Colombian National Television Commission (CNTV) blocked satellite access to Telecapital, a government channel that rebroadcasts Telesur signal. The hemispheric news system boosted by Venezuela started operations last July 24th, with programming including documentary films, news coverage and a number of journalist works that highlight the Latin American people, as explained in the Monday edition of Semana magazine.

PRISTINA (AA) - Filizler Turkish Cultural and Arts Association (TKSD), one of Kosovo's most active cultural associations, is organizing a ''Turkish Cultural Week'' in Kosovo for the first time in history. Sponsored by the Kosovo Cultural, Youth and Sports Ministry, a painting exhibition of Kosovo Turkish Writers Association Chairman Zeynel Beksac has opened and poems were read, accompanied by ''Filizler'' pianists. TKSD Chairman Ferhat Dervis delivered a speech indicating that they will do every thing to keep Turkish culture alive in the region. ''We expect more support from Turkey and want to make the Turkish cultural week an annual event,''...

Kosovo: Current and Future Status R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Statement before the House Committee on International Relations Washington, DC May 18, 2005 Introduction Chairman Hyde, Congressman Lantos, distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the invitation to appear before you to discuss the current situation in Kosovo and our vision for progress and peace there in the coming months. 2005 is an important year for the people of the Balkans. They and we will commemorate on July 11 the tenth anniversary of the horrible massacre at Srebrenica where nearly 8,000 men and boys were killed....

A party at a hacienda 40 kilometers from Brasilia. Thirty leftist FARC supporters. The announcement of a $5 million dollar donation by the Colombian guerrillas to the Workers Party (PT). A six hour party that ended in a festive “forró”(a popular dance). The details of the last Brazilian dance rest in the archives of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin). The report that describes the party and the announcement on April 25, 2002, catalogued by the number 0095/3100 and stamped secret, is the paper on which is based the latest investigation published by the magazine Veja. The publication put the Brazilian...

Illegals Face a Gauntlet of Doom: The Border Patrol Faces Dopers, Terrorists, and the Desperate Victims of Coyotes. The 2,100 mile southern border of the U.S., with its treacherous mountain ranges, canyons, rivers and deserts, has become an uncontrollable stretch of violence, death, rape and exploitation. Over a decade ago, SOF rode with Border Patrol Agents in Arizona when the situation already seemed out of hand. One of those agents, now retired, recently contacted SOF with a disturbing and frustrated update, reflecting the deterioration of the Mexico-United States border. "In my career, spanning three decades, many of my friends and...

Americans in gun sites of Mexican army Posted: March 13, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: John Dougherty's recent book, "Illegals: The Imminent Threat Posed by Our Unsecured U.S.-Mexico Border," is available at WorldNetDaily's online store. © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com You'd think frequent gun battles along the U.S.-Mexico border between federal agents and citizen border-monitoring groups on this side, and drug and people smugglers on the other side, would make the national headlines. If you thought that, you'd be mistaken. Just ask Chris Simcox, owner of the Tombstone (Ariz.) Tumbleweed newspaper, and head of one such border group. He's trying to...