Free Republic

Building better military-to-military ties topped the agenda as Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers met with Paraguayan leaders here today. Myers met with Paraguayan President Duarte Frutos, Defense Minister Roberto Gonzales and Gen. Jose Key Kanazawa during a three-hour visit. Myers is on a tour through South America to build military relationships in the region. The chairman arrived in the middle of a torrential downpour that flooded streets in this capital city. He met with Duarte at the Ministry of Defense, where the president was celebrating Army Day. Myers said his visit is meant to further bilateral...

Castro startles Chavez with practical joke Cuban president Fidel Castro reportedly startled his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, with a practical joke when they met in Paraguay. He persuaded a Paraguayan MP to warn Chavez to watch out for an ambush and then jumped out at him from behind a door. It happened after the two presidents arrived in the early hours at Assuncion airport, reports Terra Noticias Populares.. Witnesses said Chavez looked nervous when MP Juaqn Carlos Galaverna told him about the ambush and even more scared when Castro made his sudden appearance. Chavez told the press that he had...