From Volume 8, Issue 19 of EIR Online, Published May 12, 2009

Ibero-American News Digest

Soros Creatures Out To Carve Up Bolivia

May 6 (EIRNS)—Turn over any rock in Ibero-America and you're likely to find something owned by George Soros slither out.

On May 4 it was in Guatemala, where one Ruben Velázquez penned a diatribe against Lyndon LaRouche in the Internet magazine La Razón, specifically for his attacks on that "great philanthropist," Soros. Soros has done wonders for Guatemala, "morally and economically," Velázquez ranted.

Then in Bolivia, where Soros has a long and filthy history, playing both the "left" and "right" side of the political spectrum, his name cropped up in connection with the New York City-based Human Rights Foundation, whose Bolivian representative, Hugo Achá Melgar, has been charged with involvement in a plot to assassinate President Evo Morales.

On May 4, government prosecutor Marcelo Sosa issued a press statement naming several individuals based in the separatist state of Santa Cruz, who reportedly coordinated with, and financed, the ringleader of the alleged assassination plot, a Croatian-Bolivian named Eduardo Rozsa. Hugo Achá Melgar met with Rozsa on three or four occasions, and is now wanted for questioning by Sosa.

While many details surrounding this case have yet to be clarified, everything about the right-wing Human Rights Foundation—not to be confused with the left-wing Human Rights Watch, although Soros is involved with both of them—is quite clear. Sitting on HRF's International Council, for example, is Kenneth Anderson, who served on the board of directors of Soros's Americas Watch, and was general counsel to Soros's Open Society Institute for several years. An expert in "war and armed conflict," with a focus on Eastern Europe, he was also the founder and former director of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch.

Several other members focus heavily on promoting "democracy" in Eastern Europe and Russia, such as "dissidents" Vladimir Bukovsky and Gary Kasparov. Michael J. Horowitz of the Hudson Institute, also on the board, has spent years promoting "religious freedom" in Sudan. But the Foundation has its sights trained on Ibero-America as well. In August 2008, it demanded regime change in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, charging that the Presidents of those countries should be removed for violating the democratic principles spelled out in the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Charter.

70,000 Argentine Youth Hooked on 'Drug of Annihilation'

May 5 (EIRNS)—More than 70,000 Argentine youth are addicted to the deadly paco, a crack cocaine-like drug, according to the Mothers Against Paco group. These addiction rates augur the New Dark Age that drug kingpin George Soros offers, should his drug decriminalization and legalization plans go through the Argentine Congress.

With good reason is paco called the "annihilation drug." With epidemic force, it has swept through the poorest layers of the population, causing physical and psychological damage resulting in at least 10 deaths per week in metropolitan Buenos Aires, and 40 deaths a month. Consumption in middle and upper classes is quickly expanding. Alicia Romero of Mothers Against Paco says the figures are probably higher. "There is an informal number to which we have no access," she said. "Some families lose their children and don't say anything, out of shame or fear, but paco is present and is to blame."

In the country that once enjoyed the highest educational and cultural levels in South America, paco is taking a deadly toll. In cocaine "kitchens" around Buenos Aires, dealers sometimes add rat poison, pulverized glass, or other substances to the drug, to "stretch it" and have more to sell, offering it to poor adolescents who will pay a couple of pesos for it. Better-off youth can sometimes have it delivered to their homes.

Bolivia Looks Toward Improved Relations with the U.S.

May 8 (EIRNS)—On May 6, Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca announced that the government is setting up a tripartite commission, to include the Planning, Interior, and Foreign Affairs Ministers, for the purpose of making progress in resuming diplomatic relations with the United States.

As a result of the Bush Administration's thuggish foreign policy, relations between the two countries were broken off in September 2008. Statements by President Barak Obama that he hopes to establish a good working relationship with the governments of Ibero-America, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's May 1 remark that "we want to see how we can figure out how to get an ambassador back [in Bolivia] and work with [President Evo] Morales," have given the Bolivian government grounds to believe that resumption of relations that can now be discussed.

However, Choquehuanca stated on May 7 that Bolivia will take whatever time it needs to negotiate a relationship with the U.S. that is based on mutual respect, and non-interference in Bolivia's internal affairs. He added that he hopes it will possible to count on U.S. cooperation in helping Bolivia to attain the goals outlined in its National Development Plan.

In a visit to La Paz on May 2-3, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter stated that he believed that the two countries would soon resume diplomatic relations.

More Countries Consider the Nuclear Energy Option

May 4 (EIRNS)—Argentina will begin construction on its fourth nuclear plant in less than a year, Planning Minister Julio De Vido announced today. He also confirmed that completion of the Atucha II plant is on target for mid-2011, and will able to generate 700 MW for the National Interconnected System (SIN).

Despite the push for biofuels and other forms of "green" energy in Ibero-America, many countries are seriously looking at nuclear energy as a more viable way to meet their energy needs.

In Chile, President Michelle Bachelet ruled out nuclear during her term in office, although she has established a committee of scientists to evaluate this option for future development. But former President Eduardo Frei, who will be the candidate for the ruling Concertación coalition in this year's Presidential elections, said on May 7 that Chile has to get serious about building nuclear plants and should stop building thermoelectric ones because they are far less efficient and do more damage to the environment.

"If our neighbors [Brazil and Argentina—ed.] are building them, it's lawful that we must study them and make the necessary decisions," Frei said.

On June 15, in the northern mining city of Antofagasta, the Exponor 2009 conference, organized by the Antofagasta Industrialists Association, will include a debate on of nuclear energy, and how it might be used to meet the region's energy needs. A number of Argentine nuclear experts will be attending the conference to discuss their country's experience in the nuclear field.

Northern Chile, the center of the country's mining industry, has frequently been mentioned as the ideal location for a nuclear plant.

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