Hugo Chavez

Venezuela is planning to conclude several contracts with Russia next month on the purchase of military equipment worth at least $2 billion, a leading Russian business daily said on Monday.

Intelligence failures, security lapses and the lack of civilian oversight brought to light by a recent Colombian military incursion into his country have prompted Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa to overhaul the command of his armed forces. Correa's shake-up comes in a nation where the military enjoys a high measure of autonomy, wields considerable economic and political power and has played a hand in the overthrow of three presidents since 1997.

South America has established a military and political bloc to oppose NATO. Proponents of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez are going to be supported by Brazil that adopts a reasonable attitude and plays a major role in the region. Officially, the reason for a new bloc was the recent conflict between Ecuador and Columbia. But the actual aim is to weaken the US influence in the region that has been the area of its vital interest for 200 years.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: A rare meeting of the heads of state of the OPEC countries ended here Sunday on a political note, with two leaders — President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran — blaming the weakness of the United States dollar for high oil prices. Despite the best efforts of the host country, Saudi Arabia, to steer the meeting away from politics and promote OPEC's environmental concerns, the leaders of Venezuela and Iran let loose some show-stealing statements. "The dollar is in free fall, everyone should be worried about it," Chávez told reporters here. "The fall of the dollar is not the fall of the dollar — it's the fall of the American empire." During a news conference after the meeting, Ahmadinejad added: "The U.S. dollar has no economic value."

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox confirmed the existence of a plan conceived with President Bush to create a new regional currency in the Americas, in an interview last night on CNN's "Larry King Live."

South American leaders agreed Saturday to create a high-level commission to study the idea of forming a continent-wide community similar to the European Union. he presidents and envoys of 12 nations wrapped up a two-day summit of the South American Community of Nations, hosted by Bolivian President Evo Morales in Cochabamba, a city tucked between the Andes and the Amazon in the heart of the continent.