[NYTr] Agents of Destabilization Will Be Expelled from Venezuela Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:30:48 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Of course, the hostile mainstream press is playing this up to the hilt, with headlines like "critical foreigners will get the boot," etc. The two items below come from the Venezuela Information Office, which comments as follows: "Sources report today that a senior Mexican politician criticized President Chavez while in Caracas over the weekend, which led Chavez to express distaste for verbal attacks by foreigners visiting Venezuela. Despite the seriousness lent to such comments by the Associated Press and the BBC, they in no way affect laws protecting freedom of speech. This and other democratic guarantees remain very much in force in Venezuela, according to statements made by OAS Secretary General Insulza last week." -VIO] AP via The Washington Post - July 22, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/22/AR2007072200819.html Chavez: Critical Foreigners to Get Boot By Christopher Toothaker CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreigners who publicly criticize him or his government while visiting Venezuela will be expelled from the country. Chavez ordered officials to closely monitor statements made by international figures during their visits to Venezuela _ and deport any outspoken critics. "How long are we going to allow a person _ from any country in the world _ to come to our own house to say there's a dictatorship here, that the president is a tyrant, and nobody does anything about it?" Chavez asked during his weekly television and radio program. The Venezuelan leader's statements came after Manuel Espino, the president of Mexico's conservative ruling party, criticized Chavez during a recent pro-democracy forum in Caracas. Government opponents argue Chavez _ a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro _ is becoming increasingly authoritarian and cracking down on dissent as he steers oil-rich Venezuela toward what he calls "21st-century socialism." Chavez rejects such allegations, countering that democratic freedoms have been extended since he was first elected in 1998. The former paratroop commander says his government has empowered the poor by giving them increased decision-making authority in politics. During Sunday's six-hour program, Chavez assured private property owners their rights will be guaranteed under a pending constitutional reform. "Private property will respected," he said. Many wealthy Venezuelans fear second homes, yachts or other assets could be seized as Chavez advances his Bolivarian Revolution, a movement named after South American independence hero Simon Bolivar. Chavez denies any such plans. Chavez is expected to present his reform proposal to the National Assembly, which is completely controlled by his allies, in the coming weeks. Few details have emerged from a special executive committee that he appointed to draft a proposal for overhauling the country's charter. Also Sunday, Chavez announced an initiative to slash the salaries of Venezuela's top public servants. He said no public servant should make more than $7,000 a month. Most Venezuelans make minimum wage _ roughly $250 a month. Reducing the pay of top officials has become a popular move in Latin America. The presidents Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru and Costa Rica recently cut salaries, including their own, in response to widespread criticism. In his typically wide-ranging television program, Chavez also said Castro recently warned him to take precautions against possible U.S.-backed assassination attempts. He said Cuba's 80-year-old "Maximum Leader" gave him a copy of former CIA Director George Tenet's recently published memoir and told him: "'Read it, Chavez, because that is the most perfect killing machine ever invented and I'm a survivor ... I survived more than 600 (assassination) attempts.'" "The CIA is everywhere," said Chavez, who has repeatedly warned that U.S. President George W. Bush could order him killed. U.S. law has forbidden assassination attempts since the 1970s, and Washington denies the U.S. government has attempted to kill Castro since then. *** BBC News - Jul 23, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6911246.stm Chavez to expel foreign critics BBC News Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has vowed to expel foreigners who publicly criticise him or his government. "No foreigner can come here to attack us. Anyone who does must be removed from this country," he said during his weekly TV and radio programme. Mr Chavez also ordered officials to monitor statements made by international figures in Venezuela. His comments came shortly after a senior Mexican politician publicly criticised the Venezuelan government. "How long are we going to allow a person - from any country in the world - to come to our own house to say there's a dictatorship here, that the president is a tyrant, and nobody does anything about it?" Mr Chavez said during his "Hello, President" broadcast on Sunday. "It cannot be allowed - it is a question of national dignity," he said. He did not mention any names, but his comments came on the same weekend that Manuel Espino, president of Mexico's ruling National Action Party, criticised Mr Chavez at a pro-democracy conference in Caracas. Mr Espino told the conference a plan by Mr Chavez to end term limits on Venezuela's presidency were a threat to democracy. He accused Mr Chavez of trying to extend his rule indefinitely with the proposed constitutional reform, which would let Mr Chavez run for the presidency again in 2012. Mr Chavez said the reform package would increase the influence of local community councils and student groups as part of his "21st-Century socialism" revolution. He is due to present the proposal to Venezuela's National Assembly next month. The assembly consists solely of politicians who back the president. Mr Chavez was re-elected to a third term last year with support from the millions of impoverished Venezuelans who back his social development policies. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . 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