Obama Warmly Greets Tyrant Chavez

Disgrace

Chavez is in the middle of a crackdown and turning Venezuela into a totalitarian state. There is no aspect of that country which he isn't trying to control. From his economic takeovers to the oppression of political opponents. The President does not need to provide this tyrant any propaganda victories, sadly, Obama did just that. Of course this is the same Chavez who is also supporting the Genocidal tyrant of Sudan. Lets see there was also the time Chavez thugs tear gassed the Vatican Embassy , used plastic bullets on college students , and of course booted out the ambassador from Israel.



By the way here are some highlights from the State Department report on Human Rights abuses in Venezuela:

(NGO) Venezuelan Program of Action and Education in Human Rights (PROVEA) reported 39 deaths resulting from mistreatment while in custody.

• PROVEA documented 247 unlawful killings by government security forces from October 2007 through September.

• PROVEA recorded four victims of killings allegedly involving police forces in the 12 months through September.

• According to PROVEA, on July 4, 19-year-old Roger Oscar Avila was shot and killed by unknown members of the Caracas Metropolitan Police. Avila, who, according to police officials planned to steal a car at gunpoint, was brought to the Perez Carreno Hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival. Avila's family members denied police allegations of attempted auto theft, stating that Avila did not know how to drive a car, let alone steal one.

• On July 27, 33-year-old Miguel Baba Barroyeta was placed in custody and sent to the El Rodeo jail. He was shot and killed while in the custody of the National Guard after allegedly insulting a guard.

• On October 23, nine Lara state police officers and two National Guardsmen allegedly kidnapped six persons in Lara State and later tortured and killed them execution style in neighboring Portuguesa State. Five of the victims were minors. The killings reportedly were linked to drug turf battles. At year's end the Ministry of Interior and Justice had suspended the nine police officers pending further investigations. Formal charges were brought against the 11 suspects on December 18.

Via HA

You wanted it, America, you got it. Via Tapper, the long-awaited meeting between the “destructive force” and the “ignoramus” hath come to pass. There are already a few photos of the encounter at Yahoo News but you have to go to Facebook for the best one. Check out that thousand-watt grin. Funding FARC, imprisoning dissidents, staging wargames with Russia, and of course consolidating dictatorial power — none of it’s enough to ruin a photo op for The One. I hope this at least convinces El Presidente not to throw that Cuba-themed tantrum at the summit that he’s been planning. We deserve something in return for the free propaganda Barry just handed him.

Why not reach out to the other dictator?

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (CNN) -- In remarks to be delivered Friday to representatives of 34 countries at the Summit of the Americas here, President Obama says he is seeking "a new beginning" in U.S. relations with Cuba.

What Chavez is really up to:

The government is picking off its main opponents one by one. Manuel Rosales, the mayor of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second city, and the opposition’s defeated candidate in the 2006 presidential election, has gone into hiding to avoid arrest on corruption charges. The government claims he has left the country, although his family and his lawyers deny this.

On April 2nd, General Raúl Baduel, a former defence minister, was arrested at gunpoint in front of his wife by military-intelligence agents. Also accused of corruption, he was a key ally of Mr Chávez but has been treated by the regime as a traitor since he went into opposition 18 months ago. Several other opposition leaders, as well as former chavista politicians, face similar accusations. Others have been banned from standing for election on the same grounds. Yet Mr Chávez shows no inclination to investigate the many claims of corruption concerning his government.

He has been even less subtle with Antonio Ledezma, an opponent who was elected mayor of Caracas last year. His offices have been taken over by chavista mobs. A law is being rushed through parliament to render his post largely symbolic, by creating a powerful, appointed vice-president for Caracas. According to Mr Ledezma, the government “is acting outside the constitution,” while the courts are more like “firing-squads”

(CNN) – Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, told CNN Sunday it was "irresponsible" for President Obama to been seen "laughing and joking" with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas on Friday.(yes it was)


Now we have political opponents fleeing the country.

LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- A Venezuelan mayor who says President Hugo Chavez is persecuting him on trumped-up corruption charges is seeking political asylum in Peru, his lawyer said Tuesday..