Colombian, Venezuelan presidents
to discuss diplomatic crisis
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
and his Colombian counterpart
Alvaro Uribe will hold a meeting
on Tuesday in an effort to end a
diplomatic crisis triggered by
the disputed capture of a
Colombian rebel.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry
said on Monday that the
summit,postponed on Feb. 3 due
to health problems suffered by
Uribe, willbe held.
Last Sunday, the Colombian
leader announced at Cargatena,
northColombia, his plan to
travel to Caracas, Venezuela's
capital, on Tuesday to end the
conflict resulting from the
kidnapping of the so-called
foreign minister of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, Rodrigo Granda, in
mid-December.
The first attempt to solve the
diplomatic crisis took place on
Jan. 29, with the issuing of
joint communiques.
On Jan. 31, Venezuelan
Ambassador to Colombia Carlos
Santiago returned to Bogota
after having been called back by
the Caracas government in
protest of the capture of Granda
on Venezuelan territory by two
Colombian agents.
Venezuela declares state of
sanitary alert
Sanitary authorities of
Venezuela declared a state of
sanitary alert on Monday to
prevent an epidemic outbreak in
the states affected by heavy
rains.
Heavy rains hit the country in
the past week, leaving at least
38 dead, tens of others missing
and thousands homeless.
Health and Social Development
Minister Francisco Armada
announced at a press conference
that he has worked out a control
plan to reduce risks of a
dengue-fever outbreak in the
affected zones.
He added that the authorities
are ready to control mosquitoes.
Armada said there are diarrhea,
asthma, respiratory infections
and skin problems in some areas.
Governor of Merida Florencio
Tovar said Monday that some 52
people were missing in the
state.
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Victims calls for seizure of
Pinochet's assets
A
lawyer representing victims
of an operation carried out
by former dictator Augusto
Pinochet asked the Chilean
government on Monday to
seize 7 million US dollars
worth of Pinochet's property
to pay civil damages.
Hector Salazar, who
represents the relatives of
four victims in the
Operation Condor case, made
the request to Judge Juan
Guzman Tapia, who in January
had Pinochet arrested on
charges of kidnapping and
murder.
Pinochet has been indicted
of masterminding the
kidnapping and murder of at
least nine people during his
rule.
"We have requested Judge
Guzman to seize the property
of General Pinochet in order
to ensure that he is held
liable for civil damages in
these crimes," said Salazar.
Operation Condor was a
secret 1970s program to
eliminate opponents of
military regimes in several
Latin American countries.
Official figures showed some
3,000 political opponents
were killed in Chile during
his iron-fisted rule from
1973 to 1990.
Pinochet, 89, took power in
1973 in a military coup and
he also faces charges of
human rights violations.
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