Today's Stories: Venezuelan president predicts victory in referendum Judge orders probe into Pinochet's personal assets Latin Americans join US-led military drills Salvadorian troops to work in less risky areas in Iraq

Cuban dissident economist freed. Roque was the only woman in a group of 75 dissidents arrested Cuba has freed Martha Beatriz Roque, a prominent opponent of Fidel Castro, on health grounds. The 58-year-old economist was the only woman in a group of 75 people arrested in a crackdown on dissent last year.  Ms Roque is the seventh of the group to be freed in recent weeks. She had been serving a 20-year sentence

Speaking at the inauguration of a housing project in Anzoateguistate, 250 kilometers east of Caracas, Chavez said the Venezuelan people will "say no" in the referendum scheduled for Aug. 15, and urged his opponents not to "go crazy."

He has accused the United States of organizing and financing the opposition, saying the upcoming referendum as a battle between him and US President George W. Bush.

On the same day, Valter Pecly Moreira, chief of Organization of American States (OAS) observer missions, said observers will freely monitor the referendum.

"The National Election Council has given me all the guarantees that the OAS election observation for the referendum will be secure," he said after meeting with the council.

The role of observers has been a subject of discussion. Opposition leaders say the observers are the only guarantee of an open vote in Venezuela. However, some pro-Chavez officials have said the observer missions are biased against the president and called for tighter restrictions on their work during the referendum.

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected to a six-year term in 2000, has been accused by his opponents of wrecking Venezuela's economy. He experienced two general strikes, a 48-hourmilitary coup in April 2002 and a strike at the beginning of last year.

The referendum campaign is the latest challenge to the former army officer's five-year rule.
 

Judge orders probe into Pinochet's personal assets
The Chilean judge, who investigates the secret bank accounts of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, ordered an extensive investigation into the personal assents of the retired general.

The Fifth Department of the Investigative Police will be in charge of analyzing Pinochet's accounts, lawyer in charge of the case Julia Urquieta said Thursday.

Urquieta and lawyer Fabiola Letelier presented a petition for investigating the personal assets of the ex-ruler of Chile.

The goal of the plaintiff's petition is that the information of Pinochet's personal assets be made public for the payment of indemnification if it is proven there is a civil responsibility in relation to the cases of human rights violations known as the "Death Caravan," "Operation Condor," and "Conferencia Street."

However, Pinochet's defense attorney Pablo Rodriguez said the petition of the human rights lawyers is a "harassment against the general."

"I believe these petitions have no other intention than harassing general Pinochet, a situation that has taken place over the past years in this country, so we are not surprised. We expect the courts act with a certain level-headedness in regards to a situation of this nature," he said.

Pinochet's son, Marco Antonio Pinochet, told local Radio Agricultura that all the money was donated by Pinochet's supporters for the legal defense while he was under house arrest in London from October 1998 to April 2000.

Pinochet, 88, who took control of Chile by ousting constitutional President Salvador Allende in 1973, faces hundreds of charges of homicide, kidnapping and torture in Chile but none of corruption.

There have been several failed attempts to probe his finances by journalists or lawmakers since the 1980s.
 

Latin Americans join US-led military drills
Military personnel from 16 Latin American countries are participating in the US-led anti-terrorist drills dubbed Commando Forces 2004 in San Salvador, El Salvador.

The seven-day military drills, which started Thursday, are aimed at gearing up the United States and its Latin American "partner nations" to "face terrorist groups and effectively interrupt their criminal activities," reports from San Salvador said.

Commando Forces 2004 was carried out as demanded by the US anti-terrorist forces and is one of the initiatives of the Southern Command of the United States and its Special Forces Southern Command.

F. Cambria, the brigadier general of the US army who inaugurated the exercises, said that during seven days "our anti-terrorist forces will compete in the first anti-terrorist Olympiads of Latin America."

He affirmed that "terrorism is a threat against the human rights of our citizens to be free, and seeks to weaken democracy by trying to impose the will of a minority over the majority, through violence, corruption and terror."

General Carlos A. Soto, Joint Chief of Staff of El Salvador, said Commando Forces 2004 is "one of the far-reaching activities for the peaceful coexistence in our continent, and we are proud tobe the hosts."

Crisis-management drills were conducted as part of the exercises. Participants include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Peru, Uruguay and an observer from Belize.
 

Salvadorian troops to work in less risky areas in Iraq
The third contingent of Salvadorian soldiers to be deployed in Iraq next August will work in Diwaniya, an area with better security conditions than in Nayaf.

According to reports from San Salvador, capital of El Salvador, the chief of operations of the office of the Joint Chief of Staff, colonel Roberto Artiga, who was appointed as commander of the third contingent of Battalion Cuscatlan bound for Iraq, said, "The conditions are already prepared for us to move from Nayaf to Diwaniya."

Artiga said that soldiers from Spain, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua are also stationed in Diwaniya, but because they are not supposed to stay in the region for a long time, it is not possible for them to "carry out many plans" and it is the place where we are going to."

The troops of Spain, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras formed the Plus Ultra Brigade, commanded by Spain. However, all but El Salvador withdrew their troops in April.

In late August, the third contingent of 380 Salvadorian soldiers, consisting of marines, engineers, doctors and bomb experts, will be deployed in Iraq for six months to replace the one stationed in the country since February.