Venezuela, Guatemala Vie for UN Seats
Venezuela and Guatemala are due to compete in the General Assembly Monday in what could be the fiercest fight for a post at the UN Security Council in almost 30 years.

The two countries trust equally in winning support of the 192 State members to the Assembly during today s secret voting to elect which country will substitute Argentina for the Latin American and the Caribbean region in that organization.

Argentina will end its two-year diplomatic labor as non-permanent member in that institution on December 31, as well as Denmark, Greece, Tanzania and Japan.

Belgium, Italy, South Africa and Indonesia expect their respective positions of their regions.

Another non-permanent seat in the Council to Latin America is Peru, which will continue its exercise until late 2007 along with the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Qatar and Slovakia.

According to some diplomatic analysts, Venezuela s hopes to reach the Security Council must pass the difficult test to beat the hard opposition from the US government.

"Our debate is not with Guatemala but with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is bent on impeding our entrance in the Security Council," Venezuela s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told press.

Diplomatic sources do not rule out that Venezuela and Colombia do not reach two thirds of votes to enter the Council as non-permanent members, a situation that in 1959 occurred with Cuba and Colombia, when both nations had 154 rounds of votes.