Does Venezuela have Political Prisoners?

Richard Blanco, a Caracas city administrator and an opposition party leader has been ordered to stay in prison by the Venezuelan court while waiting for his trail to begin. He is accused of hurting a police officer during a protest this August.

Relatives of Blanco and opposition leaders are saying that he is one of two-dozen political prisoners while Chavez denies that there are any political prisoners at all.

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Ahmadinejad-Chavez Relations Grow

Ahmadinejad visited Venezuela during his tour of South America aimed at strengthening ties with countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela.

Upon meeting president Evo Morales in Bolivia, Morales and Ahmadinejad spoke about the right of nations to have a peaceful nuclear program.

So far 270 agreements have been signed between Ahmadinejad and Chavez concerning agriculture, industry, energy and technology. However Adolfo Tayllardhat (the former deputy foreign minister) said that these accords are personal relations and the only connection between Venezuela and Iran is the fact that both of these countries are members of Opec.

Brazil’s Lula de Silva, who is seen as the “neutral” mediator of South America, said that Iran should not be isolated over its nuclear ambitions but Iran should be open to cooperation with the West.

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