CUBA / VENEZUELA : 16 June UPDATE: Chavez's Slow Recovery In La Habana Stirs Critics And Health Fears; Blackouts Continue...With Blame Game; Rationing To Begin.

LINK CHANGE/ BLOOMBERG

President Hugo Chavez, 56, is still recuperating in La Habana...after an operation to remove a pelvic abscess.

He is running Venezuela's government from his hospital bed...after orders to rest for several more days. Chavez couldn't predict his return to Caracas...except that “it won’t be long.”

Now the long stay-over there... is giving his critics an opportunity to attack him...for flouting the constitution and preferring Cuban doctors to Venezuelans. "Venezuela has been humiliated because we are governed from Cuba, be it by Chavez or by (Fidel) Castro," an opposition legislator shouted in Venezuela's parliament.

NEW!!! LINK!!!
BLOOMBERG: Also... "since traveling to the communist island 9 June and undergoing unannounced surgery to remove a pelvic abscess, the normally hands-on leader has stayed out of the spotlight, making a single telephone call into state-run television. That’s raised questions about the true state of his health after other medical problems this year..."
AND:  “We are all worried because we don’t know who’s running the country,” said a  41-year-old messenger in  Caracas. “Chavez is very strong, he hasn’t had any serious illness since he took over, but they should clarify things and speak to the people.”

ALSO: On the continuing blackouts. By John Otis.

President Hugo Chavez controls the power sector...but downplays its role in the crisis.

"Officials first blamed a spike in demand amid rapid economic growth. Then came a 2010 drought that reduced water levels at the country’s hydroelectric dams. But lately the economy has slowed down and torrential rains have filled the dams. So now the government is pointing fingers at the opposition. In speeches, Chavez often claims that electrical plants are being sabotaged by his political foes to make his government look bad ahead of next year’s presidential election."
 http://www.theworld.org/2011/06/venezuela-energy-blackouts/

ALSO NEW!!! 
Electricity rationing will begin in several yet to be announced regions.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gm83-DlcTtaNXTLK9_huENP4ECyg?docId=cd896361d9c04f6fb734088e4f8f920c

COLOMBIA: Narco Subs Get Sophisticated.

TIME / J. Otis

   Colombian cocaine traffickers have now taken "a quantum leap in technology," with a new generation of narco submarines says DEA agent Jay Bergman. "It's the difference between building a motor-scooter and building a car."
   They are a hybrid of high and low technology...built deep inside the jungle...yet capable of cruising for two-weeks to Mexico and Central America.
   "Our orders were to keep moving," the trafficker, who asked not to be identified, told TIME. "There's always an armed person on board to keep watch over the crew and the cargo. If anyone starts to panic or mutiny, his orders are to eliminate the troublemaker."

PERU: Humala Gaining Traction As Run-off Battle Heats-up.

REUTERS / P.VELEZ

   Leftist Ollanta Humala recently gained about 5 points in polling to 15% and is rapidly closing in on two candidates for the runoff spot in the 10 April presidential sweepstakes.
    Legislator Keiko Fujimori and former Lima Mayor Luis Castaneda are virtually tied for second.
    It means that any of three candidates could be pitted against front-runner Alejandro Toledo... in a 5 June runoff election. Toledo leads all others by at least 7 percentage points.

ALSO: 4:16 AUDIO ONLY Report: Reliable Colombia watcher JOHN OTIS explores Keiko Fujimori's campaign in Peru's upcoming contest.
http://www.theworld.org/2011/03/keiko-fujimori-peru/

COLOMBIA: High Gold Price Breeds Illegal Mining By Rebels... And Paramilitary.

NYTIMES/ S.ROMERO
2 Screen Read Combined/

  With the price of gold rising to new highs, illegal mining has exploded in mineral rich Colombia...much of it supervised by FARC rebels and former paramiltary members, tearing up the forest, polluting the land and water.
  Some believe that northeast Colombia alone holds 30 million ounces of gold valued at $40 billion usd in today's market.
   As many as 30,000 illegal gold miners will use mercury to separate the gold from river sediments, resulting in 67 tons of the toxic substance unleashed into the environment. 
  So, the topic is popular.
  Here is a NYTIMES take...also a link to an excellent audio report with transcript by John Otis for PRI's The World.
 http://www.pri.org/science/environment/gold-the-environment-and-economics-in-colombia2758.html

COLOMBIA: Microinsurance For Poor Promoted As Solution.

G.POST/ John Otis /

   The concept of microinsurance--low-cost policies providing coverage for accidental death, medical problems, crop failures and other calamities--is growing in popularity in Colombia.
    Development experts say it could a tool in fighting poverty because impoverished families are the most exposed to risk but almost never have coverage.
    “They live on the margins. One small financial jolt can put them way back into deep poverty,” said an expert. “I would watch people build up their businesses, make better profits with microcredit but then as soon as there was a health crisis in the family, or a death in the family, all those gains would be lost.”

COLOMBIA: Pacification By Returning Land To Farmers.

PRI/ THEWORLD.ORG/ JOHN OTIS/ AUDIO With  TEXT/

     Perhaps the best English-language journalist exclusively covering Colombia, John Otis reports on Colombia's new strategy to pacify the countryside by returning stolen acreage to small farmers and providing land titles.
  Currently, about 40 percent of rural properties in lack legal titles. so important for collateral. Without titles, farmers can't get loans to buy seeds and fertilizer and improve their standard of living.

COLOMBIA: On Senator Cordoba 's Removal For FARC Collaboration.

TIME/ JOHN OTIS : On Sept. 27, Senator Piedad Cordoba "... was stripped of her seat in the senate and banned from holding public office for 18 years. Alejandro Ordoñez, the government's inspector general who issued the disciplinary ruling, alleged that Córdoba went far beyond her role as a neutral mediator. Citing intercepted phone calls, e-mail messages, and testimony from a rebel infiltrator, Ordoñez charged that Córdoba had been playing both sides — pushing for the release of hostages one moment, "promoting and collaborating" with the FARC the next."

COLOMBIA: Ex-President Uribe's Rocky Retirement.

G.POST/ JOHN OTIS:      "So far, retirement has been a little rocky for Uribe. He is considered a hero by many Colombians for improving security in this war-ravaged nation. But since he stepped down on Aug. 7, more light is being shed on the dark side of his eight years in office."
      “His legacy will still be positive due to the security gains,” said Michael Shifter, a Georgetown professor and president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank. “But his record was sullied by these scandals. These were Uribe’s people and he bears political responsibility for what happened.”

COLOMBIA: Under Uribe, Oil Production Has Surged.

GP/GLOBALPOST/ JOHN OTIS/    Today, Colombia is South America’s #4 oil producer behind Brasil (2.5 million barrels per day), Venezuela (2.4 million bpd) and Argentina (796,000 bpd), and represents nearly 40% of Colombia's export income. Most credit President Alvaro Uribe for the growth. Before Uribe was elected in 2002, rebels controlled vast rural tracts, abducting petroleum workers and extracting money (up to $40 million per year) from oil companies to operate. Uribe had troops vigorously hunt down rebels and allowed foreign companies to own 100% of oil ventures with reduced royalties and extended licenses. The state-run Ecopetrol was partially privatized and made to compete with foreign firms.