Martin Arostegui

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Venezuelan nationalization continuing

Chavez's moves threaten to curtail foreign investment

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has launched a new round of nationalizations as his nation faces skyrocketing debt in its state-owned oil industry - a potential threat to social programs and regional aid projects, government officials say.

Assassination plot strikes a raw nerve

Suspects are cast as European recruits

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Mercenaries accused of plotting to assassinate President Evo Morales were recruited through extreme right-wing groups in Eastern Europe financed by wealthy opponents of Mr. Morales, Bolivian government officials say.

U.S. companies mull doing business in Latin America

Monday, April 6, 2009

Some Latin American countries ruled by leftist governments are giving U.S. companies in the region a tough choice: They must either change their ways of doing business or pull out altogether.

Venezuela cited for drugs

U.S. accuses 3 top officials of corruption

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The U.S. State Department has accused senior Venezuelan officials, including a close aide to President Hugo Chavez, of assisting narcotics trafficking from Colombia in an annual report that describes Venezuela as a "major drug-transit country."

Mineral wealth, political weapon

Morales wields control of nation's lithium, uranium as cudgel

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009

International competition for Bolivia´s strategic minerals could take on new dimensions, as car companies scramble for lithium to build battery-powered cars and Iran seeks sources of uranium for its nuclear program.

Vote reflects racial divide

Morales-backed constitution passes, in preliminary count

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009

The Bolivian vote to approve a new constitution backed by leftist President Evo Morales reflected racial divisions between the nation's Indian majority and those with European ancestry.

Church challenges power grab in Bolivia

Contends leftist president's reach is 'excessive'

Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009

The Catholic Church is taking on a growing political role in opposing Bolivian President Evo Morales, whom it accuses of seeking an "excessive concentration of power" in his bid to remake the country as a socialist state.

Colombia, Spain probe rebel groups' ties

Reports say they plotted bombings, assassinations

Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008

Spain's government is investigating links between the Basque separatist group ETA and Colombian FARC rebels, following reports by Colombian officials that the groups have trained together and jointly planned assassinations and bombings.

Tension in Bolivia may boost illegal drug sales

American drug-enforcement agency, others expelled

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008

President Evo Morales is leveling a barrage of accusations against the United States and expelling U.S. officials in the waning days of the Bush administration, steps that opponents fear foreshadow a big increase in drug trafficking.