Chavez addresses nation after surgery

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez kisses a Venezuelan flag at Miraflores Presidential Palace in the capital Caracas on July 4, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/187592.html

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has addressed the nation after returning home from Cuba where he underwent a surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.

The 56-year-old Venezuelan chief executive gave a speech from the balcony of Miraflores Palace in the capital Caracas on Monday, Reuters reported.

Chavez waved a Venezuelan flag and expressed gratitude to his supporters, who packed the capital's main square to give him a hero's welcome.

"Long live Venezuela... Long live the Venezuelan people! Long live the union of Latin America, long live Fidel, long live Cuba, long live life!" Chavez said during his speech.

The popular Venezuelan president flew back to Caracas before dawn on Monday, a day before the South American country celebrates the 200th anniversary of its independence.

"This is time for life, this is the time of the bicentenary motherland, this is the time for the final independence of our country," he went on to say.

Earlier on Sunday, thousands of Venezuelans staged a huge rally in Caracas to show support for Chavez, where they waved flags, beat drums and chanted “Long live Chavez!”

The Venezuelan chief executive, who has been in office for more than a decade, plans to run for re-election in 2012 and serve at least one more six-year term. He has focused on implementing wide-ranging reforms in the country during his presidential tenure.

Venezuela cuts ties with US over Iran

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/183454.html

Venezuela has severed its relations with the US after Washington imposed sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil company for supplying gasoline to Iran.

According to examiner.com, Venezuela officially “froze” relations with the United States on Sunday, a top diplomat from President Hugo Chavez's government said.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro also hinted that re-establishing relations with the US would be "impossible."

On May 24, the US imposed sanctions against Venezuela's giant oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) for providing Iran with gasoline and other refined oil products.

Under the sanctions, PDVSA is denied US government contracts and banned from Washington's export financing.

Maduro had earlier described the sanctions as “illegal, abusive measures taken by this weak government of the United States.”

Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who is also the head of PDVSA, said on May 25 that Venezuela would continue to maintain relations with Iran and any other country it wants.

"This is a right we are not going to renounce," Ramirez said.

Approximately 26 percent of Venezuela's imports are from the United States. Venezuela is one of the United States' main suppliers of petroleum, selling it about 1 million barrels of oil per day.

The UN Security Council adopted a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran in 2010 under intense pressure from the US, which claims Iran's nuclear program may have potential military aspects. Iran has repeatedly refuted the allegations.

Shortly after the UN sanctions, the US imposed fresh unilateral sanctions against Iran's financial and energy sectors, encouraging other countries to abandon investment in the Iranian market.

Under the imposed measures, US firms are banned from carrying out trade exchanges, importing from and exporting goods to Iran and making ventures in the country.

Foreign banks and corporations doing business with Iran could be denied access to the US Export-Import Bank, their ability to sell in the US market would be restricted, and would be denied US government contracts.

Iran says that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has a right to use the peaceful applications of nuclear energy for electricity generation and medical research.