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In the assassination of the chavista Deputy Robert Serra former Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe Implicated

President Nicolás Maduro stated that former Colombian city councilor, Julio Vélez, was among the masterminds behind the assassination of the chavista Deputy Robert Serra (pictured) and his assistant María Herrera.

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Photo: www.telesurtv.net Photo: TELESUR
CARACAS.-The capture of Julio Vélez, former city councilor of Cúcuta (Colombia) on June 3, marked an important step forwards for the Venezuelan government in its investigation into paramilitaries operating in the country and their plans for internal destabilization.
Vélez was arrested on charges of having paid the group led by Leiver Padilla that assassinated the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Deputy Robert Serra and his assistant María Herrera on October 1, 2014.
According to the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, all of those detained in relation to the case up until now have pointed to the former councilor as one of the masterminds behind the crime.
Beyond the homicide, Vélez could be key to the Venezuelan authorities in their accusations against former Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe, whom they consider one of the chief promoters of the violence undertaken by paramilitaries against Venezuela.
According to Maduro and other senior officials, Vélez previously acted as Uribe’s right-hand man on the border with Venezuela, an area plagued by contraband and illegal immigration.
This situation can not be separated from the phenomenon of the infiltration of paid criminals in Venezuela, whose objective is to attack the government through targeted killings of political leaders and internal destabilization, according to authorities.
The investigators in Caracas believe the captured former councilor could provide evidence regarding the direct links between Uribe and groups paid to wreak havoc across the country.
Speaking of some of the links between the Colombian detainee and Uribe, Maduro noted that the ex president’s lawyer, Jaime Granados, personally assumed the defense of Vélez in 2010, when he was accused of killing his wife.

The moment Julio Vélez, former city councilor for Cúcuta, Colombia, was detained in Venezuela.

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Foto: www.telesurtv.net Photo: TELESUR
Granados is recognized as a lawyer for those linked to Uribe, the Venezuelan President added.
Meanwhile, at the time of his capture, Vélez owned the Meka Cambio company, used for money laundering and currency speculation of the bolívar (Venezuelan money), in order to weaken it, according to press reports.
These activities are among those identified by Venezuela as part of the economic war it is undergoing, generating increasing discontent among the population.
The investigations relating to Vélez are now aimed at establishing who acted as he accomplices in the country, Maduro explained.
With this determination, the President demonstrated his commitment to the promise made to his compatriots of ensuring those guilty of promoting acts of violence in the streets are dealt with at the highest levels.
Another of Maduro’s pledges in relation to this case is to bring all those involved in the assassination of Serra, the youngest deputy in the history of the National Assembly, to justice.

CELAC, European Union

CELAC-European Union Summit rejects blockade of Cuba and its extraterritorial impact

CELAC-EU Summit rejects blockade of Cuba and its extraterritorial impact
The final declaration of the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU), which concluded June 11 in Brussels, rejected the U.S. blockade against Cuba and its extraterritorial impact.

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Author: Granma International news | informacion@granma.cu
june 12, 2015 16:06:42

The final declaration of the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU), which concluded June 11 in Brussels, rejected the U.S. blockade against Cuba and its extraterritorial impact.
The 2nd CELAC-EU Summit was held over two days in the Justus Lipsius building, headquarters of the European Council, and saw the participation of more than 40 heads of state and government and high level delegations from 61 countries throughout the two regions.

The document highlighted that laws contained within the Helms-Burton Act cause human damages to the Cuban people and negatively impact the development of economic relations between the island, the EU and other countries.
The unilateral coercive measures are a violation of international law, the text added.

The document also acknowledged CELAC’s Special Declaration opposing unilateral measures against Venezuela, adopted January 29, and its statement expressing solidarity with the country, approved on March 26.

Likewise, the final declaration of the Summit praised the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and the decision to resolve differences through peaceful means.

Furthermore, it welcomed the announcement made on December 17, 2014, by the Presidents of Cuba and the United States, Raúl Castro and Barack Obama, to advance toward re-establishing bilateral relations. The document noted, “In this context we expect all necessary steps to be taken towards an early end to the embargo [blockade].”

Meanwhile, both the Political Declaration and the Brussels Declaration approved by the delegations representing 61 countries: 33 from CELAC and 28 from the EU, proposed to strengthen relations based on historic bi-regional ties.

According to Prensa Latina, Ecuadoran President and CELAC President pro tempore, Rafael Correa, described the meeting as fruitful and one which served to bring the two blocs closer together, during which issues of bi-regional and global interest were addressed.

The problem of climate change was discussed in depth and we agreed that in the Paris meeting in December we must arrive at agreements related to taking care of our planet, he said.

Correa added that the issue of immigration to Europe, given the lack of opportunities for migrants in their countries of origin, was also broached, a question which requires global solutions.

Another issue on the table was the need for a new kind of cooperation between Latin America, the Caribbean and the EU.

In this sense, Correa stated that the region no longer requires support to construct schools, healthcare centers or rural roads, but to develop human talent, science and technology

The Cuban Five

Cuban Hero Thanks Brazilians for his Freedom

Cuban Hero Thanks Brazilians for his Freedom

Submitted by editor on Tue, 06/09/2015 – 00:00

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BRAZIL, June 9th, 2015. Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, one of the five Cuban antiterrorists who suffered imprisonment in the United States, thanked here today the solidarity of Brazilian activists who fought for his freedom and that of his other four fellow countrymen.
If it were not for all of you who struggled in an intense campaign for the excarceration of The Five and called the attention of parliaments, presidents and even the United States society, we would still be in prison, affirmed Hernandez the eve in an act with members of political groups and friends of Cuba.
After welcoming the presence of ambassadors of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Countries of Our America (ALBA), he said that several presidents, among them that of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, who defended his excarceration and that of Antonio Guerrero, Fernando Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino and Rene Gonzalez.
He remembered the resistance of all of them, during 16 years of detainment, in favor of their liberation from prison was inspired in the Cubans´ integrity and the battle of solidarity movements in many countries. even in the United States, undertaken in favor of their excarceration.
We today live an indescribable happiness and great emotions due to the hospitality received from the people of Venezuela and Brazil, he affirmed when pointing that some of his companions had visited other nations, where they were equally warmly received.
When referring to the concluded 22nd Brazilian Convention of Solidarity with Cuba, held in Recife, he said he had felt great emotion when he embraced those who for years participated in actions demanding the freedom of the Five.
We know we can count on you to continue this struggle for the end of the economic, financial, commercial blockade of the United States on Cuba and for the closing and return of the occupied territory of Guantanamo, he added.
The Hero of the Republic of Cuba also stressed that new times are coming for his country, according to the process of negotiations with the government of the United States to reestablish diplomatic relations.
This, however, is not a setback, as Cuba is firm in its principles, in defense of its sovereignty.
The occasion was appropriate to salute representatives of Cuban doctors from all states of Brazil in this venue called “Reunion with Cuba” on occasion of the 56 years of Brazilian solidarity with the Revolution. Present at the meeting were leaders of trade unions, political parties, deputies, social and student movements who spoke to extol the Five, as well as Cuban ambassador, Marielena Ruiz Capote and members of the diplomatic mission. (Cubaminrex-Embacuba Brazil)

terrorist attack

U.S. State Department identifies Posada Carriles as planner of 1976 terrorist attack

U.S. State Department identifies Posada Carriles as planner of 1976 terrorist attack
A declassified 1976 State Department document, released June 3, identifies Luis Posada Ca­rriles as the most likely author of a terrorist attack on a Cuban airliner, which took the lives of all 76 passengers. The note, sent by two high level CIA officials to Henry Kis­singer, illustrates the States Department’s concern regarding ties between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and extremist Cuban émigré groups in South Florida

Author: Prensa Latina | internet@granma.cu
june 5, 2015 16:06:09

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The self-confessed terrorist Luis Posada Carriles . Photo: Archivo del Internet

WASHINGTON.— A declassified 1976 State Department document identifies Luis Posada Ca­rriles as the most likely author of a terrorist attack on a Cuban airliner that year which took the lives of all 76 passengers aboard.
The memorandum, released June 3, illustrates the department’s concern regarding ties between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and extremist Cuban émigré groups in South Florida.
The note was sent by two high level CIA officials to then Secretary of State Henry Kis­singer, in reference to Fidel Castro’s accusations of U.S. involvement in the downing of the Cuban aircraft, as it departed Barbados on October 6, 1976.
According to the memorandum, the CIA had ties to three of the persons implicated in the attack, “but any role that these people may have had with the demolition took place without the knowledge of the CIA.”
The document details the CIA’s links with “individuals allegedly involved” in sabotaging the plane – and specifically cites Hernán Ricardo Lozano, Freddy Lugo, Luis Posada Carriles, Orlando Bosch, Frank Castro, Orlando Garcia, Ricardo Morales Navarrete and Felix Martínez Suárez – while specifying that the CIA had only made contact in the past with Posada, Bosch and Martínez Suárez. Martínez Suárez was not involved in the bombing, according to the report.
The document is signed by Harold H. Saunders, director of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and Harry W. Shlaudeman, assistant secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.
A heavily censured version of the memorandum was already on file at the National Security Archives, and was declassified by the State Department’s historian, with a volume of other documents concerning Central America and Mexico, from the period 1973 through 1976.
Cuba has, on multiple occasions, denounced U.S. involvement in the downing of Cubana flight 455, identifying as CIA agents the two Venezuelans, Hernán Ricardo and Freddy Lugo, who placed the bombs inside the aircraft, on the orders of Luis Po­sada Carriles and Orlando Bosch.
Posada was trained by the U.S. Army at Ft. Benning in the 1960s, to undertake military action against Cuba, as part of the CIA’s Operation Mongoose.
He continues to live in Miami, and has admitted his role in the 1976 terrorist attack and been identified as the organizer of a 1997 series of hotel bombings in Havana. (PL)