A couple of weeks ago, while I was on vacation, my cell phone rang; it was Jorge Bolanos, the head of the Cuban Interest Section (we of course don't have diplomatic relations with Cuba) in Washington. "I have a message for you from Fidel," he said. This made me sit up straight. "He has read your Atlantic article about Iran and Israel. He invites you to Havana on Sunday to discuss the article." I am always eager, of course, to interact with readers of The Atlantic, so I...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told a regional summit on Friday that there would be no Russian military bases on his country's territory. The 12 leaders of countries that make up the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) convened for an emergency summit in the Argentine resort city of Bariloche to discuss the scheduled deployment of U.S. troops at seven military bases in Colombia. "The U.S. blocks our imports of spare parts for military equipment. That's why we have asked Moscow...

Amnesty International has welcomed the release of a Mexican indigenous human rights activist who was imprisoned for over two years on a fabricated murder charge. Raúl Hernández was acquitted by a judge in Guerrero State on Friday 27 August and immediately released. “The release of Raúl Hernández is a very welcome step. The Mexican authorities must now investigate his unfounded prosecution and compensate him fully for his unfair imprisonment," said...

Honduras should conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into a recent wave of killings and threats against journalists, Human Rights Watch said today. Three journalists have been killed in March, and five others have been threatened. “It’s impossible to know the exact motive of these attacks without an adequate investigation,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “But the murders and threats are generating a climate...

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday met with Brazilian presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff, who promises to combat guerrillas and drug trafficking on the shared border if elected in October. According to the presidential front-runner, she and Santos "share the idea that border security is crucial. The participation of Brazil in this area must increase," to avoid Colombian organized crime spreading to the neighboring country, she told reporters. Rousseff said...

Former Rear Admiral Carlos Molina Tamayo, who used to be a National Security Adviser during Hugo Chávez's administration, witnessed some of the first attempts of the Venezuelan government to illegally supply weapons to members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), according to an interview published on Monday by The New Herald. Molina, in exile in Europe after taking part in the failed coup d'état in 2002, said that retired Navy Captain Ramón...

In South America there is no arms race, "but it is unexplainable that Venezuela has engaged in an accelerated process of arms purchase," said Frank O. Mora, US Under Secretary of Defense, after visiting Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. Mora paid an official visit to Paraguay and on Wednesday night, he met with Lugo, AP reported. "In the region, we think that there is no arms race," he said. He added, however, that "it is unexplainable that Venezuela has...

Iran Air 744 is a bimonthly flight that originates in Tehran and flies directly to Caracas with periodic stops in Beirut and Damascus. The maiden flight was Feb. 2, 2007. The mere existence of the flight was a significant concern for U.S. intelligence officials, but now a broader concern is who and what are aboard the flights. "If you [a member of the public] tried to book yourself a seat on this flight and it doesn't matter whether it's a week before, a month before, six months before...

An independent Cuban blogger has launched the island's first digital magazine, with a variety of contributions from well-known authors in and out of the country but free of "any type of -isms." "It's a vehicle for the rainbow of opinions in this critical moment that Cuba is going through," said Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, editor of Voces, or Voices. "We want a more rational Cuba, without any type of -isms," the 38-year-old Pardo said by phone from his home in...

An unprecedented show of support for Israel has come from a group of almost entirely non-Jewish European and American politicians, statesmen and women and theologians. Led by former Spanish prime minister José Maria Aznar, they have formed the Friends of Israel Initiative, to oppose the rising tide of criticism and delegitimisation that has questioned Israel's right to exist and act in self-defence. The FII launched its British branch in the House of Commons on Monday, hosted by the...