Juanson World

At least 20 former Latin American presidents face human rights charges or are currently in prison. Miami Herald

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s nationalization announcement last week have sent Venezuelan markets into a tailspin. Financial Times

Former AES chief executive Dennis Bakke recalls his meeting with Chavez in 2000 as being positive, although he admits that buying such a large stake of Venezuela’s energy utility was a huge mistake. Washington Post

Radio Caracas Television, a fiercely anti-Chavez channel in Venezuela, is not having its license renewed much to the criticism of those who consider the move censorship. Washington Post

Presidents of the Mercosur trading bloc meet today for its annual summit in Rio. Bolivia and Ecuador are lobbying for entry into the group. Some analysts contend that Mercosur may have shifted from an trade bloc to a political integration force. AP

Mexican authorities captured drug cartel chief Pedro Diaz Parada, representing the first major drug arrest for president Felipe Calderon’s administration. AP

Hernando Gomez, an alleged Colombian drug trafficker held in Cuba since 2004, has not been extradited despite no evidence that he smuggled drugs on the island. El Nuevo Herald

According to sources in a Madrid hospital, Fidel Castro turned down a colostomy, opting for a riskier procedure that exacerbated health complications. AP

Cubans have remained silent regarding Castro’s health. Miami Herald

Ecuador plans on making its initial external debt payment if there is enough left over after domestic social spending. AP

Colombian authorities have seized $54 million in cash in Cali belonging to Norte del Valle cartel. BBC

Marifeli Perez-Stable argues that representative democracy, not direct democracy as practiced by Hugo Chavez, Rafael Correa, and Daniel Ortega, is the better path for Latin America. Miami Herald