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New Pope Shifts Church’s Center of Gravity Away From Europe

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years, went to Rome's 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore; there he prayed before a famed icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which is known as the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.

Standards and Poor’s downgrades Grenada

NEW YORK, CMC – The US-based Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Grenada to 'SD' (selective default) from 'CCC+/C'. "The downgrade to 'SD' follows the government of Grenada's announcement that it will not pay the coupon due March 15, 2013, on its U.S. dollar and Eastern Caribbean dollar bonds due in 2025," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Joydeep Mukherji. The newly elected Grenada government recently announced that it does not expect to have the funds to pay the coupon during the relevant grace periods.

Venezuela: Panel Will Investigate Roots of Cancer That Killed Chávez

(New York Times) Venezuela will create a scientific panel to investigate the illness of Hugo Chávez, after an accusation by the interim president last week that the former president’s cancer was mysteriously caused by his enemies. “We have this intuition that our Commander Chávez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted to get rid of him to destroy the Bolivarian revolution and strike at Latin America and the Caribbean,” Nicolás Maduro, the interim president, said Monday night. Mr. Chávez, a charismatic leftist, died last week after 14 years in office.

CARICOM and Latin America after Chávez

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Much comment has been made, following the recent death of President Hugo Chávez, emphasizing forebodings about the fate of the PetroCaribe initiative and other forms of assistance, including the creation of the Alba; and the effects of any disappearance of these initiatives on the economic welfare of the Caricom countries, among other countries of the hemisphere.

U.S. Expels 2 Venezuela Envoys

CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States said Monday that it had expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in response to the ouster last week of two American military attachés by Venezuela.
“Around the world, when our people are thrown out unjustly, we’re going to take reciprocal action,” Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, said at a news conference. “And we need to do that to protect our own people.”

n Venezuela, some have mixed views on Hugo Chávez’s final resting site

CARACAS -- On a hilltop, high above the Venezuelan capital, rises a 113-year-old structure called Cuartel de la Montaña or Mountain Barracks.
On top of the old red and white building that resembles a castle stands a giant sign showing the number 4 next to the letter F.
The reference is to February 4, the date in 1992 when then Lt. Col. Hugo Chávez helped lead a failed military coup against then President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

Human Rights group says Chávez disregarded basic human rights

NEW YORK, CMC – Even as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was laid to rest on Friday a major human rights group in the United States claims that his presidency (1999-2013) was characterized by a “dramatic concentration of power and open disregard for basic human rights guarantees."

Chávez Heir Faces Challenge in Ties With Armed Forces

CARACAS, Venezuela — The multitudes in red shirts, clenched fists thrusting in the air — a dominant image of the political movement that President Hugo Chávez left behind — convey a sense of followers united and loyal to the father of their revolution and his designated heir, Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela candidate Henrique Capriles: Government exploiting Chávez death

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles on Sunday launched what many consider a doomed candidacy to replace Hugo Chavez with a no-holds-barred attack against a government he accused of coldly betraying Venezuelans' trust.
Chavez's political heirs have toyed with Venezuelans' hopes, lying to them about his deteriorating health by suggesting he could recover and even producing decrees he supposedly signed, said Capriles, whom Chavez defeated by a 12-point margin in October.

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