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Breitbart MIAMI, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The number of Cubans arriving in the United States without visas has risen sharply in the past year, U.S. officials say.
There has been a surge in Cubans traveling to the United States from other countries -- including Spain, Ecuador, Mexico and Canada -- the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. Greater numbers are also traveling by boat to Florida.
Under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans intercepted at sea can be returned there, but those who make it to U.S. soil are free to stay. That means those who arrive by air or cross a land border are safe.
About 20,000 Cubans arrive every year on scheduled flights from Havana with visas. No one keeps an exact count of the others, but refugee groups estimate it is about 10,000 a year.
The Coast Guard detained 1,275 Cubans on boats intercepted before they reached Florida in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. That was the highest number since 2008.
"The influx of Cubans into the U.S. is increasing," said Ernesto Cuesta, who runs programs for Haitian and Cuban refugees for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Miami. The young people we are seeing are desperate. There is no hope in Cuba."
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AP CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Government intelligence agents have raided a business printing opposition political pamphlets ahead of next month's state elections in Venezuela.
Zulia state Gov. Pablo Perez says the raid by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service in the western city of Maracaibo is an attempt to intimidate opponents of President Hugo Chavez's government. He told reporters on Saturday that such actions are "abuses of power."
The intelligence agency's regional chief Carlos Calderon tells the Panorama newspaper that agents on Friday found pamphlets that aimed to "sabotage the candidacy" of Francisco Arias Cardenas, a Chavez ally running against Perez in the Dec. 16 elections.
Calderon didn't give details but said officials reported the propaganda to electoral authorities.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Thousands of people flooded the streets of Argentina's capital Thursday night in one of the country's biggest anti-government protests in more than a decade.
Angered by rising inflation, violent crime and high-profile corruption, and afraid President Cristina Fernandez will try to hold onto power indefinitely by ending constitutional term limits, the protesters marched on the iconic obelisk in Buenos Aires chanting: "We're not afraid."
Demonstrators reached the presidential residence in scorching summer heat banging on pots, whistling and holding banners that read: "Respect, transparency, freedom."
The demonstrations were also held in plazas nationwide and in Argentine embassies and consulates around the world.
The protests hold deep symbolism for Argentines, who recall all too well the country's economic debacle of a decade ago. The "throw them all out" chants of that era's pot-banging marches forced presidents from office and left Argentina practically ungovernable until Fernandez's late husband, Nestor Kirchner, assumed the presidency in 2003.
The current president's supporters sought to ignore two of the protests this year, but with the latest effort promising to turn out huge numbers, her loyalists have come out in force. They dismiss the protesters as part of a wealthy elite, or beholden to discredited opposition parties, and misled by news coverage from media companies representing the country's most powerful economic interests.
"The people don't feel represented by anyone. It's a complaint everyone has. The people are begging for the opposition to rise up, and for the government to listen," said Mariana Torres, an accountant and mother of three who is among the leading organizers of the protests.
Fernandez has suggested that too much of Argentina's political rhetoric masks darker motivations that few want to openly express.
"No more lying," she said during a speech Wednesday. "It's all that I ask of all the Argentines, that we speak the truth."
Polls suggest neither side has a firm grip on people's sympathies.
Fernandez was re-elected by a landslide of 54 percent over a divided opposition just a year ago but saw her approval rating fall to 31 percent in a nationwide survey in September by the firm Management & Fit. The survey of 2,259 people, which had an error margin of about 2 percentage points, also said 65 percent of respondents disapproved of her opponents' performance.
Crime is the biggest concern for many marchers.
Argentine newspapers and television programs provide a daily diet of stories about increasingly bold home invasion robberies, in which armed bands tie up families until victims hand over the cash that many Argentines keep in their homes. Many people stopped putting money in banks after the government froze savings accounts and devalued the currency in 2002. Adding to frustrations, the vast majority of the crimes are never solved, while the death toll is rising.
Inflation also upsets many, as the government's much-criticized index puts inflation at about 10 percent annually, or as little as a third of the estimates of private economists. As a result, real estate transactions have slowed to a standstill, given the difficulty of estimating the future value of contracts. And unions that won 25 percent pay hikes only a few months ago are threatening to strike again unless the government comes up with more.
Many Argentines are worried mostly about their pocketbooks, angry that government decrees designed to maintain the central bank's dollar reserves and combat tax evasion have made it all but impossible to legally trade their inflationary pesos for safer currencies.
"If you go to the march you won't find only middle-class people," Torres said ahead of the demonstration. "You'll see everything from a professional to a low-wage worker to retirees on minimal pensions."
Sen. Anibal Fernandez, who was the president's Cabinet chief and now leads the governing party's legislators, has called the idea of general discontent "an invention of one faction of the ultra-right." He accused organizers of being funded by wealthy landowners and supporters of the 1976-1983 dictatorship.
Pro-government voices say what's really at stake is the model of social inclusion that the Kirchners pursued, such as providing cash payments to the poor and unemployed, and directing billions of dollars from the nationalized pension fund to social welfare projects.
The model puts Argentina's development needs ahead of international commitments, and has made sure that the country's state-controlled oil company and airline respond first to the needs of its citizens, government supporters say.
President Fernandez has called for an honest debate about her policies rather than protests.
"The only thing I ask of each one of the Argentines, and mostly of political class, is that each one says what they really think and want for this country, with sincerity, and that no one will be offended," she said.
But the president also issued a warning to those gathering Thursday night: "Don't anyone think that I'm going to go against my own politics, those that I've defended since I was 15 years old. These are the politics I believe in and this is the country I believe in."
Argentina's opposition parties remain weak and balkanized and face a credibility crisis, having lost control of Congress and nearly every other institution capable of restraining the government. Instead, much of the opposition has coalesced around social media sites created by Torres and attorney Marcelo Moran, who insist they aren't affiliated with any political organization. The eight sites and accounts they manage claim more than 200,000 followers.
Torres dismissed most opposition politicians as having lost touch with Argentines, and said she expected some of them to try to piggyback on the marches.
The march was organized on social networks and was also countered by supporters of the government on the web.
Writer Ivy Cangaro and business consultant Juan Carlos Romero launched a counter-campaign, "8-N I won't go," which has more than 27,000 followers. They, too, say they don't belong to any particular political platform, but support Fernandez.
Cangaro said the march was misguided. "The premises are false and have been imposed by the media through fear. The people assume it's real and so feel the need to go out and protest against it, but it has nothing to do with what's real and tangible."
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Reuters CARACAS (Reuters) - Demoralized by their failure to unseat President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's opposition hopes to bounce back in December state elections that provide a chance to curb the socialist president's power.
The opposition holds seven of Venezuela's 23 states and is fighting to at least keep those by appealing to voters' worries over uncontrolled crime, cronyism and sputtering services.
But the government is counting on momentum from the October 7 presidential election victory - where Chavez's charisma and anti-poverty programs outweighed weariness with those day-to-day problems - to make gains at a regional level.
Chavez carried all but two of the states in his re-election triumph and is now sending out some political heavy hitters inside his party to try and wrest control of some opposition-held governorships.
"No one is giving up," said Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, mastermind of the opposition Democratic Unity coalition that this year managed to unite Venezuela's diverse opposition parties for the first time during Chavez's 14-year presidency.
"The reasons for this struggle remain exactly the same," added Aveledo, urging supporters to ensure a good turnout despite disappointment at opposition candidate Henrique Capriles' 11-point loss to Chavez in the election.
Chavez's new six-year term starts in January and will extend his rule to two decades, though there is speculation the cancer that floored him for a year from mid-2011 may recur.
Opposition leaders generally stay quiet on Chavez's health but view the December 16 state elections as a chance to at least limit his influence.
Despite being squeezed of funding by the central government, most of the seven opposition governors have won plaudits for relatively efficient administrations. Capriles governs Miranda state and used his successes there in health, education and food programs as a springboard for his presidential bid.
Now he is locked in the headline battle on December 16, when he will seek re-election in Miranda and faces Chavez's high-profile former vice-president, Elias Jaua.
Promising to deepen socialist reforms and improve efficiency in his new term, the 58-year-old Chavez handpicked Jaua and is providing ample campaign resources to try and sink his presidential rival's political future.
"He's not going to have the Miranda governorship as a consolation prize," declared Jaua, 42, a former stone-throwing student radical who is one of Chavez's most trusted allies.
Capriles, 40, insists he is back in fighting shape and is reminding voters that, even though he fell short, the opposition had its best showing against Chavez, with a record vote of 6.5 million or 44 percent of the total.
"Who didn't have a cry on that Sunday? I was very down," he said. "But now I'm back on my feet, and will do all in my power to ensure we win a majority of governorships."
CHAVEZ FACTOR DOMINATES AGAIN
A good showing for the opposition would improve its power base, enable a new generation of leaders to have crucial experience in office, and potentially give them leverage in braking Chavez's policies at local implementation level.
A poor performance might reopen some of the internal dissent and splits that have plagued them in the past.
Bolstered by his re-election and his successful cancer treatments, Chavez is likely to hit the campaign trail to help Jaua and other government candidates for the governorships.
With the opposition traditionally doing better in local rather than presidential polls - which are a vote on the still-popular Chavez - the president's personal presence in the campaign is vital for his candidates.
Chavez acknowledged cancer radiotherapy treatment earlier in the year had left him weakened for the presidential bid. Health issues may again limit his role in the regional campaigns.
"I was boxing with my left hand tied up, and one leg tied up," he said last weekend. "This might sound arrogant, but if I'd been in top condition, I'd have won by 20 points."
Opponents hope that now that Chavez's place in the presidential palace is secure again, the December elections may turn into a protest vote against Socialist Party governors from an electorate unhappy over many grassroots issues.
A lower turnout than the record 81 percent of voters in the presidential election may also hurt Chavez's allies.
"You cannot compare the two votes," said pollster Luis Vicente Leon, who accurately predicted the presidential race.
"Chavez is not the candidate in these elections, the strength of his regional candidates is not equivalent to him and in these elections you get 10-15 percent fewer voters, two million people, which could radically change the game."
Another high-profile opposition leader, Pablo Perez, who was runner-up to Capriles in the opposition's February presidential primary, will be fighting to keep his post as governor in the oil-rich western state of Zulia.
Henri Falcon, 51, a former military ally of Chavez who broke with him in 2010, is seeking re-election in Lara state.
Chavez has reshuffled his Cabinet to send some of his most trusted allies into the regions to battle for him.
As well as Jaua, the outgoing ministers of interior Tareck El Aissami, indigenous issues Nicia Maldonado, and the presidency office Erika Farias are all contesting governorships.
Chavez's brother Adan will seek re-election in the family's home state of Barinas, in Venezuela's agricultural heartland.
Re-Grasping the BlutfahneCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez put to rest any doubts about his masterful political touch in winning a third consecutive six-year term after a bitterly fought race against a youthful rival who has galvanized Venezuela's opposition.
The state governor who lost Sunday's presidential vote, Henrique Capriles, had accused the flamboyant incumbent of unfairly using Venezuela's oil wealth to finance his campaign as well as flaunting his near-total control of state institutions.
Still, he accepted defeat as Chavez swept to a 10-point victory margin, the smallest yet for him a presidential race. This time, the former army paratroop commander won 55 percent of the vote against 45 percent for Capriles with more than 90 percent of the vote counted.
Chavez will now have a freer hand to push for an even bigger state role in the economy, as he pledged during the campaign, and to continue populist programs. He's also likely to further limit dissent and deepen friendships with U.S. rivals.
Chavez spent heavily in the months before the vote, building public housing and bankrolling expanded social programs.
"I think he just cranked up the patronage machine and unleashed a spending orgy," said Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think tank.
But Shifter also noted the affinity and gratefulness Venezuela's poor feel for Chavez. "Despite his illness, I still think he retains a strong emotional connection with a lot of Venezuelans that I think were not prepared to vote against him."
"They still think that he's trying hard even if he's not delivering what he promised, that he still has their best interests at heart," Shifter said. "That's the political skill that he has. He hasn't lost that touch."
Chavez spoke little during the campaign about his fight with cancer, which since June 2011 has included surgery to remove tumors from his pelvic region as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He has said his most recent tests showed no sign of illness.
Tensions were high Sunday night as announcement of the results were delayed.
Finally, fireworks exploded over downtown Caracas amid a cacophony of horn-honking by elated Chavez supporters waving flags and jumping for joy outside the presidential palace.
"I can't describe the relief and happiness I feel right now," said Edgar Gonzalez, a 38-year-old construction worker.
He ran through crowds of Chavez supporters packing the streets around the presidential palace wearing a Venezuelan flag as a cape and yelling: "Oh, no! Chavez won't go!"
"It's time now to sweep away the squalid ones," said another elated supporter, Ignacio Gonzalez, using a description of the opposition Chavez employed during campaigning.
"It's time to get them out of governor's and mayor's offices. The next battle is in December," when state and municipal elections will be held, added the 25-year-old student, who wore a red shirt that wedded the images of Chavez, Jesus Christ and South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
Capriles posed the strongest challenge yet to Chavez, who won by a 27-point margin in 2006 and by 16 points when he was first elected in 1998.
"I will continue working to build one country," said the wiry, 40-year-old grandson of Holocaust survivors who unified and energized the opposition while barnstorming across the country.
He said in his concession speech that he rejects the idea of two Venezuelas divided by ideology and class.
Capriles had vowed to address violent crime that has spun out of control, streamline a patronage-bloated bureaucracy and end rampant corruption, but his promises proved inadequate against Chavez's charisma, well-oiled political machine and legacy of putting Venezuela's poor first with generous social welfare programs.
Yet with a turnout of 81 percent, Chavez only got 551,902 more votes this time around than he did six years ago, while the opposition boosted its tally by 2.09 million. Chavez appeared to acknowledge the opposition's growing clout.
"I extend from here my recognition of all who voted against us, recognition of their democratic weight," he told thousands of cheering supporters from the balcony of the Miraflores presidential palace.
A Capriles victory would have brought a radical foreign policy shift including a halt to preferential oil deals with allies such as Cuba, along with a loosening of state economic controls and an increase in private investment.
Washington, which has often feuded with Chavez, declined to congratulate the president directly, but acknowledged the result.
"We congratulate the Venezuelan people for the high turnout and generally peaceful manner in which this election was carried out," said State Department spokesman William Ostick.
"We believe that the views of the more than 6 million people who voted for the opposition should be taken into account going forward," he added.
President Raul Castro of Cuba, which could have been badly hurt by a Chavez loss, was among Latin American leaders sending warm congratulations to the former paratrooper on his victory after nearly 14 years in office.
Chavez paid close attention to his military-like get-out-the-vote organization at the grass roots, stressing its importance at campaign rallies. The opposition said he unfairly plowed millions in state funds into the effort.
One pro-Chavez voter, private bodyguard Carlos Julio Silva, said that whatever his faults, Chavez deserved to win for spreading the nation's oil wealth to the poor with free medical care, public housing and other government programs. The country has the world's largest proven oil reserves.
"There is corruption, there's plenty of bureaucracy, but the people have never had a leader who cared about this country," Silva said after voting for Chavez in the Caracas slum of Petare. His daughter received an apartment from the state while the free medical care he gets included a recent operation to remove tissue that was clouding his vision.
First-time voter Brenda Aguirre, who is about to embark on cost-free legal studies at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela, was also willing to forgive "el comandante" for his shortcomings.
"Chavez isn't to blame for the people who surround him," she said.
Across town, where people from Aguirre's neighborhood wait tables and sweep floors, Capriles told supporters not to feel defeated.
"We have planted many seeds across Venezuela and I know that these seeds are going to produce many trees," he told them at his campaign headquarters.
At many polling places, voters began lining up hours before polls opened at dawn, some snaking for blocks in the baking Caribbean sun. Some shaded themselves with umbrellas. Vendors grilled meat and some people drank beer.
Chavez's critics accused the president of inflaming divisions by labeling his opponents "fascists," "Yankees" and "neo-Nazis," and it's likely hard for many of his opponents to stomach another six years of the loquacious and conflictive leader.
Some said before the vote that they'd consider leaving the country if Chavez won.
Gino Caso, an auto mechanic, said Chavez is power-hungry and out of touch with problems such as crime. He said his son had been robbed, as had neighboring shops.
"I don't know what planet he lives on," Caso said, gesturing with hands blackened with grease. "He wants to be like Fidel Castro - end up with everything, take control of the country."
