Wikileaks

Wikileaks: U.S. Wanted Venezuela's Equivalent Of "Larry The Cable Guy" To Challenge Hugo Chavez

Thomas Lane | September 15, 2011, 11:59PM

A classified cable from the most recent batch of "Wikileaks" suggests U.S. officials were enthusiastic about a quixotic bid by a Venezuelan comedian who challenged President Hugo Chavez.

The cable - which is admittedly quite tongue-in-cheek in tone - dates from 10 July, 2006, and deals with the preparatory stages of an eventually aborted presidential run by Venezuelan funnyman, Benjamin Rausseo.

Rausseo is better known to Venezuelans as "El Conde del Guacharo" (literally, "The Count of Oilbird") - a downmarket satirical character that's basically Venezuela's equivalent of "Larry the Cable Guy." The writer of the classified document describes Rausseo's humor as "crude and vulgar," and urges the reader: "think, 'Beverly Hillbillies' meets 'Cheech and Chong.'"

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Topics: Hugo Chavez, Wikileaks

Allen Stanford

Meeks Stays Mum On Ties To Stanford

Zachary Roth | December 30, 2009, 8:44AM

Faced with a credible news report that they agreed to a request from Allen Stanford to ask Hugo Chavez to file criminal charges against a Venezuelan banker, most politicians would likely want to respond. Either to deny the story, or at least to offer some generic and uncontroversial sentiment like "Congressman X believes Allen Stanford should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law." After all, that's not exactly the kind of story most pols want to leave just hanging out there.

Not Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), though. Over 60 hours after McClatchy reported that Meeks agreed to that request during a 2006 phone call with Stanford, the New York congressman remains mum. His office didn't respond to McClatchy, and his press secretary hasn't returned two voice-mails and email from TPMmuckraker.

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Topics: Allen Stanford, Charles Rangel, David Paterson, Gonzalo Tirado, Gregory Meeks, Hugo Chavez

Allen Stanford

Special Delivery: Dem Rep Reportedly Takes Stanford's Message To Chavez

Zachary Roth | December 29, 2009, 9:38AM

We've already told you about Rep. Pete Sessions's email to Allen Stanford in the wake of charges being filed against the banker for running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. "I love you and believe in you," wrote the GOP congressman to the alleged fraudster.

But Stanford may have had an even tighter bond with another member. After all, you have to be pretty close with someone to ask them to carry a message to Hugo Chavez on your behalf. Especially when that message is that you want the Venezuelan president to open a criminal investigation into an associate with whom you've fallen out. But according to McClatchy, that's what Stanford asked Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) to do. And, say the news outlet's sources, Meeks agreed.

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Topics: Allen Stanford, Gregory Meeks, Hugo Chavez