Ramiro came, and out went Ravell, RCTVi...

Gossip is ripe as to the reasons why Alberto Federico Ravell, co-owner of about the only open air channel critical of despot Hugo Chavez left in Venezuela, decided to resign to his post as chief exec of Globovision. His partner, Guillermo Zuloaga, came on TV with an Alistair Campbell crock-of-shit type of performance, (fwd to min. 3), and said, with a straight face, that the decision of the Chavez regime of lifting the Damocles sword that was hanging over his head had nothing to do with Ravell's departure. CONATEL, that would be Venezuela's telecom watchdog run by über corrupt thug Diosdado Cabello, ruled again against RCTVi. Even The Economist is using straight forward language to define what's really happening in Venezuela, now described as "Venecuba":

IN A small fishing village on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela stands a plinth. Unveiled by government officials in 2006, it pays homage to the Cuban guerrillas sent by Fidel Castro in the 1960s to help subvert Venezuela’s then recently restored democracy. Almost entirely bereft of popular support, the guerrilla campaign flopped. But four decades later, and after a decade of rule by Hugo Chávez, Cuba’s communist regime seems finally to have achieved its goal of invading oil-rich Venezuela—this time without firing a shot.

One thing is certain: Ramiro Valdes' visit had little to do with solving electricity problems, and all to do with creating a permanent blackout for freedom of the press and expression in Venezuela. That is about the only area in which the Cuban dictatorship can offer advice to so called democratic nations.