Venezuela stumbles in bid for UN seat:

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez on Monday appeared headed for a personal political defeat at the hands of US-backed Guatemala in his long-held goal to win a temporary seat at the United Nations Security Council.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7ffc2842-5d39-11db...00779e2340.html

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Admirer of Venezuela's Chavez is front-runner to lead Ecuador :

Having forced their last three elected presidents from office, Ecua-doreans are choosing a new one today, and the favorite is a leftist pledging to lead a "citizens' revolution" against a political establishment widely seen as corrupt and incompetent.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/151179

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Bolivia to nationalize mines following deadly clash by miners :

President Evo Morales on Sunday announced plans to nationalize Bolivia's mines as part of an overhaul of the South American country's mining regulations after a violent clash earlier this month between rival miners' groups that killed 16 people.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/16/...onalization.php

ORTEGA, AGAIN - EDITORIAL (NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 11): Washington's challenge will be to figure out how to help curb Mr. Ortega's authoritarian impulses without pushing him into Mr. Chavez's arms.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/11/opinion/...agewanted=print

ORTEGA'S SANDINISTA BAGGAGE - JONATHAN FINER (BOSTON GLOBE, NOVEMBER 12): In the run-up to the election US officials threatened to curb foreign aid and bar remittance payments from Nicaraguan immigrants to the United States if Ortega got elected. But such fear-mongering and rash decisions may be a greater risk than anything the new president might do.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...baggage?mode=PF

SANDINISMO'S SAD RETURN: DANIEL ORTEGA'S UNFORTUNATE COMEBACK IN NICARAGUA MAY RAISE EYEBROWS, BUT HE POSES LITTLE THREAT TO THE U.S. - EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 12)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-...pinion-leftrail

THE RETURN OF DANIEL ORTEGA - MARK ENGLER (NATION, NOVEMBER 7): The fantasy that a small, poor and geopolitically marginal Central American nation could be a major threat to US national security is a throwback to cold war-era propaganda films like Red Dawn.
http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20061120&s=ortega

THE RETURN OF DANIEL ORTEGA - EDITORIAL (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 11): In the real world, a leftist government in Managua is likely to be nothing more than a minor annoyance for the U.S.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...newsopinion-hed

ORTEGA'S SLIPPERY COMEBACK - EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, NOVEMBER 12): The United States should continue aid to Nicaragua as long as Ortega does not revert to his old authoritarian ways.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...omeback?mode=PF
.com/2006/11/11/world/americas/11nicaragua.html?pagewanted=print

ORTEGA REDUX: A HISTORY SMOLDERS ON COLD WAR EMBERS - JAMES C. MCKINLEY JR. (NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 11): "The worst thing that could happen is if Daniel Ortega extends his hand to Bush and Bush rejects it," said Sergio Ramarez, who was the vice president in the late 1980s under Mr. Ortega. "What will happen is that he's going to say, 'Fine, I will go with Chavez.'"
http://www.nytimes

ORTEGA WINS AFTER U.S. TAKES A PAGE FROM CHAVEZ - JACK FULLER (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 14): Now comes a report in the New York Times that the U.S. has sent millions of dollars to Venezuelan organizations that oppose their president. You can be sure that Chavez will make effective use of this in his already overwhelming campaign to be reelected on Dec. 3.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...ncommentary-hed