Venezuelan

I was pleased to read Andrew Reding's article on Venezuela ("U.S. Should Form a Marshall Plan for Latin America," Commentary, Aug. 19), which gives a fairer treatment of Venezuela's political situation. Much of the U.S. media ignore the reality and history of Venezuela while painting President Hugo Chavez as a power-hungry leftist nut intent on waging class warfare, destroying the Venezuelan oil economy and cozying up to Fidel Castro. Just take a look at Michael Ramirez's cartoon next to Reding's article, which shows Chavez standing next to Castro.

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. -- It's not a good spring when you've had half as many closed-door meetings with the manager and general manager (two) as hits (four) in 12 games. Those were Bobby Abreu's sad statistics Saturday after the veteran outfielder was summoned by Manager Mike Scioscia and General Manager Jerry Dipoto to explain comments criticizing the team to a Spanish-language publication. Abreu, 38, was quoted by the Venezuelan paper Lider en Deportes as saying he didn't put a lot of stock in Scioscia's prediction that he would get 400 plate appearances this season.

In the classical music world today, no two words inspire more evangelical fervor than "El Sistema," unless perhaps they're "Gustavo Dudamel." El Sistema, a.k.a. the System, is, of course, the ballyhooed 35-year-old Venezuelan national music training and youth orchestra program that has taught hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan children to play and appreciate classical music. That includes its star protégé, Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's 29-year-old music director. It's a tough act to follow.

  The thicket of television cameras outside Department 15 of San Francisco County Superior Court was a sign of the real-life soap opera unfolding inside - a case marked by conspiracy theories, political bad blood, deportation fears and child custody questions. The alleged crime has been recounted on video by a tearful Venezuelan telenovela star. Her husband, an ambitious politician, is facing domestic violence charges. And there are the lawyers, lots and lots of them.

Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos denied a Venezuelan claim that Colombian troops had crossed into the neighboring country. But Venezuelan Information Minister Andres Izarra told Venezuelan state television that officials had photographs showing the incursion by 60 Colombian soldiers in Apure state.

Italy's Maurizio Stecca retained his World Boxing Organization featherweight crown, stopping Venezuelan challenger Angel Levi Mayor in the ninth round at Milan.

Venezuela said at least 10 members of a Colombian amateur soccer team had been found dead after being kidnapped there. Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez told reporters the bullet-riddled bodies were found in various parts of the western state of Tachira, on the border with Colombia. One man survived, while another was still missing, Venezuelan authorities said. The players, said to be tradesmen, were in Venezuela for a game and were kidnapped Oct. 11. Abductions are rife on both sides of the frontier, where Colombian guerrilla groups, paramilitaries and criminal gangs all operate.

Exxon is to be congratulated for standing up for its property rights against Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. ("Exxon scores win against Venezuelan oil company," Feb. 8.) Exxon's legal victory in U.S., British and Dutch courts, which froze $12 billion in assets of Venezuela's state-run oil company, should serve as a warning to any government around the world that might consider nationalizing the property and looting the wealth of multinational companies. David Holcberg Ayn Rand Institute Irvine

While the Northridge baseball team is to be congratulated on a job well done, it was a disgrace for the Los Angeles Times to put a small picture of the winning Venezuelan team on the front cover next to a larger picture of the losing team. DARREN HAYLOCK Palmdale

Venezuelan officials early Tuesday seized control of the Venezuelan operations of Mexican building giant Cemex after negotiators failed to come to terms on a deal to nationalize the company's assets. Backed by National Guard troops and cheering crowds, government representatives moved in on three Cemex plants at the stroke of midnight Monday, the end of a 60-day deadline set by President Hugo Chavez for imposing state control over Venezuela's largest cement maker. Chavez has long criticized Venezuela's private-sector cement makers for high prices and tight supplies that he says have hampered government efforts to build housing for the poor.

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. — Jerome Williams was on the fence about playing winter ball last year until he walked five batters in 41/3 innings Sept. 13 at Oakland, uncharacteristic for a control pitcher who had 10 walks in the other 392/3 innings he threw for the Angels last season. "My mind was somewhere else that game," said Williams, the favorite this spring to win the fifth spot in what should be one of baseball's best rotations. "I wanted to go somewhere to work on my focus, on staying within myself the whole game.

Reporting from San Francisco -- Five days after he was sworn in as San Francisco County sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi was charged Friday afternoon with misdemeanor domestic violence, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, the result of a New Year's Eve fight with his wife, a former Venezuelan telenovela star. In announcing the charges against Mirkarimi, 50 — a former county supervisor who is now one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in San Francisco — Dist.

Migration has always been crucial to the success of the Phelps family of Venezuela. The study of bird migration led William Henry Phelps, a Harvard student, to South America in 1896. The ornithologist would go on to become one of Venezuela's most prominent businessmen, launching Radio Caracas, one of the country's first radio stations, in 1930 and Radio Caracas Television, its first privately owned television station, 23 years later. But four years ago, the Venezuelan government knocked the family-owned broadcast TV station off the air, accusing it of plotting against President Hugo Chavez and participating in a coup attempt.

Reliever Ronald Belisario has received a visa and will be in Arizona when the Dodgers open spring training, according to his agent. The hard-throwing Venezuelan missed the entire 2011 season because he was unable to gain entry into the United States. Belisario posted a 2.04 earned-run average in 69 appearances as a rookie in 2009, but his career was subsequently derailed by a series of personal problems. Facing drunk-driving charges, he had trouble securing a visa the next year and reported late to camp.

Venezuela's government said Thursday that it has sent its top investigators to solve the kidnapping of Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos , a case that has shaken the nation's elite athletes and focused attention on the country's sharp rise in kidnappings for ransom. Police found the kidnappers' vehicle abandoned in a nearby town Thursday morning, according to Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami , who called the discovery "a very important find. " He said antikidnapping units led by "the best investigators we have" were dispatched to the area in central Carabobo state, and he vowed to rescue Ramos and capture his abductors.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told supporters Monday that his battle with cancer would not stop him from running for another term next year, adding that he was "absolutely sure" voters would reelect him. "I am the candidate of the revolution," Chavez said, speaking by phone to a group of his backers after returning from medical treatment in Cuba. Chavez underwent surgery in June in Havana to remove an abscess and a tumor. Although he has not specified the kind of cancer he has, speculation is that it is either colon or prostate cancer.

An ancient tar pit exposed when Venezuelan oil workers laid a pipeline has yielded a rich trove of fossils, including a type of saber-toothed cat that paleontologists had never before been found in South America. The fossils are 1.8 million years old and include the skulls and jawbones of six scimitar-toothed cats -- a variety of saber-toothed cat with shorter, narrower canine teeth than other species. Researchers led by Venezuelan paleontologist Ascanio Rincon announced the discovery this month, saying that in addition to proving the cat once lived there, the find also should offer a rare window into the environment shortly after North and South America became connected.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' hospitalization and subsequent disappearance from public view while visiting Cuba has stirred rumors about the seriousness of his medical condition and controversy over whether he should delegate power temporarily. Chavez, 56, has not been seen in public since June 8, when he arrived in Havana on a Latin American tour. Two days later, he underwent surgery for a "pelvic abscess," and the Venezuelan government has offered little detail on his condition.

As Eugenio Suarez took some practice swings in the batting cage at the Detroit Tigers' baseball academy, the anti-U.S. bluster of President Hugo Chavez couldn't have been further from his mind. He was too intent on his coach's instructions to keep his hands tight, take a short stride and turn his hips quickly through his swing. "I'm just trying to make my dream come true, to make it to the big leagues," said Suarez, a 19-year-old shortstop, who hit one solid line drive after another, the balls crashing against the home run fence 350 feet from the plate.