Via UPI:

The Venezuelan government is operating a secret paramilitary training camp with the help of Cuban military advisers and leftist Colombian guerrillas.

The camp near San Cristobal offers six-week courses for 400 to 1,000 participants, El Nuevo Herald reported Sunday.

The first phase of training at the camp reportedly is political indoctrination through texts printed in Cuba. The second phase includes training in the use of light and heavy weaponry and explosives.

The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has not responded to allegations about the training camp, but local officials have acknowledged its existence and the presence of Cubans.

Desarrollo Urbanite Caparo, a private tourism company that organizes trips to the area, says its services have been suspended for the time being because ”the government has taken the installations” until January.

The trainees are intended to support Chavez in the type of guerrilla war the president has repeatedly vowed to wage in the event he’s ousted from power, either by a military coup or the U.S. invasion he has alleged has been planned.

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Via Oxford Analytica:

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque visits Mexico on Thursday, in an atmosphere of improving bilateral ties.  Close historical ties between the two countries, arising from a shared revolutionary tradition, and similar challenges from close proximity with the United States, had suffered under the administration of former Mexican President Vicente Fox.

Things have changed since. Veteran Cuban leader Fidel Castro has handed over the presidency to his brother, Raul, who is anxious to reduce the country’s dependence on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and focus on other relational relationships.  While Brazil has been at the forefront of this, Mexico is also a strategically important regional power because of its size and proximity, both to the island and United States. Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who took over from Fox after narrowly winning elections in 2006, has pursued a much more low-key and pragmatic foreign policy than his predecessor. While ideologically and temperamentally very different to his Venezuelan and Cuban counterparts, he has sought to normalise relations with both.

The key current bilateral issue is likely to be immigration.  While Cubans do still seek to reach the Florida coasts in — often makeshift — boats, an increasingly popular alternative sees migrants travelling to the Mexican state of Veracruz, from where they make their way to the US border by land, availing themselves there of the ‘wet foot dry foot’ policy, which grants Cubans automatic residency.  This is much more difficult to control, and has led to significant numbers from elsewhere in Latin America pretending to be Cuban in a bid to secure entry to the United States.  Addressing the problem will require high levels of bilateral engagement and cooperation, and could be an issue on which the Cuban government could engage with the next US administration.

Indeed, another key factor on both sides will be preparing for dealings with US President George Bush’s successor.  While Senator Barack Obama appears more willing to engage with Havana than his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, engagement is likely whoever wins. Progress will necessarily be slow and hesitant, however, because of domestic political constraints in both countries. Mexico could be a key player in such a process, as a mediator and go-between.

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