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Rounding off a diplomatic tour of Europe that began with Tuesday’s controversial visit in Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez mended relations with the Spanish government, set up a bi-national commerce commission with Portugal, and eliminated visa requirements to facilitate bilateral accords with Belarus this week.

In response to widely circulated international news reports that Venezuela plans to spend $30 billion on Russian weapons and host Russian military bases on its soil, President Hugo Chávez said Wednesday that the reports are false and denounced the international media’s consistent efforts to slander the Venezuelan government.

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela met for the first time with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev on Tuesday, to strengthen bilateral relations and discuss economic and military cooperation, which could expand the relationship between Russia and Latin America as a whole.

The Venezuelan government’s agricultural policies and the efforts of national food producers have significantly increased national food production amidst global shortages, the Venezuelan Agriculture and Land Minister, Elías Jaua, and several food producer federations reported last week.

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, transferred the administration of public hospitals in the country’s capital from the municipal to the federal government Thursday, increased the salary of doctors on the public payroll, and allocated bonuses and permanent positions to public health care workers.

As a U.S. government official announced new negotiations over drug control cooperation, relations between President Chavez and U.S. Presidential nominee Barak Obama cooled when Obama called Venezuela “a destructive force” earlier this week.

Amnesty International called Venezuela’s 2007 Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence “an example for the rest of the region,” but said practical implementation of the law has been slow. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Supreme Court created a special tribunal to manage domestic violence cases.

The President of the Venezuelan opposition party Un Nuevo Tiempo announced Tuesday that a coalition of opposition parties has selected unified candidates for governor in seven of Venezuela’s 23 states. However, only four of the nine parties in the coalition were present during the announcements, indicating internal strife.

The Venezuelan-owned Oil Company Citgo, together with the organization Citizen’s Energy, will provide about 460,000 energy efficient light bulbs to low-income households throughout the U.S., according to Citgo’s CEO Alejandro Granado.

Comptroller General Clodosbaldo Russián presented a revised list of people sanctioned for corruption during their terms in public office and who have been disqualified from running for office in the upcoming regional and local elections. According to Venezuela's largest newspaper, a majority of these are not opposition supporters.