Some in the community -- the local Venezuelan community, in particular -- also will be counting signatures in an effort to change the face of government in their country.
In a move reminiscent of the recall petition and election Californians recently held to replace Gov. Gray Davis with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Venezuelans are attempting to force a recall of President Hugo Chavez.
According to the constitutional framework, the opposition must gather the signatures of 2.4 million voters, 20 percent of the Venezuelan electorate, to force the referendum that would be expected next April. The four-day petition drive begins today.
A related petition drive is scheduled here Saturday (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at Ray Miller Park, 1800 Eldridge Parkway.
That drive, named Reafirmazo Alternativo, may be rendered largely symbolic, because the Chavez government moved to exclude Venezuelans living abroad from participating in the recall petition. It's a move that, in essence, strips Venezuelans living here and elsewhere around the globe of their rights under the Venezuelan Constitution.
Nevertheless, organizers say they expect petitions to be signed by Venezuelans living in more than 100 cities around the world, including many of the estimated 1,800 Venezuelans in the Houston area.
The signatures gathered here will be witnessed, notarized and submitted, along with others from Venezuelans outside their country, to international human rights organizations. The signatures collected will accompany a formal complaint to be introduced before Venezuelan and international institutions, said local spokesperson Cristal Montañez. ***
Hugo Cabezas and Tareck el Aissami were appointed last month as director and deputy director of the Identification and Immigration Directorate, in charge of border controls and issuing passports and national ID cards. The agency also works with electoral authorities on voter registration.
Both were top student leaders at the University of the Andes in the western city of Merida, described by senior school officials as a virtual haven for armed Chávez supporters and leftist guerrillas.
When El Aissami served as president of the student body from 2001 to 2003, his armed supporters controlled the university's dormitories, said Oswando Alcala, a professor and director of student affairs.
Cabezas and El Aissami declined several Herald requests for interviews. Calls to the Information Ministry in Caracas also failed to elicit an official response.
Their appointments to the passport office raised eyebrows both because of the reports of Arabs obtaining Venezuelan ID documents and the possibility of fraud in an ongoing drive for a referendum to recall Chávez. His popularity stands at less than 40 percent.
''These appointments raise suspicions,'' said Pompeyo Marquez, a former Cabinet minister for border issues and an opponent of Chávez opponent. ``The risk is that they can play tricks both as regards elections and with identity cards.''
MAGAZINE REPORT
Allegations that Chávez's leftist government issued ID documents to Islamic radicals surfaced most recently in the newsweekly U.S. News and World Report. ''Venezuela is providing support -- including identity documents -- that could prove useful to radical Islamic groups,'' the magazine reported last month, quoting senior U.S. military and intelligence officials.
Chávez has strongly denied previous opposition allegations of links to Islamic radicals and leftist guerrillas from neighboring Colombia. Following the U.S. magazine's report, he accused the U.S. ''extreme right'' of trying to justify his ouster by ``anything: an assassination, a coup d'etat, an invasion.''*** [More at LINK]