Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

`The coalition of the hopeful' banking on success for Bush*** A small group of Latin American countries, which we may call the coalition of the hopeful, expects to reap major rewards for supporting the U.S.-led war on Iraq. Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama hope to emerge as President Bush's new ''best friends'' in the region. They deny any offer of paybacks, but they expect that their decision will create a climate of goodwill with the United States and produce concrete benefits. In most of Latin America, where polls show an overwhelming majority of the population opposes the war, the leaders who supported Bush are dismissed as U.S. lackeys. In America, critics call them the ``coalition of the billing.''***

Chavez Supporters Defend Venezuela Radio *** CARACAS, Venezuela - Tucked away in one of Caracas' poorest districts, Radio Perola is raising the hackles of Venezuela's big media executives. From a room the size of a walk-in closet, Radio Perola - and dozens of other small, government-sponsored stations - broadcast programs supporting President Hugo Chavez and his self-proclaimed revolution. Chavez argues the stations counter opposition-allied commercial broadcast media that don't address issues vital to Venezuela's poor. Media executives argue the unlicensed stations interfere with their signals and are Chavez propaganda machines. "They use frequencies that overlap those of other stations, and all they do is spread government propaganda," said Miguel Martinez, president of the Venezuelan Chamber of Broadcasting Industries.

"We aren't neutral," concedes Radio Perola manager Carlos Carles. "We have a position. It just so happens that most people here in this district support the president." Chavez, a former paratroop commander who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, frequently accuses Venezuela's news media of conspiring to overthrow him. Many private broadcasters promoted a recent two-month general strike to demand Chavez quit. Now Congress, dominated by Chavez's ruling party, is considering legislation to strictly regulate broadcast content.

"It's no secret that the private media is against Chavez. That's why the government turns a blind eye to the abuses by pro-Chavez community radio," said opposition lawmaker Alberto Jordan, a member of Congress' media committee. "Many are operating in a clandestine form, moving from place to place so they can't be located." Dominated by ruling party members, the media committee has shelved complaints, said Jordan.

At Radio Perola, disc jockeys spin tunes by the late folk singer Ali Primera, a social activist. Guests announce workshops for single mothers or meetings on neighborhood problems. "Most of our programming focuses on community issues," Carles said in a room sporting photos of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Chavez and pro-government graffiti.

Licensed private stations complain there are too many loopholes in legislation regulating community radio, and that the government permits abuses. Alvin Lezama, an executive at the state-run communications watchdog, says new rules will allow citizens, rather than the government, to regulate noncommercial stations. "What is the best way to control this? That the communities take possession of these stations," Lezama said. "We have to open channels so consumers control their media outlets because we are never going to have the technology or human resources to do it," added Lezama. "It's a truly revolutionary idea."

The rules put the same limits on signal strength for both commercial and community broadcasters. But community stations routinely exceed those limits. "They are a threat. Our signal has been affected in some cities ... including Caracas and Maracaibo by these community stations," said Antonio Serfati, executive vice president of Union Radio, which broadcasts nationwide. ***

Chavez Plays Politics - Caught Dry, Venezuelan Hydro-Pwr Dam May Mean Lights Out*** But with the opposition girding to organize a recall referendum on the mandate of President Hugo Chavez, the government appears loathe to require people to cut back on their electricity consumption. Indeed, Roberto Bottome, editor of local economic newsletter VenEconomy, noted that "state-owned (utility) companies don't bill three-quarters of the population, so there's no incentive to conserve." Apart from the capital Caracas, to which AES Corp.'s EDC unit provides thermo-generated electricity, and Margarita Island, Venezuela's electricity supply is generated by public companies badly in need of investment.***

The FARC, Venezuela and Brazil: Growing Security Concerns in South America***Although FARC leaders repeatedly have pledged that their forces would not intrude into neighboring countries or stir up trouble beyond Colombia, recent developments suggest the pledges are not being honored. Colombian intelligence analysts believe that FARC and ELN units are behind the creation of a two-year-old border region group that calls itself the Bolivarian Liberation Front (FBL). This Venezuelan group, which claims to model itself after the FARC, is located inside a rough triangle bound by the cities of San Fernando in Apure state, Barinas and San Cristobal in Tachira state. The FBL is believed to number several hundred Venezuelans and former members of the now defunct Colombian Popular Liberation Army (EPL) militant group, and its actions are largely confined to kidnapping and extortion. However, the group took credit for a bomb that exploded recently at the Colombian consulate in Caracas.

In Brazil, the FARC reportedly has formed strategic partnerships with the country's largest organized crime gangs, Brazilian daily O Globo reported recently. In exchange for weapons and munitions, FARC instructors reportedly are teaching Red Command gang members in Rio de Janeiro how to operate automatic weapons, manufacture bombs and organize mass prison escapes. Brazilian security services detained Chilean national Carlos Orlando Messina Vidal on March 29, and charged him with being a FARC trainer working with organized crime gangs in Rio de Janeiro. Another six suspects sought by Brazilian authorities appear to have escaped. Against this backdrop, political aides are planning a meeting between Venezuelan leader Chavez and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, though an exact date has not been announced. Officials said recently that the meeting would concern bilateral economic and investment issues.***

Venezuela: Reports it bombed Colombia village 'a lie' By Globe Staff and Wires, 4/10/2003 [Full Text]CARACAS - The government yesterday rejected allegations by Colombian border residents that its aircraft bombed a village in Colombia last month in support of leftist rebels fighting right-wing paramilitaries. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel dismissed the allegations as ''a grotesque lie'' aimed at trying to discredit Venezuela's left-wing president, Hugo Chavez. The two Andean neighbors share a volatile 1,400-mile border.

President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia has ordered an inquiry into the allegations by border residents that Venezuelan military helicopters and planes crossed into Colombian airspace on March 21 and bombed a border hamlet at La Gabarra, in North Santander Province, killing and wounding several people. The residents said the aircraft acted in support of left-wing Colombian guerrillas who were under attack from rightist paramilitary groups. (Reuters) [End]

Chavez, Foes Agree Venezuela Referendum After Aug - BUT first Chavez insists on….. *** CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez challenged his foes on Friday to try to oust him through the ballot box as his government and the opposition agreed to work to hold a referendum on his rule after Aug. 19. The left-wing former paratrooper on Friday commemorated the first anniversary of a short-lived coup against him by rebel military officers. He said his brief overthrow a year ago was like "losing my virginity" and that he would not allow any new coup to succeed.

…………………………… The constitution allows for such a referendum halfway through his current mandate, which is due to last until early 2007. The opposition must collect the signatures of at least 20 percent of the electorate to trigger such a recall poll. "Let them collect the signatures, one by one. If I lose the referendum, I'll go, but they have to beat me fair and square," Chavez told a news conference.

…………………… The formal agreement to hold a recall referendum after Aug. 19 was due to be signed by the two sides after Easter. Chavez said that before a referendum could be held, the National Assembly needed to appoint a new National Electoral Council, which would have responsibility for organizing the poll and setting a date. The country's electoral register would also have to be revised because it contained many errors, Chavez said, including false identities and foreign nationals and even dead people listed as voters. Opponents have said they fear the government might use delaying tactics to try to stall or sabotage the referendum. ***

Panic As Blast Destroys Venezuela Office Building Site of Negotiations *** CARACAS, Venezuela - A pre-dawn bomb blast ripped through the building where Venezuela's government and opposition have been negotiating a peace agreement, destroying three floors but injuring no one. The attack at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday came one day after the Organization of American States brokered a deal between the government and opposition to work toward a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule. Federal police chief Carlos Medina said the attack may have been politically motivated. An opposition negotiator said the blast was intended to intimidate his delegation at the talks, while the government blamed "coup-plotting" sectors of the opposition.

The explosion destroyed the first three floors of the Teleport building in central Caracas, shattering windows, destroying the entrance and twisting steel gates. Elevator cables hung from the facade and broken glass, roof tiles and light fixtures littered the ground. ***

U.S. buys information about Latin Americans *** Over the past 18 months, the U.S. government has bought access to data on hundreds of millions of residents of 10 Latin American countries -- apparently without their consent or knowledge -- allowing myriad federal agencies to track foreigners entering and living in the United States. A suburban Atlanta company, ChoicePoint Inc., collects the information abroad and sells it to U.S. government officials in three dozen agencies, including immigration investigators who've used it to arrest illegal immigrants. The practice broadens a trend that has an information-hungry U.S. government increasingly buying personal data on Americans and foreigners alike from commercial vendors including ChoicePoint and LexisNexis.

U.S. officials consider the foreign data a thread in a security blanket that lets law enforcers and the travel industry peer into the backgrounds of people flowing into the United States. The information can also be used with other data-mining tools to identify potential terrorists, or simply unmask fake identity documents, company and government officials say. "Our whole purpose in life is to sell data to make the world a safer place," said ChoicePoint's chief marketing officer, James Lee. "There is physical danger in not knowing who someone is. What risks do people coming into our country represent? You may accept that risk, but you want to know about it." Privacy experts in Latin America question whether the sales of national citizen registries have been legal. They say government data are often sold clandestinely by individual government employees. ***

Hugo Chavez boast: "The first great victory of the people this century in the whole world"*** CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez looked beyond Venezuela's simmering political crisis Sunday to celebrate the first anniversary of his return to power following a brief military coup. The festivities came one day after a bomb ripped through the building where Venezuela's government and opposition have been negotiating a proposed referendum on Chavez's presidency.

No one was injured in the pre-dawn blast but it renewed tensions in Venezuela just as rival groups appeared to be close to resolving some political differences. Chavez addressed tens of thousands of his supporters gathered on a central Caracas avenue after presiding over the closing ceremony of an international forum in support of his so-called "Bolivarian Revolution."

"Nobody is leaving! We will stay for ever, fighting battles," Chavez said to the cheering crowd. He promised to remain in power until 2021. Chavez railed against global imperialism and "savage neoliberalism," and claimed the coup against him had been promoted by foreign interests and carried out by "the fascist oligarchy" within Venezuela. "God bless April 13," Chavez said. "A miraculous day, the miracle of the start of the century. The first great victory of the people this century in the whole world." ***

Venezuela Military Becomes Embroiled in Colombian War - Bombs Village In Support of FARC*** LA GABARRA, Colombia -- Maria, a wizened 57-year-old farmer's wife, lives in a plank-board shack in Santa Isabel, a village on the River of Gold that serves as Colombia's muddy border with Venezuela. Shortly after breakfast one day last month, she and several dozen families watched grimly as Colombia's long war arrived swiftly along Santa Isabel's single dirt street. Violence has washed over the village for years, but never in the way she witnessed that sweltering March 21.

Maria and a dozen frightened neighbors said hundreds of guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attacked their town from Venezuela, crossing the river to engage an anti-guerrilla paramilitary force occupying several riverside villages. Within an hour, Maria saw Venezuelan military aircraft swoop over her village to bomb paramilitary positions inside Colombia supporting the rebel advance.***

Left turn: 'Revolution' hits Venezuela's oil culture - PDVSA beachhead for Chavez's vision *** CARACAS, VENEZUELA - At the gleaming offices of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the country's state-owned oil giant, a corporate revolution is under way. Nine-to-fivers have come to think of themselves as patriots. Senior managers now eat at the same cafeteria tables as secretaries. And former soldiers have left the battlefield for the boardroom.

After PDVSA workers walked off the job last December in a bid to force Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez from office, the fiery populist hitched his social revolution to the $110 billion business: He purged the company's ranks and installed his own people. What was widely regarded as a world-class energy company before the strike has a new philosophy: to help the poor. And a new corporate culture is gradually taking shape, injected with the president's particular brand of leftist ideology.***

TYRANTS APLENTY - Saddam has lots of bad company across the globe and in the U.N *** It's been hinted, speculated, even suggested that the war winding down in Iraq is but the first chapter of a new Bush administration policy to more forcefully project U.S. muscle around the world in defense of democracy and in defiance of tyranny. Rhetoric concerning Syria has been steadily ratcheted up in recent days. The idea of a broader, more aggressive U.S. policy comes with its own set of potential risks and rewards. But leaving the political debate aside, there would be no shortage of candidates. Evil as it was, Saddam Hussein's regime was only one of a fraternity of tyrannical tramplers of freedoms.

The Freedom House organization released a report last week entitled "The World's Most Repressive Regimes, 2003" (www.freedomhouse.org). Dubbed the "worst of the worst" are Burma, Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan. Ironically, Freedom House points out, five of the 16 most repressive countries -- China, Cuba, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria -- are all members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. ***

Venezuela's Chavez Clamps Down on Police*** CARACAS, Venezuela - They used to be keepers of the peace. Now the 500 police officers under Miguel Pinto's command are mostly just killing time.Ever since President Hugo Chavez clamped down on the Caracas police, charging them with instigating a coup, Pinto's 500 motorcycle cops spend most of their days playing chess or exercising at their hilltop precinct. Soldiers search them as they enter or leave the building, and allow only limited patrols. They've also taken away the officers' submachine guns, tear gas grenades and shotguns. "They took all of our arms except the .38-caliber revolvers," said Pinto, chief of the police department's Phoenix motorcycle brigade. "We're practically defenseless."

……………. In December, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered the government to return police control to Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, a Chavez opponent. The government has yet to do so. On Wednesday, a court ordered the arrests of eight police officers accused of killing two people and wounding 35 at the march. The same court had dismissed murder charges against four Chavez supporters who allegedly were videotaped shooting into the crowd. It upheld lesser charges of improper use of firearms. ***

Venezuelans Protest Cuba Crackdown, Meddling - Show solidarity with repressed Cuban people *** "We don't want Venezuela to be turned into another Cuba and that is what we are heading for. We have to show solidarity with the repressed Cuban people," said Marielena Adrianza, a consulting firm employee joining the opposition protest. Opponents of Chavez, a left-wing former paratrooper elected in 1998 on a populist platform, brand him a fledgling dictator and fear he will drive Venezuela toward Cuban-style communism. He scoffs at their claims.

Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage riled foes of Chavez over the weekend when he criticized Venezuelan opposition leaders during a conference in Caracas. Friday's small demonstration came a day after Venezuela voted against a United Nations resolution urging Cuba to accept a visit by a human rights commission following the arrest of scores of Cuban dissidents. ***

Chavez likened to Saddam by some - `Caraqueos' keep eyes on Iraq war *** A former colonel in the National Guard and one of the dissident military officers at the Plaza Francia de Altamira saw similarities between Saddam and Chavez. "Saddam Hussein and his persecution of his own people is the same as Venezuela's president and his so-called revolution," said Manuel Jesus Carpio Manrique.

By calling for the armed forces and armed civilians to unite, Chavez has created a personal military, not unlike Hussein's Republican Guard, Carpio said. The former colonel accused Chavez of turning his political enemies into common criminals and wanting to bring the country to economic ruin so that he could establish a regime of hunger that he controls, such as Saddam did in Iraq.

Chavez has long enjoyed a friendly relationship with Saddam. In 2000, Chavez became the first Western head of state to visit Saddam since the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Both are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Venezuela, the world's third-largest oil supplier, provides 13 percent of U.S. oil needs. Chavez has been a vocal opponent of the U.S. war against Iraq, citing civilian casualties, but has promised to honor oil contracts with the United States.***

Accusations Fly Ahead of Venezuela-Colombia Summit *** CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela on Monday dismissed renewed charges by Colombia that it was sheltering leftist guerrillas, intensifying a dispute over border security just two days before a bilateral presidential summit.

President Hugo Chavez and his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe are due to meet on Wednesday in eastern Venezuela to try to defuse the controversy over the frontier and shore up ties battered by economic and political problems in both countries. Relations between the two Andean neighbors, who share a rugged 1,400-mile border, have been strained by accusations from Colombia -- denied in Caracas -- that Chavez's government is allowing Colombian Marxist rebels to operate from Venezuelan territory. ***

Terrorism's Western Ally***U.S. intelligence is still coming to grips with reports that Al Qaeda and other Muslim terrorist groups are setting up bases in Venezuela. A London newspaper reports Osama bin Laden has established a training camp on Venezuela's Margarita Island, a tourist destination that also has an Arab-Muslim community and a bad reputation as a hangout for smugglers and terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

The more you know about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and his list of friends, the less surprising this all seems. Footage shows Hugo hugging Iranian President Khatami. More footage shows Hugo hugging Libya's Moammar Gaddafy. By the way, you won't find any video of Hugo meeting, much less, hugging George W. Bush.

But Chavez has met with Saddam Hussein. In fact, he was the first foreign leader to visit Baghdad after the first Gulf War, and he expressed his admiration for Saddam. He has offered support to convicted terrorist Carlos "The Jackal." He considers Fidel Castro his mentor. He gives sanctuary to Colombia's FARC rebels, a group that is trying to overthrow the Colombian government and has also killed Americans.

Hugo Chavez came to power by tapping into frustration over Venezuela's corrupt political system. He was elected in 1998 by a landslide. Since then, Chavez has been engaged in what has been called a "slow-motion constitutional coup." He has abolished the senate, brought in Cubans as strike-breakers against the oil industry, and organized gangs to beat up opponents.***

Venezuelan Arabs Stung by U.S. Charges Like Arab nations and communities around the globe, most of Margarita's well-established Muslim traders bitterly oppose the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, seeing it as an unlawful and unjustified attack against their race and religion. But the Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians who have made this tropical resort and duty-free zone their home for decades are even more angry about what they see as another American affront, this time leveled directly against them.

Allegations by a top U.S. military chief that Margarita is a base for radical Islamic groups posing a potential terrorist threat have angered both the 12,000-strong Arab community and the government of Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez. "We have nothing to do with terrorism here. Pure business, that's what we do," Naim Awada, who emigrated from Lebanon 20 years ago, told Reuters in his clothing store in Porlamar. All around him, shop names like Nabil Import, El Laden Mustafa and Flower of Palestine attest to the strong Arab presence on Margarita, an island of tourist hotels, arid hills and abundant beaches off Venezuela's eastern Caribbean coast.

Arab community leaders and Venezuela's government say the allegations by the Pentagon's top soldier for Latin America, Gen. James Hill, are really part of a wider campaign by foes of Chavez to try to discredit the populist president abroad. They say Chavez' opponents, who have failed to topple him over the last year despite a short-lived coup and a crippling two-month anti-government strike, are seeking to paint him as a dangerous anti-U.S. maverick collaborating with terrorism. The debate is more than just academic for Washington because Chavez, a former paratrooper and coup plotter elected in 1998, rules over the world's No. 5 oil exporter that is also one of the top suppliers of crude oil to the United States.***

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