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Chavez takes cue from Castro - Venezuela Says Colombia Exporters To Be Paid, But Not Yet [Full Text] BOGOTA -(Dow Jones)- Venezuelan government officials said Thursday they plan to allow their importers to pay the $200 million to $300 million that Colombian exporters are owed for goods already sent to and received in Venezuela

But Venezuela Production and Trade Minister Ramon Rosales, speaking in Bogota at a meeting with Colombian exporters, added that it will be another two weeks before further details of the payment process will be avaialable.

Up to 800 Colombian exporters and other business leaders who deal with Venezuela are awaiting payments from Venezuela. The exporters are becoming impatient due to four-month-old currency restrictions in Venezuela that have tightened dollar flows, saddling importers there with dollar-debts they are unable to pay.

Also speaking at the meeting was Juan Emilio Posada, president of Colombia's largest airline, Alianza Summa. He said the carrier is owed $3.8 million in Venezuela and that this figure increases $1 million each month.

"What's the purpose of selling in a country that can't pay," Posada told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. "The moment will soon arrive in which this type of business is unsustainable."

Summa flies to Caracas from Bogota three times a day.

Venezuela's Rosales responded, saying a special plan will be set up so airlines such as Alianza Summa can be paid.

During the first two months of the year, Colombian exports to Venezuela totaled $69 million, down from $233 million in the first two months of 2002. [End]

Venezuela's Government, Foes Agree Referendum Pact - Disarm civilian population*** In the 19-point accord, both sides agree to shun violence, respect democracy and hold referendums for the president and other elected officials as laid down in the constitution. The accord also endorses plans to disarm the civilian population. At least 50 people have been shot to death and several hundred injured in political violence over the last 18 months.

Both government and opposition negotiators hailed the political pact as a mechanism to reduce tensions. "This clears the path to a referendum as an electoral solution to the political crisis," opposition representative Alejandro Armas told reporters. Venezuela's constitution allows for a recall vote on the president's rule once he has completed half of his six-year mandate. In Chavez's case, this is Aug. 19. To trigger the referendum, the opposition must collect signatures from 20 percent of the electorate.

The government also insists that the National Assembly must first select a new National Electoral Commission. But the assembly, where pro-Chavez deputies hold a slim majority, is still haggling over candidates for the electoral authority which would verify the signatures for a referendum and set a date for the vote.