Venezuela's Opposition Hopes for Effort - Chavez looks to Russia, France, Algeria, and China

CARACAS, Venezuela - Opposition leaders are hoping a new international effort will come up with a plan to end the seven-week strike against President Hugo Chavez and lead to an agreement on elections.

Representatives from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Spain and Portugal agreed to create the new forum this week known as the "Group of Friends of Venezuela" to seek solutions to the work stoppage.

Strike leaders are demanding Chavez agree to a plebiscite in February on his presidency. Although the vote would be nonbinding, strike leaders believe Chavez would be so embarrassed by the outcome he would step down.

But Chavez, who was elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2000, said Thursday at the United Nations (news - web sites) that it will be "virtually impossible" to hold the vote on the scheduled date.

Chavez said any plebiscite held before August would be unconstitutional. Venezuela's constitution allows for a binding recall referendum halfway through the presidential term, which would be August.

"I think this Group of Friends will present an electoral proposal in a relatively short time," said Juan Rafalli, an opposition leader.

Chavez, who met U.N. Secretary-General Kofi at the United Nations on Thursday, said the initiative should be expanded to include Russia, France, Algeria, and China - nations he considers allies.

The leader of the Organization of American states, Cesar Gaviria, who has been trying to negotiate a solution to the standoff, also said the group could help.

"The OAS doesn't have that much leverage," said Steve Johnson, a Latin American specialist at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. "It's probably going to have more of an effect than leaving Gaviria to do it by himself."

The strike ground on Thursday, with the Central Bank suspending its daily dollar auctions to stop a run on the currency.

The move came before the local bolivar currency closed at 1,715 to the dollar on Thursday, slightly up from its all-time low of 1,716 on Wednesday.

One trader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Central Bank was only providing dollars to banks and others with legitimate needs, such as merchants who have to pay for imported goods.

The strike has crippled Venezuela's oil exports, which provide half of government income. The stoppage has cost the country $4 billion, the government has said.

Despite government assurances that it did not plan to devalue the bolivar, citizens lined up at exchange houses this week, pushing demand for dollars to about $114 million a day, Planning Minister Felipe Perez said.

In a report this week, the Santander Central Hispano investment bank warned that Venezuela's economy could contract as much as 40 percent in the first quarter of 2003 if the crisis isn't resolved soon.

Venezuela's economy contracted by an estimated 8 percent in 2002. Unemployment is 17 percent and inflation is 30 percent.

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

Venezuela's Tyrant Hugo Chavez Must Go*** That opportunity came - and went - just over eight months ago, on a date that today resonates to every Venezuelan, April 11, 2002. On that day, Chavez's thugs fired on a 150,000-strong opposition rally, killing 19 people and injuring over 100. Popular anger over the killings prompted military leaders to demand Chavez to step down to avoid further bloodshed. Chavez resigned, but loyalists reinstated him two days later - after the governments of the United States and every Latin American nation refused to recognize a transitional government led by Pedro Carmona, the former president of Fedecamaras, the country's largest business association.

The hemisphere's governments (several Latin American leaders were gathered at a summit in Costa Rica at the time) argued that the overthrow of Chavez constituted an extralegal transfer of power that violated Venezuela's constitution. And this week, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher urged a "peaceful, democratic, constitutional and electoral solution." But the problem is that Venezuela has no rule of law to undermine!

Chavez's "constitution" is a farce instituted by Chavez himself in December 1999, a year after he was elected, to extend his hold on power. Chavez supporters, who controlled 121 of 131 National Assembly seats, rammed the document through the legislature. It was later approved in a national referendum in which over half of the electorate stayed away from the polls. The new "constitution" dissolved the senate, extended the president's term from five to six years, gave greater power to the military, tightened state control over the oil industry, and limited the central bank's autonomy.

The document includes a "truthful information" press provision. It also allows the president to run for a second term, so Chavez can stay in power "legally" for up to 13 years. What happens at the end of the 13 years? No one knows, but it's important to remember that Chavez has tried to take power by force before, staging two failed coups in 1992.

Chavez's contempt for the rule of law is astounding. In the ongoing general strike, he has sent out troops to seize private gasoline-delivery trucks and ordered military commanders to ignore court orders to return the trucks to their owners. He has also seized control of the Caracas police department and defied a court order to return the department to the city's mayor's control. "A country where the judicial system is not autonomous and must submit to the executive is not democratic," said strike leader Carlos Ortega, president of the country's largest labor federation. "Listen well, Venezuela and the world: There is no democracy here."

There is little doubt how most Venezuelans feel about Chavez: They hate him, and for good reason. Many of his former supporters now consider him a dictator. His approval ratings have fallen to around 30 percent from a high of 80 early in his regime. His statist policies have brought the country to the brink of ruin. During Chavez's tenure, the Venezuelan economy has taken and nosedive -- GDP shrank by 7.1 percent just in the first half of this year -- and continues its descent. Meanwhile, his government has been selling 53,000 barrels of oil to Cuba a day at bargain-basement prices.***

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan (L) watches as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez salutes good-bye at the United Nations in New York on January 16, 2003. Venezuela passed the chairmanship of the Group of 77 to Morocco to serve for 2003. REUTERS/Chip East

Chavez Asks U.N. Chief to Help End Venezuela Crisis - ***At a news conference after meeting Annan, Chavez welcomed the creation on Wednesday of the "friends" group, comprising the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Portugal. The six "friends" will back efforts by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria to broker a peace settlement between Chavez's government and its foes.

Former paratrooper Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived a brief coup in April, said Annan had agreed to send a personal envoy to take part in the peace negotiations. Chavez suggested the "friends" group be widened to include countries such as Russia, France and China, as well as Algeria, which like Venezuela is a member of the oil exporters' cartel OPEC. "The group should be expanded and that's what I told the (U.N.) Secretary General," Chavez said. "I'm sure that once it's set up, this group can help Venezuela."

Venezuelan opposition leaders in Caracas, who have accused Chavez of deliberately blocking and dragging out talks on an electoral solution, also welcomed the formation of the group. "We think the 'friends group' is an excellent idea, as long as it backs Dr Gaviria," Americo Martin, a negotiator for the Coordinadora Democratica opposition coalition, told Reuters. After more than two months, the OAS-brokered talks have failed to break the deadlock between Chavez, who refuses to quit and has vowed to break the strike, and opponents, who accuse him of dragging Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.

SOLUTION NOT CLOSE

OAS chief Gaviria said in Caracas after the latest round of government-opposition discussions on Thursday he believed the "group of friends" would strengthen the negotiating process. But he told reporters: "If you ask me whether we are close to a solution, I would have to say 'no."' Despite the hopes generated by the increased international support for the peace talks, Chavez offered no concessions to his opponents after his meeting with the U.N. chief. He repeated his government's objections to opposition plans to hold a nonbinding referendum on his rule scheduled by electoral authorities for Feb 2. "Today's the 16th of January. I think it is nearly impossible to have a referendum in February," Chavez said.***

More Facts Uncovered in Chavez - Al Qaeda Collaboration*** Major Juan Diaz Castillo, Chavez's personal pilot, was assigned the job of planning the delivery of the $1 million collaboration to the terrorist group. Now an active member of the country's resistance movement, he is today revealing details of the transfer and of other subversive acts carried out in the name of Chavez's so called "Bolivarian Revolution".

" - They are criminals and killers," he lambasts the inner circle of Chavez cohorts. And he is not afraid of naming names: "The job was given to me by Hugo Chavez. I coordinated with current Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, then Interior Minister Luis Alfonso Davila, and the current Vice President (then Defense Minister) Jose Vicente Rangel. When we determined the difficulty of sending three Hercules C-130 transport planes to Afghanistan, Diosdado Cabello decided to send cash instead.

" - In the last week of September, 2001, one million U.S. dollars was transferred to Dr Walter Marquez, Venezuela's representative for the region. Of that amount, one hundred thousand was used for food and clothing for the Taliban government, and the remaining nine hundred thousand dollars went to the Taliban in cash, with the understanding that it was to support the Al Qaeda terrorists in their relocation efforts."

Cuban involvement: "Chavez is Castro's puppet" Asked why Chavez would support Al Qaeda, the high-level military defector offered two explanations. " - First of all, Chavez had for a long time wanted a direct line of communication with Al Qaeda. He had asked Libya for that, but with no success. Then came 9/11 and Chavez was impressed," remembers the pilot of the presidential airplane.

" - Second, Chavez looks up to Fidel Castro. The Cuban dictator has collaborated with terrorist groups for years. Chavez emulates Fidel Casto. It sounds bizarre, but Chavez is a bizarre man. He was already starting to go off the rails in 2001, and he wanted direct contacts to all the major terror groups in the world." According to Diaz Castillo, Chavez depends on Fidel Castro's advice in governing Venezuela. The pilot revealed that during the last four years, roughly 4,000 Venezuelans have been receiving military and intelligence training in Cuba. The Cuban communist dictator assists Venezuela's embattled crypto-communist in holding onto power, at whatever cost, because Cuba depends on Venezuela's oil billions to stay afloat. Earlier this year, Fidel Castro said that "for the Cuban revolution to survive, it is necessary for the Bolivarian revolution to survive," in reference to Chavez's Marxist experiment.***

Castro, Chavez Attending Brazilian Inauguration - "Jan. 1 is no longer a Cuban monopoly" [Full Text] BRASILIA, Brazil - Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrived Tuesday in Brazil to attend the inauguration of Luiz Inacio da Silva, the country's first leftist president in 40 years. Castro, dressed in trademark green uniform, was driven in a motorcade to a Brasilia hotel amid tight security. "I am happy to be in Brazil, and happy to say that Jan. 1 is no longer a Cuban monopoly," Castro told reporters. Jan. 1 is the anniversary of the Cuban revolution that brought Castro to power. A serious leg infection kept Castro out of sight in Cuba for nearly two weeks in December, but he showed no difficulty walking as he entered the hotel.

Silva takes over Wednesday for outgoing president Fernando Henrique Cardoso in an inaugural ceremony expected to attract presidents from at least six other Latin American countries and 100,000 or more Brazilians. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was also expected to attend. But the four-week-old strike in Venezuela aimed at ousting him was expected to delay him. Earlier this month, Chavez said until the last minute that he would attend an economic summit in Brasilia, but never showed up. Silva, a 57-year-old former union leader, will govern Latin America's largest country and counts Castro and Chavez among his friends. [End]

Chavez is certainly looking to his friends for help. We know, for instance, that...

"He also got a big IRANIAN contingent, as well as ALGERIANS and INDIANS. The Iranians got a big official government reception, and included high-level government officials from Iran. The Algerians, when they came, got in through customs through a special door and did not have to show passports or pass immigration controls in any way. I have this on tape (filmed by a passenger on the same, from Holland, two days ago)."

"Chavez is stepping up his dependance on Tripoli for help, too. 18 specialist Libyans arrived here 3 days ago, to supposedly restart the oil refineries because he can not find local workers, who are skilled and willing to break the strike, to do so.

They were received by top-level MVR party bosses, so
they might be more than mere oil workers. I am enclosing
a list of names and the route they took to get here, for
whatever it is worth..."

LIBYANS IN VENEZUELA

Flight plan -
01/09/03: LX 2585 Tripoli > Zurich
01/10/03: LH 3755 Zurich > Frankfurt
01/10/03: LH 534 Frankfurt > Caracas

Received in Maiquetia (Caracas airport) by:
Ali Ahmed, of the "Libyan Commission"
Cilia Flores, member of Congress, "MVR"-party
Nicolas Maduro, member of Congress, "MVR"-party
Juan Barreto, member of Congress, "MVR"-party

Arrivals (last name, first name):
Alghariy, Alsudik
Najjar, Elmabruk
Adun, Koaled
Adel, Zeguera
Nagib, Sherif
Benelfgh, Abubaker
Bentahir, Nabiel
Enbia, Abdulfat
Majrab, Waldi
Elkom, Amhamed
Nashnush, Abdulgha
Romia, Mohamed
Shwich, Abduraoo
Elghanud, Abdulnas
Barhmi, Ezzedin
Seleni, Abdulssa
Gwile, Hasan
Besha, Mhemmed

Current place of residence: Hotel Eduard, Macuto, Vargas state
Stated Mission: Reactivation of various PDVSA oil refineries
___________________________________________________

You may also find some of the following of interest, too...

Selected (dealing with Venezuela), transcribed from tape, remarks of...

General James T. Hill, Commander of United States Southern Command, on Thursday, January 9th, 2003 at 'The Americas Society' and 'Council of the Americas' in New York City.

"Narco-Terrorism fuels radical Islamic groups associated with Hamas, Hezbollah, Algamat, and, yes, Al Qaeda. These groups operating out of the tri-border area of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, and other locales, like Margarita Island off Venezuela, generate hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars through drugs and arms trafficking with Narco-Terrorists. Simply put, direct drug sales and money laundering fund world-wide terrorist operations. That is not speculation, that is fact. These groups operate in and out of Southern Panama, Northern Ecuador, Northern Peru, Bolivia, portions of Venezuela and the tri-border area. They are involved in kidnappings in Venezuela, Ecuador and Paraguay."
...and...
"There is a huge and growing market for forged and illicit immigration documents. Narco-Terrorists and radical Islamic groups are feeding this market."

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