Posted on 01/18/2003 12:45:08 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Troops raid two bottling plants; Chavez says he won't negotiate with "coup-plotting" opposition
CARACAS, Venezuela - National Guard troops raided two privately owned bottling plants while President Hugo Chavez said he won't be forced to negotiate with a "coup-plotting" opposition.
Heavily armed troops, accompanied by consumer protection authorities, took bottled water, soda and malt beverages from two factories Friday in the central city of Valencia, located 110 kilometers (66 miles) from Caracas.
The move was part of an effort by Chavez's government to stave off shortages caused by a 47-day-old general strike.
"Taking into account that collective rights preside over personal rights, we are proceeding to distribute these products to the population," said National Guard Gen. Felipe Acosta, a close ally of Chavez.
"It's for the people," said Acosta as he grabbed a malt beverage, drank it and belched in front of television cameras.
In December, Chavez issued a presidential decree authorizing the military to "temporarily" confiscate private property to guarantee the distribution of basic food staples. He had warned food producers he would send soldiers to raid plants and distribution centers hoarding supplies.
Venezuelan National Guard Gen. Felipe Acosta, center, inspects the storage area of a Coca-Cola - Panamco bottling plant in the central city of Valencia, located 110 kilometers (66 miles) of Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan 17, 2003. As a 47-day-old strike continued National Guard troops seized a privately owned bottling plant. Heavily armed troops, accompanied by consumer protection authorities, took bottled water, soda and malt beverages.(AP Photo/Carlos Balza)
Opposition leaders joined the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or VenAmCham, which represents over 1,000 businesses, in condemning the raids.
"There are private property rights here, rights of all Venezuelans and we will not permit them to be violated," said opposition leader Rafael Alfonzo.
"VenAmCham denounces the abuse of power ... violation of (the company's) property, intimidation of its employees, and removal of its goods without due process," read a communique issued by the chamber.
The plants are owned by Panamco, the Coca-Cola bottler in Venezuela, and Polar, the country's largest brewer and food producer. Both companies claim they haven't been able to distribute products due to fuel shortages and worker absences.
The strike, called on Dec. 2 by opposition groups to force Chavez from office, has caused severe food and fuel shortages throughout this oil-rich yet poverty-stricken South American country of 24 million.
The raids came as Chavez, speaking to lawmakers in Congress, welcomed foreign help to end the strike.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks at the National Assembly in Caracas January 17, 2003. Chavez gave a state of nation address underlining his determination to beat a 47-day-old opposition strike, but long lines at gas pumps show that the oil industry shutdown still is causing major disruptions. REUTERS/Kimberly White
Several countries, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Spain, agreed to create a "Group of Friends of Venezuela" this week to seek solutions to the strike, which has brought the nation's economy to a standstill.
Chavez cautioned, however, that his government "won't accept any restrictions from the "Friends" group and warned other nations not to legitimize the opposition.
"Each country must make a great effort to understand what is happening in Venezuela," Chavez said. "This is a democratic government, a democratic republic, confronting fascists, confronting terrorists, confronting coup plotters."
Chavez was slated travel to Brazil early Saturday to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss the "Friends" initiative.
The strike has punished Venezuela's oil industry and cost the nation at least US$4 billion. Chavez insisted his government was reviving oil production in what was No. 4 crude exporter to the United States.
Venezuela produced 3 million barrels a day of crude before the strike.
The country's crude oil output was 512,000 barrels Friday, up from 484,000 barrels Thursday, according to striking employees of the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
However, Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez has said production stands at 890,000 barrels. About 35,000 oil workers, including executives, have joined the strike.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency said it could take months before Venezuela returns to its pre-strike production. The crisis has caused international prices to rise. In the United States, gasoline prices have risen to an average US$1.50 a gallon.
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Looks like it's Miller Time for Chavez' thugs, not for the "people."
"People are afraid," said Josephina Capriles, the Venezuelan-born owner of Spytrix, a North Miami security store where sales of bullet-proof jackets and gas masks are booming. "I used to sell two bulletproof jackets a month but now I sell three a day," she said, adding that the extra sales were to Venezuelans.
Capriles offers discounts to Venezuelan clients. An Italian-made jacket costs $375, reduced from $498. Gas masks go for around $140. Other popular items include Mace, stun guns and more powerful electromuscular disruption devices, which can put down a human target at 20 feet. "We are going back, but we have to be prepared," said Leopoldo Baptista, the 60-year-old owner of a major Venezuelan construction company. Baptista spent several thousand dollars at Spytrix on protective gear for his wife and children.
……………The strike also has hurt local businesses, which have been unable to ship goods. With supplies drying up in Caracas, Venezuelans who travel home are presented with long shopping lists from friends and relatives. "I just got a call from a family member asking me to bring flour, coffee, beer and Pepsi," Bethencourt said. "Can you believe it? Those are all Venezuelan export products. Now there isn't even any Pepsi!" ***
Venezuelan Soldiers Try to Reopen Beverage Plants NYT -By GINGER THOMPSON [Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 17 - Venezuela's national guard today seized warehouses full of beer, soft drinks and bottled water, which had been closed since the start of a seven-week strike that has crippled business and industry and caused food shortages. The seizures were considered a crackdown against opponents of President Hugo Chávez, who have led the strike to demand new elections. Opposition leaders condemned the military actions, and a nation battered by months of street violence seemed poised for fresh trouble.
In the northern coastal state of Carabobo, troops clashed with unarmed demonstrators who protested seizures at the warehouses of a Coca-Cola bottler. Coca-Cola bottlers suspended operations at 11 plants last month because employees walked off the job in support of the strike. Officials at Coca-Cola have also said they were forced to close because of fuel shortages and security concerns.
Images broadcast live on three television networks showed the troops throwing the protesters, most of them women, to the ground and then kicking cans of tear gas at them. In an interview with reporters, the officer in charge of the action, Gen. Luis Felipe Acosta Carles, taunted the news media and insulted plant managers. News reports said workers at the plants were beaten. "We are distributing this product to the population because collective rights come above individual rights," General Acosta said, slurping down a warm soft drink and belching into the camera. "What I see here is hoarding, and we are going to move these products." Troops later pushed their way into a warehouse of the beer and food maker Empresas Polar, Venezuela's largest private company, also in Carabobo, after forcing managers out into the street.
The day's events chilled international efforts to end the stalemate between the government and its opponents. In a rare public display of frustration with President Chávez, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, César Gaviria, abruptly canceled negotiations between government officials and representatives of the opposition. Opponents of Mr. Chávez, led by an organization called the Democratic Coordinator, have sought to use constitutional mechanisms to force him out of office. The opposition accuses Mr. Chávez, a former lieutenant colonel, of undermining democracy and militarizing the government. On Thursday opposition leaders accused him of ordering military seizures of private property to provoke civil chaos.
After the actions by national guard troops against unarmed civilians this morning, Mr. Gaviria said he did not think there could be any progress in "such a heated atmosphere." He added that "the more difficult things become, the more need to search for a negotiated outcome." In recent weeks Mr. Gaviria has helped organize an international Group of Friends to give his work in Venezuela more leverage with the Chávez government. Countries taking part include the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Spain. In his state of the nation address to the National Assembly today, Mr. Chávez said he welcomed the formation of the group. He said he would like it to be expanded, suggesting countries including France, Russia and Cuba as possible members. A State Department spokesman said Washington would resist efforts to expand the group and opposed giving Mr. Chávez control over its membership. [End]
Bump!
Looks like a war to me, against an entire civilian population.
Gee were are all the war protesters on this one?
Enjoying the spectacle, I imagine.
Venezuela's Chavez Woos Support of Latam Leaders - "Fighting the same campaign as Jesus Christ"*** Hugo Chavez sought backing from fellow Latin American leaders on Wednesday to resolve a six-week-old opposition strike that has crippled his country's vital oil exports. Arriving in Ecuador's capital for the inauguration of President Lucio Gutierrez, the populist Venezuelan leader branded his opponents "fascists" and "terrorists" and said he was fighting the same campaign that Jesus Christ had. "The whole world is divided," the embattled leader told a reporter in Quito. "Why do you think that Christ came to the world 2,000 years ago to fight for the poor against the powerful? We are waging this battle."
Former paratrooper Chavez said he would discuss Venezuela's conflict with the region's presidents later Wednesday. Venezuela's opposition strike, which began Dec. 2, has threatened to engulf the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter in economic turmoil and pushed up global oil prices to two-year highs. Strikers, including rebel state oil firm managers, have vowed to keep up the stoppage until Chavez quits. ***
This ought to improve his popularity among Democrats in our country.
In a similar raid at the Polar beer bottling plant, soldiers grabbed company managers by their shirt collars and tossed them off the company grounds. At a second Coca-Cola plant, on Margarita Island, by contrast, a National Guard captain standing at a locked gate calmly said: ``Someone has to come here and open this, or should it be by force?'' A key was produced and the gate was opened.
''This is not a question of a court order. This is a question of orders from the president,'' said National Guard Gen. Luis Felipe Acosta, who led the search of the Coca-Cola plant in Venezuela's Carabobo state. ``Collective rights come before individual rights.'' He then took a swig from a malt beverage, looked at television cameras -- and delivered a loud belch.***
Their priorities are in the right place.(slight sarcasm)
Sounds like they need lots of ammo and many crates of ahem!"Bibles"
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