Chavez vows to send petro-terrorists to prison

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said he would not offer amnesty to thousands of oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against him and urged prosecutors to indict them for sabotage.

More than 9,000 workers have been dismissed from state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. since a national strike began Dec. 2 to force Chavez to step down or agree to early elections.

"There is no rehiring. They are not just fired, they must be indicted," Chavez said Sunday, calling on the attorney general and judges to administer justice. "Punishment for those responsible for all the damage they have done to PDVSA and the country!"

Chavez said Venezuela's penal code allows for jail terms of up to five years for those convicted of damaging strategic installations such as ports, oil pipelines and refineries. He said many striking workers had not only abandoned their posts but also sabotaged oil operations.

Dissident executives from PDVSA deny sabotage charges. They say replacement workers hired by the government lack qualifications and are incompetent, hence delays in restarting the industry.

The opposition has held several marches supporting the fired oil workers and also say they collected 2.5 million signatures of support.

The government claims most of PDVSA's 40,000 employees have returned to work. Strike leaders deny this, saying thousands refuse to return to their posts until Chavez rehires the 9,000 fired and agrees to an early vote on his rule. Another 900 were fired over the weekend, local daily El Universal said Sunday.

Still, the oil industry - the world's fifth-largest supplier before the strike - is slowly recovering. Chavez, who spoke at the El Palito refinery in western Venezuela, said production is at 1.9 million barrels a day. This compares to over 3 million barrels a day before the strike and just 200,000 at the height of the strike.

Dissident executives say production is nearer 1.3 million barrels a day, and gasoline shortages continue.

Chavez on Sunday called the oil strikers "petro-terrorists" who had teamed up with other opposition forces - business groups, labor unions and political parties that called the strike - to try to oust him.

The strike cost Venezuela more than US$4 billion, the government estimates. It was lifted to protect many businesses from bankruptcy, opposition leaders said.

Chavez also threatened to use newly imposed exchange controls in an offensive against his opponents. The controls were imposed last week to shore up the weak bolivar currency and slow capital flight. The bolivar was fixed at 1,600 per dollar and a currency administration office was set up to distribute dollars.

Critics say the controls are Chavez's latest attempt to restrict freedom in Venezuela. They fear dollars will only be available to government sympathizers and not to the opposition.

Peace talks between government and opposition are being mediated by the Organization of American States. Two possible solutions were suggested by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter but have not yet been agreed on.

The opposition favors cutting Chavez's term in power and calling early elections while government negotiators say they will only discuss a possible referendum on Chavez's rule after August.

The opposition also maintains that any agreement must also allow the reinstatement of the fired PDVSA workers.

Chavez, a former paratrooper, was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000. He promised to wipe out the corruption of previous governments and redistribute the country's vast oil wealth to the poor majority.

His critics charge he has mismanaged the economy, tried to grab authoritarian powers and split the country along class lines with his fiery rhetoric.

Earlier report with great photo.

A Venezuelan opposition man wears a mask of Hugo Chavez during a march in Caracas, February 8, 2003. Tens of thousands of opponents of Venezuela`s President Hugo Chavez marched on Saturday in solidarity with state oil workers staging a two-month strike against the leftist leader. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Chavez Says His Government Is Democratic*** Chavez urged the so-called "Group of Friends," a forum of six nations backing negotiations mediated by the Organization of American States, to "understand the truth about Venezuela."

"In Venezuela, there is a legitimate government, a democratic government," Chavez said during a speech to foreign diplomats. "It's necessary to recognize that reality."

Opposition leaders claim Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, is riding roughshod over the nation's democratic institutions.

Meanwhile, a melee between opposition sympathizers and municipal police under the command of a ruling party mayor erupted outside a building in Caracas where a petition backing early elections is stored. No injuries were reported.

Dozens of opposition supporters pledged to secure the building through the night and accused police of attempting a raid.***

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Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

***"Mr Chávez has made many mistakes, but the most prominent of his mistakes is that he doesn't recognize the multiform nature of democracy. Democracy is a multiform system with a variety of opinions and motivations, but Mr Chávez only has one purpose in mind: revolution. Mr Chávez was elected to preside over a democratic government, not to rule a revolutionary system."*** Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warns nations not to complicate crisis

Chavez is managing to hold on, it would appear. His opposition did not receive a lot of support from "democratic" countries. I don't think Jimmy Carter qualifies as any kind of help. That's sort of like sending Michael Jackson in to stop an epidemic of pedophilia.

My overall opinion of American foreign affairs, which in the 20th century has been, at best, abysmal, has not improved at all, in the last few months

I kept hoping there were behind the scene "things" going on but not that you'd notice.

Venezuela Signs Natural Gas Deals Feb 9, 2003 - [Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela has signed contracts with two foreign oil corporations to exploit the country's largest natural gas reserves, the state news agency Venpres said Sunday.

ChevronTexaco from the United States and Norway's Statoil were awarded the rights to develop two blocks in the Deltana Platform, off the northeastern Venezuelan coast near Trinidad and Tobago.

Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said the deal will open the door for Venezuela to enter natural gas markets in the United States, Europe, Argentina and Brazil.

Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, is trying to reduce its dependence on oil by developing natural gas. The country depends on oil for almost half of government income and 70 percent of export revenue.

The government estimates Deltana Platform has gas reserves of 40 trillion cubic feet. The Deltana Platform gas project could bring in $4 billion in foreign investment in six years, the government said.

ChevronTexaco offered the government a bonus of $19 million for the rights to explore block 2 on the platform, while Statoil offered $32 million for block 4. Three other blocks have not yet been taken. Venezuela still must approve the companies' business plans before exploration can begin. [End]

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And, if I'm not mistaken, because of Chavez's revolutionary laws, Venezuela (Chavez) will retain control with 51% ownership.

I am fairly certain Chavez will find a way to disenfranchise his enemies by the time the nest election (that he allows) rolls around. He has already taken steps against the press, knowing full well that whomever controls the information, controls the people who rely on that information, similar to the way things work in this country. His "mentors" are well-versed in the methods of total state control.

He's attacked the church, taken over the schools, packed the legislature and court with his supporters, fired opponents in the oil sector, purged the military, installed Marxist thinkers into government offices and social organization ie. the arts, etc. He was not able to get his handpicked man voted in as head of the labor union though. With opposition for his removal so strong, Chavez will probably take the route of Mugabe in Zimbabwe (another student of Fidel Castro) and steal any future election.

How To Steal An Election: Chavez Preparing Massive Vote Fraud for Q3/2003

Two years ago

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