Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

I'm keeping track of Hugoland formally known as Venezuela. Please LINK any stories or add what you wish to this thread. The above LINK takes you to past articles posted before the new FR format. Below I'll add what I've catalogued since that LINK no longer could take posts.

[Full Text] CARACAS, VENEZUELA - The man who won Venezuelan hearts three years ago as a strongman who could deliver a better life to the masses is now facing them in the streets.

More than 20,000 people turned out this week calling for the resignation of President Hugo Chávez, while some 2,000 supporters marched in a rival demonstration of support. The demonstrations come after months of building discontent with a president who has managed to alienate the labor class, the media, business groups, the church, political parties, and the military.

In November, Chávez introduced 49 "revolutionary" decrees. The package of laws - affecting everything from land rights and fisheries to the oil industry - unified virtually the whole of organized society in a nationwide business and labor stoppage that paralyzed the country on Dec. 10.

The protests this week have a note of irony, because they started out as a commemoration called by President Chávez. In his eyes, Feb. 27 is a milestone of his so-called revolution - "the date on which the people awoke" in 1989. That is when thousands of rioters and looters took to the streets in protest of an IMF-backed austerity plan, in which the government hiked gas prices.

In what became known as the caracazo, or noisy protest, thousands of rioters and looters were met by Venezuelan military forces, and hundreds were killed. Three years later, Chávez and his military co-conspirators failed in an attempt to overthrow the government responsible for the massacre, that of President Carlos Andres Perez. Chávez was jailed for two years.

"But the elements that brought about the caracazo are still present in Venezuela," says lawyer Liliana Ortega, who for 13 years has led the fight for justice on behalf of the victims' relatives. "Poverty, corruption, impunity ... some of them are perhaps even more deeply ingrained than before."

Chávez's supporters consist of an inchoate mass of street traders, the unemployed, and those whom the old system had marginalized. This, to Chávez, is el pueblo - the people.

"But we are 'the people' too," protests teacher Luis Leonet. "We're not oligarchs like he says. The oligarchs are people like Chávez, people with power."

On Wednesday, Leonet joined a march led by the main labor confederation, the CTV, to protest what unions say is a series of antilabor measures, including one of the 49 decrees dealing with public-sector workers.

Chávez won't talk to the CTV, whose leaders, he says, are corrupt and illegitimate. So he refuses to negotiate the annual renewal of collective contracts with the confederation, holding up deals on pay and conditions for hundreds of thousands of union members like Leonet.

Across town on Wednesday, a progovernment march sought to demonstrate that the president's popularity was as high as ever.

Pollster Luis Vicente Leon, of the Datanalisis organization, warns that marches are no measure of relative popularity. "There is a lot of discontent among ... the really poor," Leon says, adding that so far the protests are mainly among the middle class.

But the middle class can be a dangerous enemy. It includes the bulk of the armed forces, and the management of the state oil company, PDVSA.

This month, four uniformed officers, ranging from a National Guard captain to a rear-admiral and an Air Force general, called on the president to resign, while repudiating the idea of a military coup of Chávez, himself a former Army lieutenant-colonel.

But senior "institutionalist" officers "are under severe pressure from lower ranks frustrated at the lack of impact" that these acts have had, a source close to military dissidents says. In other words, a coup cannot be ruled out, although the United States publicly denounces the idea.

Meanwhile, the president's imposition of a new board of directors on PDVSA this week sparked a virtual uprising by the company's senior management. In an unprecedented public statement, managers said the government was pushing the company "to the verge of operational and financial collapse" by imposing political, rather than commercial, criteria.

The political opposition remains relatively weak and divided. But in the view of many analysts, a president who offends both the military and the oil industry is asking for trouble. In the bars and restaurants of Caracas, the debate is no longer over whether Chávez will finish his term, which has nearly five years to run. It is when and how he will go - and what comes next. [End]

Chavez recoups his base***Nuñez, the lawyer, was at the Miraflores presidential palace April 12 when Carmona issued his decrees. He said the army's commander, Gen. Efrain Vasquez Velasco, who was a key figure behind the uprising, was flabbergasted. "He was very, very against the decrees. He said that he had to consult with other commanders about whether or not to support the new government," Nuñez said. Another problem was that Vasquez and other top officers who rebelled did not exercise direct control over troops. Instead of taking control of the Miraflores palace, arresting pro-Chavez officers and securing the countryside, they wasted time squabbling over political appointments, said Fernando Ochoa, a former defense minister.

By April 13, commanders of key military installations in Caracas and Maracay had declared their opposition to Carmona. As demonstrators took to the streets of Caracas and other cities to demand the return of Chavez, loyalist soldiers took control of the presidential palace. "I have never seen so many mistakes in so little time," said Tarre, the analyst.

Gen. Lucas Rincon, the overall commander of the armed forces who had earlier announced the president's resignation, proclaimed his loyalty to Chavez. Carmona was placed under arrest, and before dawn Sunday, Chavez was back in his old job. Nestor Gonzalez, an army general who had expressed support for the uprising, said the coup's failure will likely produce even more fractures within the armed forces. "It's hard to understand how a general can say one thing at one hour and the next hour say something else," Gonzalez told reporters. "The leadership is weak. It has no credibility."

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"We have legitimate reasons to feel proud of our armed forces," said Miguel Madriz, a retired lieutenant colonel who took part in Chavez's 1992 coup attempt and now directs the pro-government Fifth Republic Movement political party. Madriz believes that reports of dissent within the armed forces have been deliberately exaggerated by the opposition to confuse officers and foment unrest. He said he called 11 military commanders around the country during the uprising and that all of them backed Chavez. Yet talk on the streets of Caracas often centers not on whether the military will again rise up against Chavez, but on when. That kind of speculation concerns Cesar Gaviria, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, who was dispatched to Venezuela last week to help resolve the crisis.***

Chávez's new moderation: True conversion or tactical retreat? Do you believe in miracles?*** Will Venezuela's populist President Hugo Chávez tone down his inflammatory rhetoric and stop harassing the press following the failed military coup that tried to topple him? Or will he become a full-blown dictator as soon as the world looks another way?

I have asked these questions to more than a dozen well-placed regional diplomats in recent days, after Chávez said he had learned a ''major lesson'' from the bloody events that shook his country April 12 and that he would set up a national reconciliation commission to seek an understanding with his political opponents.

Judging from what I heard, Chávez -- a former coup plotter who was elected in 1998 and vowed to stay in power until 2021 -- may go in any of the following directions.***

Helicopter Crash***CARACAS, Venezuela - The man newly named to head Venezuela's Air Force in the wake of a failed coup against President Hugo Chavez has died in a helicopter crash along with three other generals, adding to the turmoil in the nation's armed forces. The armed forces on Saturday confirmed a Globovision television report that Gen. Gen. Luis Alfonso Acevedo had died. The television report said nine other soldiers had died in the crash late Friday night in a forested area about 15 kilometers (10 miles) north of the capital. Officials said bad weather was the likely cause.

Also killed were Gens. Pedro Torres Finol, Julio Ochoa Omana and Rafael Quintana Bello, as well as a captain, three lieutenants and two sergeants. Two other helicopters carrying army Commander in Chief Lucas Rincon and National Guard commander Gen. Francisco Belisario Landis were also forced to land, but none were injured in those craft.

The officers had attended a ceremony installing a new Navy chief, Vice Admiral Fernando Camejo Arenas. Chavez reshuffled the high command after he was ousted in a coup April 12 and reinstated on Sunday.***

OAS should bite bullet, confront Venezuela's Chavez ***In the spirit of reconciliation, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has taken off his paratrooper uniform and put on a business suit. Been there, seen that.

The similarities between Chavez and his communist mentor, Fidel Castro of Cuba, are too many to list here. Whenever it's convenient for Castro to appear presidential, he removes his olive-green military garb and puts on a suit. Then he'll spew the same tired Marxist lines. Can we expect the "same old" of Chavez?

Last week, Chavez met with mayors and other elected officials and political opponents to try to bring together a country torn apart April 12 when his troops and armed thugs from his Bolivarian Circles shot dead dozens of unarmed Venezuelans protesting his policies. The chaos culminated in a short-lived coup, with Chavez triumphantly returning to power within 43 hours while those "patriotic" Bolivarian Circles rioted, burned buildings, looted stores and beat and killed more people.***

Clash of Visions Pushed Venezuela Toward Coup

*** Venezuela's military has long been one of the country's most admired institutions. The army comprises the vast majority of the military's 79,000 uniformed members, and is the most socially diverse and politically liberal of the service branches. The navy is one of its smallest forces, and considered the most exclusive. As recently as three decades ago, only the children of married parents were accepted into the naval academy that Molina attended.

When Chavez entered the army's academy in the early 1970s, a project by Venezuela's Communist Party to infiltrate the ranks with sympathizers was 10 years old. The project eventually fractured into ideological splinters, and Chavez became the head of a small group of leftist officers in the early 1980s that opposed the conservative government. In 1992, then-Lt. Col. Chavez led this group in a failed coup to topple President Carlos Andres Perez, an attempt that made him a national figure and paved the way for his election six years later.

Despite their different backgrounds,(Rear Adm. Carlos) Molina was too accomplished for Chavez to overlook: an officer with two master's degrees, fluent in four languages and an expert in signals intelligence, anti-submarine warfare and weapons systems on the frigates and destroyers that account for most of Venezuela's surface fleet. In November 2000, Chavez named Molina his national security adviser. Molina helped create an "intelligence center" at Miraflores, the presidential palace, designed, in the words of Chavez aides, to "monitor the social situation around the nation." Chavez opponents viewed the operation as another step toward a police state. Although part of Chavez's inner circle, Molina said last week, "I was a trusted man, but only relatively so."

Molina said he was alarmed by what he saw in his national security role. Without offering evidence, Molina said he discovered Chavez's "ties with and sympathies for" Colombia's Marxist guerrillas fighting a U.S.-backed government next door. He said Chavez brought in Cuban advisers to control dissent at home. Chavez has denied both charges. But Molina said that, beyond those specific security concerns, he became convinced that Chavez was carrying out a communist project that he began when he was a young army officer. "The evidence couldn't be more clear -- his attacks on civil society, the media, the church -- that he is turning this country into a large class struggle," Molina said.

After eight months, Chavez dismissed Molina. The president offered him the ambassadorship to Greece, which Molina declined. According to non-U.S. diplomats here who know him, Molina began last November to plan for Chavez's ouster with a group of dissident officers led by Air Force Col. Pedro Soto. But the sources said Molina broke with the group to join with a more powerful faction of senior navy and national guard officers who ended up in the provisional government this month. Soto is now one of three officers seeking asylum in the Bolivian embassy here. On the day of the coup, he was in Washington, attending a House committee hearing where Otto J. Reich, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, was testifying. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a staunch Castro opponent, introduced Soto as a "great patriot."*** Full article

February 18, 2002 - Third Venezuelan Officer Says Chavez Must Go *** A Venezuelan navy rear admiral on Monday condemned President Hugo Chavez as unpatriotic and became the highest-ranking armed forces officer to publicly demand the resignation of the outspoken left-wing leader. The public challenge by Rear Admiral Carlos Molina was another slap at Chavez, himself a former paratroop officer, after two other lower-ranking military officers staged similar highly publicized acts of defiance 11 days ago. "Venezuelans! For Venezuela, its future and the well-being of our children, we must all demand with a single voice the immediate resignation of President Chavez and his government," Molina, wearing his gold-braided white naval uniform, told a news conference. Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel said military authorities would review Molina's statement and act with "great seriousness but firmness as well." ***

Rodriguez sorry to leave OPEC, but helping Venezuela a higher call CARACAS - Only after being heavily pressured by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was Ali Rodriguez prepared to step down as Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and return to Caracas to preside over state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela SA…………. Although the removal of Parra and the previous board is seen as crucial to appease dissident staff, PdVSA's strategy under Rodriguez's presidency won't differ much from Parra's. Rodriguez's mantra also will be to increase government revenues through hefty taxes, reduce operating and labor costs and comply strictly to oil output policy set by his now former colleagues at OPEC.

"The guidelines are set by the government and the company is owned by the government," Rodriguez said. "It's crucial that the role of the state and of the company should be made absolutely clear to everyone. PdVSA should extract, produce and export oil and the ministry should set policy," said Rodriguez, who will become the fifth company president in just over three years. Rodriguez, who's expected to head back to Vienna Tuesday or Wednesday, will begin consultations with ministers on who will be his interim replacement at OPEC headquarters.

Rodriguez suggested that his deputy OPEC's head of research Adnan Shihab-eldin could take over as secretary general for an interim period. "The president has authorized me to keep the Vienna post as long there is no replacement. But it's better to have one as soon as possible and Shihab-eldin could do it," Rodriguez said. OPEC has an extraordinary ministers meeting June 26. Rodriguez has served 16 months of his three-year term of office. OPEC sources said finding a replacement for Rodriguez could prove difficult. The choice of secretary general must be unanimous and has in the past been fraught with political maneuvering.***

After the coup, the reckoning (Venezuela)***Latin American governments feared that Mr Chavez's overthrow would set a dreadful precedent in the region. They were behind the OAS's decision to convene a special session of its general assembly to discuss Venezuela on April 18th, something which the United States opposed, fearing it would give a platform to Mr Chavez. Ironically, the OAS's democratic charter, which requires it to intervene when democracy is threatened, was approved last year at the behest of the United States and despite dissent from Venezuela. The lesson for Mr Chavez is that he was saved not by Cuba's Fidel Castro, his best friend in the region, but by democracy, points out Mr Garrido.

Nobody has emerged from these events with much credit. They have cast a familiar shadow of political instability over Latin America-and given the no less familiar impression that the United States backs democracy in the region only if it is run by its friends. And while Mr Chavez has bobbed back, some Venezuelans believe his "revolution" has been mortally wounded. After all, many successful coups are preceded by botched attempts.***

[Dictator] Castro Defies Fox of Mexico as Once-Warm Ties Sour***While the tape played, Mr. Castro rolled his eyes, as if to mock the Mexican leader's comments. Mr. Fox, a conservative businessman, originally tried to say that Mr. Castro's late notice of attending the conference would not allow Mexico to provide enough security or attention. Ultimately, the two agreed that Mr. Castro would attend a Thursday morning session, make his six-minute presentation and then sit next to Mr. Fox at a lunch. But when Mr. Fox asked him not to "attack the United States or President Bush," Mr. Castro cut him off. "Listen Mr. President, I'm a person who has been in politics for about 43 years and I know what I should do and what I should not do," Mr. Castro said. "You don't need to have any doubts that I know how to tell the truth politely and with the proper elegance." Mr. Castro issued a seven-minute tirade against capitalism and globalization in Monterrey, before some 50 heads of state, and then left in a huff.***

As a matter of fact, two days before this conversation, Castro had told reporters he may not attend the conference and that Hugo Chavez could speak for him. ______________March 17, 2002 - Cuba's Castro Says Venezuelan Chavez Speaks for Him***"Even if I don't go, we, I, feel represented in your words," Castro told Chavez in a telephone call during a marathon live broadcast of the Venezuelan leader's weekly "Hello President" television and radio program. ***

Venezuela and the U.S. War on Al Qaeda***Prior to Sept. 11, Chavez's flirtations with Iraq, Libya, Iran and the occasional Hezbollah agent were irritating but tolerable. After Sept. 11 it became a direct threat to the United States. A frightening scenario could be generated: U.S.-backed Colombian forces were pressing FARC guerrillas; the war could spill over into western Venezuela; Chavez was not likely to permit U.S.-backed operations in his territory, and at the same time, his relationships with radical Arabs and Islamic fundamentalists could give them a base of operations in the Western Hemisphere secure against U.S. attacks. Given the importance of Venezuelan oil to the United States and the deep interdependence of the two countries, the Bush administration saw Chavez's Venezuela evolving in a way that could directly threaten U.S. interests.

………Chavez is a problem for the United States, but the deeper problem is the lingering perception about U.S. power and competence. Given that no one will believe that the United States did not plan the coup -- regardless of the truth, which is itself murky -- the failure of the coup is a direct blow to the credibility of U.S. ferocity, which might resonate around the world. If Hugo Chavez can survive American wrath, how seriously should the world take American wrath? This puts the United States in an uncomfortable position indeed. At a time when it is less than clear what the government has in mind about al Qaeda, doubts about U.S. power are the last thing the Bush administration needs. That should make Chavez feel fairly uncomfortable himself. He has survived, but his survival has raised the stakes. The United States looks pretty ridiculous at a time when it can least afford to look ridiculous. If the government can't bring Chavez down, how can it reach out and touch some of the really dangerous regimes it will have to deal with?***

Reich rejects calls for apology - U.S. criticized for its handling of Chávez crisis*** WASHINGTON - Otto Reich, the top Bush administration official for Latin America affairs, on Monday sharply rejected suggestions that Washington should apologize for its handling of the Venezuelan crisis, despite continuing criticism from a variety of sources. ''Apologies for what?'' asked Reich, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere. ``If it's shown we made a mistake, I'll apologize.''

Reich, a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela who now ranks as the senior U.S. diplomat to the Americas, said the Bush administration's categorical April 12 statement that President Hugo Chávez had resigned Venezuela's presidency ``reflected the best information that we had at the time.'' ''What we have here is typical Monday morning quarterbacking by people who are ill-informed,'' Reich said in a telephone interview in which he offered some details of his own actions during the two days that Chávez was ousted and until his return April 14. ``I pay absolutely no attention to people who say that we didn't respect democracy.'' ***

Reich, a Cuban-born political appointee of President Bush, was perhaps the lead figure among a handful of key advisors who managed the crisis for the White House. Key Democratic senators suggest the handling was inept. Reich's most prominent critic, Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, complained last week that he needs ``adult supervision.''***

Venezuelan Legislator Says U.S. Involved in Coup *** CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - A Venezuelan congressman accused the U.S. ambassador to Caracas and two U.S. Embassy military attaches on Tuesday of being involved in the short-lived coup against President Hugo Chavez. The U.S. Embassy immediately denied as "ridiculous" and "absolutely untrue" the allegations made by Roger Rondon, a pro-Chavez National Assembly deputy from the small Movement Toward Socialism party.

………. In statements at a news conference and to local radio, Rondon said two U.S. military officers attached to the embassy, whose surnames he gave as Rogers and MacCammon, had been present at Fuerte Tiuna military headquarters with the leaders of the coup during the night of April 11 and 12. "That is absolutely untrue," a U.S. Embassy spokesman told Reuters. Rondon also accused U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro of involvement in the coup, saying he had met with businessman Pedro Carmona, the interim president who briefly replaced Chavez, at the Miraflores presidential palace April 12.

….. Rondon said Venezuela should ask that the United States recall Shapiro from his post, which he took up last month. The U.S. ambassador has acknowledged that he met with Carmona April 12. He said he had recommended to the interim president that he restore the National Assembly, which Carmona abolished when he took office the previous day. He also urged him to welcome a mission from the Organization of American States. Rondon told reporters that two foreign gunmen, one American and the other Salvadoran, were detained by security police during a huge anti-Chavez protest march April 11 in which 17 people were killed, many of them by unidentified snipers firing from rooftops. ***

Venezuelan Legislator Says U.S. Involved in Coup

Last Updated: April 23, 2002 03:18 PM ET -->
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By Pascal Fletcher CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - A Venezuelan congressman accused the U.S. ambassador to Caracas and two U.S. Embassy military attaches on Tuesday of being involved in the short-lived coup against President Hugo Chavez. The U.S. Embassy immediately denied as "ridiculous" and "absolutely untrue" the allegations made by Roger Rondon, a pro-Chavez National Assembly deputy from the small Movement Toward Socialism party. President Bush's government has been accused by domestic opponents of being slow to criticize the April 11-14 military coup that briefly toppled Chavez and replaced him with an interim government. U.S. officials have repeatedly denied media reports that Washington encouraged and supported the coup in Venezuela, which is a major supplier of oil to the United States. Chavez, a left-wing former paratrooper who has irritated the United States by befriending Cuba and Iraq, was returned to power by loyal troops early April 14 following widespread protests by his supporters in the streets of the capital. In statements at a news conference and to local radio, Rondon said two U.S. military officers attached to the embassy, whose surnames he gave as Rogers and MacCammon, had been present at Fuerte Tiuna military headquarters with the leaders of the coup during the night of April 11 and 12. "That is absolutely untrue," a U.S. Embassy spokesman told Reuters. Rondon also accused U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro of involvement in the coup, saying he had met with businessman Pedro Carmona, the interim president who briefly replaced Chavez, at the Miraflores presidential palace April 12. "We saw him leaving Miraflores Palace, all smiles and embraces, with the dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga," Rondon told reporters. "(His) satisfaction was obvious. Shapiro's participation in the coup d'etat in Venezuela is evident," he later said on state-run Radio Nacional. "That's ridiculous," the U.S. Embassy spokesman said on condition of anonymity. He also dismissed allegations by the Venezuelan legislator that Shapiro had served as a U.S. military attache in Chile, El Salvador and Nicaragua. FOREIGN GUNMEN Since his reinstatement, Chavez has said his government is evaluating the U.S. position during the coup, but he has stressed he wants to maintain good relations and that Venezuela will continue to supply oil to the U.S. market. Rondon said Venezuela should ask that the United States recall Shapiro from his post, which he took up last month. The U.S. ambassador has acknowledged that he met with Carmona April 12. He said he had recommended to the interim president that he restore the National Assembly, which Carmona abolished when he took office the previous day. He also urged him to welcome a mission from the Organization of American States. Rondon told reporters that two foreign gunmen, one American and the other Salvadoran, were detained by security police during a huge anti-Chavez protest march April 11 in which 17 people were killed, many of them by unidentified snipers firing from rooftops. The MAS deputy described the two men as "sharpshooters" but did not name them or say who reported the arrests. "They haven't appeared anywhere. They were handed over to the (political police). We presume these two gentlemen were given some kind of safe-conduct and could have left the country," Rondon told Radio Nacional. The U.S. Embassy spokesman said there were no U.S. military personnel from the embassy at Fuerte Tiuna military headquarters from 5.30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, until approximately 2:15 p.m. Saturday, April 13. He added two members of the embassy's defense attache's office, one a Lt. Col. James Rogers, drove in a jeep around Fuerte Tiuna Thursday afternoon to check reports that the base was closed. They did this after members of the U.S. military cooperation mission there had closed down their office. He added no embassy defense attache personnel set foot on the Fuerte Tiuna base again until approximately 2:15 p.m. Saturday, when a Lt.-Col. Ronald MacCammon went to a news conference by the then Venezuelan armed forces chief Gen. Efrain Vasquez. Military support for the coup against Chavez was by then crumbling and Carmona resigned a few hours later. Vasquez is currently facing rebellion charges for his involvement.

IRA is linked to 'axis of evil'*** THE IRA was linked to President Bush's "axis of evil" in Washington last night when congressional investigators revealed that the Bogota authorities believed Iranian terrorists had trained in the same part of Colombia as the Provisionals. Placing the IRA within a global network of terrorism, a report by the House International Relations Committee concluded that Irish, Iranian, Cuban and possibly Spanish groups had probably "been sharing techniques, honing their terrorism skills, using illicit drug proceeds in payment".

In an attempt to limit the political damage, Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, had earlier declined an invitation to appear before a hearing of the committee today on the IRA's relationship with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [Farc] narco-terrorists. "Colombian authorities assert that not only has the IRA operated in the former safe haven on behalf of the Farc, but also the Iranians, Cubans, and possibly Eta [Basque terrorists], among others," a summary of the committee's report said.

The inquiry was launched last summer after James Monaghan and Martin McAuley, both convicted of IRA offences, and Niall Connolly, Sinn Fein's representative in Cuba, were arrested in Bogota and charged with aiding the Farc. "Colombia is a potential breeding ground for international terror equalled perhaps only by Afghanistan, and the IRA findings are the strongest among these global links because of the arrests of the three Irish nationals and the accompanying evidence," said the summary.***

Chavez ordered out tanks during protest march-tapes***The public broadcast of the tapes was likely to inflame a controversy surrounding the four days of violence that accompanied the coup and subsequent restoration of Chavez, who has ruled the world's No. 4 oil exporter since 1998. Foes of Chavez, including military officers who staged the brief putsch, have accused him of deploying tanks and troops to repel the April 11 anti-government march by tens of thousands of civilian protesters, in which 17 people were shot dead.

But Rincon, who confirmed the military deployment, defended the move. "It wasn't to mistreat or to repress the population. No. It was to guarantee security and prevent public order disturbances," he told local Union Radio. Senior military officers involved in the coup have said they removed the president and replaced him with an interim government because they could not accept Chavez's order to use the armed forces against an unarmed civilian demonstration. At least five of the coup plotters are facing rebellion charges***

Venezuela's Chavez on audiotape ordering troops to defend presidential palace before violence *** MARACAY, Venezuela - Venezuelan news media released an audiotape Wednesday in which President Hugo Chavez is heard ordering troops and tanks into Caracas' streets to confront a massive opposition demonstration that ultimately ended in a blood bath.

In the tape, Chavez orders the activation of "Plan Avila," a state security emergency plan, to contain hundreds of thousands of civilians who marched on the presidential palace April 11 to demand Chavez resign. "I order you to start Plan Avila. The first move we must make is to send the Ayala Battalion," Chavez tells an unidentified officer via radio.

Venezuelan generals have said they refused to obey the order requiring them to use force against unarmed civilians. At least 17 people died that day anyway, and several investigations are underway to determine who is to blame.

The bloodshed led disgusted generals to oust Chavez on April 12. Loyalist troops and thousands of Chavez militants rebelled April 13, and Chavez was restored to power on April 14.***

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