Even if unsuccessful, sources said, the second attempt to topple Chavez likely will be violent and will affect at least a half-dozen major garrisons simultaneously, demonstrating that the president does not control the deeply divided military.
If the reports are accurate, fighting likely would erupt between military units in different garrisons, and the resulting bloodshed could push Venezuela to the edge of a civil war, especially if the Chavez regime calls on the civilian Bolivarian Circles for its defense.***
"It is possible that it will be re-established in the coming months," Portal told a news conference. Under an October 2000 agreement between Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro Venezuela was supplying the oil to Cuba on special terms, allowing it 15 years to pay and charging 2 percent a year interest on amassed debt.
Venezuela signed similar agreements with other countries in Central America and the Caribbean. During the two days when Chavez briefly lost control, Venezuelan oil company officials announced a series of changes that included an end of oil shipments to Cuba. [End]