Posted on 04/11/2002 3:42:25 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS - Two generals declared themselves in rebellion against President Hugo Chávez on Wednesday, deepening the mood of political tension gripping Venezuela as the country's oil exports ground to a halt and anti-government protesters carried out the second day of a general strike.
Late Wednesday, the country's largest labor confederation announced it would continue the strike indefinitely.
Throughout the day, the National Guard fortified its presence on the streets as scattered riots and raucous demonstrations erupted across Caracas and in provincial cities. The National Guard also took over two office buildings belonging to the state oil company, protesting employees said.
About half of businesses across the country heeded the strike, called by the Venezuelan Workers Confederation and Fedecamaras, the country's largest business association, significantly less than the estimated 70-80 percent that closed Tuesday.
But the issue at the heart of the current turmoil -- a six-day protest against Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the state oil company -- started taking its toll on international oil supplies and domestic gasoline stocks, expected to run out by today in some areas of Venezuela.
The oil company told its international clients Wednesday morning that it could not meet its export commitments. Workers have refused to load tankers with oil and other products since April 3. A New York trader told The Herald that over 28 tankers were waiting offshore for loading.
''They have shut down oil production completely because they do not have anywhere to put the oil,'' the trader said on condition of anonymity. ``Only two tankers have been dispatched since Wednesday, one to Cuba, and the other I don't know where.''
Caribbean refineries supplied by the state oil company cannot get their crucial crude, he said. ''Trinidad's refinery gets half its crude from Venezuela. They are out on the market, buying on an emergency basis,'' the trader said.
According to protesting employees, the oil company is operating at about 50 percent capacity, and has started to show the strain. The strike was called to protest Chávez's appointment of a new board of directors in February and his refusal to negotiate the issue.
The company is the third biggest oil supplier to the United States and the world's fourth largest exporter, sending some two million barrels of oil a day overseas. It is also Venezuela's economic lifeblood and provides over half of government revenues.
Labor boss Carlos Ortega announced late Wednesday that the workers confederation -- already on strike -- was calling an indefinite walkout. He gave few reasons for the decision, other than to cite ''reprisals'' by Chávez's government involving some ``actions in the street.''
Adding to the atmosphere of uncertainty was the sudden declaration of army Brig. Gen. Néstor González González, who called on the chiefs of each branch of the armed forces to seize control of a situation that appears to be slipping out of Chávez's grasp. He hinted darkly that military intervention was brewing.
They ''have to tell the president: You are the cause of all this! Go -- or someone else is going to assume that position,'' he said. He ended a hastily called news conference after declaring, ``Mr. President, this country is worthy of something better than you.''
His statements were followed shortly thereafter by National Guard Gen. Rafael Damiani Bustillos, who criticized Chávez for allegedly ordering the Guard to use force to disperse several thousand oil employees holding a protest rally in front of a building of the state-owned oil company.
''I ask the armed forces that they not take this action of presidential craziness, which would sully the name of the armed forces and especially the National Guard,'' he said. ``I am doing this in spite of what could happen to me for this act.''
Vice President Diosdado Cabello denied that any such order had been given.
The atmosphere grew increasingly bizarre as government officials continued to insist that the country was ''normal,'' despite the protests, strikes, street rallies and demands for Chávez's removal.
''Everything is absolutely normal in the country,'' Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín said. ``There is no state of emergency under consideration. That is what these sectors are seeking. These events are provocations.''
Rodríguez added that authorities were seeking a colonel who was also expected to publicly announce his rebellion against the government.
Said Defense Minister José Vicente Rangel: ``The oil industry is operating efficiently. There is no strike in any part of the oil industry.''
Among the customers of Venezuela's fuel products are many East Coast power generators, including Florida Power and Light, and Citgo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela that is the largest gasoline retailer in the United States.
Oil company sources said government officials are trying to reestablish negotiations with the renegade employees in an effort to get them back to work, but workers have not accepted.
Talks broke off last week after Chávez said he would not go back on his appointment of five middle managers, whose designations protesters say were based on political favoritism.
Key operational personnel are coming under enormous pressure by company managers, who are sending National Guardsmen to their homes to fetch them to work, said Juan Fernández, the oil company's ex-planning and financial control manager.
Chávez fired Fernández on Sunday for his leadership of the protest.
EX-president of Venezuelan state oil company accuses government of eroding morale ***Other bones of contention were the central government's demand that the company hand over $4.4 billion in dividends last year, forcing PDVSA to borrow $500 million to pay the bill; and the oil sales to Cuba, whose leader, Fidel Castro, is Chavez's longtime mentor. · Chavez has insisted that oil sales continue to Cuba, despite an unpaid $97 million bill for past sales. ***
...one to Cuba, and the other I don't know where.
I hope it's to Panama because we depend on Venezula for our refinery. Need to top off my gas tank this a.m.
Thank you for the article.
It's going to kill us if we don't resolve this up-side-down situation.
Hope the line isn't too long. Have a good day!!
Hopefully, the opposition has a game plan.
Big time!
A lot is due to re-formulating and scrubbing out tanks for the summer gas. Got to hate these environmentalists.
What about the ETA terrorists that have been there for several years? The ones that Spain has asked the Venezuelan government to extradite back to Spain? Do they count?
It's time to get honest about our motives.
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