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Venezuelan VP Downplays Coup Rumors [Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's vice president played down rumors that another military rebellion against President Hugo Chavez was in the works Friday. "The situation is totally normal," Jose Vicente Rangel said at a news conference. Rangel said commanders throughout the nation reported the situation was calm, and blamed the rumors circulating in Caracas, the capital, on adversaries trying to incite another uprising.

Rebel military officers ousted Chavez on April 12, a day after 17 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in an opposition march. Chavez was reinstated April 14 following protests by his supporters and foreign governments. Dozens of people died in riots and looting during Chavez's ouster. Chavez was on his first foreign trip Friday since the coup, attending a European Union-Latin America summit in Spain. He was to return Saturday.

Speculation about a new uprising included reports that the president's family had left Venezuela, that government ministers were in military custody and that high-ranking military officers were deploying tanks and troops to launch a coup. "The most tangible proof that there isn't a problem is that (Chavez) traveled abroad," said Rangel. "There would be a basis for suspicion" if Chavez didn't go, Rangel said. The U.S. State Department on Wednesday eased a travel warning for American citizens visiting Venezuela, though it cautioned that demonstrations and unrest can erupt at any time and urged Americans not to visit regions bordering Colombia due to kidnapping threats. [End]

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Targeting terrorism, drugs, trade EU, Latin American leaders agree at summit to boost cooperation [Full Text] MADRID, Spain -- Nearly 50 European and Latin American leaders agreed Friday to boost their cooperation fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, while saying a European Union-Chile free trade deal could be an example for the whole region. Worried by growing instability in Latin America, EU leaders also urged their counterparts from the region to stick with democratic and economic reforms. "There must be no return to the outdated recipes of the past," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said, opening a two-day summit of leaders from Europe, South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Latin American leaders asked Europe to offer practical help and not dictate solutions. "We are not here to be lectured at. We will only accept advice," said Argentine Foreign Minister Carlos Ruckhauf. At the request of Colombian President Andres Pastrana, EU leaders agreed to consider adding the leftist guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to the EU terrorist list. Latin America has been shaken in recent months by the collapse of the Argentine economy, political chaos in Venezuela and resurgent violence in Colombia. The summit marked the first trip abroad for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez since a failed coup against him in April.

The EU initialed a new "association agreement" with Chile, which will free up $7.7 billion worth of trade. The deal, which will be signed formally in a few months, comes two years after a similar accord with Mexico. Despite concerns about economic progress, EU-Latin American trade has doubled over the past decade, making the region the EU's second largest trading partner. EU exports totaled $51 billion while its imports from Latin America amounted to $45.6 billion. [End]