Jorge Valero, Venezuela's ambassador to the Organization of American States, said his country wants to expand the group, which now includes the United States, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Mexico and Portugal.
Foreign Ministry officials from those countries met privately in Brazil's capital Monday to discuss ways to ease tensions in Venezuela following the arrest of business leader Carlos Fernandez in February and warrants issued against eight other opposition leaders.
The nine opposed President Hugo Chavez during a general strike that lasted two months. Valero said the strike has cost Venezuela some US$5 billion in damages and lost revenue.
The meeting was led by OAS General-Secretary Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and included Timoteo Zambrano, a representative of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement.
Zambrano said Chavez was "inventing excuses" to avoid calling early elections, which he refuses to accept. He said Gaviria should have a more decisive role in the meetings.
In January, Chavez met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and suggested expanding the Group of Friends, citing France, Russia, Cuba and China as possible new members. Brazil led opposition to changes, on grounds they would upset the political balance of the group. [End]
The well, 340 kilometers (210 miles) northeast of Bogota, was initially drilled by Los Angeles, California-based Occidental Petroleum Corp., but that company abandoned the project last May. Ecopetrol took it over after that. "Gibraltar I is a 100 percent Ecopetrol project, which means the reserves and the production belong exclusively to the nation," Ecopetrol said in a statement. This oil well gained notoriety while being drilled by Occidental because the U'wa Indians protested the project fiercely, even threatening mass suicide by jumping off a cliff. The U'wa say oil is the blood of the earth.
The exploration is taking place despite heavy security risks due to the country's 38-year civil war. Guerrillas frequently bomb oil pipelines and installations as part of an extortion scheme and to protest the government's alleged "subservience" to foreign interests. The United States has deployed about 70 Green Berets to oil-rich Arauca state to train Colombian soldiers in counter-guerrilla tactics to protect a crucial pipeline there.
Oil is Colombia's No .1 legal export and a key source of government revenue but Yanovich warned last year that the country would be forced to start importing crude within five years if large new reserves weren't discovered. Colombia produces 590,000 barrels a day, more than half of which is exported.***