Posted on 02/26/2003 2:02:22 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
President Hugo Chavez relies on a group of staunch supporters outside the cabinet to help defend his government.
Many hold senior positions within the armed forces, the ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), community organisations and local government.
Several are linked to the so-called Bolivarian Circles, described by the government as civil action groups which give a voice to the poorest sectors of Venezuelan society.
Named after the national hero, Liberator Simon Bolivar, about 70,000 of these community groups - which lobby the government directly for funds - have been set up across the country to fight for the rights of the marginalised and "defend the revolution".
But critics argue that what they refer to as the "Circles of Terror" have become a sort of underground armed militia.
"Commander" Lina Ron
The spread of the "Circles" has led to the emergence of a number of popular leaders. Among them is Lina Ron - emblematic leader of the People's Power Network - who has taken to the streets to defend Mr Chavez.
Ms Ron is famous for having set fire to the US flag in Bolivar Square in Caracas just days after the 11 September attacks in the US, and is known by her supporters as the "Commander".
When she was briefly arrested in November 2002 for confronting an anti-Chavez student demonstration, President Chavez defended her as a political prisoner, describing her as "a soldier who deserves the respect of all Venezuelans".
But when the opposition marched to the National Electoral Council to hand in a petition calling for a non-binding referendum on the president's rule, Lina Ron was blamed by the government for instigating violent protests by government supporters.
President Chavez described Ms Ron as "uncontrollable".
General Raul Baduel
Army General Raul Baduel was one of the officers who rose up against the short-lived Carmona government during the April 2002 attempted coup. At the time, he was chief of the 42nd Airborne Brigade of paratroopers.
Well-known for his new-age beliefs, General Baduel was the first senior officer to declare his opposition to the coup.
He helped organise the operation that rescued Mr Chavez from prison on the Caribbean island of La Orchila.
He was subsequently promoted to Commander of the 4th Armoured Division (Maracay), giving him control of the central-southern area of the country.
Critics say the general is one of three officers "co-governing" Venezuela with the president.
In December 2002, General Baduel told reporters he had received numerous calls from the opposition asking him to rise up against the government, or at least to persuade Mr Chavez to resign.
"Ideas not connected to the constitutional norm," he said, "have no hold inside the armed forces".
His cousin, Army Colonel Jose Ricardo Bozza Baduel, is one of 135 dissident officers who declared themselves in "legitimate disobedience" in October 2002.
The colonel says he does not share General Baduel's "Castro-communist sympathies".
He has called on the nation "not to be fooled by those who have a vested interest in maintaining the current corrupt Chavez government".
Mayor Freddy Bernal, Libertador municipality (Caracas)
Freddy Bernal is the president's most trusted mayor in Caracas. The opposition regard him as an ultrarevolutionary "Taleban".
He was a target of the police raids carried out on 12 April under the short-lived Carmona government.
Before taking up politics, the mayor commanded a notorious Metropolitan Police elite corps known as the Z Group. The opposition now accuse him of both arming and training the "Bolivarian Circles", an allegation he denies.
Mr Bernal was a vocal supporter of the militarisation of Caracas in November, when the National Guard began to patrol the streets of the capital following outbreaks of violence.
National Guard General Luis Felipe Acosta
Described by Mr Chavez as "a patriotic general", this National Guard officer first came into the public eye in August when he was caught on camera forcefully dispersing a group of women protesters in Valencia in Carabobo State.
When asked if his behaviour had been too aggressive, he replied "It doesn't matter. I will apologise later." This attitude provoked heated debate and calls for his resignation from within the armed forces.
However, his first great TV moment came after he had led a raid on two drinks companies, Panamco and Polar, during the recent general strike.
A belch to camera sealed his fate as the president's most extrovert general.
While this act was widely criticised, it has done little to dent his career. He says he will defend the president "at all costs".
God help Venezuela.
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