www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, February 20, 2003 By: Einnoc Lebrac

Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 16:31:18 -0800 (PST) From: Einnoc Lebrac venezuelanoestuya@yahoo.com To: editor@vheadline.com Subject: Bush, the opposition & the guy with the grenade

Dear Editor: I have been thinking about the incident of the "Venezuelan citizen" caught in London, carrying a "grenade."

1-  While working for the Venezuelan government in 1993, I witnessed the discovery of several Venezuelan passports in possession of non-Venezuelan citizens (they used to sell all around the world @ about US$ 5,000-20,000).

2- On the other hand. What a coincidence that it was in England (Bush-Blair Combo...) that this incident with the grenade, occurred.

3- Of course it is appropriate to publicize that the guy must be involved with Al-Qaeda, and of course, timing is right to have him come from Venezuela.

4- Who could possible think of something like this?  And why would this guy choose England of all places, especially now?  Doesn't it smell fishy to you?

5- I do not believe this was an incident ... but that it was all planned out.  Well, and the guy is from Margarita, of course...

6- Now we, a group of "so civilized, brilliant and educated Venezuelans" have our road paved to have Venezuela invaded, attacked and destroyed (whatever is left to destroy after the criminal oil lockout) just like it happened to Afghanistan ... how else could we force our way against Chavez, but by destroying the whole country?  An easy way to get rid of poverty ... yeah ... let's just kill all the poor with a good excuse to back us up ... then almighty USA will help us rebuild the whole thing into a Miami-type of paradise ... no poor, no problems.

Because there are no poor in Miami, you know ... the US Society is sooooo perfect.  Please, come to Florida, I`ll show you around...

I just could not stop thinking, this whole thing smells so fishy...

Einnoc Lebrac venezuelanoestuya@yahoo.com

reuters.com Thu February 20, 2003 05:33 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices simmered near the highest levels for more than two years Thursday, ahead of data expected to show further declines in U.S. fuel stocks as the United States gears up for a possible war on oil-rich Iraq.

U.S. light crude CLc1 slipped two cents to $37.14 a barrel, just below a high at $37.45 struck Wednesday, which marked the highest level since September 2000 when soaring oil markets prompted the U.S. government to release emergency reserves.

Crude is only $4 below an all-time peak at $41.15 posted in the build up to the Gulf War in 1990.

In London, benchmark Brent crude was trading 16 cents lower at $32.17 a barrel, off a 26-month-high of $33.10 touched last week.

Apart from the threat of an attack on Iraq, prices have been driven by continued disruptions to oil exports from strike-bound Venezuela and possible interruptions to crude flows from Nigeria as oil workers down tools in a dispute over pay and conditions.

Before its general strike, Venezuela was fifth in world oil exporter rankings, while Nigeria is seventh and Iraq eighth.

"Until the situations in Iraq and Venezuela are clarified, oil prices are going to stay high and getting inventories rebuilt is not going to be easy," said Adam Sieminski, analyst at Deutsche Bank.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is to release its weekly U.S. fuel supply assessment Thursday, a day later than usual following a U.S. public holiday earlier this week.

The EIA figures are considered a barometer for the demand and supply balance in the world's biggest oil consumer.

Figures last week showed U.S. crude stocks running at the lowest levels since the mid-1970s at just below 270 million barrels, the minimum needed to keep U.S. refineries operating.

A blast of Arctic weather has pumped up demand for heating fuel in the United States, where fuel supplies were already running down following the anti-government strike in Venezuela, which crippled the domestic oil industry and all but cut off some 13 percent of U.S. oil imports.

Analysts forecast this week's EIA report would show further declines, with crude seen off by one million barrels and distillates, which include key heating oil, falling by three million barrels.

OPEC PLEDGES STABLE SUPPLIES

Striking state oil workers said Wednesday that Venezuelan crude production was at 1.4 million barrels per day, although the government pegged output closer to two million bpd.

Before the strike began on December 2, production was a little over three million bpd.

Exports from Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer, appeared not to have been affected so far by a strike by senior oil workers, who began their dispute Saturday.

Talks to resolve the dispute were scheduled for Thursday, postponed from a day earlier to allow union leaders to travel to Abuja.

Nigeria and Iraq export roughly two million bpd each and, along with Venezuela, are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OPEC has pledged to maintain stable supplies to the global market of 76 million bpd even in the event of war.

A Gulf source said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter, would support a temporary suspension of the cartel's official output limits if an attack halted overseas sales from Iraq.

The senior OPEC delegate said that even if OPEC did not formally suspend production limits, members with spare capacity would pump at will.

OPEC's current production ceiling stands at 24.5 million bpd with most members near to or at full capacity. The cartel is due to hold a policy meeting on March 11, which many believe could coincide with a strike on Iraq.

The United States and Britain said Wednesday they were working on a new resolution seeking United Nations' authorization to use force to disarm Iraq of banned weapons they claim it has stocked. The new resolution is expected to be submitted to the Security Council within a week.

Diplomats said Washington was not likely to push for a vote on the resolution until well into the first week of March after another report by U.N. weapons inspectors, an indication that any attack against Iraq will not take place until the second week of the month at the earliest.

Iraq denies U.S. allegations that it has stocked any biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.

www.news.com.au February 20, 2003

VENEZUELA President Hugo Chavez has cancelled a trip to the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kuala Lumpur, his country's foreign minister said. Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton, who is leading the Venezuelan delegation to Kuala Lumpur, said Chavez cancelled the trip because of a heavy workload.

Chavez had planned to be in Kuala Lumpur on February 24-25 for the summit of 114 countries, which banded together in 1955 to steer a middle course between the West and the Soviet bloc.

The leftist former army paratrooper is struggling to consolidate control over Venezuela after a two-month opposition strike aimed at ousting him. The strike nearly paralysed oil production in the world's fifth-largest exporter, devastated Venezuela's economy and deepened polarisation over Chavez's rule.

"Because of the present circumstances and so many domestic commitments, he thought it would be best to stay home," Chaderton said.

The Non-Aligned bloc of mostly African, Asian and Latin American nations has sought since the Cold War to reinvent itself to confront challenges of globalisation and US military and economic might. The group is expected to denounce any US-led attack on Iraq.

Chavez is a frequent critic of globalisation and US economic dominance.

In 2000, Chavez irritated the United States by becoming the first head of state to visit Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The Venezuelan leader offered Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein his support for ending UN sanctions against Iraq.

Chaderton said Venezuela had not decided what position to take on the Iraqi crisis at the summit. But he said the stand-off "should be resolved diplomatically and peacefully."

news.bbc.co.uk

Venezuela remains a deeply polarised country

An organiser of long-running protests against Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has been arrested on charges including treason and civil rebellion.

Carlos Fernandez was taken by members of the police intelligence service from a restaurant in the capital, Caracas, on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to the BBC, Judge Mikel Moreno said he had issued a warrant for the arrest earlier that day.

At an urgent meeting following the arrest, Fedecamaras - the business association that Mr Fernandez leads - called on the government to guarantee his safety.

The development comes only days after the government and opposition signed a non-violence pact aimed at defusing tensions following strikes which virtually paralysed the country's oil industry.

It also follows Wednesday's killing of three soldiers who had called for civil disobedience against President Chavez.

The New York-based group, Human Rights Watch, has urged the Venezuelan Government to launch an investigation.

Unrest continues

Another Venezuelan opposition leader, Carlos Ortega, has told the BBC that a similar arrest warrant has been issued for him.

Chavez claims to have ended the strike

The two men were the main leaders of the two-month-long strike by businesses and trade unions against President Chavez.

The opposition have accused the president of authoritarianism and mismanaging the economy.

The strike slashed Venezuela's vital oil exports, crippling the country's economy.

President Chavez - who has strong support in the countryside and among the poor - claimed to have ended the strike at the beginning of the month, but the unrest and the demands for him to step down continue.

www.tuscaloosanews.com By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER Associated Press Writer February 20, 2003

Venezuelan businesspeople and other members of Fedecamaras, meet at the offices of Venezuela's largest business federation, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003. The general strike leader and President of Fedecamaras, Carlos Fernandez, was seized at a restaurant by gunmen who identified themselves as secret police agents last night. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch) Thousands of angry government opponents chanting "This is a dictatorship!" rallied in the capital's streets Thursday, protesting the midnight arrest of a strike leader by secret police. But President Hugo Chavez triumphantly proclaimed that he authorized the arrest of Carlos Fernandez even though it threatened to re-ignite massive demonstrations and again paralyze the country. "One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide," Chavez said at the foreign ministry. "I went to bed with a smile." Chavez said judges should not "be afraid to issue arrest warrants against coup-plotters." Carlos Fernandez, head of Venezuela's largest business federation - Fedecamaras, was seized by about eight, armed agents around midnight Wednesday as he left a restaurant in Caracas' trendy Las Mercedes district, said his bodyguard, Juan Carlos Fernandez. The men fired into the air when patrons tried to prevent the arrest, the bodyguard said. Carlos Fernandez faces charges of treason and instigating violence for leading the two-month strike that began Dec. 2, seeking to oust Chavez and force early elections. The strike ended Feb. 4 in all sectors except the critical oil industry. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter and a major U.S. supplier. Government allies warned that more than 100 opposition leaders, from labor bosses to news media executives, who supported the strike also could be arrested. "More than one hundred are on the list to be captured," ruling party lawmaker Luis Velasquez said. The existence of such a list could not be immediately confirmed. Opposition sympathizers at Thursday's rally near an air force base in eastern Caracas lambasted Chavez, accusing the leftist leader of trying to establish a Cuban-style dictatorship in this South American nation of 24 million people. "This is an escalation of violence by the government, which has arrived at the extreme of repression," said Carlos Feijoo, 88, a retired oil worker. "He wants to copy Fidel (Castro)." Fedecamaras vice president Albis Munoz warned of another nationwide strike in response to the arrest. "Definitely there will be actions, and very strong actions," Munoz said. The Confederation of Venezuelan Workers also said a 12- or 24-hour stoppage was possible. Fernandez's wife, Sonia, spoke briefly with her husband and said he was in good condition at secret police headquarters. Fernandez was meeting with his attorneys, she said. Chavez supporters gathered near the headquarters and a downtown plaza to celebrate the arrest. "It's what had to be done. These opposition leaders tried to destroy the country, now they must be punished," said Tomas Ordonez, a 49-year-old taxi driver. Carlos Fernandez called the strike with Carlos Ortega, president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation - the country's largest labor union. Ortega was ordered to surrender on treason and instigating violence charges, magistrate Maikel Jose Moreno said, but the tough-talking labor boss said he would not turn himself in. "We have nothing to fear," Ortega told Globovision TV channel via telephone. "The only one who has a date with justice is the president." Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, has accused the two opposition leaders of plotting to overthrow his government with the strike and by orchestrating "an economic coup." Chavez's allies justified the arrest. "Each member of the opposition must assume ... the legal consequences of acts of oil sabotage and the attempt to topple a legitimate government," ruling party leader Nicolas Maduro said. Opposition leaders called for more street protests and appealed to the Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Carter, for mediation. OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria said in a statement that Venezuelan judges have the autonomy to make such decisions, but they must respect constitutional norms and human rights. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said officials in Washington worried that Fernandez's arrest could hinder efforts to end the stalemate between Venezuela's political rivals. "We fear the act could undermine the dialogue process," said Boucher, adding "this increases our concerns about human rights in Venezuela."