www.nytimes.com By DAVID GONZALEZ

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 25 — Powerful explosions outside two diplomatic offices shattered windows and nerves early today, leaving four people wounded and many others uncertain about the prospects for a peaceful solution to the political crisis here.

One blast ripped the glass and steel facade of the Colombian Consulate downtown, twisting a thick steel entry gate and ruining two of the building's four floors. A second blast, outside the foreign aid office of the Spanish Embassy in a residential area, knocked a gate off its hinges and punched a hole through a wall. In both cases, people were wounded by flying glass, authorities said.

The explosions, which the police said were extraordinarily large and which neighbors said felt like earthquakes, came two days after President Hugo Chávez publicly berated Spain and Colombia for interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs. Mr. Chávez, who has outlasted an attempted coup and an opposition strike, had been criticized for the arrest of an opposition leader as well as for not assisting Colombia in its fight against leftist guerrillas.

The government denied any involvement in the blasts and ordered tighter security for foreign missions and the diplomatic corps. The deputy foreign minister, Arévalo Méndez, said the bombs were the work of a "sick and confused mind that had nothing to do" with any criticisms Mr. Chávez might have voiced against other nations.

"We repudiate this act of terrorism," Vice President José Vicente Rangel said at an afternoon news conference. "The government rejects any terrorist act, whatever it is, wherever it is, whoever the author. We reject any form of terrorism, whether it is from the state or from individuals."

Diplomats from Colombia and Spain did not blame the government but did urge thorough investigations, as did the United States.

The blasts, which occurred around 2:30 a.m. local time, also came one day before the resumption of talks between the government and the opposition, which only last week had agreed to tone down their accusations and reject violence. But the arrest last week of Carlos Fernández, a business leader who spearheaded the strike, had already increased skepticism over Mr. Chávez's commitment to a peaceful resolution. "This defines a new stage in the political situation in Venezuela, one in which there is greater chaos and violence and a president who is becoming more entrenched," said Michael Shifter, vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. "It makes it very hard to see negotiations, given this climate."

It is just as difficult to know who is responsible for the bombs. Leaflets were found at the sites of both explosions, signed by an obscure group, the Bolivarian Liberation Force, and the Simón Bolívar Coordinator, Urban Militia. Juan Contreras, director of the Simón Bolívar Coordinator, told a local newspaper that his group was a cultural association and said whoever used its name was fighting "a dirty war."

Only two days ago, during his weekly television broadcast, Mr. Chávez had lashed out at his critics, telling them to respect Venezuela's sovereignty. He said some of the nations that were faulting him for arresting the strike leader had supported the coup that failed to oust him last April.

"Where do Spain and Colombia want this to get to?" he said during the broadcast. "To break relations?"

A diplomat who is in close contact with the government and the opposition said the bombs were out of character for Venezuela, where previous explosions have been limited to grenades or pipe bombs left outside television stations.

The jangle of thousands of shards of glass being swept away echoed through the street outside the Colombian Consulate, where the entry gate was twisted. The concussion from the blast smashed countless windows inside an office building across the street, where dazed residents slowly picked their way through small rooms.

"The strike had already paralyzed the country," said Alberto Buroz, the president of an environmental engineering firm whose offices were the most damaged in the building. "Now with the few clients we have left, how can we attend to them? We have crossed the line. I don't know. I'd like to understand what will be the end of this story. But that has not been written yet."

Outside, Marta Lucía Varón stood by a banner held aloft by a group of her countrymen from Colombia. They had come to the street in solidarity, she said, as soon as they heard the news.

"This violence was created by the Chávez government," she said, despite protests from several Chávez supporters near her. "We fled violence in Colombia and chose Venezuela to make a living. And now we find this?"

www.brunei-online.com

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) - Despite cancelling his appearance, beleaguered Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez scored a diplomatic victory at a summit Tuesday when the 116 mostly developing countries voiced support for his government.

The final draft declaration of the Non-Alignment Movement, to be adopted by leaders before closing their summit later Tuesday, expressed "support to the government of Hugo Chavez Frias, elected democratically with the support of the majority of votes."

It also urged Chavez's government and the opposition to seek a "just solution" to the crisis in his country, where two powerful explosions rocked the capital early Tuesday.

When summit preparations started last week, Chavez's political opponents were taking to the streets to protest the arrest of the leader of an unsuccessful two-month strike to force early elections. The strike devastated Venezuela's economy and deepened polarisation over the leftist president's rule.

Chavez foes accuse him of being undemocratic and alienating investment. Chavez calls his opposition an "oligarchy" thwarting his efforts to end social injustice.

Addressing the summit's closing ceremony, Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton thanked non-aligned leaders for their "words of support."

www.channelnewsasia.com First created : 26 February 2003 1116 hrs (SST) 0316 hrs (GMT) Last modified : 26 February 2003 1116 hrs (SST) 0316 hrs (GMT)

Explosions outside the Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions in Caracas have left five people injured less than two days after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused the two nations of meddling in his country's crisis.

Three people were slightly wounded when the blast near the Colombian consulate sprayed shards of debris and ripped off the building's steel and glass facade.Advertisement Fragments from a smaller explosion minutes earlier at the nearby Spanish embassy co-operation office hurt two people.

No one has claimed immediate responsibility for the attacks.

On Sunday, Chavez accused Spain and the US of siding with his enemies and warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic ties over accusations that he met with that country's Marxist rebels.

Leaflets scattered at both sites were signed by the "Bolivarian Liberation Force - the Coordinadora Simon Bolivar urban militias."

The Coordinadora Simon Bolivar is a known radical Pro-Chavez group.

Venezuela's government quickly denied its sympathisers were behind the blasts.

sg.biz.yahoo.com Wednesday February 26, 4:19 AM

CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- U.S. oil giant ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX) will load a tanker with 270,000 barrels of crude at the port of Bajo Grande in western Venezuela in the coming days, state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela said Tuesday in a press release.

The Shino Ussa tanker will arrive shortly at the Bajo Grande port to load 270,000 barrels of Boscan crude, the press release said. It would be the first significant shipment by a major foreign oil company in the western part of the region. In the eastern part, shipping operations have almost returned to normal.

"Various international clients are going to restart their loading procedures in the west," Arnoldo Luzardo was quoted as saying. Luzardo is general manager in the area.

Earlier Tuesday, the nation's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said a force majeure on the production and exports of some light crudes of Venezuela's state-owned oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PdVSA (E.PVZ), has been lifted. The three different types of crude are being produced in the eastern region.

The force majeure was declared three days after a nationwide general strike started Dec. 2, an action to which 35,000 PdVSA employees - the vast majority of the company's total workforce - adhered. It temporarily released the company and its clients from contractual obligations.

A force majeure on liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, has also been lifted, Ramirez added. It remains unclear when the force majeure can be fully lifted.

Crude production and exports in western Venezuela will continue under the force majeure clause. In western Venezuela, crude production is more difficult as added pressure by gas or water is needed to extract the crude from mostly mature fields. That requires additional investment and is much more labor intensive.

-By Fred Pals, Dow Jones Newswires; 58212-5641339; fred.pals@dowjones.com;

news.bbc.co.uk

The Venezuelan authorities have pledged to increase security around foreign buildings after bomb attacks on the Spanish and Colombian embassies.

The blasts took place early on Tuesday local time injuring three people and causing some damage.

The Venezuelan Vice President, Jose Vicente Rangel, told the BBC the Venezuelan government would to anything in its power to avoid further acts of what he called macro-terrorism.

A US State Department spokesman condemned the attacks, saying: "We not that those bombs follow some sharp verbal attacks by President (Hugo) Chavez on the international community, as well as on individual Venezuelans and institutions".

On Sunday, Mr Chavez lambasted the international community for "meddling" in Venezuela's affairs and singled out Colombia for its criticism of the president's contacts with Colombian rebels.

Leaflets

Leaflets from a pro-Chavez group, the Bolivarian Liberation Force, were found at the scene of the blasts.

If this had been at two in the afternoon instead of at two in the morning we would have had a lot of dead

Mayor of Chacao district

"Our revolution will not be negotiated, only deepened," one leaflet read, according to Reuters news agency.

The Venezuelan deputy foreign minister vowed to find those responsible for the attacks.

"If this had been at two in the afternoon instead of at two in the morning we would have had a lot of dead," said the mayor of Caracas's Chacao district, Leopoldo Lopez.

Opponent's arrest

Tension has been rising again in Venezuela following the arrest last week of one of the leaders of long-running protests against Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez.

Carlos Fernandez, who is now under house arrest, has been accused of treason and civil rebellion.

His arrest provoked protests in Venezuela and international concern.

In his weekly broadcast on Sunday, Hello President, Mr Chavez told the world community to stop interfering in Venezuelan affairs.

Speaking to the governments of Colombia, Spain and the United States among others, Mr Chavez said: "We don't meddle in your affairs; please don't meddle in ours."

He warned Cesar Gaviria, chief mediator in fractious talks aiming to end the country's recent strike - and former Colombian president - not to step "out of line".

"This is a sovereign nation," he said.