www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 07, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

President Hugo Chavez Frias has announced that Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) is ready to lift the force majeure it declared in December as oil production continues to recover from the huge set back it took during the two month long opposition work stoppage which began on December 2.

• The move comes as a clear indication that oil production levels are recovering faster than many had anticipated, particularly rebel PDVSA workers whose latest estimate put production at around 1.6 million barrels per day.

"We have decided to suspend the force majeure on all of PDVSA's operational activities ... we guarantee supplies to the whole world."

The President says that PDVSA is currently producing 2.658 million barrels per day, a figure which is still short of the 3.1 million that was being produced before the strike.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 07, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

National Assembly president Francisco Ameliach has rejected accusations the the Venezuelan Armed Forces (FAN) is permitting rebel groups from neighboring countries to base themselves on Venezuelan territory. 

Ameliach criticized some opposition members for spreading these kinds of rumors, insisting "they have a total lack of understanding " of the armed forces.

The National Assembly president claimed that certain sectors of the opposition are spreading these rumors because they are trying to damage relations between Venezuela and Colombia.

He also pointed to Colombia's withdrawal of a large troop presence along its border with Venezuela, stating that Colombia should be responsible for its own conflicts.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 07, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Colombia's Ambassador to Venezuela Maria Angela Holguin says that the consulate has a video tape taken at the time of the bomb explosion outside the consulate last week that could help authorities in identifying the suspects and that this evidence will be shared with Venezuelan security forces. 

• The video apparently contains footage of several individuals acting suspiciously outside the consulate minutes before a bomb exploded on February 25, injuring four people.

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez says investigations are now very advanced, although it is unclear if any arrests are being planned.

President Hugo Chavez Frias claims that he has photos of the suspects and that security forces are just waiting for them to raise their heads and then they will be arrested.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 07, 2003 By: Robert Rudnick

Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) vice president Albis Munoz has criticized the government for taking so long to implement its currency controls, insisting that the longer the measures are delayed the more businesses will be forced into bankruptcy. 

The Currency Administration Commission (Cadivi) had been due to publish a list of approved products the would be seen as essential in terms of dollar applications on its website this Wednesday, but so far the list has not been released.

"The people who are handling this clearly don't have the technical ability to do it," Munoz said of the Cadivi board.

"We are very worried because we've just come out of a civic strike which had already restricted inventories, and now we are experiencing a foreign exchange freeze that has lasted 45 days."

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 07, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) deputy Nicolas Maduro has criticized certain "foreign players" for their involvement in Venezuelan political issues. 

This follows a proposal made by Lincoln Diaz Balart, Republican representative for South Florida, to US Secretary of State Colin Powell to apply the Organization of American States (OAS) democratic charter to Venezuela's crisis. 

• This type of involvement, according to Maduro, signals the increased "Miamization" of certain sectors of the opposition that are funded and politically advised from Miami.

"This section of the opposition has failed poorly in its attempts to destroy and oust President Hugo Chavez Frias, and now they are looking to internationally to discredit" the government and the country.