www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Venezuelan Army General Jorge Garcia Carneiro has rejected claims from some Colombian officials that the Venezuelan Armed Forces (FAN) are letting Colombian guerilla groups onto Venezuelan territory, and insisted that the FAN would take any action necessary to remove guerillas found in the country.

"Neither the army nor the Armed Forces in general are going to let anyone use Venezuela as a hideout."

The General has now called for talks with his Colombian counterparts to straighten out the issue, which has become a major issue in bilateral relations.

However, Garcia warned that because of the length and nature of the border in is virtually impossible to patrol every bit of it.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 By: David Coleman

7th Appeals Court judges Luis Lecuna, Violeta Gonzalez and Sammer Richani have been recused by the Prosecutor General Office on the eve of a decision to void an earlier court's decision to authorize the house arrest of opposition rebel business leader Carlos Fernandez pending trial.

PGO 6th national attorney Luisa Ortega says the decision will be delayed at least until next week when cause will be heard by another appeals tribunal.

Fedecamaras president Carlos Fernandez is currently detained at his luxury home in Valencia (Carabobo) ... his defense lawyer, Pedro Berrizbeitia, says the PGO action was introduced on claims by Ortega that the three judges had publicly discussed their ruling in advance of  an official court decision.

On February 28, PGO Ortega had appealed a decision by 49th Control Court judge Gisela Hernandez to allow Fernandez house arrest pending trial on a series of charges resulting from a failed 2-month national labor stoppage aimed at toppling President Hugo Chavez Frias' government.  Ortega has insisted that, considering the severity of the charges against him, there was a high risk that Fernandez might flee justice just like his predecessor at the helm of Fedecamaras, Dictator-for-a-Day Pedro Carmona Estanga who now lives in fugitive exile in Colombia after the failed April coup d'etat.

Defense lawyer Berrizbeitia cites a medical report from a State Political & Security (DISIP) police M.O. which says that Fernandez' medical (hypertension) condition is such that his life would be endangered if he were to be remanded to a customary prison regime.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 By: David Coleman

Puerto Cabello Fedepetrol trade union secretary general Diesbalo Espinoza says there's been an explosion in a catalyzer unit at the El Palito refinery in Carabobo State ... he claims that the National Guard (GN) and members of local Bolivarian Circles had denied access to local media reporting the incident.

Espinoza says he does nto have many facts to go on because of the new blackout but that there had probably been an accident when oil industry employees attempted to start up the refinery ... he believes that one of the control valves may have been damaged in a regeneration tower.

• Espinoza says it is the second such accident at the El Palito refinery over the last couple of weeks and that the immediate population will again suffer from contamination.

Meanwhile El Palito's general manager Asdrubal Chavez denies any explosion at the refinery and says it is "typical exaggeration by the opposition media" ... he explains that there was a problem with one of the catalytic cracker units which resulted in a process halt but that there was never any explosion.

"There was no fire ... opposition propagandists are using the (temporary) halt in refinery operations as just another excuse to spread alarm and discontent ... everything will be back up and running within the next 48 hours."

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Venezuelan Foreign (MRE) Minister Roy Chaderton Matos and his Colombian counterpart Carolina Barco are working to set up a Presidential meeting between Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez Frias and Colombia's Alvaro Uribe.

The purpose of the meeting will primarily be to calm down the rising level of rhetoric between the two countries as tensions have been mounting over claims that Colombian guerilla groups have been allowed to enter Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government has strongly denied these allegations, however it has pointed out that it would be almost impossible to patrol the entire length of the 1,400 kilometer long border.

The date of the meeting is so far unclear, but it does appear that the talks will take place in Venezuela.

www.canada.com Chris Varcoe CanWest News Service Wednesday, March 12, 2003

VIENNA --OPEC vowed Tuesday to open up its oil taps if a war in Iraq causes serious disruptions to world energy markets, but the cartel rejected taking pre-emptive action ahead of a conflict.

The 11-members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries gathered in the Austrian capital to discuss the volatile state of the global oil market. Crude prices have soared recently to their highest point since the 1991 Gulf War and consumers are feeling the brunt of rising energy costs.

The cartel said it has the ability to significantly boost production in the event of a disruption in Iraq, but OPEC leaders insisted the market already has enough crude to go around.

"We're trying our best to avoid any shocks that the market will face," OPEC President Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said. "We should not be blamed for high prices."

The organization has been under pressure to lift its production ceiling, now set at 24.5 million barrels per day, to quell prices that have soared roughly 50 per cent since November. Crude oil for April delivery closed down 55 cents Tuesday to $36.72 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The potential of a U.S.-led war in Iraq has sent ripples through energy markets, prompting concerns that country's oil production of 2.3 million barrels per day could be lost for several months. Traders are also concerned the conflict could disrupt output throughout the region, particularly Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Middle East supplies about one-third of the world's oil appetite of about 78 million barrels a day.

Other factors are also affecting global oil markets, including labour strife in Venezuela and cold winter weather in parts of North America that have left U.S. oil inventories at rock bottom levels.

After a whirlwind day of backroom diplomacy and formal discussions, the cartel emerged with promises of future action -- if needed -- but no additional oil.

Several oil ministers made clear, however, that the group won't sit idly by if a war in the Middle East chokes off supply and coaxes prices upward.