Source By T. Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Henrique Salas says he is just trying to inject hope into a shattered economy and a divided society.

The second-place finisher in this country's presidential election five years ago, Salas has saturated the television airwaves in recent days with a reminder that he predicted trouble ahead with the victory of current President Hugo Chavez.

"Now it's time to look ahead. Lift your eye up to the skies," Salas says in the 30-second spot, staring into the camera and flashing a toothy grin.

The advertisement -- which Salas insists is not a political ad -- is the latest sign that Venezuela's opposition is crumbling in the wake of a failed two-month national strike to oust Chavez from power.

Salas has become the first major politician to openly distance himself from the Democratic Coordinating Committee, the uneasy coalition that has led the protests against Chavez for the last year.

The possibility of a recall vote and a new presidential election later this year has rent the committee. Labor and business, new and traditional political parties, and the leftists and conservatives who made up the opposition's once-united front are all fighting for power.

The fracture has left the opposition with no clear strategy to confront Chavez, who seems politically stronger than ever after having survived a brief coup last April and then the strike, which cost the country $6 billion.

Formerly massive street demonstrations have declined in both size and frequency. A petition drive to force Chavez out in an even earlier election has gone nowhere. Strike leaders are on the run, seeking political asylum or facing trial on treason charges.

"The opposition is going through a difficult time. They are not going to exercise significant pressure on the government in the next few weeks," said a source close to talks.

"I don't believe the Democratic Coordinating Committee will disintegrate, but yes, they have internal problems."

The failure of the strike and the coalition's problems, in turn, have stalemated the peace talks. Once-daily meetings between the two sides are taking place only occasionally.

The government has little reason to negotiate now that the strike has failed, say those participating in the talks. Cesar Gaviria, the president of the Organization of American States and the talks' mediator, has privately told some diplomats that he thinks there will be no negotiated settlement.

"At the table, nothing is happening. The government has decided to do nothing," the source said. "The most probable thing is there will be no accord but a recall vote by the end of the year."

The president recently implemented currency controls that permit bolivars, the national currency, to be exchanged for dollars only for certain government-approved imports.

Chavez announced that he would not allow coup-plotters access to dollars, which led media owners to fear the measure would be used against them. And in fact, in its first list, released earlier this month, the government did not allow currency exchanges for the purchase of newsprint. Already, one newspaper has warned that it will run out of newsprint by April.

Marcel Granier, the director of RCTV, one of the nation's most-watched television networks, said he has been unable to pay foreign suppliers for new programming or videotape since the government put the currency exchange controls in place last month.

In a fascist government, the media are targeted from Day One, Granier said. He is the one who has mounted a media war.

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There are also at least four new laws under consideration that could affect media operations. One would appoint vigilance councils composed of local citizens to oversee and advise on editorial content. Another content law would restrict what news programs could show.

Jesse Chacon, the general director of the National Commission on Telecommunications, which oversees media licenses, said the government is simply seeking a way to ensure more balanced coverage.

Pretending that there should be no regulation because the media can regulate themselves is not acceptable, Chacon said. Their power has to be managed. They haven't been elected, but they have the power to topple a government.

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The members of the disparate opposition accuse Chavez of launching an ill-fated social revolution that has instead driven the country further into poverty and political ruin.

The president has refused to make any concessions, insisting that the only legal means to force him from power would be a midterm recall election that could take place as early as August.

Instead, he recently announced that this year will be the year of the offensive of his Bolivarian revolution, which seeks to improve the lives of the 80 percent of the country that lives in poverty.

He has promised to implement long-delayed plans that call for a redistribution of land to the poor. And he has begun a program in which the government uses air force planes and navy ships to import food at reduced costs to sell at popular markets for the poor.

In a speech to university students last week, Chavez claimed victory over the conspirators, terrorists and fascists who tried to stop his reform plans.

We are defeating them, and we will always defeat them. On our side is morality, reason and victory, he said.

In several interviews, opposition leaders downplayed the seriousness of the fissures in their ranks, which they said were to be expected after the strike's failure and given the possibility of an upcoming election.

Instead, they portrayed a new strategy: The opposition will take a low profile over the coming months as the economy slowly collapses, reaching a nadir of high inflation and unemployment in August -- the same month as the possible election.

Crime and joblessness have already risen sharply since the last election, making life miserable for many of the poor, who form the core of Chavez's constituency.

The hope is that the voting public will forget that the opposition-led strike has been responsible for much of Venezuela's economic problems and will turn their fury against Chavez.

I think we should lower our profile and let the crisis create its own dynamic and go with it, Salas said. You have to let people rest a bit.

That comes as little comfort to the millions of Venezuelans who are suffering the effects of a country in dire economic straits.

Wilbur Caseres, 25, is a taxi driver studying to be a lawyer. In the last three weeks, he's been robbed twice -- the latter time by a passenger who was nine months pregnant.

He foiled the attempted robbery by hitting the brakes and pulling over next to a policeman. The sobbing woman explained that she had three children at home and needed money to pay for their food as well as the upcoming birth of her fourth.

The police officer emptied the bullets from the gun the woman was carrying and gave it back to her, telling her to sell it. Then he gave her $12, and Caseres added another $12.

That's just how things are now, Caseres said.

Source By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff, 3/25/2003

Among the first sporting victims of the war in Iraq was the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Now the April 5 Iraq-Vietnam Olympic qualifier, previously announced as being relocated from Baghdad to Damascus, is in doubt. The Japanese called off a trip to the US to meet Uruguay in San Diego tomorrow (instead, they will meet in Tokyo Friday) and the US in Seattle Saturday (instead, the US will meet Venezuela).

Even the European Championship 2004 qualifiers are being affected.

England's visit to the Principality of Liechtenstein was on the verge of being postponed, but the Union des Associations Europeennes de Football (UEFA) yesterday confirmed the match. The English team was considered a possible target for protesters and/or terrorists. And there is little chance security will be sophisticated at the 3,548-capacity Rheinparkstadion in Vaduz.

More than 1,500 England supporters are expected in Vaduz, and only 950 have been issued tickets. These numbers indicate this is a small-scale problem compared with the crowd violence of England's visit to Slovakia last October.

But Liechtenstein has only 70 full-time law enforcement officers. Plans have been made to recruit 1,100 officers from neighboring Austria and Switzerland, but those countries' enforcement resources have been stretched because of anti-war protests. And authorities are concerned about what could be a volatile combination of football fans and anti-war demontrators.

France is going to a neutral site, playing qualifiers this week in Palermo, Italy, against Malta and Israel.

And next week's Serbia-Montenegro vs. Wales game in Belgrade could change venues in response to the high-security alert following the assasination of premier Zoran Djindjic.

Most of the Middle East soccer schedule has been unaffected by war. Kuwait suspended its league games in anticipation of war and Lebanon announced a suspension yesterday. But Bahrein, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates continue league play.

Brazilian striker Romario, who last month signed a three-month, $1.5 million contract with Al Sadd of Qatar, said he is staying in Doha. ''The war is really sad and doesn't resolve anything, but if God decides it, nothing will happen to me,'' Romario said in a Planet Football interview.

Iraq was heavily favored to defeat Vietnam, which would set up a second-round matchup with North Korea May 3 and June 7. But coach Bernd Stange, a German, left Iraq in February, citing security concerns. Stange said he also was told he would lose several players to military duty, but Iraqi officials dispute that.

''I was playing during the war against Iran and not one day did I wear a [military] uniform,'' Rahim Hamed, who played for Iraq in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, told the Football Asia magazine Web site.

Finished from the start Since their founding in 1995, the Revolution have been learning most of their lessons the hard way. Their opening match in international tournament play seems to have been another example of that tendency. LD Alajuelense virtually eliminated the Revolution from the Champions Cup with a 4-0 victory Sunday in Costa Rica. The rematch is scheduled for Alajuela tomorrow. The Revolution, who had established their credibility with simplified tactics and solid defending, had not surrendered more than two goals in a game since a 3-2 loss to Colorado July 24. Even during their preseason trip to Brazil, though the Revolution were winless, they were able to take the lead in three of four contests and were able to score against the likes of Sao Paulo powers Guarani and Palmeiras.

Joe Franchino and Rusty Pierce were the top-rated Revolution players by the San Jose daily La Nacion. Since both are defenders, this raises questions about the rest of the team. The Revolution apparently neither attacked nor defended effectively. And they neglected to realize that in total-goal competition, the visiting team simply must limit the goals against in the opening match.

The first round of the Champions Cup, featuring the 16 most successful teams in the region, is a two-game, total-goal competition. Defender Carlos Llamosa and striker Joe-Max Moore are expected to return for the second game against Alajuelense. Llamosa suffered a leg bruise in practice and Moore was in Miami for a magnetic resonance imaging of his ankle.

Further help could be on the way before the MLS season starts with a Revolution visit to Chicago April 13.

Johannes Ngodzo, a 22-year-old midfielder, is expected to arrive for a tryout when the Revolution return to Boston next week. Ngodzo, who plays for Highlanders, was a finalist for Zimbabwe player of the year last year. Ngodzo was recommended by Bruce Grobelaar, Revolution coach Steve Nicol's former Liverpool teammate.

Nicol has been searching for an attacking midfielder since Peter Nowak announced his retirement last month. But the Revolution are less than $100,000 under the MLS salary cap, limiting their chances of finding a Nowak clone.

A match for each other Manchester United vs. Real Madrid is the matchup of the year, the most marketable clubs in the world meeting in the Euro Champions Cup April 8 and 23. The winner advances to the semifinals against either Barcelona or Juventus.

Real Madrid, shooting for the DECIMA (its 10th title), is apparently satisfied with the draw.

''For us, a quarterfinal against Barcelona or Valencia would have been more difficult,'' Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos said. ''It is easier for us to play an English team.''

Read more... Reuters, 03.25.03, 12:09 AM ET

SINGAPORE, March 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices ticked higher on Tuesday, bouncing from last week's four-month lows with traders focused on resistance to U.S. invasion forces in Iraq and tribal violence in Nigeria which has cut its crude output by 40 percent. U.S. light crude was up 34 cents to $29.00 a barrel at 0450 GMT, extending Monday's $1.75 jump. London's Brent crude had climbed 31 cents to $26.40 a barrel. U.S. and British forces faced tough resistance from Iraqi fighters as they opened an assault on Republican Guards defending approaches to Baghdad in a campaign aimed to oust President Saddam Hussein. Oil fell almost 30 percent last week as traders factored in a short war with little damage to Iraq's oil industry, which pumped 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) before the U.S.-led assault. Traders were also relieved that crude supplies from other Gulf producers flowed unhampered by hostilities. The Gulf region pumps about 40 percent of global exports. But confidence in a quick war waned after the weekend as U.S. and British forces suffered their heaviest casualties so far. "The market is responding to difficulties in the Iraq campaign. It had priced in the perfect war and had gone so far as building in a victory discount, which is now being eroded," Sydney-based oil analyst Simon Games-Thomas said. NIGERIA STIRS VENEZUELA MEMORIES A series of bloody clashes in Nigeria forced the closure of about 800,000 bpd of the 2.2 million bpd produced by Western oil firms in Africa's biggest producer. Ethnic groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta are battling for a greater share of the country's oil wealth. Nigeria is one of the top six oil exporters to the United States, where fuel supplies have been running at 27-year lows partly due to a Venezuelan general strike, all but cutting off oil exports from the South American country. Nigeria sent more than 560,000 bpd to U.S. shores last year. Venezuela, the world's fifth biggest crude exporter before the strike began in early December, supplied about 13 percent of U.S. oil imports. Venezuela's output has been slowly increasing since early February. The Nigerian outage provided the oil market with an uncomfortable reminder of the Venezuelan strike, David Thurtell, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney, said. "Nigeria is pretty volatile at the best of times, but people probably said the same about Venezuela four months ago. If Nigeria is down to one million bpd for a month, supplies will tighten up again," Thurtell said. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could make up any shortfall in supply from Nigeria, OPEC's fifth largest producer, cartel president, Abdullah al-Attiyah, said on Monday. The group has also pledged to make up for the disruption to Iraqi exports. But OPEC officials have said there is no shortage of oil in world markets so there is no need to increase output. Oil demand usually drops in the second quarter of the year when northern hemisphere winter demand recedes.

Pan Am Games Posted on Tue, Mar. 25, 2003 BY KEVIN BAXTER Knight Ridder Newspapers

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - (KRT) - Most weeknights, Ludys Tejada drives to a smog-choked park in the center of Santo Domingo, sets up a target and spends hours honing her archery skills.

Her concentration is intense. It has to be - if she misses the target, she's likely to pick off one of the many joggers, cyclists or baseball players with whom she shares the crowded park. When she does let her mind wander, Tejada daydreams about Aug. 11, the day the archery competition will open at the Pan American Games here.

''Just going to the line,'' says Tejada, the host country's best chance for a medal, ``will be a thrill.''

Still, like most Dominicans, she's conflicted. Although the country's selection as site of the world's largest international athletic competition after the Olympics is a source of pride, it's not without controversy.

''It's hard for a small country,'' Tejada says. ``It's going to be very difficult.''

Adds a taxi driver with a dismissive wave of his hand: ``It's ridiculous. This is a poor country. We need the money for more important things.''

But it's too late to turn back now. Despite an ambivalent populace and construction delays that still threaten the cancellation of some events, the Pan American Sports Organization is expected to give the Dominican Republic the final go-ahead for this summer's Games when its meets Thursday and Friday in Havana.

Preparations for the Games represent the largest public works project in Dominican history, says Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello, a prominent surgeon and president of the Pan Am Games organizing committee.

''Sports should be an important part of any society,'' he says. ``There's no doubt the legacy will be long-term.''

Santo Domingo's bid to host the quadrennial festival, which features 5,000 athletes from more than 40 nations competing in 22 sports, has had to survive a number of challenges simply to make it to this week's meeting. The Dominican capital originally hoped to host the 1999 Games but, after three ballots, it lost to Winnipeg by a vote. In 1998, Santo Domingo bid again, beating Guadalajara, Mexico and Medellin, Colombia in a heated fight for the right to stage this year's event, which runs Aug. 1-17.

After winning the right to stage the Games, financial problems forced the organizing committee to wait nearly three years before starting to refurbish existing venues and build new ones. Then that work ground to a halt for three months this winter when the political crisis in Venezuela delayed delivery of items, including stadium seats, scoreboards and building materials the construction companies were contractually obligated to buy from the South American country.

In early February, President Hipolito Mejia stepped forward approved a $5 million line of credit to help speed construction, promising the work would be done by the May 30 deadline.

Yet as recently as last month there was still concern some of the 35 venues won't be ready on time.

Some projects have a mid-June deadline, but work on the 30,000-seat Olympic Stadium, where opening ceremonies and track events will be held, and the rowing venue is likely to continue right up to Aug. 1.

Construction crews, already working 10-hour days, have been expanded, and the Dominicans intend to tell the Havana meeting the crisis is over.

''The danger that we'd have to cancel an event because some installation wasn't finished has passed,'' says Puello. He admits construction is dangerously behind but blames much of the alarm on cultural differences.

``In Spanish-speaking countries in America things happen that, for Anglos, are simply unusual. The fact that we're trying to finish our sports installations at the last minute, for (Anglos), worries them.''

Darryl Seibel, a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, says the USOC, which will send 650 athletes to Santo Domingo, is concerned but is not considering alternative sites for the Games.

''We're certainly well aware that there are challenges related to venue construction. But we're confident that the Organizing Committee is doing everything it can to complete any remaining construction projects in time,'' he says. ``There's no reason to believe at this point that delays would necessitate any change in the current plan.''

For Puello, leader of the Dominican Olympic Committee for 21 years, president of the Caribbean and Central American Sports Organization and a member of the International Olympic Committee's anti-doping committee, the Pan Am Games represent the culmination of a long career in amateur sports. He's retiring after the closing ceremony, and he sees the Games and what they'll leave behind as his legacy.

'The Pan American Games, obviously, were a trampoline, a `booster,' of a sports development plan in the sense that we're building a good sports infrastructure, a good human infrastructure and, above all, we're giving a good image of the country, both from the sports sense and the nonsports sense, to the rest of the world,'' Puello said in Spanish. ``Unless a small country has an event like the Pan Am Games they will not invest in sports. Politicians pay very little attention to sport. They do not understand what sports is all about.''

But politicians aren't the only ones. Although the Games organizing committee trumpets a newspaper poll showing 74 percent of Dominicans are in favor of the Games, it's almost impossible to find anyone outside the committee who admits they feel that way. Even many athletes are uncertain.

''So many people are against it,'' says a man prominent in Dominican baseball circles who, fearing retribution, asked that his name not be used. ``I'm just going to sit back and see what happens.''

Most of the opposition is based on the belief that the government's contribution of more than $110 million could have been better spent on social programs in a country where a quarter of the population lives in poverty. As a result, Puello spends much of his time trying to sell the Games - to the public as well as the politicians.

''If you do not invest in sports, no one can guarantee you that that money will go into education or agriculture or health care,'' says Puello, who puts the number of workers employed in Games-related activities at 9,000, a significant number in a country with an official unemployment rate of 15 percent. ``The long-term benefits are undeniable. The useful life of the installations is 30 years. In a nation like this one, where there's been little (monetary) investment in sports, that's going to be highly beneficial. Especially for the youth.''

Most of the money the government had devoted to the Pan Am Games construction is going to improve or replace venues originally built for the 1974 event. The basketball arena is getting a new floor, for example, and the main stadium a new synthetic track.

The nearby Olympic Center will feature a cycling velodrome, a fencing center, a martial arts arena, a volleyball stadium and an aquatics center.

In the capital's sprawling East Park, new facilities have been built or are being built for tennis, team handball, soccer, gymnastics, field hockey, table tennis, archery and weightlifting.

This isn't the first time there's been a public outcry over the use of public funds to construct sports venues. In 1974, the government spent millions to construct a basketball arena, track stadium, swimming complex and other installations for the Central American and Caribbean Games. The host country's athletes responded by winning 21 medals, including a gold, by far the Dominican Republic's best performance in international competition up to that time.

''Some people thought it was expensive then,'' says an Organizing Committee official. ``But it was the turning point in sport here.''

In last fall's Central American Games in El Salvador, Dominicans won 135 medals, including 32 golds.

''When you talk about sports in the Dominican Republic,'' the official added, ``you talk about before and after 1974.''

Puerto Rico, which spent $60 million to prepare for the 1979 Pan Am Games, estimated the economic impact to the island at $165 million. Winnipeg, which hosted the 1999 event, said it received a 500 percent return on its investment. With tourism having recently joined sugar and tobacco as a main driver of the Dominican, the Games could prove an even bigger boon, with organizers estimating 40,000 people will visit the island during the first three weeks of August.

There are other side benefits. An Olympic Village being constructed by Santo Domingo's airport will become a middle-class neighborhood after the Games. And some of the high-tech television and communications equipment being imported this summer will remain in the country, with Dominicans trained to run it.

''If the Games are such a bad investment, then why are so many cities fighting hard to get them?'' asks Puello.

Venezuela Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 By: Cliff Tew

Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 18:29:37 EST From: Cliff Tew  CHAVEGAN@aol.com To: editor@vheadline.com Subject: Chavez Frias

Dear Editor: I have read articles from your site a few times. It is a good site, here in America it is refreshing to read good foreign journalism.

I have been following President Chavez since the coup attempt over a year ago.

I was very sorry to read of my government's involvement in the affair ... most of our people here can't find Venezuela on a map, yet we are a huge part of the problems that are facing your country.

I work with a woman who is Venezuelan, she thinks Chavez is Castro junior ... I have tried to convince her that he is simply an elected President who is trying to use his country's resources for the good of his people.

I am convinced that, for Venezuela to experience true democracy, the people of my country have to wake up to the fact that we have by use of force reduced resource-rich Latin America to a role of servitude.

I don't know how much I can do to educate my fellow citizens about the world around them ... we are too concerned with Britney Spears' hips and Pepsi Cola to even think about Venezuela.

But I know that I have been enriched by learning about the truly democratic reforms that President Chavez has helped bring to the people, and I'll do what I can to let other people know that there is a continent to the south of us.

Peace and Blessings, Cliff Tew CHAVEGAN@aol.com Winston-Salem N.C., USA