<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 By: David Coleman

CICPC police detectives have succeeded in identifying Tairo Aristigueta as one of the alleged killers of three Plaza Altamira soldiers in a crime which opposition propagandists led by anti-government Globovision TV News had hysterically claimed had been orchestrated by President Hugo Chavez himself.

Globovision is today playing down the revelations as Aristigueta joins Gregory "El Zorro" Umanez in police custody following ID procedures conducted by 11th Control Court judge Deyanira Nieves.

Sources close to the Official Ombudsman's Office are now claiming that there are clear links with criminals behind last week's bombing at the Caracas Teleport building and the bombings at the Colombian Consulate and Spanish Embassy last month ... which Globovision and the opposition had been over-hasty to blame on the government as well!

CICPC national investigations commissioner Carlos Medina insists that the Teleport explosion was the work of anti-government opposition radicals and says that traces of Semtex C4 explosives found at the scene of last weekend's bombing and at the scenes of the diplomatic mission bombings are from the same source.

National Ammunition & Explosives (CAVIM) experts are "well-advanced" in tracking down the origin of the explosives and Medina insists that a series of arrests are expected shortly.  "We already have names and locations of those who were involved but I would prefer to wait for court arrest warrants before we give further information."

Forums

Referendum 2003 discuss the pros and cons of a revocatory referendum

President Hugo Chavez Frias express your opinions on the Presidency of Hugo Chavez Frias and his Bolivarian Revolution

Bolivarian Circles Are Bolivarian Circles a Venezuelan form of Neighborhood Watch Committees or violent hordes of pro-Chavez thugs?

Venezuela's Opposition What is it? Is a force to be reckoned with or in complete disarray?

Our editorial statement reads: VHeadline.com Venezuela is a wholly independent e-publication promoting democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable  right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. We seek to shed light on nefarious practices and the corruption which for decades has strangled this South American nation's development and progress. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela ... which some may wrongly interpret as anti-American. --  Roy S. Carson, Editor/Publisher  Editor@VHeadline.com

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2003 By: Roy S. Carson

General Melvin Lopez Hidalgo has confirmed that the government has evidence that the United States of America was implicit in the April 11 coup d'etat against Venezuela's democratically-elected President, Hugo Chavez Frias.

Speaking on state-owned Venezolana de Television (VTV), National Defense Council Secretary General Lopez Hidalgo says the government of US President George W. Bush was definitely involved in the coup d'etat which saw Dictator-for-a-Day Pedro Carmona Estanga usurp power only to be de-throned two days later after he had dissolved Congress, the Supreme Court and the 1999 Constitution.

According to Venezuelan military intelligence evidence, Washington was continuously in direct contact with the coup leaders throughout the 2-day coup and US liaison officers had worked directly with civilian and military coupsters throughout.  Radar surveillance also shows that a US Navy vessel had been lurking outside Venezuelan territorial waters and that at least one Black Hawk helicopter had been prepared to assist the coupsters to impose Carmona Estanga's US puppet dictatorship.

US Embassy press hack John Law has unconvincingly popped out of his sentry box to refute the allegations claiming that it is NOT the first time that General Melvin Lopez has made the claims ... "they were false then, just as much as they are false now," Law insists ... also denying evidence which shows that US warplanes had made several sorties into Venezuelan sovereign airspace during the two-day drama ... somewhat apologetically, he maintains that Washington had aimed only "to support democratic principles in Venezuela!"

Forums

Venezuelan Foreign Policy discuss the relative merits of Venezuela's foreign policy and its effects

Referendum 2003 discuss the pros and cons of a revocatory referendum

President Hugo Chavez Frias express your opinions on the Presidency of Hugo Chavez Frias and his Bolivarian Revolution

Bolivarian Circles Are Bolivarian Circles a Venezuelan form of Neighborhood Watch Committees or violent hordes of pro-Chavez thugs?

Venezuela's Opposition What is it? Is a force to be reckoned with or in complete disarray?

Our editorial statement reads: VHeadline.com Venezuela is a wholly independent e-publication promoting democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable  right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. We seek to shed light on nefarious practices and the corruption which for decades has strangled this South American nation's development and progress. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela ... which some may wrongly interpret as anti-American. --  Roy S. Carson, Editor/Publisher  Editor@VHeadline.com

<a href=reuters.com>Reuters Wed April 16, 2003 08:57 AM ET By Tim Ahmann

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A sharp rise in energy costs pushed U.S. consumer prices up in March but there was little sign of inflation pressures elsewhere in the economy, the government said on Wednesday.

The Consumer Price Index, the most popular gauge of U.S. inflation, rose 0.3 percent last month, the Labor Department said. However, excluding volatile food and energy prices, the CPI was flat -- the tamest reading on so-called core inflation since it was last unchanged in February 1999.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the CPI to rise 0.4 percent and the core index to edge up 0.2 percent.

"This is more good news on the inflation front. This is a very, very benign number. It's a sign of price stability," said Richard DeKaser, chief economist at National City Corp. in Cleveland.

Labor said a 4.6 percent surge in energy costs accounted for more than 90 percent of the increase in the overall CPI.

While energy prices have risen at an annual rate of nearly 77 percent over the last three months as oil prices spiked, economists expect them to begin moving lower soon now that the war in Iraq is all but over.

The department said gasoline prices jumped 4.1 percent last month, while the cost of fuel oil gained 9.8 percent and natural gas prices rose 14.8 percent.

However, gasoline prices have moved down in recent weeks. According to a government report released on Monday, prices at the pump have fallen 13.3 cents to an average $1.595 a gallon from the record high reached four weeks ago, just before the start of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

Patrick Jackman, an economist with Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, said based on Energy Department data, gasoline prices were likely to fall by about 8 percent in the CPI report for April, due out next month.

BARELY BUDGED

Closely watched core inflation has barely budged in recent months. Over the 12 months ended in March, it has risen just 1.7 percent, matching February's climb which was the smallest in 37 years.

The core CPI advanced at just a 0.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 1.9 percent increase registered last year.

"Smaller increases in the indexes for shelter and medical care, coupled with a larger decrease in the index for apparel, were largely responsible for the deceleration," the department said.

Clothing prices extended a long-term slide, dropping 0.4 percent last month. Medical care costs, which had risen sharply last year, gained just 0.2 percent. Shelter costs held steady for a second straight month.

Crude oil prices had risen sharply at the start of the year as a workers' strike in oil-rich Venezuela cut into supplies and worries mounted about the potential for further disruptions as the march to the Iraq war began.

However, prices began to slip shortly before the United States started bombing Baghdad.

Car prices rose just 0.2 percent last month, defying expectations among some economists for a sharp gain.

"There certainly was some discounting here still going on," Labor's Jackman said.

A report last week showed prices automakers received for new cars had risen 3.3 percent last month.

<a href=asia.reuters.com>Asia Reuters Wed April 16, 2003 08:31 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A sharp rise in energy costs pushed U.S. consumer prices up in March but there was little sign of inflation pressures elsewhere in the economy, the government said on Wednesday.

The Consumer Price Index, the most popular gauge of U.S. inflation, rose 0.3 percent last month, the Labor Department said. However, excluding volatile food and energy prices, the CPI was flat -- the tamest reading on so-called core inflation since it was last unchanged in February 1999.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the CPI to rise 0.4 percent and the core index to edge up 0.2 percent.

The department said a 4.6 percent surge in energy costs accounted for more than 90 percent of the increase in the overall CPI.

While energy prices have risen at an annual rate of nearly 77 percent over the last three months as oil prices spiked, economists expect them to begin moving lower soon now that the war in Iraq is all but over.

Closely watched core inflation has barely budged in recent months. Over the 12 months ended in March, it has risen just 1.7 percent, matching February's rise which was the smallest in 37 years.

The core CPI advanced at just a 0.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 1.9 percent increase registered last year. "Smaller increases in the indexes for shelter and medical care, coupled with a larger decrease in the index for apparel, were largely responsible for the deceleration," the department said.

It said gasoline prices jumped 4.1 percent last month, while the cost of fuel oil increased 9.8 percent and natural gas prices rose 14.8 percent.

However, gasoline prices have moved down in recent weeks. According to a government report released on Monday, prices at the pump have fallen 13.3 cents to an average $1.595 a gallon from the record high reached four weeks ago, just before the start of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

Economists expect that decline to show in the April CPI report to be released next month.

Crude oil prices had risen sharply at the start of the year as a workers' strike in oil-rich Venezuela cut into supplies and worries mounted about the potential for further disruptions as the U.S. launched a war against Iraq. However, prices began to move lower shortly before the United States started bombing Baghdad.

<a href=reuters.com>Reuters Wed April 16, 2003 08:28 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices held steady on Wednesday after the U.S. military said Iraq's oilfields could be pumping at two-thirds of pre-war levels within weeks.

A question mark, however, still hangs over the return of Iraqi crude to the world market, dependent on a decision by a new political administration settling the management of exports.

Brent crude futures LCOM3 traded in London eased eight cents to $25.08 a barrel.

Colonel Michael Morrow, adviser to U.S. forces chief General Tommy Franks at Central Command in Qatar, told Reuters that Iraq's oilfields would be in a position to pump 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) within eight weeks.

"Our job is to fix it, get it pumping and let the new Iraqi government decide how to handle the exports," Morrow said.

The resumption of exports could be delayed by uncertainty over who will have the legal authority to issue contracts under the United Nations oil-for-food program, which has overseen Iraq's crude exports since 1996.

"That will take a political decision," Morrow said. "And that's way above my pay grade."

Before the war, Iraq was producing 2.5 million bpd: 1.7 million bpd from its southern fields and 800,000 bpd from the north.

Iraq's giant northern Kirkuk oilfield was virtually untouched in the war, while the southern fields suffered some sabotage. The U.S. military said on Tuesday that the last blazing oil well had been snuffed out.

OPEC MEETING

A fall in oil prices was kept in check by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls more than half the world's crude exports, would cut output at a meeting scheduled for April 24.

OPEC producers who were able to do so, chiefly Saudi Arabia, have raised their output to compensate for recent outages from Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela.

The cartel is now pumping about two million barrels per day (bpd) above its agreed ceiling of 24.5 million bpd.

But OPEC now fears further price falls in the second quarter, as demand tails off at the end of winter in the northern hemisphere and the war in Iraq winds down with the country's oil infrastructure largely intact.

"I believe there is a glut in the market," said OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah. "The surplus is two-plus million barrels per day."

"We will discuss how to manage this glut," he told reporters in Doha. "This is the main topic to be discussed."

Although ministers appear keen to cut back supply, whether this means reining in cheating or cutting back official limits remains unclear.

Further indications on the health of supply will appear later on Wednesday when the United States releases weekly oil stocks data.

Six analysts polled by Reuters predicted crude stocks grew by about one percent to nearly 280 million barrels and gasoline stocks were up 1.55 million barrels to 202.20 million.