<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, May 30, 2003 By: David Coleman

President Hugo Chavez Frias' brother, National Lands Institute (INTI) president Adan Chavez is categorically denying spurious opposition claims that the National Executive and/or his department is promoting or facilitating the invasion of productive lands by peasant squatters.

Chavez points out that government efforts under "Plan Zamora" are wholly directed towards promoting proper and productive land use and to put unproductive lands into the hands of poor peasants and small- to medium-sized agricultural producers through land registration, a system of agricultural credits, farm machinery and technical assistance towards increased production on state-owned land which has hitherto not fulfilled any social function whatsoever.

• Under the new plan, more than 739,000 hectares and more than 20 billion bolivares in finance and machinery have been contributed and it is expected that Venezuelan farms will in the short term begin to produce sufficiently to guarantee national food production.

Under Presidential Decree No.2,292 issued on February 4 and an INTI Resolution No.177 of the same date, permanent land registrations and rights of occupancies (Deeds) are extended to peasant cooperatives to organize and put unused land into fruitful production ... Adan Chavez says that land deeds groups are most definitely not extended to the detriment of private property in favor of peasant squatters as the opposition media has been screaming.  "The Law on Lands & Agricultural Development (article 24) extends certificates of land registry in accordance with the Constitution and the requirements of national food production.  We are using hitherto unregistered public lands, with full respect for private properties ... yes, we are promoting and protecting agricultural use of the land as a social function in national food production but we are also promoting national sovereignty and independence with our own (Venezuelan) food production and the rational use of land, natural resources and biodiversity to reduce the necessity of importing foodstuffs.

The law also establishes a total rejection of land invasions and squatting ... "the only thing that remains excluded under the law is any right to registration and land certifications  where those who claim rights have opted for violent and illegal means to occupy agricultural land since October 1, 2001 when the law came into effect."

Title deeds to agricultural land allotments are extended only on uncultivated but otherwise productive farmlands in Venezuelan state ownership.  Further down the line the Venezuelan government will examine the use (or lack of it) of land in private ownership, to determine if the land should be subject to compensated expropriation to be put into the hands of those who will make productive use of it ... "it is all being done in the best interests of the nation's economy, but against a backdrop of violent regional warlords who are determined to oppose the government in every way to preserve their ill-gotten privileges."

Venezuela's opposition dominated print & broadcast media has recently cited cases of alleged land invasion in Barinas State ... Adan Chavez says "they have made spurious claims without the slightest shred of evidence, claiming that where squatters have taken over some land, it has been done with the direct complicity of the National Executive ... they are playing to the gallery but the facts speak for themselves, the squatters do not have any backing of the government whatsoever."

Former Barinas Mayor Rogelio Pena says that his Santa Rita farmland has been invaded recently with the support of INTI officials and the National Guard (GN) ... Chavez, however, says that the land does not belong to Mayor Pena and that some 31,000 hectares of previously uncultivated terrain was allotted 400+ peasants belonging to the Brisas del Pasparro Cooperative.  He explains that Mayor Pena is currently under investigation for alleged corruption in the appropriation of 7,000 hectares of land he claims he acquired, but cannot substantiate, whilst holding mayoral office from 1996 to 2000.  "Pena is suspected of being one in a list of the most corrupt officials from previous governments who took advantage of their positions to steal lands that rightfully belong to the State."

DCMilitary.com - Pentagram May 30, 2003 (Editor's note: This is the second of a three part series on unsung American efforts on the war on terrorism in the western hemisphere.)

The political climate in Honduras is not as volatile as parts of South America, but conditions could lead to political upheavals such as those facing Venezuela, where oil strikes and protests have crippled the economy and the government's ability to rule. Poverty and the increasing lawliness in Honduras could create a breeding ground for terrorists.

"The economy is bad and getting worse. This creates a lot of crime. I know many people are scared and feel that something needs to be done," said Carmen Suyapa Euceda, a mother of three who lives near Soto Cano. "Things are at a point where people are not sure what can be done."

Honduran president Ricardo Maduro in April called on the U.S. to be more active in Central America, or risk the region slipping to the left after years of moving toward free-market democracies. He said the region is at "a very critical point," according to The Washington Times.

This is nowhere clearer than in Comayagua Valley, a wide cut through the mountains and home to Soto Cano. In hills east of the valley April 3, Army Chinook helicopters dumped water on forest fires which threatened to raze a mountain village. To the west ? within sight of the smoking palm trees ? thousands of demonstrators congregated in the town of Comayagua against a U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Master Sgt. Charles Warren said the U.S. military's presence is generally welcome despite such protests ? or a message spray-painted beneath a Coca-Cola sign bragging "Osama Bin Laden lives." Joint Security Forces rate the threat of terrorism against Americans low, yet they've beefed up security on Soto Cano.

"Terrorist groups have shown an ability to reach out and hit those places where the threat is considered low, or where they have not hit in the past. In that sense, you could say Central America is in the line of fire," said Warren. He believes a peacetime mission in a friendly nation advertises a "soft" target. The installation is hardening by setting up more physical barriers, installing video surveillance, increasing perimeter patrols, and improving cooperation with Honduran authorities.

Criminal danger

Authorities rate the threat of crime in Honduras high, which presents other reasons to be cautious of political violence and an emergence of home-grown terrorism.

Teen-age gangs wield machetes and home-made firearms called "chimbas" to control territories and extort or steal money. The gangs are a symptom of destitution and an element of rebelliousness similar to conditions in some Middle Eastern communities where terrorist organizations have successfully recruited.

"It is very dangerous. In every city, there are gangs. You hear about 18 or 20 people die every day because of the violence. There seems to be no control over them," said Nuri Yolany Alvarado.

Honduras is a constitutional democracy, but is staggering under the weight of widespread crime. "The judiciary is poorly staffed and equipped, often ineffective and subject to corruption and political influence," said a March 31 State Department report.

Half of Honduras' 6.5 million residents are under age 18.

Many children are turning to crime, and the prisons are filled beyond capacity.

Many businesses employ private security teams who stand guard with sawed-off shotguns, pistols and machetes, closely eyeing teenagers hollering from the beds of passing pick-up trucks.

A scenario in which Hondurans become anti-American terrorists is highly unlikely right now, yet worth U.S. concerns, especially if Americans disappear from humanitarian missions in Latin America and economic conditions worsen, Warren said.

Fuel prices in Honduras, one of the poorest nations in a crippled region, stand at over $3 a gallon, one of the highest prices in the hemisphere. With the daunting cost of owning a private vehicle, public transportation is overburdened, and relies heavily on retired school buses from the U. S.

Honduras' poverty takes a toll on public health.

Nancy Etheridge, wife of Southern Command's Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Etheridge, helped in March at several medical clinics organized through Soto Cano.

"It's overwhelming. I never dreamed there was this many people in need of basic medical care," she said. "It's good for them to see the military helping in this way, because right now they are seeing so much of the fighting in Iraq. They need to know we do more than fight."

There is also a fear that Honduras' proximity to the U.S. could kick up sibling rivalry among poor nations. Hondurans may feel their friendly ties with the U.S. are not bettering their position at a time when news reports show American soldiers handing out food and medicines to vanquished Iraqis and Afghanis.

"Wherever the Americans are, the area does better economically. The people here feel Honduras is close to America, but don't understand why that doesn't improve things for the whole country," said Alvarado.

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have crowded front pages and video clips in Honduras' news outlets, whose reports also closely follow the humanitarian efforts in the wake of war. Many Hondurans don't grasp why so much money is spent helping the U.S.'s adversaries.

"It is a weird war. Iraq is very bad, but when they lose, the United States will help them rebuild," said Euceda.

It can be a strained logic for U.S. personnel as well as Honduran officials.

"These are our neighbors, this is our backyard. If we are going to help anywhere in the world, these are the people we should be helping," said Warren.

"We have to provide the people with some real gains quickly. However, the attention we are getting from the international community is not up to the full task," the Honduran president told Washington Times editors.

The challenges facing U.S. forces at Soto Cano steadily increase. Just over 500 military personnel on the base attempt to improve the lot of over 37 million people across Central America. To many in the region, the task force represents the U.S.'s commitment to staving off economic disaster in Central America.

This commitment can be viewed as either weak or strong.

(Wagner is a Pentagram staff writer supporting Task Force-Bravo. Next week -- Maintaining the ties.)

<a href=www.lapress.org>LatinAmericaPress Saturday,  June 7,  2003 May 30, 2003

Colombia, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela were cited by the United States as countries with a "poor record" in the protection of human rights last year.

The US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, published March 31, state that the four countries did not "generally respect" human rights, measured by the number of abuses committed.

The reports — published annually since 1976 — are compiled using information from the US State Department, human rights groups, international bodies, academics and the media.

The governments of Cuba and Venezuela stated that the US has no right to make a unilateral qualification of other countries’ human rights records when, against the wishes of the United Nations, it recently conducted an invasion that violated human rights, referring to the war against Iraq.

Other countries such as Peru — accused of attempted state control of the media — stated that they only recognize the UN and the Organization of American States as authorities qualified to make such pronouncements.

In brief;

Drug traffickers, according to a US government report, have destroyed some 3.6 million hectares of Andean Region tropical rainforest in the last 20 years. At the same time, chemicals used in the production of drugs have contaminated many rivers.

On May 26 in Paraguay a judge acquitted 19 people — police, politicians and members of the military — accused of attempting to mount a coup against ex-President Luis Gonzáles Macchi in May 2000 (LP, June 12, 2000).

Although the Constitution of Guatemala prohibits former dictators from running for president (LP, May 21, 2003), on May 24 the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) chose retired Gen. Efraín Ríos Montt (1982-83), who is currently president of Congress, as its presidential candidate for the Nov. 9 elections.

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo announced May 9 the recuperation of another child of the disappeared in Argentina, the 75th, who was illegally appropriated by a member of the military during the last dictatorship (LP, Sept. 10, 2001). Horacio Pietragalla Corti, aged 27, whose parents were killed by the Argentinean Anti-Communist Association, was kidnapped when just six months old.

The number of impoverished people in Mexico rose by two million in the first two months of 2003, according to government figures. The Technical Committee for the Measurement of Poverty calculates that 55.7 million of the country’s total 100 million inhabitants live in poverty.

By Brian Ellsworth Published 5/30/2003 9:33 AM

CARACAS, Venezuela, May 30 (<a href=www.upi.com>UPI) -- In an upscale neighborhood of eastern Caracas, demonstrators this week continued to congregate in Altamira Plaza to protest against President Hugo Chavez. A hotbed of Venezuela's political opposition during the opposition petroleum strike, the desolate plaza now looks a lot like an abandoned circus. But opposition leaders are just as agitated as they were at the height of the strike.

"He is a terrorist and a communist," says Gustavo Ramírez, 32, a student who showed up at the gathering. "He has people in the country going hungry and he wants to ensure that there's no freedom of expression."

While opposition sympathizers frequently levy similar accusations against their embattled left-wing president, Ramirez's condemnation was not aimed at the embattled Chavez, but rather at Cuban President Fidel Castro.

"President Chavez wants to turn Venezuela into another Cuba," says Ramirez, "but we can't let that happen."

Statements like these show how President Chavez's open admiration of Castro's communist revolution has infuriated Venezuela's conservative sectors and raised eyebrows in the international community. Even as the government and opposition on Thursday signed a cooperation agreement that could help ease the crisis, the opposition resentment over the Cuban issue remains high.

Since the arrival of Chavez, Venezuela has signed dozens of cooperation agreements with Cuba, increased cultural exchange and provided subsidized petroleum to the Caribbean nation -- much to the chagrin of Venezuelans already unnerved by what they see as Chavez's left-agenda. Government leaders defend the new cooperation with Cuba as a way of consolidating Venezuela's social reforms. But with Cuba once again in the eye of the international community, the relationship may prove costly for Chavez.

A former paratrooper turned populist president, Chavez became a household figure in Venezuela after leading a failed coup in 1992. Released from jail on a presidential pardon, Chavez swept elections in 1998 on an antipoverty, anticorruption platform dubbed the "Bolivarian Revolution" in honor of the Venezuelan founding father, Simon Bolivar. With a core constituency of Venezuela's burgeoning lower classes, Chavez has become a hero to the poor by promising to remake Venezuelan society. Although he has promised a peaceful revolution, Chavez often seems ideologically linked to the Latin American armed left. Faithful to his revolutionary roots, Chavez quickly increased diplomatic ties with Castro, a father figure for the Latin American left who in the 1960s sponsored Marxist guerrilla activity in Venezuela.

A year after taking office, the Chavez government signed an agreement to sell 53,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba at subsidized rates in exchange for medical treatment by Cuban doctors. Since then, the Venezuelan government has entered into numerous cooperation agreements with Cuba, covering everything from sports training programs to urban gardens overseen by Cubans. As a result, Venezuela has become Cuba's largest trading partner.

There was little initial backlash to the new cooperation during Chavez's first years in office, when he enjoyed popularity ratings as high as 80 percent. But his excessively confrontational manner, his willingness to insult his adversaries and his decision to legislate by decree led to a steady decline in his popularity during 2001.

Watching his approval slip, Chavez' adversaries pounced on his friendship with Castro, insisting that Chavez was trying to impose a model of "Castro-communism" in Venezuela. Although there is almost nothing about Chavez's economic policy that could be described as communist, his friendship with Castro has made it easy for his enemies to label him as such.

According to journalist and political commentator Clodosvaldo Hernandez, Venezuelans have such a primordial fear of communism that Chavez' flirtations with Cuba have greatly contributed to his decline in popularity.

"Chavez approaching Fidel has awakened Venezuelans terror of communism, which was successfully instilled during the era of guerrilla fighting in the 1960s," says Hernandez. "In addition, Venezuela is a very materialist society, which makes communism all the more threatening."

Hernandez points out that many poor Venezuelans, the president's core constituency, have moved away from Chavez for precisely this reason.

But government leaders such as pro-Chavez legislator Tarek William Saab say the opposition has exaggerated Venezuela's relationship with Cuba.

"We have similar cooperation agreements with dozens of other countries," says Saab, "but since it's Cuba, political leaders like to make it into an ideological issue. The issue has been magnified and exaggerated, in particular with the help of the anti-Castro lobby in Miami."

Miami, in the U.S. state of Florida, is a stronghold of anti-Castro Cuban émigrés.

Nonetheless, it's hard to describe the relationship as a simple commercial exchange. The two leaders clearly share an ideology, and Chavez's move toward Cuba is an open challenge to the U.S. embargo of the island. Indeed, while U.S. authorities in May were declaring Cuba a terrorist sympathizer and expelling Cuban diplomats, Venezuela was signing 15 new agreements with the communist island.

Many speculate that the fear of encroaching communism helped drive military leaders to oust Chavez on April 11 of 2002, when 19 people were killed as an opposition march approached the presidential palace. Businessman Pedro Carmona was installed as president, but Chavez was restored to power two days later by supporters and loyalist troops. During Carmona's government, opposition protestors surrounded the Cuban Embassy, cutting off the power and water to force hiding Chavez cohorts to leave the compound. The incident is frequently cited as one of the opposition's excesses, and served to strengthen ties between Castro and Chavez.

Government sympathizers such as Wilmar Perez, 42, a former taxi driver, have been drawn to the Chavez government through exchange programs with Cuba.

"The opposition criticizes Cuba because they don't know anything about it," says Perez, who was sent to Cuba for six months to receive medical attention for a gunshot wound he received on April 11. "They should continue the exchanges with Cuba, it is helping us to consolidate the revolution."

However, political analyst Alberto Garrido insists that popular approval or discontent is not the primary issue for Chavez.

"The real problem here is the armed forces," says Garrido. "Officers fear that Venezuela's armed forces are going to be turned into a revolutionary army. And you have to remember that many of these officers have been through the U.S. School of the Americas, they were trained to fight against communism."

Garrido adds that by embracing Castro too closely, Chavez also risks upsetting the United States, which buys most of Venezuela's oil exports.

"Staying tied to Castro is an enormous liability for Chavez," says Garrido. "It means confronting people that should be his allies. How far can he really take this?"

Widespread criticism of Cuba within Venezuela indicates that Garrido has a point. But Chavez shows no sign of distancing himself from Castro, even in the face of international condemnation of Cuba's recent human rights abuses. And Chavez, much like Castro, has never been afraid of a little healthy confrontation -- meaning the Cuban issue is unlikely to disappear from the Venezuelan horizon any time soon.

Story last updated at 9:39 a.m. Friday, May 30, 2003 The Post and Courier-Los Angeles Times

CARACAS, VENEZUELA--President Hugo Chavez and opposition representatives signed a controversial peace deal Thursday that paves the way for early presidential elections but was criticized as falling far short of solving the nation's political crisis.

Government and opposition members said the agreement represents the best hope to reconcile this deeply divided country, even as some in the fractured opposition expressed serious reservations about the deal.

"The government is not going to say we've won with this agreement, and I hope the opposition won't either," said Chavez, who did not attend the signing ceremony at a hotel here Thursday. "Let's say the country won."

The agreement is the culmination of six months of arduous negotiations by the Organization of American States, backed by the Atlanta-based Carter Center, the United Nations and the six-nation Group of Friends of Venezuela, which includes the United States.

The negotiations were intended to ease deep divisions in Venezuela, which in the last 18 months has suffered through an attempted coup, a devastating general strike and a plunging economy.

Foes of Chavez, a former paratrooper first elected to the presidency in 1998, accuse him of being a communist sympathizer leading the country to ruin with a half-baked social revolution. Chavez and his supporters see the opposition as right-wing coup-mongers who have done nothing to relieve the country's poverty.

The primary point of the agreement is that both sides will follow the system in the Venezuelan Constitution for a presidential recall.

But the agreement sets no timetable for an election. It also leaves unanswered a host of difficult questions about how, exactly, to conduct such a vote.

The body designated in the constitution to oversee elections, the National Electoral Council, does not exist yet and is currently the subject of an intense dispute in the assembly regarding the appointment of its members.

Also, Chavez made no promises to forgo court challenges to a recall election, though the opposition believes such delaying tactics would cost him in international political circles.

In fact, however, Chavez has already challenged the validity of the 2.8 million signatures the opposition has collected for the recall, which it hopes to hold as soon as August.

Still, OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria, who oversaw the talks, said an election might be possible as soon as November.