<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan Foreign Minister (MRE) Roy Chaderton Matos says his country is interested in resolving the recurrent problems of Venezuelan fishermen accused of illegally fishing in Guyanese territorial waters. "In Georgetown there is political will to reach an agreement on the matter." 

The problem is complex since Venezuela continues to claim the Essequibo region, which covers two-thirds of Guyana and of course, corresponding territorial waters. 

Although Chaderton Matos admits that no date has been set to sign an agreement, he says dialog will continue. 

Meeting with Guyana's Foreign Minister, Chaderton Matos has confirmed that they discussed environmental issues, trade, cultural and economic cooperation, agriculture, transport, narcotics control and immigration.  

During the visit, Venezuela's border negotiator, Luis Herrera Montano met his Guyana's counterpart, Ralph Ram Karran.

Answering a question raised in VHeadline.com report yesterday, Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown official, Fernando Rincon says the proposal to open an air route between the two countries will depend on whether it can run at a profit.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Vehicle tax collection has ended in Caracas with the majority of municipalities showing a surplus over expected income, except for Libertador municipality ... which failed to meet its 7.5 billion bolivares target by 1.5 million. 

Baruta municipality set a 100-million target and ended up with 700 million, Chacao 50-million reached 1 billion, El Hatillo 30-million reached its target in one day and went on to net 120 million. All are administered by opposition mayors.

Even Sucre, in the hands of a government mayor, did well setting its target at 130 million and reaching 500 million bolivares. 

Where did Libertador Mayor Freddy Bernal go wrong? 

Libertador superintendent, Richard Salas admits there is 30% bad debt on vehicle taxes. 

Other municipalities say they have noted an influx of Libertador residents at their collection offices to avoid digging into their pockets to pay 67,000 bolivares, whereas in El Hatillo the tax only costs 4,000 bolivares.

NEWSDESK 01 May 2003 19:34:22 GMT Fresh Venezuela clashes leave one shot dead (Recasts, adds shooting details) By Patrick Markey

CARACAS, Venezuela, May 1 (Alertnet-Reuters) - One man was shot dead on Thursday when a gunman fired on opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after tens of thousands of demonstrators jammed Caracas streets in rival Labor Day marches over his populist rule, officials said.

In confused running skirmishes, police fired tear gas after the shooting to disperse rival bands of demonstrators who clashed in the center of the capital with volleys of rocks, bottles and fireworks.

Witnesses and officials said the gunman opened fire at one opposition labor leader and then fled to a nearby building, where state security police fought back angry demonstrators clamoring for justice.

The man's body lay draped in a flag on the street.

"They fired at point-blank range three times. He didn't stand a chance," Hector Alcala, 33, told Reuters.

The violence was the most recent since February when the opposition ended a two-month strike and protest campaign that stoked tensions but failed to oust Chavez, a former paratrooper who foes say rules like a corrupt autocrat.

In a huge fluttering sea of banners, placards and national flags, thousands of Chavez opponents earlier snaked along a Caracas highway in what they billed as a renewed campaign for a referendum to unseat the leftist president.

"Everyone on the streets again to democratically resolve this crisis. We will defeat him ... From today the people will take the streets," barked Manuel Cova, an anti-Chavez union chief and opposition leader.

More than a year after Chavez survived a brief military coup in April 2002, his South American nation is mired in economic crisis and bitter political strife. At least seven people have been killed and dozens more wounded during street protests in the last few months.

A loose alliance of parties, unions and private sector heads, the opposition remains without clear leadership while Chavez appears determined to press ahead with the self-styled revolution he says aims to ease the plight of the poor.

Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, is battling one of the worst economic recessions in its history and as much as 80 percent of the population still lives in poverty despite its huge oil wealth.

Opposition leaders hope to trigger a referendum after August 19 when the constitution allows for a poll on the president's mandate halfway through his current term in office, which ends in early 2007.

"We will have a referendum this year; we will have a new president this year," opposition negotiator Timoteo Zambrano said at the rally.

But internationally backed negotiations over the referendum remain deadlocked after the government backed away from signing an accord that would have paved the way for a vote.

The Organization of American States, which brokered the deal, is scrambling to bring the two sides back to the talks. Representatives from a six-nation group, led by the United States and Brazil, are scheduled to arrive next week in Caracas to back OAS efforts to revive negotiations.

(Additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher)

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Interior & Justice (MIJ) Minister General (ret.) Lucas Rincon Romero says he thinks somebody or some organization is behind the recent spate of prison riots throughout Venezuela ... "somebody is paying out a lot of money to do this to generate violence in the prisons." 

The General brushes aside criticism saying he is trying to humanize the prison system and will introduce a rotation guard system to avoid abuses and corruption. 

Calling the simultaneous stop-in of relatives in three distinct prisons (Coro, Tocuyito and Rodeo 1) on Sunday, Rincon Romero accused the media of hype and other interested sectors of organizing the riots. "We will get the bandits who are behind this ... they are not concerned about the human beings in the prisons." 

Family members of prisoners, who have been inside since Sunday, have now abandoned the prison precinct after the government agreed to set up flying tribunals to deal with the backlog of cases awaiting a sentence.