<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, April 04, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

According to Organization of American States (OAS) secretary general Cesar Gaviria, government and opposition leaders have found common ground in the pursuit of an electoral solution to Venezuela's ongoing political crisis, and an agreement on an electoral solution may not be too far away.

Following the week's last session Gaviria said "after the discussion on an eventual agreement, government and opposition negotiators have found some common ground to work on towards an agreement."

This follows comments from Executive Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel several days ago that the government was ready to discuss a possible revocatory referendum, providing President Hugo Chavez Frias would be given the opportunity to stand in general elections should be fail to win the referendum.

The OAS-led negotiations are set to resume again next week to further discuss the proposal, which under the current Constitution could see elections as soon as August this year.

Article Published: Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 8:25:59 PM PST The Daily Bulletin By WILL MATTHEWS STAFF WRITER

RIVERSIDE — A Riverside man who was arrested last year at Ontario International Airport for allegedly making remarks about a bomb was arrested Wednesday by the FBI after driving his car through a military barricade at March Air Reserve Base.

Eid Elwirelwir, 26, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Venezuela, drove through a coiled-wire barricade designed to restrict traffic from a road leading to a closed, gated entrance to the base, authorities say.

Elwirelwir then proceeded to crash into a locked chain link fence blocking entrance to the base.

Elwirelwir was not injured and was initially taken into custody by Marine Corps sentries guarding the gate.

According to an FBI criminal complaint, Elwirelwir expressed numerous anti-American sentiments and said he believed he had been oppressed by America because he was Muslim.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said Thursday that Elwirelwir was picked up at his home Wednesday by members of the FBI's joint terrorism task force and charged with destruction of government property.

In February 2002, Elwirelwir was arrested at ONT after security screeners there said he mentioned a bomb in his shoe.

He was arrested by airport police for making a false bomb threat at a screening checkpoint.

Elwirelwir became irate after being arrested and told police he had simply asked screeners whether they thought he had a bomb in his shoe.

Michael Martinez, a deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County, said Thursday that after reviewing the case he declined to press charges against Elwirelwir, believing it to fall more within federal jurisdiction than local jurisdiction.

Martinez said he passed the case on to the U.S. Attorney's Office in both Los Angeles and Riverside after discussing it with officials there and with the FBI.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said Thursday that no charges were filed by his office against Elwirelwir in relation to the ONT incident.

He declined to say why no charges were filed.

Bosley said Thursday she was not aware of any previous incident involving Elwirelwir, and said no federal charges had ever been pressed against him.

She said the FBI was not investigating this week's incident in Riverside as terrorist-related.

"He certainly made some anti-American statements, but he has the right to do that," Bosley said. "There is a pending investigation and anything is possible, but at this point there is just the one charge."

Will Matthews can be reached by e-mail w_matthews@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9333.

IRNA Caracas, April 4, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- Venezuelan Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel confirmed resolute support of the Venezuelan leadership for Russia's firm stand on denouncing the American-British military action against Iraq.
The vice-president said at a meeting with Russian Ambassador in Caracas Alexei Yermakov on Thursday that the Venezuelan leadership resolutely opposed continuation of this military action and stood out for "a return of a settlement of the Iraqi problem under the auspices of the UN".
The operation of the anti-Iraqi coalition becomes more
procrastinated. It will entail numerous victims, above all among
civilians, and "will tell negatively on stabilization of the system of international relations as well as in the humanitarian, economic and ecological sphere," Rangel emphasized.
/FM/LS/AR
End

<a href=www.chronwatch.com>Chron watch Posted by the ChronWatch Founder, Jim Sparkman Friday, April 04, 2003

      Somehow, the ''Rogue Editor'' at the Chronicle continues to slip banned material past the scrutiny of Chron editors, Mrs. Robert Scheer and Mr. Sharon Stone.  Admittedly, he has to place the  material in rather inconsequential spots in the paper, but nonetheless it represent a great accomplishment on his part.

Longtime Iraqi Dissident by Anna Badkhem        What's this? A Chron article that actually talks about the evils perpetrated by the anti-war protester's favorite dictator, Saddam Hussein.  Normally, that is of no interest to the protesters or, for that matter, to the Chron editors.

       Ahmed's face lit up with the big, warm smile he reserves for his wife when her spirit is low.  Soon, he reassured her, his struggle against the repressive rule will be over. The U.S.-led air strikes that have been shaking their house nightly are bound to end the dictatorship, he believes, finally setting the country free.

       But as they listened to American B-52 bombers rumble heavily over the rooftop of their rented house in the Kurdish haven in northern Iraq, Ahmed and Afrah knew: Like their family's awful memories, many scars will have to heal before Iraq becomes whole again.

       If nothing else, Ahmed will always have his eight children to remind him of the pain Iraq has endured during the 34 years of Baathist reign.

State Finds No fixing of Gasoline Prices by Verne Kopytoff        Verne writes an article that is anathema to the liberal line of Gray Davis and Barabara Boxer. It seems that a study commissioned by Davis himself shows that the recent increase in gasoline prices are the result of natural market forces. Shock and horror! This is a concept that is foreign to the Chronicle and these two liberal politicians.  For them, there is no law of supply and demand.  It never existed, despite what you were taught in Economics 101.  To these anti-business liberals, all price increases are the direct result of the actions of greedy corporations. What with the ''shock and awe'' pounding of the corporate world by the Chronicle and the liberal politicians, is it any wonder that California is dead last in the ratings of CEOs on business climate.

       An investigation ordered by Gov. Gray Davis into California's escalating gasoline, diesel, and natural-gas prices has found no evidence of illegal manipulation.

       Rather, the probe attributed the higher costs this year primarily to tensions over the war in Iraq, a strike in Venezuela, and an unusually cold winter on the East Coast.

       The conclusion, to be officially released today, is a setback for those who believe that the soaring gas prices and heating bills this year are due to collusion. But it is an obvious victory for the oil and natural-gas industries, which have maintained all along that market forces, not manipulation, were responsible.

The Houston Chronicle.com April 4, 2003, 9:36AM By MICHAEL DAVIS Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

As Venezuela's oil production slowly returns to normal, the OPEC member is turning its attention to restoring its battered reputation after strikes shut down its national oil company.

The national strikes, aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, have left Venezuela's economy in a shambles and its oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, with a severely depleted work force.

Venezuelan officials say the country's production is back up to 2.9 million barrels per day, but many in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere are skeptical of those numbers.

"It is tough to pin down exactly what they are producing, but even the political opposition in Venezuela says it's about 2.4 million barrels and possibly a bit higher," said George Beranek, manager of market analysis for PFC Energy in Washington. "I think they have recovered a lot faster than was expected."

To counter such widespread skepticism, PDVSA is mounting a public relations campaign aimed at restoring confidence in the country's oil sector. But it will take more than a slide show to convince the industry that things are back to normal.

Venezuela could make a significant step towards restoring confidence in its ability to be a reliable supplier simply by being more candid, said Michelle Foss, director of the University of Houston Energy Institute.

"They could tell everyone what is really going on, for starters," Foss said. "Nobody really believes those production numbers. We don't know how much of the oil they are shipping out may be coming from storage, for example."

Economy still shaking

Oil is the paramount component of Venezuela's economy, providing the majority of revenues to the government. The shutdown of the oil industry is still shaking up the economy.

The Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the country's largest business organization, estimates about 15 percent of the country's companies closed in the first quarter. An official with the groups described the country's situation as an "economic disaster."

Officials from PDVSA will be meeting with U.S. lawmakers, investors, financial institutions and think tanks to repair the country's reputation as one of the leading suppliers of crude oil to the United States.

The road show will stop in Houston, Dallas and New York, among other U.S. energy centers, to make its case that Venezuela is a reliable oil supplier.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips is a partner with PDVSA in two major heavy-oil projects in Venezuela. Exxon Mobil and ChevronTexaco are also involved in heavy-oil projects there.

PDVSA officials say the company is working to restore production that was shut down during the strike and are making progress.

"We are already back in our production areas," said Fadi Kabboul, minister counselor for energy affairs at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington. "We have all of our light and medium wells producing at the same levels before the stoppage, and we are recovering about 80 percent of our heavy crude."

Light and medium wells refer to the weight of the oil produced. Lighter oil is easier to produce, transport and refine. Venezuela produces a broad range of oils, including some of the world's heaviest oil.

Terminals for loading oil for export have been visited recently by officials from companies such as Shell and Exxon Mobil to ensure they comply with international standards, Kabboul said.

During the strike, crews refused to dock their tankers at the oil terminals because of insurance concerns.

The Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez, met last week with Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee, to assure him the country will be able to meet its obligations to its U.S. customers.

"The ambassador told me that the strike is behind them now and that Venezuela has increased production very substantially," Bingaman said. "He also said that the political situation for President Chavez is moving toward a resolution, and that Venezuela is in a position to meet a substantial amount of our energy needs."

Top managers were fired

Compounding the skepticism over production numbers is the fact that many of the white-collar professionals who dealt with the country's oil production and sales day to day were fired during the strike.

"Some say more than half of PDVSA's employees were lost in the strike," Foss said. "What is clear is that all of the experienced managers that people were accustomed to dealing with are out of the picture."

PDVSA says it reduced its work force by 43 percent because of the strike. The biggest reduction came from the ranks of executives and professionals, which were cut by 55 percent and 59 percent, respectively, according to the company.

The loss of many of midlevel managers has thrown logistics at the company into disarray. Tasks such as billing, accounting, payments and tracking production flows are all in doubt now, Foss said.

As part of its marketing campaign, PDVSA projects that its production will be over 3 million barrels a day by year's end.

During March, Venezuela exported an average of 843,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 247,000 barrels of refined products per day to the United States, according to figures provided by PDVSA.

Before the strike, Venezuelan oil imports to the United States were running at 1.4 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said.

Despite the widespread uncertainty over production volumes, there have been recent indications that the country's oil industry is returning to normal.

Gasoline exports from PDVSA's refinery on the Caribbean island of Curacao resumed last week. The country had halted gasoline exports, using all of what little it was producing or had in storage domestically. Now, Venezuela's refineries are able to produce enough to begin exporting gasoline again.

All of the nation's refineries should be back to normal by mid-May, PDVSA President Ali Rodriguez said last week.

Some heavy oil lost

Some of the country's heavy-oil production was lost permanently after being shut in, but estimates vary on how much. The International Energy Agency in Paris estimates 400,000 barrels of Venezuelan production was lost because of the strikes.

U.S. companies with major heavy-oil projects in the country report operations are back to normal for the most part.

Houston's ConocoPhillips is a partner in two of the largest heavy-oil projects, Petrozuata and Hamaca. Before the strike, Petrozuata was producing 120,000 barrels of oil per day, with about half going to ConocoPhillips, company spokeswoman Linsi Crain said.

Petrozuata's production ceased in December. It resumed in mid-March and is back to to its pre-strike levels, she said.

Hamaca was producing 46,000 barrels per day, 18,000 of which went to ConocoPhillips, and it is producing as it was before the strike. Upgrading facilities for the heavy oil, which must be processed so it can be moved via pipeline and then onto a tanker, are also back in operation, Crain said.

"Hamaca was still being ramped up at the time of the strike," Crain said. Hamaca is projected to hit a peak production of 190,000 barrels per day.

Exxon Mobil is partnered with PDVSA in a heavy-oil project called Cerro Negro. Heavy oil is mixed with naptha and moved to the north where it is upgraded and then exported to the companies' refinery in Chalmette, La.

Operations were closed in Cerro Negro after the strike began because of a lack of a reliable natural gas supply to the plant, said Bob Davis, an Exxon Mobil spokesman in Houston. Now production is back to normal at 120,000 barrels of heavy oil per day, Davis said.