www.wset.com Saturday January 18, 2003 1:19pm

Caracas (AP) - President Hugo Chavez on Saturday defended raids of two bottling plants, saying the companies that owned them denied Venezuelans food and drink in a seven-week strike that has hobbled the nation.

Fighting their way through protesters, Venezuelan troops raided a Coca-Cola bottling plant Friday night and seized soda, bottled water and other drinks. Soldiers also raided a plant owned by Polar, the country's largest brewer and food producer.

"Those that are hoarding food will have to be raided," Chavez said in a telephone interview broadcast on Venezuelan state television. "The private companies ... are violating Venezuelans' rights." Chavez spoke before arriving in the Brazilian capital early Saturday to discuss an initiative by several countries to join forces and help solve Venezuela's ongoing crisis.

Chavez met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about the so-called "Group of Friends of Venezuela." Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Chile, Portugal and Spain form part of the group.

Chavez said he was not worried about the U.S. involvement even though Washington has indicated it believes the best way out of Venezuela's crisis is new elections.

"I am not afraid of the opinions of the United States in the negotiations of the Group of Friends, because the United States is also a friend of Venezuela," Chavez said.

Protesters tried to block the raids of the bottling plants, but the National Guard used tear gas to push past them.

One soldier grabbed a woman by the hair and threw her backward onto the street. Another protester grabbed a National Guardsman by the lapels as other soldiers tried to pull her away.

Troops cut through chains at the gate and drove away Coca-Cola trucks filled with drinks as a protester shouted, "Thieves! Thieves!" National Guard Gen. Felipe Acosta, a close ally of Chavez, said the drinks would be distributed to Venezuelans.

"It's for the people," Acosta said, and grabbed a malt drink. He drank it and belched loudly in front of television cameras.

The action outraged business owners and the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or VenAmCham. "VenAmCham denounces the abuse of power ... violation of (the company's) property, intimidation of its employees, and removal of its goods without due process," the group said in a written statement.

In December, Chavez issued a presidential decree authorizing the military to "temporarily" confiscate private property to guarantee the distribution of basic food staples. He had warned food producers he would send soldiers to raid plants and warehouses hoarding supplies.

Both Polar and Panamco, the owner of the Coca-Cola plant, claim they haven't been able to distribute products due to fuel shortages and worker absences.

Opposition leaders said the raid set a dangerous precedent. "There are private property rights here, rights of all Venezuelans and we will not permit them to be violated," said opposition leader Rafael Alfonzo.

The strike, called on Dec. 2 by opposition groups to force Chavez from office, has caused severe food and fuel shortages throughout this oil-rich yet poverty-stricken South American country of 24 million.

The strike has hobbled Venezuela's oil industry, the fourth-largest supplier to the United States, and cost the nation at least $4 billion. Chavez insisted his government was reviving oil production.

Venezuela produced 3 million barrels a day of crude before the strike.

The country's crude oil output was 512,000 barrels Friday, up from 484,000 barrels Thursday, according to striking employees of the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.

However, Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez has said production stands at 890,000 barrels. About 35,000 oil workers, including executives, have joined the strike.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency said it could take months before Venezuela returns to its pre-strike production. The crisis has caused international prices to rise. In the U.S., gasoline prices have risen to an average $1.50 a gallon.

www.cbc.ca 05:53 PM EST Jan 18

CARACAS (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez justified military raids on two bottling plants to seize beverages to stave off shortages caused by the weeks-old general strike, saying Saturday the companies were depriving citizens of basic necessities. "Those that are hoarding food will have to be raided," Chavez said in a telephone interview from Brazil broadcast on Venezuelan state television. "The private companies  . . . are violating Venezuelans' rights."

Chavez arrived in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, early Saturday to discuss the Group of Friends of Venezuela initiative with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Brazil, United States, Mexico, Chile, Portugal and Spain form part of the group set up to help solve Venezuela's ongoing political crisis.

Chavez favours also including France, China and Russia in the group.

The strike, called Dec. 2 by opposition groups to force Chavez from office, has caused severe food and fuel shortages throughout this oil-rich yet poverty-stricken country of 24 million.

Fighting their way through protesters, Venezuelan troops raided a Coca-Cola bottling plant Friday and seized soda, bottled water and other drinks.

"Taking into account that collective rights preside over personal rights, we are proceeding to distribute these products to the population," said National Guard Gen. Felipe Acosta, a close ally of Chavez.

"It's for the people," Acosta said, and grabbed a malt drink. He drank it and belched loudly in front of television cameras.

The National Guard used tear gas to push through protesters who grappled with soldiers outside the plant.

One soldier grabbed a woman by the hair and threw her backward onto the street. Another protester grabbed a National Guardsman by the lapels as other soldiers tried to pull her away.

Troops cut through chains at the gate and drove away Coca-Cola trucks filled with drinks as a protester shouted, "Thieves! Thieves!"

The soldiers also raided a plant owned by Polar, the country's largest brewer and food producer. Both plants are in Valencia, 105 kilometres west of Caracas.

The action outraged business owners and the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or VenAmCham.

"VenAmCham denounces the abuse of power  . . . violation of (the company's) property, intimidation of its employees, and removal of its goods without due process," the group said in a statement.

In December, Chavez issued a presidential decree authorizing the military to "temporarily" confiscate private property to guarantee the distribution of basic food staples. He had warned food producers he would send soldiers to raid plants and warehouses hoarding supplies.

Polar and Panamco, the owner of the Coca-Cola plant, claim they haven't been able to distribute products due to fuel shortages and worker absences.

Opposition leaders said the raids set a dangerous precedent.

"There are private property rights here, rights of all Venezuelans and we will not permit them to be violated," said opposition leader Rafael Alfonzo.

The strike has hobbled Venezuela's oil industry, the world's fifth largest exporter, and cost the country at least $4 billion US. Chavez insisted his government was reviving production at the state-owned oil monopoly, although the Paris-based International Energy Agency said it could take months before Venezuela returns to its pre-strike production.

Speaking to legislators in Congress on Friday, Chavez welcomed foreign help to end the strike.

Chavez cautioned, however, that his government "won't accept any restrictions from the Friends group and warned other countries not to legitimize the opposition.

abcnews.go.com — By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened on Saturday to withdraw from negotiations with his opponents, casting doubt over peace talks aimed at ending a political stalemate over a strike that has crippled vital oil exports.

Chavez's comments, made to a late night state television program in Caracas, came as the international community stepped up support for the talks brokered by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria.

The negotiations are trying to end the conflict behind a 48-day-old opposition strike that has slashed oil output from the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter and rattled global energy markets already nervous over a U.S.-led war in Iraq.

The strike, called by the opposition to press Chavez to resign and hold early elections, has caused serious shortages of gasoline, cooking gas and some food items and pushed Venezuela's oil-reliant economy deeper into recession.

Chavez blasted his foes as "terrorists and fascists," and said there was "no possibility of conversation with them."

He added: "We in the government ... are considering withdrawing our team from the negotiating table because those people are showing no sign that they really want to choose the democratic path."

Opposition leaders condemned his comments, but said the OAS-backed negotiations remained the only solution to the nation's crisis. "Chavez is trying to wriggle out of this; he's cornered by the international scene. He's trying to block all the international initiatives to help Venezuela," anti-Chavez union boss and opposition negotiator Manuel Cova told Reuters.

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived an April coup, said his government would consult with Gaviria and decide over the weekend whether to stay in the OAS-brokered talks, which have made little progress since they began two months ago.

Gaviria planned to travel to the United States for the weekend, but the talks he chairs are due to resume on Monday.

While ruling out negotiations with what he called "terrorist and fascist" strike leaders, Chavez said his government would be willing to talk to moderate "democratic" opposition representatives who were "not coup mongers."

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

The Venezuelan leader spoke shortly before flying to Brazil for talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on international efforts to back the OAS peace negotiations.

Latin American leaders this week created a six-nation "group of friends" to support OAS chief Gaviria's efforts to broker a peace deal on the key issue of the possible timing of elections in Venezuela to solve the political crisis.

The group comprised the United States, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain and Portugal. But Chavez, who held talks this week with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York, said he wanted the "friends" group to be expanded to include other nations like China, Russia and France.

After meeting briefly with Lula in Brasilia, Chavez reiterated his calls for the group to include other nations. But he said the expansion could come during a second phase at a later date.

Chavez has vowed to break the opposition strike, now in its seventh week, sending troops to take over strike-hit oil fields, refineries and export terminals. But the government has had only partial success so far in restoring oil operations.

Following Chavez's orders, troops Friday seized drink products from a bottling affiliate of Coca-Cola Co. and from a major local brewer in Carabobo state, west of Caracas.

The confiscation, carried out by a pro-Chavez National Guard general, was condemned as an illegal attack against private property by opposition leaders.

U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Charles Shapiro, said the raids could strain ties with Washington and expressed concern over U.S. commercial interests in the South American nation.

Three opposition leaders traveled this week to the United States where they met U.S. government officials and accused Chavez of ruining Venezuela's economy with his populist reforms. Chavez says his self-styled "revolution" aims to help the country's poor majority.

Rejecting opposition calls for early elections, Chavez has told them they must wait until after Aug. 19, when the constitution allows for a binding referendum on his rule. His current term is scheduled to end in early 2007. (Additional reporting by Magdalena Morales and Patrick Markey)

www.voanews.com VOA News 18 Jan 2003, 16:53 UTC

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is defending military raids on beverage plants to stop what he is calling deliberate food hoarding by opposition-friendly businesses.

Mr. Chavez said Saturday, the armed forces will stop those who, "hoard food in order to cause shortages, violating the rights of Venezuelans." The president spoke in Brasilia, where he was expected to hold talks with President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, his Brazilian counterpart, on Venezuela's political crisis and its seven-week general strike.

He and President da Silva were to discuss the work of the so-called Group of Friends, a group of countries that have offered to help mediate talks between Mr. Chavez and the Venezuelan opposition.

On Friday, soldiers raided the Panamco bottling plant, which is affiliated with the Coca-Cola Company, as well as a warehouse belonging to beer and food maker Empresas Polar. The soldiers then carted beer off for distribution in poor neighborhoods. Opposition leaders, many of whom have support within the business community, said the raids set a dangerous precedent. A seven-week general strike called by the opposition has paralyzed Venezuela's key oil industry, forcing the government to import food and fuel. Mr. Chavez has rejected the opposition's demands that he resign.

www.cnn.com Saturday, January 18, 2003 Posted: 10:41 AM EST (1541 GMT)

Chavez delivers annual state of the nation address to Venezuela's congress on Friday.

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday his government was considering withdrawing from negotiations with opposition leaders about solving his country's political crisis.

His comments, made by telephone to a late night state television news program in Caracas, raised doubts about the future of peace talks with opposition leaders currently being brokered by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria.

The negotiations are trying to end the conflict behind a 48-day-old opposition strike that has slashed oil output and shipments by the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter.

The strike, called by the opposition to press left-winger Chavez to resign and hold early elections, has caused serious shortages of gasoline, cooking gas and some food items and pushed Venezuela's oil-reliant economy deeper into recession.

Noting that opposition strike leaders condemned him as a "tyrant," Chavez blasted them as "terrorists and fascists," and said there was "no possibility of conversation with them."

He added: "We in the government ... are considering withdrawing our team from the negotiating table because those people (the opposition) are showing no sign that they really want to choose the democratic path."

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived a short-lived coup in April, said his government would consult with Gaviria and decide over the weekend whether or not to stay in the OAS-brokered talks, which have been going on for two months.

While ruling out talks with what he called "terrorist and fascist" strike leaders, he said his government would be willing to talk to more moderate "democratic" opposition representatives who were "not coup mongerers."

The Venezuelan leader spoke shortly before flying to Brazil for talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on international efforts to back the OAS peace negotiations.

Latin American leaders this week created a six-nation "group of friends" to support OAS chief Gaviria's efforts to broker a peace deal on the key issue of the possible timing of elections in Venezuela to solve the political crisis.

The group comprised the United States, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain and Portugal. But Chavez, who held talks this week with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York, said he wanted the "friends" group to be expanded to include other nations like China, Russia and France.

Troops raid Coca-Cola plant

Venezuelan National Guard Gen. Felipe Acosta, center, inspects the storage area of a Coca-Cola - Panamco bottling plant Friday.

Chavez has vowed to break the opposition strike, now in its seventh week, sending troops to take over strike-hit oil fields, refineries and export terminals. But the government has had only partial success so far in restoring oil operations.

Following Chavez's orders, troops Friday seized drink products from a bottling affiliate of Coca-Cola Co. (KO.N) and from a major local brewer in Carabobo state, west of Caracas.

The confiscation, carried out by a fiercely pro-Chavez National Guard general who said he was acting against alleged hoarders, was furiously condemned as an illegal attack against private property by opposition leaders.

Chavez was unrepentant about the military raids on the drinks plants, saying they would be repeated if necessary to ensure food supplies were not disrupted by the strike.

"We can't be sitting wasting our time at a table while they (the opposition) try to generate chaos in the country," he said in his comments early Saturday.

Three opposition leaders traveled this week to the United States where they met U.S. government officials and accused Chavez of ruining Venezuela's economy with his populist reforms. Chavez says his self-styled "revolution" aims to help the country's poor majority.

Rejecting opposition calls for early elections, Chavez has told them they must wait until after August 19, when the constitution allows for a binding referendum on his rule. His current term is scheduled to end in early 2007.