U.S. plans effort to break Venezuela impasse
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration plans an initiative to form a group of nations to help end a strike in Venezuela that has crippled oil exports from the major oil supplier to the United States, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
The administration has generally taken a low-profile approach to the five-week strike but will unveil within a week the plan calling for the group to develop a proposal -- probably based on holding early elections -- to end the impasse in the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter.
The plan would be presented through the Organization of American States, which is mediating between leftist President Hugo Chavez and an opposition that wants him to resign, the paper reported, citing U.S. and foreign diplomatic sources.
A White House spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the report.
Washington lost credibility in Venezuela when it appeared to welcome a coup last year that briefly ousted Chavez.
But it hopes the plan will head off an initiative by left-leaning Brazil to form its own "group of friendly nations" to resolve the crisis that the United States believes would be counterproductive, the newspaper said..
The Bush administration, which had steered clear of the turmoil in the South American nation was prompted to get involved because of increasing concern about an oil shortage as it prepares for a possible war with Iraq, the Post said. Venezuela supplies about 13 percent of U.S. crude imports.
"We were getting 1.5 million barrels of oil each day and we're not getting it now," a senior State Department official told the newspaper. The official was quoted as saying that U.S. concerns had multiplied over the past week as Chavez moved to restructure the state-owned oil company.
According to the paper, the immediate aim of the U.S. initiative would be to end the strike that has battered Venezuela's economy, rattled global energy markets and stoked tensions in a divided nation.
Brazil would be part of the "Friends of Venezuela" group Washington will propose, the Post said. The other participants would be the United States, Mexico, Chile, possibly Spain and a representative of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Venezuela's opposition, which draws on wide support from business, union and civic sectors, accuses Chavez of wanting to create a communist state and has vowed to continue their strike until he resigns or calls elections.
In the past few days, Secretary of State Colin Powell has held Venezuela talks with Mexico Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, Brazilian officials, Annan and OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, the Post reported.
The newspaper said the talks stalled on the fundamental issue of whether, and how Chavez remains in power.