Chavez orders elite troops to patrol oil installations

www.abc.net.au Posted: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 11:37 AEDT

Blaming sabotage for gasoline shortages in Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Saturday ordered elite troops to patrol oil pipelines and distribution centers.

"Yesterday a group of subversives sabotaged three valves," he said, claiming the incident had occurred at the Carenero distribution center that supplies most of the gasoline used in the capital.

"Supplies had to be suspended," the former paratrooper said.

He said he ordered military commanders to "send rangers to patrol distribution centers and pipelines."

He said the elite troops "were trained to defeat subversion."

For the first time in over a week, gasoline shortages have been evident, as Caracas motorists lined up for hours to get a tankful of fuel.

A six-week-old strike aimed at forcing Chavez from office has targeted the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) oil company, severely affecting exploitation, refining and exports.

Chavez again said striking PDVSA workers had been fired from the company, doubling the figure he first mentioned on Friday.

"I made a mistake, we're not talking about 1,000 but 2,000 who have been fired," he said.