Venezuela's Chavez Firm, Troops Seize Coke Plant

abcnews.go.com — By Patrick Markey

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan troops seized control of a bottling affiliate of Coca-Cola Co. and raided a beer warehouse on Friday as President Hugo Chavez made good on his threat to get tough with a six-week opposition strike that has disrupted fuel and food supplies.

National Guard troops wielding metal batons and firing tear gas clashed with a small group of protesters who tried to block the entrance to Venezuela's largest bottling plant -- Panamco's water and soft drinks facility -- in Valencia, about 100 miles west of Caracas.

Troops drove away several Coke trucks and seized crates of drinks. They later forced their way into a warehouse of the beer and food maker Empresas Polar, Venezuela's largest private company, after shoving managers into the street.

The measures were the first major action against food and beverage plants after Chavez threatened to ease shortages by sending troops to seize manufacturing facilities withholding products during the strike that aims to force him to resign.

The move against private property rattled opposition leaders who accuse the leftist leader of ruling like a dictator and fear he wants to install Cuba-style communism in Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.

"We are distributing this product to the population because collective rights come above individual rights," National Guard Gen. Luis Felipe Acosta Carles said at the Panamco plant.

Outraged opposition leaders said the takeover was illegal. But it was unclear whether the troops maintained control of the plant after hauling away products.

The opposition strike, started on Dec. 2, has cut off Venezuela's economic lifeline by slashing its vital oil exports to a fifth of normal levels, rattling global markets and causing long lines for scarce gasoline supplies.

Strike leaders, including political parties, unions, business groups and rebel managers at state oil firm PDVSA, have vowed to strike until Chavez quits and calls elections.

World oil prices hit fresh two-year highs, with U.S. futures briefly touching $34 a barrel as the Venezuelan crisis compounded fears of a U.S.-led war in Iraq. Venezuela's bolivar currency, battered by economic uncertainty, dipped 2.3 percent as it extended its slide.

CHAVEZ DEFIANT, U.S. WORRIED

In a "state of the nation" speech on Friday at the National Assembly, Chavez denounced his foes and kept up his staunch rejection of their calls for early elections.

"What you have here is a democratic government fighting fascists, terrorists and coup-mongers," Chavez said. "There can be no dialogue and there will be no dialogue."

Chavez, a former paratrooper who survived a coup in April, has ordered the military to take over oil installations as he fights to defeat the shutdown. He has also threatened to take over schools, banks and factories that join the protest, which he says is an illegal attempt to oust him.

His tough comments came one day after he met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York for talks on breaking the deadlock. A group of six nations, including the United States and Brazil, agreed on Wednesday to back negotiations between the government and the opposition.

Chavez was due to travel to Brazil later on Friday for a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who first proposed the so-called "group of friends" initiative.

In Venezuela, talks brokered by the Organization of American States were suspended until Monday because of tensions between the government and the opposition, mediators said.

U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro said he had called the government to express his concern over U.S. commercial interests and the legality of the Panamco takeover.

"Of course, this strains our relations. Apparently, and I hope I am wrong about this, these officials did not act within the law," he told local television.

The Venezuelan leader's relations with Washington have been tested by his fierce anti-capitalist rhetoric and his close ties with American foes such as Cuba and Libya.

COCA-COLA, RAMBO AND COUP PLOTS

Local television images of the Panamco plant showed troops standing inside warehouses filled with crates of bottled products. Acosta, a staunch Chavez ally dubbed "Rambo" by the local media, said he was carrying out the president's orders to ensure basic food supplies.

"What I see here is hoarding and we are going to move these products," said Acosta, after swigging from a bottle of malt drink and burping loudly at television cameras.

Chavez last week called Venezuelan tycoon Gustavo Cisneros, who is based in the United States and listed as a member of Panamco's board of directors, a "fascist coup-plotter."

Miami-based Panamco, or Panamerican Beverages Inc., is Latin America's largest soft drink bottler and one of the world's three largest bottlers of Coca-Cola. The Valencia plant distributes to about 30 percent of the Venezuelan market.

Rodrigo Calderon, a spokesman in Mexico for Coca-Cola Latin America, said the plant had been closed since Dec. 1 due to security concerns and gasoline shortages. "There is no agreement specifically that they can take the products and the trucks. We are analyzing the situation at our plants in Venezuela," Calderon told Reuters by telephone.