Onlookers trying to end strike - Officials of U.S., 5 other nations hope to find way to halt violence

www.charlotte.com Posted on Sat, Jan. 25, 2003 KEN GUGGENHEIM Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Officials from the United States and five other countries looked for ways Friday to end a violent political strike in Venezuela that has crippled oil production in the world's fifth-largest exporter.

The strike has lasted more than seven weeks to press opposition demands that President Hugo Chavez resign or call early elections. Opponents say Chavez's leftist policies have undermined business in Venezuela; Chavez's supporters say the opposition wants to bring down a democratically elected president who enjoys strong support among the nation's many poor.

In a sign of U.S. interest in a diplomatic resolution, Secretary of State Colin Powell attended the start of a meeting at the Organization of American States that included officials from Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Portugal -- members of a new Friends of Venezuela group.

Among proposals to be considered were some offered by former President Carter to end the strike in exchange for early elections.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that the United States considers the Venezuelan situation to be tense and difficult.

He rejected a suggestion that U.S. interest is linked to the likelihood of war in Iraq and the turmoil it could cause in international oil markets.