House arrest for Chavez opponent - Venezuelan judge drops treason charge against strike leader

www.boston.com By Stephen Ixer, Associated Press, 2/24/2003

CARACAS - Carlos Fernandez, a prominent opponent of President Hugo Chavez and a leader of the two-month national strike, was put under house arrest yesterday after a judge struck down a treason charge but left standing two other serious counts.

Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was apprehended Wednesday by federal agents. An arrest order was issued for another strike leader who remains in hiding.

A judge struck down three of the charges against Fernandez, including treason, in a 13-hour closed-door hearing that ended early yesterday. The court upheld charges of rebellion and incitement, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of the business leader's lawyers.

Meanwhile, gunmen loyal to Chavez ambushed a group of policemen overnight, killing one officer and wounding five others, said Miguel Pinto, chief of the police motorcycle brigade.

The officers were attacked Saturday night as they returned from of funeral for a slain colleague and passed near the headquarters of the state oil monopoly, which has been staked out by Chavez supporters since December.

Chavez's government has seized thousands of weapons from city police, claiming that Police Chief Henry Vivas has lost control of the 9,000-member department. Critics contend that Chavez is disarming police while secretly arming progovernment radicals.

After Fernandez's overnight court hearing, uniformed federal agents rushed the business leader to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas.

Appearing tired, Fernandez, 52, told Globovision television he was happy to be back with his family.

''They treated me very well,'' he said. ''They respected all my rights.''

The other strike leader, Carlos Ortega, remained in hiding after a warrant for his arrest was issued. As president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, he and Fernandez had spearheaded the work stoppage that paralyzed the oil industry and devastated the national economy.

Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience, and violated human rights.

''He is a terrorist and a coup-plotter,'' he said of Fernandez during a television address. ''Let the decision be obeyed; it is the court's order. If it were up to me, he wouldn't be at home. He would be behind bars.''

The two-month strike, which ended Feb. 4 in all sectors except the oil industry, caused food and gasoline shortages nationwide and cost Venezuela an estimated $4 billion. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter and a major US supplier.

The arrest was ordered by a judge who previously served as a defense lawyer for presidential supporters accused of shooting at opposition marchers before an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez.

The Organization of American States, the United Nations, and the Carter Center, run by Jimmy Carter, have sponsored three months of talks to seek an electoral solution to Venezuela's crisis. The future of those talks was in doubt after Fernandez's arrest.

Chavez had sharp words yesterday for foreign governments critical of Venezuela. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that Washington was concerned that the arrest of Fernandez could hinder peace talks.

Chavez singled out the United States, Spain, and Colombia and warned, ''Don't mess with our affairs!''

This story ran on page A6 of the Boston Globe on 2/24/2003.