Strike leader put under house arrest - Judge drops some charges against Fernandez

www.cnn.com Monday, February 24, 2003 Posted: 8:02 AM EST (1302 GMT)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez who helped lead a two-month national strike was put under house arrest Sunday after a judge struck down a treason charge but left standing two other serious counts.

Carlos Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was seized 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 Sunday. The court upheld charges of rebellion and incitement, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of the business leader's defense lawyers.

Separately, 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 the 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.

I declared that all the accusations against me were false.

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

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

"I declared that all the accusations against me were false," the 52-year-old Fernandez told Globovision television, adding that he was being "politically persecuted."

Fernandez said he was well-treated in police custody and "they respected all my rights," but he insisted his midnight arrest on Wednesday was irregular.

Fernandez will remain under house arrest while prosecutors formalize the accusations against him.

Co-organizer Ortega still in hiding

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

He is a terrorist and a coup-plotter.

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

"He is a terrorist and a coup-plotter," Chavez said of Fernandez during the president's weekly 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 February 4 in all sectors but 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 U.S. supplier.

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

Chavez to world: Stop meddling

The Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President 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 on Sunday reprimanded OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria for speaking out about the detention, saying his comments were "totally out of place."

He also had sharp words for foreign governments critical of Venezuela. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that Washington was concerned Fernandez's arrest could hinder peace talks.

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

"Gentlemen of Washington ... we don't meddle in your internal affairs. Why does a spokesman have to come out and say they are worried? No, that is Venezuela's business."

Venezuela's opposition wants early elections and staged the national strike to back its demand. It collected more than 4 million signatures demanding an early vote, but the government dismisses the petition drive and accuses the opposition of "coup-plotting."

Chavez was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. He has vowed to distribute Venezuela's oil riches to the poor, but critics accuse him of imposing an authoritarian state and driving the economy into the ground.