Venezuela strike leader goes into exile

SourceCOSTA RICA Posted Fri, 28 Mar 2003

Charged with treason for leading a crippling two-month strike aimed at ousting President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan union leader Carlos Ortega went into exile in Costa Rica on Thursday night.

Ortega (56) arrived in San Jose by plane from Caracas, accompanied by Costa Rican ambassador to Venezuela Ricardo Lizano who had been given a safe-conduct for the opposition leader.

Ortega was due to pay a courtesy call at the Costa Rican foreign ministry to express his thanks for having granted him political asylum, the ministry said in a statement earlier on Thursday.

Ortega made no statement before leaving Caracas, but left a message that was read over Globovision television, in which he pledged to continue fighting to oust Chavez, whom he called "a dictator in training."

Members of Disip political police escorted Ortega and the ambassador to the airport north of Caracas after dozens of supporters cheered Ortega as he left the Costa Rican embassy, where he had been holed up since March 13.

"Here we respect the fundamental principle, which is the right to asylum," Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said earlier. "For us, the right to asylum is more important than Ortega."

The Venezuelan government has charged Ortega with rebellion, incitement to crime, treason, association with criminals and destruction of property for leading the 63-day strike.

The strike, which ended on February 2, virtually stopped crude shipments from Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, costing the country an estimated $four-billion in lost revenue.

Ortega, president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV), went into hiding after authorities issued an arrest warrant for him on February 19, and eventually sought refuge in the Costa Rican Embassy in Caracas.

Another top strike organizer, business leader Carlos Fernandez, was placed under house arrest, after a judge ruled he might flee the country before facing trial over the strike.

The opposition claims Chavez is gradually turning Venezuela into a leftist dictatorship and that his self-styled social revolution has ruined the oil-rich but poverty-stricken South American country.

Chavez first won at the ballot box in 1998 the power he failed to grab in a military coup six years earlier. He was reelected by a landslide to a six-year term in 2000.

He claims the opposition is fomenting another coup, after he was toppled in April but returned to power by loyal troops two days later.

AFP