Two Dissident Venezuelan Military Officers Seek Asylum

<a href=www.voanews.com>VOA News 24 Apr 2003, 23:57 UTC

Two dissident Venezuelan army captains implicated in last year's failed coup against President Hugo Chavez are seeking political asylum in the Dominican Republic.

The lawyer representing brothers Ricardo and Alfredo Salazar made the announcement Thursday, saying his clients are staying at the Dominican Republic's embassy in eastern Caracas. An embassy official refused to comment.

The Reuters news agency says the Salazar brothers escorted President Chavez to an island off Venezuela's coast during the April 2002 military coup when he was briefly deposed.

They also joined a group of dissident military officers who declared themselves in rebellion last October and took part in a Caracas plaza protest against the Chavez government.

The two officers are the latest Chavez opponents to seek asylum. In March, Venezuelan labor leader Carlos Ortega went into exile in Costa Rica to avoid prosecution on treason charges for organizing a two-month national strike that failed to oust Mr. Chavez.

President Chavez has sought to bring to trial opposition leaders and former workers from the state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, who took part in the walkout. The strike was felt most severely in the country's key oil industry.