www.kansascity.com Posted on Sun, Mar. 09, 2003 STEPHEN IXER Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez claimed Sunday an international campaign involving the United States was trying to discredit his government and he warned other countries not to be fooled by the so-called smear tactics.

"There are still newspaper headlines in various parts of the world (and) officials from some governments ... that are spreading lies," said Chavez, who has been fighting a national movement attempting to force him to resign or call early elections.

The opposition claims Chavez has undermined the country's democracy and hurt the economy.

Last week, local media published a letter signed by seven U.S. congressmen calling on Chavez to refrain from persecuting his opponents and investigate the recent murders of dissident soldiers.

Days later, Caracas police arrested a man in connection with the killings of three dissident soldiers and an anti-government activist whose bound, tortured bodies were found last month. Detectives said the deaths were not politically motivated.

Chavez said the letter was drafted by foes using their "great lobbying power" backed up by "unethical" Venezuelan media outlets to fool U.S. legislators.

"They don't know this land or anything about what is really happening here," Chavez said. "Some lobbyists go there, write them a letter and get them to say some lies that make them look ridiculous in front of the whole world. But everyone is free to look ridiculous."

U.S. officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Two weeks ago, Chavez strongly criticized the United States, Spain and Colombia for allegedly meddling in Venezuela's domestic affairs. Within days, bombs ripped through the Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions in Caracas.

The U.S. Embassy later closed temporarily because of a security threat. No one has been arrested for the bombings.

Meanwhile, Chavez opponents from Washington to Atlanta to Santiago, Chile, marched Sunday.

Venezuela is trying to emerge from a failed two-month general strike against Chavez. The protest, which ended last month, was strongest in the oil industry, the source of half of government revenues and 80 percent of export earnings.

Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest oil exporter before the strike began Dec. 2 and still is importing gasoline because of difficulties in bringing refineries back online.

The Organization of American States and other mediators so far have failed to advance peace talks.

Chavez, who was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, says his foes want to replace him with the old status quo, when an elite minority held power for decades.

www.news14charlotte.com 3/9/03 4:50 PM By: News 14 Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Sunday's Marshall park protest in Charlotte is just one of the many going on around the world on Sunday, but this one is different.

These demonstrators are protesting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and his dictator style goverment. Demonstrations like these are taking place in 37 international cities.

They hope the protests will bring attention to the issue that has crippled the economy and fast becoming a global problem.

Protestors were passionate in their protest Sunday. "The economy is in total shambles it can not progress everyday its going backwards and Venezuela is a country that's very important to the world."

But the demonstration is not just focused on Chavez. Protestors said its also to show opposition against all oppressive forms of government.

"All of those regimes that are oppressing, and that are not for democracy, but for taking advantage of people and abusing people's rights and unfortunately that's what we have in Venezuela now."

Now another rally will take place April 19 at the International House from 11 a.m. to four p.m.

www.washtimes.com Web Posted : 03/05/2003 12:00 AM

The natural beauty of Venezuela stretches from the tropical splendor of the Caribbean to the exotic remoteness of the Andes. Democratically elected governments have ruled Venezuela since 1959, allowing its people to avoid the political excesses and military interventions of many of their Latin American neighbors. The Venezuelan economy has thrived, driven both by huge oil reserves as well as by respect for private property and private enterprise. But the beauty of Venezuela, its democratic tradition, its rule of law, its respect for individual rights, and its vibrant economy are all in peril today as its leftist President, Hugo Chávez, threatens to turn Venezuela into the Iraq of the Western Hemisphere. A year has passed since mass protests began in response to Chávez's repressive political measures, land seizures, extra-judicial actions, and attempts to take over the country's leading trade unions. The National Guard and armed "Chavistas" opened fire on a large crowd of demonstrators last April, killing 19 and wounding over 100 others. A military coup briefly ousted Chávez from power, but an interim government collapsed after only two days. The situation remained tenuous until Dec. 2nd, when Chávez opponents launched a general strike demanding a referendum on the Chávez presidency. As many as one million Venezuelans, out of a total population of 24 million, took to the streets against the Chávez government. Determined to break the back of the opposition, Chávez has resorted to increasingly violent and extreme tactics. On Dec. 6, a Chávez supporter opened fire on another demonstration in the Plaza Altamira, killing three and wounding at least twenty others. The National Guard now routinely opens fire on peaceful demonstrators with rubber bullets. Jesus Soriano witnessed the Altamira shootings and helped wrestle the gunman to the ground, saving countless lives. For his efforts, Soriano was picked up by agents of DISIP — the Venezuelan secret police that Chávez has infested with agents of Cuba's security apparatus — who beat and tortured him, and allowed Joao Gouveia, the accused Altamira shooter, to enter his cell to perform, in Soriano's words, "unspeakable things." Last month, three military dissidents and a female protestor who frequented the Plaza Altamira were kidnapped, bound, and shot execution-style. The embassies of Spain and Colombia, members of a multinational group seeking a peaceful resolution to the Venezuelan political crisis, were the targets of bombings last week. Accompanying the violence, Chávez is seizing more property and levers of power. In January, the National Guard seized a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a beer distribution plant, beating workers who resisted. Chávez has started the process to revoke the licenses of privately owned television and radio stations, among the few sources of information beyond the government-run propaganda machine. Carlos Fernandez, president of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and co-leader of the general strike, was recently seized by DISIP and charged with rebellion. His partner in opposition, Carlos Ortega, leader of the Confederation of Trade Unions, has gone into hiding, facing the same charges. As an army paratrooper, Chávez led a coup attempt against a democratically elected government in 1992. Since his own election, Chávez has closely allied himself with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, paid homage to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi, and made common cause with the Islamic extremists ruling Iran. Chávez has already established ties with the Marxist FARC rebels in neighboring Colombia and, given the opportunity, will turn Venezuela into a greater source of instability and violence in the region. While the Bush Administration is postulating democracy for Iraq, democracy is disappearing in a nation that has served as an anchor for political and economic liberalization in Latin America. The increasingly violent, dictatorial rule of Hugo Chávez demands greater attention from the White House, the State Department, and not least from the American media, which has largely ignored the political, civil, and human rights abuses of the Chávez government. The people of Venezuela are pleading for American support, before the beauty of their nation is completely destroyed.

E-mail Jonathan Gurwitz at jmgur@swbell.net