www.austin360.com CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER Associated Press Writer

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)--With the granting of diplomatic asylum to a fugitive labor leader, opponents of President Hugo Chavez have lost a key leader and one of the architects of a 64-day strike that devastated the economy and polarized a nation.

Carlos Ortega, the head of Venezuela's largest labor union, went to the Embassy of Costa Rica on Friday and received diplomatic asylum, escaping charges of treason and rebellion for his role in the general strike.

Another strike leader, Carlos Fernandez, the president of a business association, is under house arrest facing rebellion and other charges.

Costa Rica is expected to decide over the next two days whether to grant Ortega territorial asylum, which would allow Ortega to live in Costa Rica.

I feel like he has abandoned us,'' said Luis Kesoling, 53, a store owner who favors the ouster of Chavez. Now he's leaving, where does that leave us?''

Others were more sympathetic.

``It's understandable because his life was in danger, but it's sad because we are being left without leaders,'' said Gloria Gonzalez, a 35-year-old nurse.

Chavez opponents accuse him of steering Venezuela's economy into recession with leftist policies and accumulating too much power.

The president says his foes resent his efforts to end social inequality and his wresting power from the corrupt leaders that ruled Venezuela for 40 years until his 1998 election.

Supporters of the president expressed outrage that Ortega would escape criminal charges for helping to organize the strike.

That delinquent should be punished for what he did,'' said Jose Modesto, 49, who sells used books on a corner in downtown Caracas. Without justice there won't be peace here.''

A statement from the Costa Rican foreign ministry said it granted Ortega asylum ``for humanitarian reasons.'' The labor leader cited fears for his personal safety in his asylum request.

Hundreds of flag-waving supporters gathered around the embassy in eastern Caracas chanting, ``Ortega, friend, the people are with you.''

Chavez, who has called for prison sentences of 20 years for strike leaders, has said Ortega's asylum request ``demonstrated the criminal character'' of strike leaders.

``They are saboteurs and terrorists who greatly harmed the country,'' the president said.

The strike, which ended last month, paralyzed Venezuela's lifeblood oil industry and cost the country an estimated $6 billion but failed to force Chavez to accept early elections.

Ortega, president of the 1 million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation, went into hiding on Feb. 20 after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest for treason, rebellion and incitement.

Chavez opponents have denounced the arrest warrants against their leaders as political persecution.

Ortega is the third Chavez opponent to seek asylum abroad.

Last year, Colombia granted asylum to business leader Pedro Carmona, the figurehead in an April coup that ousted Chavez for two days. El Salvador granted asylum to another alleged coup leader, Vice Admiral Carlos Molina Tamayo.

www.voanews.com Greg Flakus Caracas 14 Mar 2003, 20:42 UTC

Opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are struggling to maintain their unity and momentum, more than a month after ending a general strike that halted much of the nation's commercial activity.

A coup attempt that briefly removed President Chavez from power last April failed. The two-month strike that opposition leaders started in early December also failed to oust the populist leader. Since that time, authorities have placed one prominent opposition leader under arrest, and forced others into hiding. Chavez supporters say they now have the momentum, and that the opposition has been weakened.

Political analyst Anibal Romero, who has long opposed Mr. Chavez, says the opposition has made errors, and that there is now a need to regroup.

"The leadership of the Venezuelan Democratic Opposition is not as good as we would want it to be," he said. "We do not have one leader who can fight Chavez on his own terms and on the same fields of political struggle. We have deficiencies in that sense."

But Mr. Romero says it is vital that the diverse elements that have come together against Mr. Chavez keep working together. He says divisions in the movement would only favor the president. He says the focus now is on holding a binding referendum on Chavez rule, in August.

"I hope they all come to the same conclusion, and work together to make sure that the referendum does take place, as mandated by the constitution," added Mr. Romero.

Two months ago, the opposition was demanding an earlier referendum, but President Chavez insisted that no vote could be held before August, under terms set by the constitution. Whether a referendum will be held then or not remains unclear, as the two sides wrangle in court and in meetings held under the auspices of the Organization of American States.

Anibal Romero says the political solution is only one part of the challenge facing his country. International banks are predicting a more than 40 percent decline in economic growth in the first quarter of this year. Mr. Romero says it is important to end the political crisis and get the country moving again.

"There is no investment. People are losing their jobs," he said. "Lots of firms are closing their doors every day. Poverty is on the increase. We have the worst numbers in Latin America with regard to inflation, to unemployment, to rate of increase in poverty, and so on and so forth."

Deep economic and social divisions have been at the heart of this crisis, and may continue to vex the country, even if Mr. Chavez were to leave power. Mr. Chavez finds his core of support in poor communities, where the opposition leaders are viewed as wealthy oligarchs who crave power for themselves.

Mr. Chavez has shown little inclination to compromise with the opposition leaders, whom he continues to refer to as "golpistas," which, loosely translated from Spanish, means "coup-mongers." Government representatives failed to show up for a meeting with opposition counterparts this week. Another meeting is scheduled for next week, but there is little hope that advances will result from it.

www.voanews.com VOA News 14 Mar 2003, 21:18 UTC

Costa Rica has granted political asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader Carlos Ortega, who faces treason charges for organizing Venezuela's recent two-month general strike.

Costa Rica's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that Mr. Ortega received asylum for humanitarian reasons. The statement also said Mr. Ortega entered the Costa Rican Embassy in Caracas earlier in the day because he feared for his safety.

Mr. Ortega had been in hiding since last month, when Venezuelan authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

The Venezuelan government says he responsible for the lengthy strike, which had its greatest effect on the country's key oil industry. The labor action was aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez to resign and call early elections.

Another strike leader, Carlos Fernandez, is under house arrest on charges of treason and other crimes related to the protests.

Mr. Ortega is the head of the country's largest labor union. He now becomes the third major opponent of President Chavez to seek asylum outside the country.

Last year, Colombia granted asylum to business leader Pedro Carmona. He briefly replaced Mr. Chavez as president during last April's coup that briefly ousted the populist leader.

El Salvador granted asylum to retired naval officer Carlos Molina, who faced an investigation for his role in the coup.

www.sunherald.com Posted on Fri, Mar. 14, 2003 Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - A leader of a failed two-month strike to oust President Hugo Chavez was granted political asylum by Costa Rica on Friday, the Costa Rican foreign ministry said.

Labor union leader Carlos Ortega, who faces treason charges, entered the embassy earlier Friday, Costa Rican Ambassador Ricardo Lisano said.

"For humanitarian reasons ... (Costa Rica) decided to grant asylum and it has communicated as much to the Venezuelan government," the Costa Rican foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement said Ortega cited fear for his personal security when he requested asylum. He had been in hiding since Feb. 20, after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest for treason, rebellion and incitement.

Hundreds of flag-waving supporters gathered around the Costa Rican embassy in eastern Caracas chanting, "Ortega, friend, the people are with you!"

Ortega, head of the country's largest labor union, helped orchestrate a general strike to demand early elections or Chavez's resignation. The strike, which petered out last month, paralyzed Venezuela's lifeblood oil industry and cost the country $6 billion, according to government estimates.

Last month, authorities arrested strike leader Carlos Fernandez, president of Venezuela's largest business association. He is under house arrest pending trial on charges of rebellion and instigation. A judge struck down a treason charge.

Arrests warrants also are out for seven executives of the state-oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. The seven are in hiding.

Secret police stormed an opposition march Saturday in an attempt to arrest oil executive Juan Fernandez, who made a surprise brief appearance. The police clashed with protesters, and Fernandez escaped.

Opposition leaders have denounced the arrest warrants as political persecution. Chavez says strike leaders must be imprisoned for at least 20 years for inflicting suffering on the population.

Ortega is third Chavez opponent to seek asylum abroad.

Last year, Colombia granted asylum to business leader Pedro Carmona, the figurehead in an April coup that ousted Chavez for two days. El Salvador granted asylum to another alleged coup leader, Vice Admiral Carlos Molina Tamayo.

Chavez opponents accuse him of steering Venezuela's economy into recession with leftist policies. They also say he has accumulated too much power under the guise of a "social revolution" to help the poor.

Chavez says his foes resent his efforts to end social inequality and his success in wresting power from two corrupt traditional parties that ruled Venezuela for 40 years until his 1998 election.

Chavez fired 15,000 workers from the oil monopoly - almost half the work force - for participating in the stoppage. He has threatened to close down four private television stations that gave supportive coverage to the strike.

Venezuela's oil industry - the source of half of government income and 80 percent of export revenue - is recovering from the strike. Oil production has reached 2.9 million barrels a day, according to the government. Fired PDVSA executives say it's only 2.1 million barrels a day, about two-thirds of what it was before the strike.

Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest oil exporter before the strike.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

In another apparent rift in the once solid Coordinadora Democratica (CD), attention-seeking former Merida State Governor William Davila has started his very own “participative project” called La Nueva Voz de la Provincia (New Voice of the Provinces).

Davila has teamed up with another provincial kingpin, former Tachira State Governor Sergio Omar Calderon, who will be the organization’s deputy president.

Former Federation of Chambers of Industry & Commerce (Fedecamaras) president, Vicente Brito is general coordinator.

Davila says the new organization will defend and reflect the reality and problems of provincial states, even though 12 of the 24 strong board of director hail from Caracas. “We are fighting against the centralist mentality in general and not just in the Chavist structure … we want to promote participative federalism and change the existing political structure.”