June 16 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he may take over more regional and municipal police forces after riots at an anti-government protest on Friday, El Nacional reported.

Chavez said that the country's interior and justice ministry may move to wrest control of the police of the central state of Miranda from state Governor Enrique Mendoza. The president also said he may assert authority over the Caracas Metropolitan police, who report to Mayor Alfredo Pena. Mendoza and Pena are Chavez opponents.

No one should have any doubt,'' Chavez said during his weekly radio program, the newspaper said. If we have to do this, we will.''

Chavez took over Caracas's metropolitan police in November, claiming that Pena had lost control of the 9,000-person force. Courts later ruled the takeover illegal. The police have been used to protect anti-government protestors in demonstrations against the government.

(EN, 6/16, A6) To see El Nacional's Web site, click on {NCNL }

<a href=www.mpa.gr>Macedonian Press Agency Athens, 5 June 2003 (18:20 UTC+2)

The EU congratulates the Venezuelan government and opposition in signing a political agreement on May 29. The EU also recognizes the invaluable role played by the Secretary General of the Organization of the American States, the Carter Center and the UNDP in helping to facilitate a mediation process over the last seven months between the government and opposition representatives. The EU calls upon all parties to proceed without delay to the necessary follow up, e.g. re-establishing of the electoral council, updating the voters' register, and other preparations as mentioned in the agreement. The EU stands ready to assist in the implementation of the agreement and provide technical assistance for the preparation of any type of electoral consultation.

The EU hopes that this latest agreement will prove a significant step and solid basis for the process of solving the political crisis in Venezuela within the framework of the constitution, the rule of law and democratic principles.

The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Executive Vice President, former journalist Jose Vicente Rangel has lashed out at the Inter American Press Society (SIP)  as "one of the most shameless,  hypocritical and false bodies in the region." 

Recalling press censorship during the Fourth Republic, Rangel, himself a journalist and TV presenter, accuses the SIP of not lifting a finger despite closures of magazines, media sources, arrests, tortures and expulsions of journalists. "The SIP kept quiet and therefore, has absolutely no moral authority to take about press freedom." 

Answering questions about the closure of the Police Detective Branch (CICPC) press room, Rangel says he understands that the CICPC director moved the press office from its current place in Parque Carabobo to the HQ in Avenida Urdaneta.

Meanwhile, www.aporrea.org  reports that the United Nations Committee for non-government organizations (NGOs)  has recommended suspending the Reporters Without Borders consultative statute for a year after Cuba complained that the organization had create disturbances at the opening session of the UN Human Rights Commission on March 17 in Geneva.

Venezuelan Infrastructure (Minfra) Minister Diosdado Cabello has told TV stations to tot up their tax accounts to avoid problems but admits that the law allows the channels time lapses to meet administrative requirements. "Some TV channels have not added up properly and it is up to us to take action ... if people get their balances wrong, then they tend to look for any excuse ... TV channels must balance their books properly to avoid problems with the taxman."

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 By: U Bode

Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2003 10:05:21 -0700 (PDT) From: U Bode u_bode@yahoo.com To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: Venezuela

Dear Editor: The Chavez administration has indeed destabilized itself by its own doing ... to say that it is a corrupt elite that has tried to destabilize Venezuela is an atrocity to say the least...

With regards to the request of the Miss Venezuela organization for US dollars, I would presume that they did not even bother asking for the money because they knew, it would have not been exchanged just as an act of political revenge ... it is not the first time that the Chavez administration washes its hands saying that everything is normal and that if the procedures are followed, the request would have been granted.

Examples of this behavior that common Venezuelan mortals have to suffer from the Chavez administration ... and not elite corrupts as the article suggest... are that several Venezuelan consulates and embassies were denying the right to change addresses in their offices maintaining that they lacked the forms (for more than 4 months) that allow Venezuelans to register in the electoral registry and vote from abroad.

• Another delaying tactic of your so-called hero of the Venezuelans to avoid democratic dissolution of his autocracy.

Then, after many demands and denouncements in articles in the Venezuelan newspapers, the Consulates were forced to open their doors for electoral registrations ... not without before saying that the situation had always been normal, and that the forms were always available.

This is just a small example form my own experience ... there are thousands of other examples much worse than this, which prove that the Chavez administration is manipulating information, lying and then washing their hands in public.

Your reporter is hypnotized by the Chavez administration! He does not have a clue of what Venezuelans have to live day after day because nobody in a healthy state of mind would state facts in such a radical form pro-Chavez.

Sincerely, U. Bode u_bode@yahoo.com

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 By: Katherine Wells

Council on Hemispheric Affairs research associate Katherine Wells writes:

• Weakened and divided since the failure of the December/January strike, the opposition has been unable to achieve its principle goal of a guaranteed August referendum by an agreement with Chavez.
• The agreement is a victory for Chavez, allowing him to claim that the turmoil is ending, without actually having to risk his Presidency.

After nearly seven months of intermittent negotiation, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias and the leadership of the opposition signed an agreement in an attempt to diffuse the country's current political crisis. In their public statements, both sides are praising the accord as evidence of support for the Constitution and as a step towards ending the violent turmoil in Venezuela.

• In reality, however, the agreement is a strong victory for Chavez and demonstrates that the weakness of the opposition was very much a factor at the negotiating table.

The agreement calls on both sides to respect the constitutional principle of allowing a referendum only after an elected official has served half of his or her elected term, insinuating that any possible referendum will include not only the President, but also opposition governors and mayors. Although the opposition was seeking early general elections, the agreement does not even guarantee that a referendum will take place ... nor does it prohibit Chavez from blocking opposition efforts to stage such a vote.

With current opinion polls showing that the Venezuelan President would not win an August referendum, Chavez has little motivation to facilitate it. While hailing the agreement as a step by the opposition to acknowledge the primacy of the Constitution, the President maintains that "the referendum is only a possibility ... it is not certain that there will be a referendum."

• Even Cesar Gaviria, OAS secretary-general and one of the chief moderators of the negotiations, acknowledged "the document does not put an end to the crisis."

The opposition does have some victories to show its supporters ... in the agreement the government finally acknowledged that human rights abuses and an armed citizenry are current problems plaguing the Venezuelan population. However, the main threat posed by the agreement lies in the language referring to any possible referendum. Since the document refers to all elected officials, it is likely that Chavez will threaten to force referendums for some of the opposition governors and mayors, should he himself have to face a vote.

The Venezuelan President has proven himself a master strategist. During both the coup and recent strikes, Chavez defied opinion polls and not only managed to survive, but quite possibly has emerged stronger than before.

• The opposition should keep this in mind as it uses the agreement to press towards a referendum in August.

Chavez was forced to concede little in negotiations, and is not bound to facilitate such a vote. Even if it does take place, Chavez has sufficient time to court anew the part of his population that he had previously lost, and may once again be able to overcome his current low popularity ratings in opinion polls to retain power. It is also possible that Chavez could lose any referendum, but win the subsequent Presidential election, in which he would be allowed to run. While Chavez does not have a majority of the Venezuelan population behind him, the opposition is weak and divided. If the economy revives and the President is able to rebuild his constituency, his re-election prospects may be anything but bleak.

Katherine Wells is a research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, founded in 1975, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. For more information contact +1 (202) 216-9261 or email coha@coha.org