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President Hugo Chavez relies on a group of staunch supporters outside the cabinet to help defend his government .

Many hold senior positions within the armed forces, the ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), community organisations and local government.

Several are linked to the so-called Bolivarian Circles, described by the government as civil action groups which give a voice to the poorest sectors of Venezuelan society.

Named after the national hero, Liberator Simon Bolivar, about 70,000 of these community groups - which lobby the government directly for funds - have been set up across the country to fight for the rights of the marginalised and "defend the revolution".

But critics argue that what they refer to as the "Circles of Terror" have become a sort of underground armed militia.

"Commander" Lina Ron

The spread of the "Circles" has led to the emergence of a number of popular leaders. Among them is Lina Ron - emblematic leader of the People's Power Network - who has taken to the streets to defend Mr Chavez.

Ms Ron is famous for having set fire to the US flag in Bolivar Square in Caracas just days after the 11 September attacks in the US, and is known by her supporters as the "Commander".

When she was briefly arrested in November 2002 for confronting an anti-Chavez student demonstration, President Chavez defended her as a political prisoner, describing her as "a soldier who deserves the respect of all Venezuelans".

But when the opposition marched to the National Electoral Council to hand in a petition calling for a non-binding referendum on the president's rule, Lina Ron was blamed by the government for instigating violent protests by government supporters.

President Chavez described Ms Ron as "uncontrollable".

General Raul Baduel

Army General Raul Baduel was one of the officers who rose up against the short-lived Carmona government during the April 2002 attempted coup. At the time, he was chief of the 42nd Airborne Brigade of paratroopers.

Well-known for his new-age beliefs, General Baduel was the first senior officer to declare his opposition to the coup.

He helped organise the operation that rescued Mr Chavez from prison on the Caribbean island of La Orchila.

He was subsequently promoted to Commander of the 4th Armoured Division (Maracay), giving him control of the central-southern area of the country.

Critics say the general is one of three officers "co-governing" Venezuela with the president.

In December 2002, General Baduel told reporters he had received numerous calls from the opposition asking him to rise up against the government, or at least to persuade Mr Chavez to resign.

"Ideas not connected to the constitutional norm," he said, "have no hold inside the armed forces".

His cousin, Army Colonel Jose Ricardo Bozza Baduel, is one of 135 dissident officers who declared themselves in "legitimate disobedience" in October 2002.

The colonel says he does not share General Baduel's "Castro-communist sympathies".

He has called on the nation "not to be fooled by those who have a vested interest in maintaining the current corrupt Chavez government".

Mayor Freddy Bernal, Libertador municipality (Caracas)

Freddy Bernal is the president's most trusted mayor in Caracas. The opposition regard him as an ultrarevolutionary "Taleban".

He was a target of the police raids carried out on 12 April under the short-lived Carmona government.

Before taking up politics, the mayor commanded a notorious Metropolitan Police elite corps known as the Z Group. The opposition now accuse him of both arming and training the "Bolivarian Circles", an allegation he denies.

Mr Bernal was a vocal supporter of the militarisation of Caracas in November, when the National Guard began to patrol the streets of the capital following outbreaks of violence.

National Guard General Luis Felipe Acosta

Described by Mr Chavez as "a patriotic general", this National Guard officer first came into the public eye in August when he was caught on camera forcefully dispersing a group of women protesters in Valencia in Carabobo State.

When asked if his behaviour had been too aggressive, he replied "It doesn't matter. I will apologise later." This attitude provoked heated debate and calls for his resignation from within the armed forces.

However, his first great TV moment came after he had led a raid on two drinks companies, Panamco and Polar, during the recent general strike.

A belch to camera sealed his fate as the president's most extrovert general.

While this act was widely criticised, it has done little to dent his career. He says he will defend the president "at all costs".

href="www.monitor.bbc.co.uk">BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

According to Currency Administration Commission (Cadivi) president Edgar Hernandez Behrens, foreign currency exchange agreements with Venezuela's privately-owned banks for the buying and selling of foreign currency are ready to be signed later today, which should mean they should resume trading at the latest Wednesday this week. 

"We think that between Monday and Wednesday this week we should be able to commence all the operations necessary for the buying and selling of currency in priority situations, as agreements will soon be signed with six financial institutions so at the very latest by Wednesday applications for foreign currencies will begin to be processed."

After the agreements are signed Hernandez expects the institutions to be able to offer currency the next day, or in some cases immediately. Once applications for currency are received they should be processed within a period of 72 hours.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

President Hugo Chavez Frias has promised his supporters he will remain on the attack in the battle to defeat opposition leaders he labels as fascists and terrorists. "I sheathed my sword and I was wrong, I have been forced to draw it again and this time I will never sheathe it."

The President's comments come following the sacking of over 13,000 striking Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) workers and the arrest of strike leader Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez, as well as the issuing of an arrest warrant for Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) president Carlos Ortega. 

Rumors have been circulating that the government will also look to arrest up to 100 other key opposition leaders, but according to Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez, warrants have only been issued for Fernandez and Ortega.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Venezuelan security police (DISIP) officers are continuing their search for Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) president Carlos Ortega after a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of treason and Venezuela Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) was detained on Wednesday night.

Ortega went into hiding on Thursday soon after hearing of Fernandez' arrest and after Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez confirmed that a similar arrest warrant had been issued for him.

The CTV chief has vowed to continue his fight to remove President Hugo Chavez Frias and his government from office, insisting that it will the President himself that has a date with justice.

Ortega stated that he will not be turning himself in to the police as he has no faith in the Venezuelan legal system at the moment.

www.boston.com By Stephen Ixer, Associated Press, 2/24/2003

CARACAS - Carlos Fernandez, a prominent opponent of President Hugo Chavez and a leader of the two-month national strike, was put under house arrest yesterday after a judge struck down a treason charge but left standing two other serious counts.

Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was apprehended Wednesday by federal agents. An arrest order was issued for another strike leader who remains in hiding.

A judge struck down three of the charges against Fernandez, including treason, in a 13-hour closed-door hearing that ended early yesterday. The court upheld charges of rebellion and incitement, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of the business leader's lawyers.

Meanwhile, gunmen loyal to Chavez ambushed a group of policemen overnight, killing one officer and wounding five others, said Miguel Pinto, chief of the police motorcycle brigade.

The officers were attacked Saturday night as they returned from of funeral for a slain colleague and passed near the headquarters of the state oil monopoly, which has been staked out by Chavez supporters since December.

Chavez's government has seized thousands of weapons from city police, claiming that Police Chief Henry Vivas has lost control of the 9,000-member department. Critics contend that Chavez is disarming police while secretly arming progovernment radicals.

After Fernandez's overnight court hearing, uniformed federal agents rushed the business leader to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas.

Appearing tired, Fernandez, 52, told Globovision television he was happy to be back with his family.

''They treated me very well,'' he said. ''They respected all my rights.''

The other strike leader, Carlos Ortega, remained in hiding after a warrant for his arrest was issued. As president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, he and Fernandez had spearheaded the work stoppage that paralyzed the oil industry and devastated the national economy.

Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience, and violated human rights.

''He is a terrorist and a coup-plotter,'' he said of Fernandez during a television address. ''Let the decision be obeyed; it is the court's order. If it were up to me, he wouldn't be at home. He would be behind bars.''

The two-month strike, which ended Feb. 4 in all sectors except the oil industry, caused food and gasoline shortages nationwide and cost Venezuela an estimated $4 billion. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter and a major US supplier.

The arrest was ordered by a judge who previously served as a defense lawyer for presidential supporters accused of shooting at opposition marchers before an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez.

The Organization of American States, the United Nations, and the Carter Center, run by Jimmy Carter, have sponsored three months of talks to seek an electoral solution to Venezuela's crisis. The future of those talks was in doubt after Fernandez's arrest.

Chavez had sharp words yesterday for foreign governments critical of Venezuela. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday that Washington was concerned that the arrest of Fernandez could hinder peace talks.

Chavez singled out the United States, Spain, and Colombia and warned, ''Don't mess with our affairs!''

This story ran on page A6 of the Boston Globe on 2/24/2003.