europe.cnn.com Friday, February 21, 2003 Posted: 1810 GMT

The only one who has a date with justice is the president. -- Carlos Ortega, from hiding

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Police searched for the leader of Venezuela's largest labor group Friday after President Hugo Chavez authorized his arrest on treason charges for his role in a general strike that disrupted the economy and the nation's oil industry.

Carlos Ortega, president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, remained in hiding after strike co-organizer Carlos Fernandez, head of the nation's largest business group, was arrested and charged with treason Thursday.

Dozens of national guardsmen in riot gear stood guard outside as Fernandez made his first appearance in court Friday.

His arrest threatened to spark more turmoil in a country struggling to recover from the strike, which opposition leaders had hoped would force Chavez to resign or call early elections.

Thousands of people around Venezuela protested the Fernandez's arrest, and nine people were injured during clashes with police in the central city of Valencia.

Further protests were planned for Friday.

Opposition negotiators urged the Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Jimmy Carter, to send representatives to condemn the government's actions and revive talks aimed at organizing a new election.

The U.S. State Department said the arrest of strike leaders would lead to more political violence in the world's fifth leading oil-exporting nation.

'It was about time,' president says

President Chavez has labeled strike organizers as "coup plotters" and appeared unfazed by the opposition reaction to the arrest orders.

Carlos Fernandez, surrounded by secret police officers, arrives Friday at the court building in Caracas.

"One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide," Chavez said Thursday. "I went to bed with a smile."

Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected two years later, seemed to hint at further arrests, saying judges should not "be afraid to issue arrest warrants against coup-plotters."

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said Fernandez and Ortega were the only opposition leaders wanted for arrest, but ruling party lawmaker Luis Velasquez said that about 100 more people who supported the strike, ranging from labor bosses to news media executives, could be arrested.

"More than 100 are on the list to be captured," Velasquez said. The existence of such a list could not be immediately confirmed.

Ortega remained at large and pledged to "continue the fight" while in hiding.

"The only one who has a date with justice is the president," the labor leader told the local Globovision TV station by telephone. I went to bed with a smile.

-- President Hugo Chavez, about the Fernandez arrest

Fernandez and Ortega face charges of treason, rebellion and instigating violence for their roles in orchestrating the strike, which continues in the vital oil industry.

Labor and business leaders warned of another nationwide strike in response to the arrest orders. The earlier work stoppage cost Venezuela an estimated $4 billion.

Chavez supporters gathered near the police headquarters, where Fernandez was being held, and a downtown plaza to celebrate the arrest.

"It's what had to be done. These opposition leaders tried to destroy the country; now they must be punished," said Tomas Ordonez, a 49-year-old taxi driver.

www.macon.com Posted on Fri, Feb. 21, 2003 JAMES ANDERSON Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez demanded 20-year prison terms Friday for two prominent opponents who directed a nationwide strike that devastated Venezuela's oil-based economy.

Carlos Fernandez, head of Venezuela's largest business chamber, and Carlos Ortega, leader of its biggest labor confederation, are charged with treason and other crimes for the two-month strike, which cost more than $4 billion.

Fernandez was arrested by secret police Wednesday and hauled into court Friday. Ortega went into hiding when a judge issued an arrest warrant.

"These oligarchs believed that they were untouchable. There are no untouchables in Venezuela. A criminal is a criminal," Chavez thundered during a ceremony handing land titles to peasants in Trujillo state.

He demanded a 20-year term for Fernandez, president of Fedecamaras, and for Ortega, of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, for allegedly sabotaging the oil industry, inciting civil disobedience "and trampling the human rights of the Venezuelan people."

The treason charge carries a 20- to 26-year prison term.

Oil is Venezuela's strategic industry, and its exports were the fifth-largest in the world before the strike began Dec. 2. The strike ended Feb. 4, but Chavez's government is battling a continuing walkout in the oil industry.

Citing nationwide hardship caused by gasoline shortages, Chavez condemned Fernandez and Ortega as "terrorists" who failed to topple his government - both during a brief April coup and this winter.

The tempestuous president also had a message for foreign critics. The United States, Organization of American States and other entities voiced concern that Venezuela's crisis is escalating.

"I want to remind all the governments of the world that Venezuela is a sovereign country! We are nobody's colony!" Chavez shouted.

Fernandez's arrest fueled speculation Chavez has begun a crackdown on his opponents.

Chavez won't allow strikers access to U.S. dollars under a new foreign exchange system, and he has threatened to shut down broadcast media for inciting rebellion. He also has warned he will seize private businesses and property to deliver gasoline, food and other basics.

Ruling party leader Willian Lara told the state Venpres news agency that the hundreds of strike organizers should be prosecuted "for crimes against the republic."

The labor confederation, meanwhile, said it wasn't planning another strike to protest Fernandez's arrest.

The OAS, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President 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.

Venezuela's opposition wants early elections and collected more than 4 million signatures to back its demand. The government dismisses the petition drive; Venezuela's elections authority is in shambles.

Chavez is a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. He vows to distribute Venezuela's oil riches to the poor. Critics accuse him of imposing an authoritarian state and driving the economy into the ground.

www.smh.com.au By Owain Johnson in Caracas February 22 2003

Venezuela's opposition has accused President Hugo Chavez of beginning a witch-hunt for his critics, after a leading opposition figure was arrested in a dramatic raid and another fled into hiding.

The president of the opposition party, Democratic Action, Henry Ramos Allup, said he had information that the Government was planning to arrest a further 25 leading opponents.

Mr Ramos Allup said politicians, businesspeople, union leaders, representatives of striking oil workers and media bosses were on a list.

The claim came after the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, the leader of the business association Fedecamaras, in a swoop on a Caracas restaurant by masked and armed police shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Mr Fernandez was one of the leaders of a two-month general strike which forced Venezuela to suspend crucial oil exports and damaged its fragile economy.    advertisement       advertisement

The United States criticised Venezuelan authorities on Thursday over the arrest, which it said was "a very worrisome development that can only add to Venezuela's continuing political difficulties".

The country is bracing for more upheaval and renewed protests. The arrest will almost certainly reinvigorate the opposition, which had been exhausted by the costly and bruising strike.

"It seems politically inspired and filled with vengeance and completely miscalculated," said Julia Sweig, a Latin American expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank.

Mr Chavez told a trade forum that after the arrest, "I went to bed with a smile. One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide."

Another leader of the general strike, Carlos Ortega, the president of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, is in hiding with a warrant out for his arrest. He said he did not trust Venezuelan justice and warned that the Government wanted "to kidnap me and eliminate me".

A pro-government deputy, Luis Velasquez, later confirmed that 100 people could expect to be questioned about their roles in promoting the strike. "This shouldn't be a source of alarm," Mr Velasquez said. "They simply have to answer to the courts."

The Government had asked the public prosecutor's office to charge Mr Fernandez and Mr Ortega with rebellion, treason, instigation to commit criminal acts, conspiracy and sabotage.

Mr Fernandez's arrest took place just days after the discovery of the bodies of three dissident soldiers and a young woman, who had disappeared over the weekend.

A senior opposition figure, Andres Velasquez, the leader of the Radical Cause party, has urged his colleagues to call another one-day strike to protest at the arrest of Mr Fernandez.

The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and agencies

www.theage.com.au February 22 2003 By Owain Johnson Caracas

Venezuela's opposition has accused President Hugo Chavez of beginning a witch-hunt against his critics, after a leading opposition figure was arrested in a dramatic raid and another was forced into hiding.

Henry Ramos Allup, president of the opposition party Democratic Action, said he had reliable information that the Government planned to arrest a further 25 key opponents. He said the list included politicians, businesspeople, union leaders, representatives of striking oil workers and media bosses.

The claim came after the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, the leader of business association Fedecamaras, in a swoop on a Caracas restaurant by masked, armed police just after midnight on Wednesday. Mr Fernandez was a leader of a crippling two-month general strike that forced Venezuela to suspend crucial oil exports and severely damaged its fragile economy.

According to witnesses, the heavily armed men did not show identification or an arrest warrant. Mr Fernandez tried to escape in his car but was quickly caught and taken to police headquarters. Diners who tried to stop the arrest were driven off by the police, who fired into the air.

Mr Chavez spoke about Mr Fernandez's arrest at a trade forum on Thursday: "I went to bed with a smile. One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide."    advertisement       advertisement

A second leader of the general strike, Carlos Ortega, president of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, was in hiding yesterday with a warrant out for his arrest.

He said he did not trust Venezuelan justice and warned that the Government wanted "to kidnap me and eliminate me".

A pro-Government deputy, Luis Velasquez, later confirmed that 100 people could expect to be questioned about their role in promoting the strike. "This shouldn't be a source of alarm," Mr Velasquez said. "They simply have to answer to the courts."

The Government had asked the public prosecutor's office to charge Mr Fernandez and Mr Ortega with rebellion, treason, instigation to commit criminal acts, conspiracy and sabotage.

Mr Fernandez's arrest took place just days after the discovery of the bodies of three dissident soldiers and a young woman, who had disappeared over the weekend. The four victims, who had been shot dead, were found bound and gagged. Their bodies showed injuries consistent with torture.

The three men were part of a group of rebel officers who have declared themselves in rebellion against Mr Chavez, and their families immediately condemned their murders as politically inspired.

The opposition was due to hold crisis talks late Thursday to discuss its response to these latest developments in Venezuela's long-running political crisis. Last April, dissident military officers launched a short-lived coup.

Mr Chavez's opponents accuse him of authoritarianism and of seeking to install Cuban-style socialism in Venezuela. The President rejects these allegations and accuses his critics of seeking to prevent him carrying out much needed social reforms.

A senior opposition figure, Andres Velasquez, leader of the Radical Cause party, has urged his colleagues to call a further one-day strike to protest against the arrest of Mr Fernandez.

Mr Velasquez said the arrest had "torn into pieces" the accord reached on Tuesday by the Government and opposition to ease tension in the oil-rich country. The accord was the first tangible sign of progress in three months of negotiations between the two sides under the auspices of the Organisation of American States.

Mr Velasquez said the opposition leader's arrest was "an insult" to OAS secretary-general Cesar Gaviria, who chaired the negotiations and had left Caracas only hours earlier.

• Guardian

www.oneworld.net Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Feb 20 (IPS) - Venezuela's ongoing political crisis worsened Thursday following the court order for the arrest of two opposition leaders, Carlos Fernández, president of the Fedecámaras business association, and Carlos Ortega, president of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV).

Fernández was detained just before midnight Wednesday and Ortega decided to go into hiding -- just 30 hours after the Hugo Chávez government and the political opposition signed a pact on non-violence in an effort to defuse tensions still simmering after a nearly two-month strike.

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Caracas Thursday afternoon to march in protest against the arrest.

Penal judge Maikel Moreno issued arrest orders Wednesday for the two, who led the December-January strike that sought Chávez's ouster. The judge acted on a request from the Prosecutor General, which accuses Ortega and Fernández of ''rebellion, treason against the fatherland, incitement to crime, assembly for criminal ends, and destruction.''

Opposition parties and trade unions are outraged by the judge's action and by the arrest of Fernández, which took place as he was leaving a Caracas restaurant.

Government agents held Fernández for several hours before allowing him to contact his family and attorneys.

César Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organisation of American States (OAS), who is mediating talks between the government and opposition, called on the Venezuelan judiciary to ensure that its decisions are taken with ''independence, impartiality and in strict compliance with the laws and rights guaranteed by the constitution.''

Gaviria underscored the social and political stature of Fernández as leader of one of the two sides in the talks that began more than three months ago to resolve Venezuela's political crisis.

Chávez commented Thursday, ''At last a prosecutor and a judge issued orders to arrest people who should have been imprisoned a long time ago.''

A day earlier the president had condemned the fact that there are judges in Venezuela ''who sell their rulings for 3,000 to 30,000 dollars.''

''I was informed (of the arrest warrant) at midnight and I told the police to obey the order. And I went to bed with a smile. Later I sent for a papaya tart that my mother made so I could taste it. I don't have a grudge against anyone, I only want justice to be done,'' Chávez said.

According to the political opposition, there is a list of 25 people from among its ranks -- business, union or political leaders -- who the government has marked for arrest. Legislative deputy Luis Velásquez, of the ruling party, said ''justice authorities have been asked to take action against some 100 people considered responsible for the harm caused the country with the coup attempts and illegal labour strikes.''

But Vice-President José Vicente Rangel said that figure ''seems disproportionate.'' He added, however, ''If I were (CTV president) Ortega I'd turn myself into the court, because in Venezuela the right to due process, including the right to appeal, continues to reign.''

CTV secretary-general Manuel Cova announced that Ortega had gone into hiding and that the union federation would bring the case to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as evidence of the violation of labour rights in Venezuela.

Before going underground, Ortega said in radio and television interviews that judge Moreno's arrest orders ''are just the beginning of an escalation organised by the upper government echelons to liquidate the opposition leaders.''

Ortega pointed out that Moreno served last year as defence attorney to Richard Peñalver, a pro-Chávez Caracas city councillor who was among those accused of opening gunfire on an opposition march on Apr 11, killing 18 people.

The incident was part of the social chaos in the days preceding the failed coup that removed Chávez from power for 48 hours.

In issuing the arrest warrants, Moreno referred only to the Prosecutor General's request, which orders Ortega and Fernández to appear in court to hear the charges against them.

The accusations of rebellion and treason reflect the government's stance that the two are involved in supporting the attempted coup of April 2002, and that they continued to seek his ouster, according to Chávez.

The other charges are related to the two men's role in leading the strike that ended Feb 4. The work stoppage practically paralysed Venezuela's all-important oil industry and closed down factories and shops.

''We have not engaged in any actions that are not covered by the constitution,'' said opposition leader Albis Muñoz, vice-president of Fedecámaras.

Rafael Alfonso, a business executive in the food industry and an opposition delegate to the OAS-led talks, commented that Fernández's arrest ''is simply a provocation.''

Criminal lawyer Alberto Arteaga told IPS that ''the arrest orders for Ortega and Fernández are mistaken not only in intent but in form, because the two should only be imprisoned if they are likely to flee, which prior to the arrest warrants was not the case, as day after day they appeared in public and on television.''

Across the board, the opposition considers Fernández's arrest -- so soon after its representatives and government delegates signed a pact against violence and in favour of peace and democratic values -- proof that the Chávez administration lacks the political will to resolve the country's ongoing crisis.

People's Defender Germán Mundaraín, who heads the so-called citizen's branch of the government created by the 1999 constitution, says ''there may have been excesses in apprehending Fernández, but above all else justice must be done. The people demand an end to impunity.''