reuters.com Sun February 9, 2003 05:15 PM ET By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that foes who tried to oust him through a two-month strike should be sent to prison and he threatened to close private television channels that backed the stoppage.

Since the opposition strike fizzled out a week ago, Chavez has been insisting on harsh punishment for those who organized and participated in the grueling shutdown, which has plunged the world's No. 5 oil exporter into an economic crisis.

"I am calling for jail for the saboteurs, the coup mongers, the terrorists ... they have done terrible damage to Venezuela," the left-wing former paratrooper said in a television and radio broadcast lasting five-and-a-half hours.

He said his government was investigating four private television channels which he said had supported the strike by broadcasting calls for protest and rebellion.

"I don't want to shut down any channel, but if they don't change their ways, I'll have to," he said, speaking during his weekly "Hello President" television and radio show.

Chavez's attitude appeared to offer little hope for a peace deal with his political foes, who had failed to force him through the strike to agree to early elections.

His opponents, who include private sector business leaders, anti-Chavez union bosses and rebel military officers, say the populist president is bent on taking revenge against them.

They accuse him of ruling like a dictator, ruining the economy with anti-capitalist policies, threatening media freedom and trying to make Venezuela a copy of communist Cuba.

Chavez rejected opposition calls for the return to their jobs of 9,000 striking executives and employees of the state oil giant PDVSA who have been sacked by the government.

"SHOULD BE IN JAIL"

Opposition leaders demand the reinstatement of the PDVSA strikers as part of any deal with the government on elections. More than 100,000 foes of the president held a big rally in Caracas Saturday in support of the oil industry strikers.

"Sacking them is not enough. Many of them should be in jail for sabotaging the Venezuelan economy," Chavez said.

He read sections of the country's penal code and said the strikers, if convicted, could face prison terms of up to six years for interfering with national energy supplies.

The strike, which slashed oil exports providing around half of state revenues, forced the government to prune budget spending and introduce strict foreign exchange controls to halt capital flight and a slide in the local bolivar currency.

But no criminal convictions against the strikers have been reported so far and Chavez suggested some of the country's judges should be investigated too for failing to do their job.

Opposition leaders, who have pledged to continue a campaign of street protests, reacted angrily to Sunday's tirade against them by Chavez, who survived a short-lived military coup last year. He had staged his own botched coup bid in 1992, six years before winning a landslide election.

"You're a disgrace to this country and the world ... get out once and for all," anti-Chavez union boss Carlos Ortega told Globovision television, which is one of the private channels being investigated by the government.

Chavez said oil production had recovered to close to two million barrels per day (bpd), two thirds of pre-strike levels. But oil strikers put oil output at around 1.3 million bpd.

The president described the currency controls as "a counter-attack" against his foes, whom he portrays as a rich, resentful and privileged elite trying to overthrow him.

"We have to direct the sale of dollars to areas vital for national development," he said, adding the government would concentrate on buying food, medicine and essential imports.

europe.cnn.com Sunday, February 9, 2003 Posted: 2149 GMT President Hugo Chavez threatened Sunday to jail thousands of oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against him.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez threatened Sunday to jail thousands of oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against him.

"Fired is nothing! Many of them should go to prison for sabotaging the Venezuelan economy," Chavez said of the more than 9,000 workers dismissed from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.

His threats came one day after more than 100,000 Chavez opponents protested in Caracas in support of the fired oil workers.

The opposition planned a similar protest Sunday in the state of Carabobo, 66 miles west of Caracas, and held a bicycle protest in the capital.

The nationwide strike was called December 2 to demand Chavez's resignation or early elections. But its leaders -- business groups, labor unions and leftist and conservative politicians -- agreed to end the protest last week in all areas but the crucial oil industry.

Chavez on Sunday called the strike an "oil coup" aimed at unseating him by paralyzing the oil industry, which provides half of government income. He has also accused his opponents of waging an "economic coup" which he blames for Venezuela's deteriorating economy.

The strike cost Venezuela over $4 billion, the government estimates.

Chavez claims most of PDVSA's 40,000 employees have returned to work. Strike leaders deny this, saying thousands refuse to return

until the president rehires the 9,000 fired and agrees to an early vote on his rule. Another 900 oil workers were fired over the weekend, the newspaper El Universal said Sunday.

Still, the oil industry -- the world's fifth-largest supplier before the strike -- is slowly recovering. Chavez, who spoke at the El Palito refinery in western Venezuela, said production is at 1.9 million barrels a day. This compares to over 3 million barrels a day before the strike and just 200,000 at the height of the strike.

Dissident executives say production is nearer 1.3 million barrels a day, and gasoline shortages continue. Motorists wait hours outside the few stocked service stations, while many citizens have taken up cycling to save on fuel.

Several thousand Chavez foes rode bicycles around Caracas on Sunday in support of the fired oil workers. Many wore red, yellow and blue clothes -- the colors of Venezuela's flag.

The president also threatened to use newly imposed currency controls against his opponents. Controls were imposed last week to shore up the weak bolivar and to slow capital flight. The bolivar was fixed at 1,600 per U.S. dollar and a currency administration office was set up to distribute dollars.

Critics say the controls are Chavez's latest attempt to restrict freedom in Venezuela. They fear dollars will only be available to government sympathizers and not to the opposition.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who led a failed military coup in 1992, was elected to power in 1998 and re-elected in 2000. He promised to wipe out the corruption of previous governments and redistribute the country's vast oil wealth to the poor majority.

But after four years in power, unemployment is approaching 20 percent and inflation has soared over 30 percent.

Peace talks organized by the Organization of American States have failed to end the bitter standoff between the government and opposition.

www.puertoricowow.com Sunday, February 9th, 2003.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelans planned a second march Sunday in support of more than 9,000 oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against President Hugo Chavez.

More than 100,000 Chavez opponents converged on a highway in Caracas on Saturday. A similar protest was planned Sunday in the state of Carabobo, 66 miles (110 kilometers) west of the capital.

"Chavez, thief! PDVSA is not yours, it's everyone's," the crowd chanted Saturday after walking from four office buildings of the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., waving national flags and chanting anti-government slogans.

Venezuela's opposition - business groups, labor unions and leftist and conservative politicians - ended a two-month general strike in all areas but the crucial oil industry earlier this week. The strike, which began Dec. 2, was to demand Chavez's resignation or early elections.

The government claims most of PDVSA's 40,000 employees have returned to work. Strike leaders deny this, saying thousands refuse to return to their posts until Chavez rehires the 9,000 fired and agrees to an early vote on his rule. Another 900 were fired over the weekend, local daily El Universal said Sunday.

The government is gradually reviving Venezuela's oil industry, which was the world's fifth-largest supplier before the strike. The government says production is 1.9 million barrels a day, while dissident executives put the figure at 1.3 million. It was 3 million before the strike, during which it fell to a low of 200,000.

But two of the country's three major refineries are largely idle and gasoline is scarce. Motorists wait in mile-long (kilometer-long) lines outside the few service stations with supplies.

The government has spent more than US$500 million on gasoline and diesel imports since the strike began. Earlier this week, lines had dwindled with an influx of imports. Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said gasoline supply would return to normal this week as more imports arrive and refining continues to increase.

"Venezuelans are fed up," said storeowner Carlos Herrera, 43, at the march Saturday. "While Chavez fires brave workers, the people are still suffering from gasoline shortages because he has hired a bunch of incapable mercenaries. Their only merit is being partisan to his revolution."

The strike has cost Venezuela at least US$4 billion, the government estimates. Chavez has taken advantage of the strike to drastically restructure PDVSA. He has split the oil behemoth into two units, one for eastern Venezuela and one for western Venezuela - a move designed to reduce bureaucracy in Caracas, which had been a hotbed of dissent.

Striking workers say the restructuring will weaken the company and reduce fiscal contribution in an industry that provides half of government income and 70 percent of exchange earnings.

Marchers displayed a letter of support for the oil workers to be delivered to representatives of the Organization of American States, which is overseeing peace talks between the government and opposition. They said the letter had been signed by more than 2.5 million Venezuelans.

OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, who is mediating the talks, is backed in his efforts by a six-nation panel known as the "Group of Friends."

On Friday, Chavez warned the United States, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain and Portugal to recognize the "legitimate, democratic government" of Venezuela. He urged the international community not to be fooled by "lies" spread by the opposition-dominated media, whom he labeled "coup-plotters and fascists."

Opposition negotiators are demanding a constitutional amendment that would shorten Chavez's six-year term and pave the way for general elections early this year.

Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 after pushing through a new constitution, insists foes must wait until the midpoint in his term - August of this year - before petitioning for a referendum on his rule.

www.newsday.com

February 9, 2003, 2:45 PM EST CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela has signed contracts with two foreign oil corporations to exploit the country's largest natural gas reserves, the state news agency Venpres said Sunday. ChevronTexaco from the United States and Norway's Statoil were awarded the rights to develop two blocks in the Deltana Platform, off the northeastern Venezuelan coast near Trinidad and Tobago. Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said the deal will open the door for Venezuela to enter natural gas markets in the United States, Europe, Argentina and Brazil. Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere, is trying to reduce its dependence on oil by developing natural gas. The country depends on oil for almost half of government income and 70 percent of export revenue. The government estimates Deltana Platform has gas reserves of 40 trillion cubic feet. The Deltana Platform gas project could bring in $4 billion in foreign investment in six years, the government said. ChevronTexaco offered the government a bonus of $19 million for the rights to explore block 2 on the platform, while Statoil offered $32 million for block 4. Three other blocks have not yet been taken. Venezuela still must approve the companies' business plans before exploration can begin. 11:49 EST Sunday One less oil price worry: Venezuela is pumping more Howard Dicus Pacific Business News pacific.bizjournals.com As oil prices rise on fears that an Iraq war will interrupt some supplies, a side issue has been the strike that dramatically cut production in Venezuela.

Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez now says his country has built production back up to 1.9 million barrels a day, about two-thirds of its OPEC production ceiling. Exports this past week averaged 700,000 barrels a day.

The good news could remove some upward pressure on oil prices, which have been well above $30 a barrel at the crude level, especially since the Venezuelan problem was actual while the Iraq problem is so far merely potential.

Gasoline prices in Hawaii have risen a nickel a gallon or more in the past month, and are routinely over $2 a gallon Maui.

February 9, 2003 THE COSTS www.nytimes.com

The strike has reduced Venezuela's oil capabilities.

Oil produced, total: 3.1 million barrels a day before the strike. 1.3 million now, say dissidents. The government says the figure is 1.9 million.

Oil exported: 2.7 million barrels a day before the strike, most to the U.S. 700,000 barrels now, according to Mines and Energy Ministry.

Work force: 33,000 full-time employees before the strike, and 37,000 contract workers, which fluctuated. Unclear how many now, but 9,000 of the full-time workers have been fired.

Gasoline produced for home market: 250,000 barrels a day before strike. 150,000 barrels now, the Mines and Energy Ministry says.

Gross oil revenues: 2002 (estimated) $22.2 billion. 2003 (forecast) $14.3 billion, according to UBS Warburg.