www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, March 17, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: When told about the death of Elvis Presley, his former manager exclaimed: "Good career move!".....

For the seventh or eighth time in four years the Venezuelan government is denouncing a plot to kill President Chavez. So far, not one person has been identified in connection with these attempts, much less sent to prison. One of the first would be killers was a mysterious sniper in Puerto Ordaz, probably swallowed by Kanaima, the Jungle God of the Marikitare, since he was never seen. A rocket to be launched near the Caracas airport against the new Presidential plane, with Chavez inside, was suddenly abandoned by repentant killers, who also abandoned a cellular phone and a list of telephone numbers never made public.

Another attempt was to be made in Chile and, according to Argentinean newspapers, would have been led by Eliecer Otayza, who still is a Presidential Adviser for dirty work. Still another, according some members of the government political party, would be internationally coordinated by the CIA and the Israeli Secret Police.

In parallel, President Chavez has claimed he is being jinxed. Over national TV he described four diabolical looking, dead animals, found in the four corners of the presidential palace containing rocks and papers in their insides. In order to try to neutralize this voodoo Chavez urgently imported some Brazilian and Cuban witch doctors. These experts, however arrived too late.

Ever since the start of his presidency the country has been under the sign of tragedy. The first one was in December 1999 and resulted in 30000 or more deaths from landslides near Caracas. Bad voodoo also worked to make Chavez reject the US aid that was coming to help the survivors of that disaster. Voodoo has been responsible for the high poverty, the unemployment, the crime, the increase in the amount of street children.

Voodoo has clearly been responsible for the extreme drought and the multiple forest fires that have made necessary to ration water in most cities and imminent electrical power rationing . Black magic practitioners have promoted exchange controls, price controls and garbage accumulation in our cities. The extreme social unrest, the daily civic protests, the incontrollable invasion of private property in urban and rural areas, the huge capital flight and the long lines of citizens outside the embassies in search of visas to emigrate, are all the product of the work of witch doctors. The problem is that these witch doctors are titleholders in Chavez' cabinet. They are Chavez' ministers and his closest collaborators. No wonder Pogo went uphill and came back saying: "Today I have seen the enemy and.... the enemy is us."

This is why we should be rational concerning the alleged attempts at assassination of the President. Who would be interested in such an act?

Chavez' political demise seems to be around the corner, so that no one in his, her right mind would want to do violently what an inevitable political process will do peacefully. Killing Chavez would merely be an act of political euthanasia.

The exit of Chavez from the political scene would be an excellent career move for him since it would allow him to try again in a few years' time, trusting our short memories.

To assassinate Chavez would be the best way to give him a place in history as "the popular and charismatic leader, loved by the poor, who was shot (or poisoned or stabbed, take you pick and no pun intended) before he could get his mission accomplished"... (joropo music in the background).

Chavez does not deserve this easy way out. He has to and will be ousted by popular vote. He has to and will be rejected by the people of Venezuela. He has to and will be brought to trial for his numerous violations to the Constitution that he himself put in place. He has to be tried for the death of innocent Venezuelans in April 2001, for the destruction of PDVSA, for the giving away of our resources to Cuba due to his infatuation with Fidel Castro.... and so on and so forth.

To assassinate Chavez would be asinine. If it ever happens, look for those who would benefit the most from such a grotesque act...... those who would live politically off his idealized memory...

Watch out for someone like De Gouveia, the brute force, and the sinister minds playing him...

Gustavo Coronel is the founder and president of Agrupacion Pro Calidad de Vida (The Pro-Quality of Life Alliance), a Caracas-based organization devoted to fighting corruption and the promotion of civic education in Latin America, primarily Venezuela. A member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), following nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, Coronel has worked in the oil industry for 28 years in the United States, Holland, Indonesia, Algiers and in Venezuela. He is a Distinguished alumnus of the University of Tulsa (USA) where he was a Trustee from 1987 to 1999. Coronel led the Hydrocarbons Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington DC for 5 years. The author of three books and many articles on Venezuela ("Curbing Corruption in Venezuela." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 3, July, 1996, pp. 157-163), he is a fellow of Harvard University and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1981 to 1983. In 1998, he was presidential election campaign manager for Henrique Salas Romer and now lives in retirement on the Caribbean island of Margarita where he runs a leading Hotel-Resort. You may contact Gustavo Coronel at email ppcvicep@telcel.net.ve

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, March 14, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

In a weird incident, which seems to becoming common place as rumor takes over from facts, Accion Democratica (AD) leader and opposition chief negotiator, Timoteo Zambrano has come out with a red face after requesting the International Red Cross to search for the estranged wife of President Hugo Chavez Frias, Marisabel Rodriguez.

Reporters discovered Marisabel  shopping for shoes in her native Barquisimeto where she told them that she is in good health and was surprised to hear breaking news that she had “disappeared.”

The former First Lady says she continues to get on with her life keeping a low profile.

“What happened today is a dangerous game at a time when the country needs understanding.”

Zambrano has tried some damage control saying he was tipped off that the President’s former wife was missing. “I can’t reveal the source but it wasn’t, as some media sources allege, a family member … I acted in good faith and am glad to find that she is well."

www.voanews.com VOA News 13 Mar 2003, 16:54 UTC

Roy Chaderton MatosVenezuela's Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton Matos says he fears an attempt may be made to assassinate President Hugo Chavez.

Mr. Chaderton Wednesday accused the media in Venezuela and other countries of calling for the murder of Mr. Chavez. He also alleged that political opponents of Mr. Chavez have pushed for an assassination.

Mr. Chaderton did not immediately provide evidence to support his allegations.

Mr. Chaderton made the comments to reporters in the Colombian capital Bogota, where he attended a meeting of foreign and defense ministers of seven Latin American countries.

The nations on Wednesday signed a pledge to work together to combat terrorism and drug trafficking. The meeting included officials from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.