<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, May 04, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Inter American Regional Worker's Organization (ORIT)  general secretary, Luis Anderson says the ORIT is closely following the situation in Venezuela and insists that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has violated union freedoms.  

• ORIT is  International Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) American Continent regional office. 

"We have reported serious violations of International Labor Organizations agreements  No. 87 regarding union freedoms and No. 98 on collective bargaining processes."

Anderson has warned that these violations could affect Venezuela's international relations ... "in extreme cases, it could carry penalties from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WHO)." 

Among other things, Anderson, whose ORIT office is housed in the Venezuelan Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) building in Caracas, confirms that ORIT condemns the government's refusal to recognize CTV leaders, the arrest warrant against Carlos Ortega and the dismissal of the oil sector workers that joined the national stoppage.

The CTV had announced that Anderson would attend its May 1st march, but according to reports, Anderson thought it more prudent not to attend given the highly political content of the march.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, May 02, 2003 By: David Coleman

Irresponsible accusations are flying through the air after the death of 46-year-old Richard Herrera in a shooting incident at Plaza O'Leary in Caracas during an opposition Confederation of Venezuelan Trade Unions (CTV) May 1 demonstration.  Paramedics who were quickly on the scene say several others were injured but that Herrera had been killed from several bullets to the chest.  Felix Lungar (32), also wounded in the shooting, was rushed to the University Hospital Clinic as CICPC detectives began a thorough investigation.

Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez says the demo was progressing peacefully when a verbal altercation broke out and he heard five distinct gunshots.  "Everything happened very quickly, I was about 15 meters from where it happened ... then there were people running away ... unfortunately, there were no policemen close at hand ... the killer got away but there were witnesses who saw him and they described him as wearing a white shirt and camouflage trousers."

National Assembly (AN) deputy, Gerardo Blyde told reporters in the El Silencio district of Caracas that the suspect has been identified as a local criminal aliased "The Chicken" whose last known residence was in Block 1G and that he escaped capture through the parking area.  Other versions of what happened claim two people shooting from a motorcycle.

Proyecto Venezuela deputy Maria Gabriela Mataudon says she saw the alleged killer fire off the shots and then being taken away in a police car ... a witness adds that it was a State Political & Security (DISIP) police patrol car and that the arresting officer was identified by badge number 21.534.

More than 2,000 officers from the Metropolitan Police (PM), National Guard (GN), PoliCaracas and Fire Emergency crews had covered the demonstration but PM deputy director Lazaro Forero says it was impossible to foresee the tragedy.  "We did not expect it ... it was a surprise to everyone and we are trying to get to the bottom of what really happened."

Opposition Globovision TV News channel did not delay much in bringing live pictures from the scene, highlighting unsubstantiated accusations that the shooting had taken place on direct orders from the Chavez Frias government.  Official Ombudsman German Mundarain says, however, that the shooting resulted from a one-on-one verbal dispute between two people in Plaza O'Leary, and that one of the two pulled out a gun and fired.  "We can not at this stage attach any political motive to the shooting ... the gunman escaped into one of the buildings close by but we have clear signals as to his identity and he will be captured sooner or later."

Mundarain says he regrets that there have been so much irresponsible public speculation as to who, what or why lies behind the Plaza O'Leary shooting ... "we have no evidence that this crime has any political motive and there is no evidence to substantiate any such claim ... it appears to me to be highly irresponsible to make such statements as have been attributed to elements of the opposition since it doesn't contribute anything to the maintenance of peace and general order."

In update news, Metropolitan Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena says five were injured and 9 have been detained following Thursday's, Mat 1 demonstrations across the capital.  The injured have been named as Alfonso Ochoa, Jorge Espinosa, Luis Tovar and Junior Contreras who were treated at hospital emergency rooms while Jaime Leon is in intensive care at the Military Hospital although expected to be off the danger list shortly.

Metropolitan Police (PM) officers have reportedly detained Rafael Urbina (19), Jackson Aborrea (22), Felix Moreno (19), Carlos Borrero (35), Franklin Ortiz (19), Carlos Alberto Montero (33), Alberto Fernandez (44), Erika Contreras (22) and Jose Pulido on an assortment of weapons-related charges.

Pena says he regrets the latest acts of political violence and adds "it will not be possible to return peace to the streets unless we can disarm these violent groups and if proper elections are not supervised by international inspection organizations."

By Alex Kennedy

Caracas, May 1 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuelans opposed to President Hugo Chavez clashed with his supporters near the presidential palace. One person was shot dead by a passing motorcyclist, and another was injured, police said.

``Out of nowhere, there were five shots fired,'' Leopoldo Lopez, an opposition leader and mayor of the Chacao municipality in Venezuela's capital, told Globovision television station.

The shooting took place at the end of a march by tens of thousands of Chavez supporters and opponents who threw rocks, bottles and explosives as police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. Police arrested a man after the shooting, Henry Vivas, the Caracas police chief, said on Globovision.

A shootout at an opposition march in Caracas a year ago led to the deaths of 19 people and sparked a military coup that removed Chavez from office for two days. In early December, his opponents staged a two-month nationwide strike aimed at removing the president from office. Chavez since has restricted Venezuelans' access to dollars, causing shortages of food and other goods. Last Updated: May 1, 2003 15:57 EDT

NEWSDESK 01 May 2003 19:34:22 GMT Fresh Venezuela clashes leave one shot dead (Recasts, adds shooting details) By Patrick Markey

CARACAS, Venezuela, May 1 (Alertnet-Reuters) - One man was shot dead on Thursday when a gunman fired on opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after tens of thousands of demonstrators jammed Caracas streets in rival Labor Day marches over his populist rule, officials said.

In confused running skirmishes, police fired tear gas after the shooting to disperse rival bands of demonstrators who clashed in the center of the capital with volleys of rocks, bottles and fireworks.

Witnesses and officials said the gunman opened fire at one opposition labor leader and then fled to a nearby building, where state security police fought back angry demonstrators clamoring for justice.

The man's body lay draped in a flag on the street.

"They fired at point-blank range three times. He didn't stand a chance," Hector Alcala, 33, told Reuters.

The violence was the most recent since February when the opposition ended a two-month strike and protest campaign that stoked tensions but failed to oust Chavez, a former paratrooper who foes say rules like a corrupt autocrat.

In a huge fluttering sea of banners, placards and national flags, thousands of Chavez opponents earlier snaked along a Caracas highway in what they billed as a renewed campaign for a referendum to unseat the leftist president.

"Everyone on the streets again to democratically resolve this crisis. We will defeat him ... From today the people will take the streets," barked Manuel Cova, an anti-Chavez union chief and opposition leader.

More than a year after Chavez survived a brief military coup in April 2002, his South American nation is mired in economic crisis and bitter political strife. At least seven people have been killed and dozens more wounded during street protests in the last few months.

A loose alliance of parties, unions and private sector heads, the opposition remains without clear leadership while Chavez appears determined to press ahead with the self-styled revolution he says aims to ease the plight of the poor.

Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, is battling one of the worst economic recessions in its history and as much as 80 percent of the population still lives in poverty despite its huge oil wealth.

Opposition leaders hope to trigger a referendum after August 19 when the constitution allows for a poll on the president's mandate halfway through his current term in office, which ends in early 2007.

"We will have a referendum this year; we will have a new president this year," opposition negotiator Timoteo Zambrano said at the rally.

But internationally backed negotiations over the referendum remain deadlocked after the government backed away from signing an accord that would have paved the way for a vote.

The Organization of American States, which brokered the deal, is scrambling to bring the two sides back to the talks. Representatives from a six-nation group, led by the United States and Brazil, are scheduled to arrive next week in Caracas to back OAS efforts to revive negotiations.

(Additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher)

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic NewsPosted: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

According to a Police Detective Branch (CICPC) report, the weekend homicide toll in Venezuela reached 92 deaths ... broken down as 25 homicides in Caracas and 67 in the provinces. 

• In Caracas, Libertador municipality registered 22 homicides, compared to 3 in Sucre Municipality. 

Zulia State headed the provincial list with 13 murders, followed by Portuguesa and Carabobo at 8 each, Anzoategui 7, Miranda 6, Aragua and Vargas 4 each, Yaracuy 3, Cojedes, Sucre, Trujillo, Tachira, Lara and Falcon 2 each and Nueva Esparta, Apure, Monagas and Delta Amacuro 1 each. 

Among the highlighted homicides in Caracas are those of three cab drivers in different sectors of the city.

The CICPC report claims that 30 homicides were due to settling of scores between rival gangs and 23 the result of shootouts with the police.