US attacked by Venezuela as opposition grows

[Oshun_Auset]

US attacked by Venezuela as opposition grows  

By Andy Webb-Vidal in Caracas
Published: March 1 2004 19:23 | Last Updated: March 1 2004 19:23


Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, is searching for an external enemy to his government, according to diplomats, as opposition protests mount against what appears to be an increasingly militarised regime.


In a move that could result in a break in diplomatic relations with the US, Mr Chávez lashed out at George W. Bush, the US president, on Sunday, branding him an "illegitimate" president.

Mr Chávez, who is resisting an opposition bid for a recall referendum on his rule, also warned he would sever oil exports to the US if Washington sought to invade Venezuela or establish a trade embargo or blockade.

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, is a key supplier to the US.

Diplomats said Mr Chávez is attempting to fan nationalist sentiment at home and set up an external distraction to domestic political troubles.

The US State Department did not comment on Monday.

"Chávez is playing the rebel, using the old Latin American mythology of the tough comandante fighting US imperialism," a diplomat in Caracas said.

Analysts said Mr Chávez has long been planning to break ties with the US.

"This was inevitable and Chávez has unilaterally decided to break political, but not yet commercial, relations with the US," said Alberto Garrido, a local analyst.

But there were signs at the weekend that Mr Chávez could soon face some form of diplomatic isolation from other countries.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's president, whom Mr Chávez has courted as a diplomatic "counterweight" to the US, departed on Friday from a summit of G-15 developing countries in Caracas only hours after arriving.

The move came after Mr Chávez praised Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, as "a true defender of freedom".

Washington is backing an opposition effort to win a recall referendum as a method to help resolve Venezuela's simmering political crisis.

Opponents of Mr Chávez, a populist who they see as a dictator-in-waiting, in December submitted a petition with about 3.5m signatures, more than the 2.4m required to trigger a recall vote.

But Mr Chávez alleges that the petition was a "mega-fraud" and part of a US-backed plot to oust him.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) on Sunday delayed until Monday night a scheduled announcement on the validity of the petition but it is widely expected to say that only about 1.9m signatures are valid.

There is a possibility that opponents may accept a last-ditch plan that would allow signatories to verify their signatures to keep alive the referendum drive, but the chances appear to be slim.

Ezequiel Zamora, the CNE's vice-president, said the verification procedure was "unviable".

Meanwhile, since Friday hundreds of national guard troops have been locked in fierce running battles with opposition protesters that have taken to the streets and erected barricades in Caracas and other cities.

On Monday, Maracaibo, Venezuela's second largest city, was in effect militarised to contain protests. Dozens of people have been injured, many with gunshot wounds.