Three years after dissident generals briefly drove him from power, President Hugo Chavez is stronger than ever, but he is facing increased criticism from the US as he moves to buy arms and more of his political foes face criminal charges.
Having survived the short-lived coup of 2002, a two-month strike that petered out in 2003 and a presidential recall referendum last year, Chavez and his "revolutionary" movement appear unstoppable.
"He is stronger now than he ever was in the past and has successfully managed to use each of these episodes to consolidate his grip on power," said Steve Johnson, a Latin America analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington.
The Venezuelan leader is maintaining his popularity as he pours millions of dollars from windfall oil prices into programs for the poor, while increasing the size of the military reserves and brushing aside criticism that his government is cracking down on dissent.
Chavez claims the US government was behind the uprising that drove him from power on April 12, 2002. The US, which denies involvement, initially blamed Chavez for his own downfall before joining other countries in condemning the ouster of a democratically elected president.
The former army paratrooper was arrested early on April 12 -- military commanders announced he resigned -- after 19 people died during an opposition march headed toward the presidential palace on April 11. Both pro- and anti-Chavez supporters died that day.
An interim government led by businessman Pedro Carmona dissolved Congress, the courts and the constitution, angering Venezuelans of different political leanings and sending masses of Chavez supporters into the streets to demand his return.
Carmona's presidency, which lasted less than two days, was marked by persecution of Chavez allies, said Willian Lara, a pro-Chavez legislator who went into hiding during manhunts for so-called "Chavistas."
"I knew the secret police were after me, so I went into hiding in a slum with help from friends," Lara said in an interview. "Earlier, the generals leading the coup forced Chavez to give himself up by threatening to bomb Miraflores Presidential Palace, where he was holding out."
Chavez was whisked by helicopter to a Caribbean island off Venezuela's coast, where he thought he would be killed by soldiers.
"I didn't want to sign the resignation [and] they were telling the world that I had resigned," Chavez said in a recent speech.
He said he convinced the soldiers to spare him and "a few hours later a squadron of helicopters arrived to rescue me." He returned triumphantly to the presidential palace hours later.
While the government prepares for an April 13 celebration to commemorate Chavez's return, many of his adversaries are in prison or preparing to defend themselves in court.
Those accused of crimes ranging from rebellion to treason include Enrique Mendoza, an ex-governor accused of closing the state-run television station during the coup; Maria Corina Machado, director of the Sumate nonprofit group that helped organize last year's recall vote; and Carlos Ortega, a tough-talking labor boss who led the strike that failed to oust Chavez.
Opponents say Chavez, who insists Venezuela has had no political prisoners since he took office in 1999, is using prosecutors to bring trumped-up criminal charges to try to divide the opposition and quash dissent.
Chavez's supporters call those accusations false -- and part of a US-sponsored campaign to discredit the government.
"The attorney general's office is acting in an autonomous way, as it should," Lara said, adding, "the United States does not want to see that our institutions are independent."
Human Rights Watch recently questioned the independence of Venezuela's judicial system and urged a halt to criminal proceedings against Carlos Ayala Corao, one of dozens of Chavez opponents facing coup-related charges.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese