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Three years after coup, Chavez stronger than ever

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.
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