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Venezuela Gen. Demands Chavez Quit
Caracas, Venezuela –– A fourth military officer has demanded that President Hugo Chavez resign, further undermining government efforts to reach out to foes and ease mounting political tensions. Air Force Gen. Roman Gomez Ruiz urged other colleagues to speak out, citing military unhappiness with alleged government corruption and the president's management of the armed forces. "To the armed forces ... remember that the people are above all else. And our loyalty is to the nation, not with a particular leader," Gomez Ruiz said at a news conference. "President Chavez, for the good of the country and for love of the armed forces, resign peacefully and take responsibility for your failure." In an interview published Tuesday, Chavez dismissed the officers' calls for his resignation, saying they were "of absolutely no importance." He told the French daily Le Monde that the officers "are dissatisfied for personal reasons." Asked whether there was a risk of a military coup against him, Chavez replied: "Absolutely no risk. Zero." Gomez Ruiz praised the three other officers who announced their dissent before him – Air Force Col. Pedro Soto, National Guard Capt. Pedro Flores and Navy Vice Adm. Carlos Molina Tamayo. Last week, Soto was discharged and Flores was ordered jailed for 15 days. The military still is deciding whether to sanction Molina Tamayo. Gomez Ruiz claimed "many more" in the 100,000-strong military shared his discontent. The other officers accused Chavez of polarizing Venezuelans by constantly feuding with the business elite, the Roman Catholic Church and the media, and of alienating allies such as the United States by cozying up to Cuba and sympathizing with Colombian leftist rebels. The officers also said soldiers resented being forced into civil duties under one of Chavez's flagship development programs. In Washington, a Bush administration official said Tuesday that some Venezuelan officers have sounded out U.S. diplomats about how the United States would react to a coup against Chavez. They were told the United States steadfastly opposes any subversion of the democratic process, said the official, asking not to be identified. Chavez has denied sympathizing with rebels and praised Colombia's decision to end 3-year-old peace talks with insurgents. He also met with several Roman Catholic priests Monday. Chavez, a leftist former coup leader, insists the military supports him. Its top brass publicly expressed loyalty to the government last week. Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel said Gomez Ruiz was angry about being asked to step down earlier this month as head of air transport in the Infrastructure Ministry. Gomez Ruiz, a 27-year military veteran, said he quit his post because he was unhappy with the Chavez administration. He admitted, however, that he had been fined for an "administrative irregularity." Chavez was elected in 1998 with overwhelming support from the poor majority, but his popularity has plummeted over frustration with crime and unemployment. Chavez tried to boost investor confidence by dropping a fixed currency exchange system for the Venezuela bolivar. Opposition leaders also say Chavez's appointment of radical leftists to government posts undermined his promises to trim government spending and get along with business leaders. In a newspaper advertisement Tuesday, more than 3,000 workers at state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela SA protested Chavez's decision to sack company president Gen. Guaicaipuro Lameda and replace him with leftist economist Gaston Parra. Lameda retired from the military last week so he could be free to criticize the government. FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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