 |
|
An army soldier directs traffic as a long line of cars waits to enter one of the few open gasoline stations in Maracaibo in western Venezuela
|
CARACAS,
December 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Venezuela is losing 50
million dollars a day in oil exports as a result of a general strike,
Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said Tuesday, December 10.
“The
cost caused to the county is of 50 million dollars a day,” he said,
blaming striking oil tanker captains and managers of the state oil
company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA.)
“Venezuela
is suffering serious damage to its credibility,” said Ramirez.
The
strike, called on December 2 to press for the resignation of President
Hugo Chavez all but shut down the oil sector in Venezuela, the world’s
fifth largest petroleum exporter, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
“Evidently,
the industry is being damaged,” he said.
Ramirez
made the comments shortly after the government announced he would not
participate in a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) in Vienna Thursday, December 12.
The
conflict in Venezuela caused deep concern on international oil markets
and New York reference light sweet crude for January delivery climbed 57
cents to 27.74 dollars Tuesday.
The
intensification of Venezuela’s crippling strike has fueled concerns
over the stability of the oil-exporting country and prompted the United
States to warn Americans not to travel there.
Combat
troops manned those gas stations that still had supplies, lines outside
Caracas banks stretched hundreds of meters, dozens of flights were
canceled, and panic buying was evident in supermarkets not shuttered by
the strike.
 |
|
Opposition members march around a military air force base in Caracas, Venezuela
|
Further
adding to the tension, talks aimed at preventing an explosion of the
conflict failed to make any significant progress as the opposition
reacted coolly to indications embattled President Hugo Chavez might be
ready to make concessions.
Under
mounting pressure, the government had expressed willingness to discuss a
timetable for early elections.
But
the opposition again insisted the leftist-populist president should step
down.
The
United States, the top importer of Venezuelan oil, has watched the
situation with alarm in recent days and said early elections would help
end the crisis.
On
Tuesday, the State Department warned U.S. nationals to defer travel to
Venezuela, and urged those already in the country to consider departing.
Washington
also authorized the departure of non emergency personnel at its embassy
in Caracas “due to the deteriorating political and security situation
and the severe shortages of fuel and food supplies.”
But
leaving the country could prove increasingly difficult as the strike
grounded the country’s main airline and led to the cancellation of
numerous domestic and international flights.
“It
looks like a cold civil war in which each side is sitting in its
trenches, but the situation could explode at any moment and turn into a
real civil war,” said political analyst Alfredo Keller.
The
strike, launched on December 2, gained strength as long-distance bus
drivers joined the protests and banks cut their hours of operations.
Even
the supreme court came to a standstill, as its 20 judges said in a
statement they would halt all but the most essential activities “as
long as the harassment and the insults continue ...”
Chavez
lashed out at the judges after they threw out charges of rebellion
issued against four senior military officers accused of staging an April
12 coup. Chavez was deposed for two days before loyal troops restored
him to power.
 |
|
Venezuelans stocked up on food and water as the strike created shortages at markets
|
A
former paratrooper, Chavez himself had led a failed coup attempt in
1992, six years before being elected president. He was again elected to
a six year term in 2000.
The
president claims the strike leaders are seeking to oust him again. The
claim has triggered fears he might decree martial law.
Government
and military officials insisted the armed forces were squarely behind
Chavez, who deployed troops to commandeer fuel trucks, force gas
stations to remain open, take over oil tankers and seize refineries.
But
the head of the state oil company, Ali Rodriguez, has admitted that the
oil sector, which accounts for 50 percent of the government’s income
and 80 percent of foreign currency earnings, has come to a halt.
Venezuela
is the only Latin American member of the Organization of Oil Exporting
Countries (OPEC), and its political crisis is likely to figure
prominently at a ministerial meeting of the cartel in Vienna Thursday.
