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Reuters. 15 April 2002. Chavez probes U.S. plane on prison island in coup. CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Monday he would investigate the mysterious presence of a U.S.-registered civilian plane on the island where he was held during a military coup that briefly overthrew him last week. But the populist former paratrooper -- democratically elected in 1998 -- said he was prepared to give Washington the benefit of the doubt over its ambiguous statements appearing to welcome his short-lived downfall. "I think they were victims of misinformation," Chavez told a news conference, referring to the U.S. government with uncharacteristic diplomacy, adding he guaranteed no interruption of Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. U.S. officials made it known that they were not unhappy to see the ouster of Chavez, a close friend of Cuba's Fidel Castro who is fond of anti-American rhetoric. They greeted his swift return to power at the helm of the world's fourth-largest oil exporter with reservation. When asked about Chavez's return U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said on Monday, "We want to see a return [!] to democracy." [N.B.] A senior U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said the political future of Chavez and Venezuela remained uncertain. For his part, Chavez said he was fascinated by the presence of a plane with U.S. markings on the Venezuelan Caribbean island of La Orchila where he was held after Friday's coup. At the time, the military was trying to persuade him to resign and fly into foreign exile. "I saw the plane. It bore the markings of a private plane from the United States, not an official plane. This is being investigated. What was it doing there?" Chavez asked. He said a number of Venezuelan nationals hostile to his rule were known to be living in the United States. "They left here with a lot of money which they robbed," he said. Chavez added that U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro was aware of the presence of the aircraft on La Orchila. "The ambassador recognized in fact that there was a plane in La Orchila with U.S. markings," Chavez said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
