Yes. A few details. Chavez got in trouble with the Venezuelan oil industry barons, as he tried in the last while to divert some of their enormous profits toward reducing poverty in Venezuela. The oil industry got part of the Army to do a coup against Chavez.

Most of the people shot down in the demonstrations that preceded that coup were Chavez supporters who were counter-demonstrating against those demonstrations. Precisely who shot them is not exactly clear (unidentified snipers in buildings). The private TV stations (also owned by some of Venezuela's richest citizens) showed clips of those people lying dead and wounded, and showed clips of Chavez supporters firing at...someone...implying that they were firing on the unarmed crowd. Needless to say, they were not firing at their own people, but their own people mysteriously were the ones who mostly got shot. This is from an eyewitness at the scene.

The coup then failed because the greater part of the Army decided to support Chavez. (Ooops! Somebody miscalculated.)

Venezuela is the 3rd largest oil supplier to the USA, and has actually had the nerve lately to sell some oil to Cuba as well...

They've just had their wrist slapped.

*** I have an indepth article from the Toronto Star (one of Canada's oldest and well established newspapers) that covers much of what I've said above regarding the oil connection, but I can't get to google at the moment for some reason...it won't load. I will try later. The article is in the Toronto Star, written by Thomas Walkom, April 16/02. The title of the column is: "Chavez fell foul of Bush doctrine")

- LH