Dear Family and Friends,

We hope all of you are well and enjoying the life that God has given us to its fullest.

We are writing today to ask that you continue to pray for Venezuela. The situation remains potentially explosive. On April 7, President Hugo Chavez fired seven senior employees of PDV, the state owned petroleum company, and forcibly retired 12 others who were leading an employee rebellion against the company’s board of directors, which Chavez had appointed in his efforts to control the PDV, its holdings, and income. On Tuesday, Fedecamaras, Venezuela’s chamber of commerce, and CTV, the million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation, launched a 24-hour general strike. They later extended it by another 24 hours, or until Thursday, to support dissident workers at PDV and to air other labor disputes. If Chavez does not respond positively, then the strike could continue indefinitely with negative effects on worldwide oil prices. The following excerpt from BBC describes the current situation created by the 48-hour labor strike.

The strike is seen as a powerful attack on President Chavez, who is fighting opposition to his three-year rule from hostile labour and business leaders as well as political foes. Analysts said the strike, coupled with the PDV oil dispute, clearly sapped the government’s ability to guarantee smooth, day-to-day running of the nation, but Mr Chavez and his administration insisted the strike was a failure.

"This country has not halted and will not be halted," Mr Chavez said, dismissing the strike organisers as "subversives" seeking to destabilise and topple his government. He sent senior ministers and military chiefs to key oil facilities to ensure they continued to operate.

CTV leader Carlos Ortega, whose authority has not been acknowledged by Mr Chavez, claimed 80% support for the strike. "We can consider the strike a total success," he said.

The action was generally peaceful but scuffles broke out in Caracas and an opposition deputy was hurt. Riot police surrounded the National Assembly to prevent trouble.

Teachers, doctors, the Roman Catholic Church, and numerous civic groups backed the strike in defiance of government threats to sack public employees involved in the "illegal" action.

Mr Chavez’s government had made efforts to avoid a repeat of a successful general strike on 10 December which led to a 20% rise in the minimum wage.

Another issue is the presence of Columbian guerrillas in Venezuela. Stratfor.com has forecasted the following regarding this situation in its analysis of Latin America.

The escalating conflict in Colombia will spill over more frequently into countries like Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. In fact, the FARC [Colombian guerrilla group] is already staging attacks against Colombian targets from inside Venezuela and withdrawing into Venezuela when pursued by Colombian army patrols. The FARC’s growing use of foreign territory to wage war against the Colombian state could affect the strategic balance along the two countries’ 1,200-mile frontier. It also could encourage AUC forces [right-wing paramilitary group] to attack FARC and other guerrilla units inside Venezuela and draw that country’s armed forces into the conflict. The Venezuelan government has officially denied claims that members of the FARC’s 33rd Front were operating from a base camp just inside the border. However, if more attacks are launched in the coming quarter, it will fuel political tensions between Colombia and Venezuela, and between the regime of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Washington.

The economic crisis in Argentina, the escalating war in Colombia, and the likelihood of a violent confrontation in Venezuela between the Chavez regime and its opponents will evolve in the coming quarter against a larger backdrop of social discontent and political tensions. After more than a decade of free-market reforms, poverty has increased regionally and unemployment has climbed to its highest level in nearly 20 years. Countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela will experience more social turmoil in the next three months.

Today in Ocumare del Tuy, where we live, the national guard was called in to separate the members of the Bolivarian Circles (the community-based organizations created by Chavez) from the opposition movement members protesting in front of the mayor’s office. The peaceful protests that began a few months back have become more and more violent. So far, one person has been killed and many more injured.

Also today one of the top military Generals made pronouncements against Chavez and accused him of lying about the presence of Colombian guerrillas in the country. Other lower rank officials have made such pronouncements before now, but a General doing so shows that there is great discontent among the military, adding them to the list of Chavez’ opposition.

Please pray that the violence does not escalate. Pray for President Chavez so that he may gain wisdom enough to negotiate with the opposition. Pray that democratic system here will be honored. Pray that the military and other influential groups do not attempt a takeover. Pray for peace—God’s peace.

Yours in Christ,

Deborah and Carlos

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 264