U.S. CARACAS EMBASSY TO SHUT THURSDAY AFTER THREAT     the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela said on Wednesday it would close for one day on Thursday because of a security threat received after bomb blasts at two other foreign diplomatic buildings in Caracas. "The U.S. Embassy in Caracas has received a credible threat to its security and will be closed to the public on Thursday, February 27, 2003," the embassy said in a statement. "We received sufficiently reliable information of a possible attack so we decided to close for the day," embassy press counselor Phillip Parkerson told reporters. The mission was expected to reopen Friday, he added.     Embassy officials declined to give further details or say whether the threat was related to powerful bomb attacks that badly damaged the Spanish Embassy cooperation office and the Colombian consulate in Caracas early on Tuesday. The explosions injured five people less than 48 hours after leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sharply accused Spain, Colombia and the United States Sunday of meddling in his country's political crisis.     In Washington, U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States Roger Noriega repeated U.S. condemnation of the terrorist attacks. But he also questioned the Chavez government's commitment to honoring a non-violence agreement it had signed with political opponents last week. "There can be little doubt that President Chavez' belligerent rhetoric has contributed to a climate of tension that does not contribute to the search for a peaceful solution," Noriega told the OAS' Permanent Council. FORT WASHINGTON, February 28     MILITARY SUPPORT OFFERED FOR IRAQ WAR UNITED  STATES Main air, land and naval invasion forces BRITAIN Deployed 42,000 troops, including a quarter of the army, a third of the air force and large naval deployment ALBANIA Airspace, land, territorial waters CZECH Chemical, nuclear, biological units KUWAIT Stationed 70,000 U.S. troops in preparation for invasion QATAR Central Command mobile headquarters. Use of air base AUSTRALIA 2,000 Troops DENMARK 70 Elite soldiers and the Saelen submarine LITHUANIA Has authorized use of airspace ROMANIA 278 nuclear, bio and chemical specialists BAHRAIN Will provide a frigate and troops EGYPT Promise to keep Suez Canal open to warships NETHERLANDS 360 troops. Will allow movement of troops and supplies  SAUDI ARABIA Possible use of air bases BELGIUM Will allow movement of troops and supplies GREECE Use of US Naval Base in Crete NORWAY Offered 10,000 chemical warfare suits SLOVAKIA 69-member anti-chemical warfare unit. Use of bases BULGARIA Use of airport and 150-member non-combat unit HUNGARY Air Base to train Iraqi opposition OMAN One battalion to defend Kuwait SPAIN Use of naval and air bases in southern Spain CANADA Military planes. A destroyer and 2 frigates ITALY Use of Air bases, ports and airspace POLAND A few dozen elite commando troops and a transport ship TURKEY Will allowed 62,000 troops. 255 planes, 65 hlicopters. Use of bases CROATIA Will allow refueling stops JORDAN Stationed of anti-missile batteries PORTUGAL Use of Lajes Field air base and refueling stop UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 4,000 troops backed by Apache helicopters, tanks, a frigate  HAVANA, February 27     CARDINAL ORTEGA ASKS FOR A SOFTER HAND     Cuba's Roman Catholic Church called on the communist-run government to soften its traditionally heavy hand and be more compassionate with its citizens. Cardinal Jaime Ortega, Cuba's top Catholic churchman, signed the pastoral letter. It was made public at a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Felix Varela, a priest beloved by Christians and communists alike as a powerful voice for the nation's independence from Spain.     ''The hour has come to pass from being a legalistic state that demands sacrifices and settles accounts to a merciful state willing to offer a compassionate hand before imposing controls and punishing infractions,'' said the document. If you read Spanish, click here and read Cardinal Ortega's pastoral letter.  "ARTICULO DE LA SEMANA". "I want  the  first  law  of  our  republic  to  be  the  reverence  of all   Cubans  for  the  fullest  dignity  of  man...If  the  republic  is not  built  on  the  character  of  each  one  of  its  children,  on their  habit  of  working  with  their  hands  and  thinking  for themselves,  on  the  full  exercise  of  their  abilities  and  respect for  the  rights  of  others  fully  to  exercise  theirs,  as  if  it  were   a  matter  of  family  honor,  on  a  passion,  in  short,  for  the   dignity   of  human  beings,  then  the  republic  will   not  have been  worth  a  single  tear  from  one  of  our  women,  a  single drop  of  blood  from  one  of  our  brave  men."

LA HABANA, February 26      U.S. ENVOY MEETS WITH CUBAN DISSIDENTS     America's top diplomat in Havana visited with Cuban dissidents Monday and said the communist-run government is afraid to grant civil liberties such as freedom of speech to its citizens. It was the first time in recent years that the top American diplomat had traveled to a dissident's home. Previously, the U.S. envoys met with dissidents at the mission or the section chief's home.     U.S. Section Chief James Cason and other American diplomats met with about 40 members of a recently formed dissident umbrella group at the home of well-known government opponent Marta Beatriz Roque. The group calls itself the Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society. "Sadly, the Cuban government is scared - scared of freedom of conscience, scared of freedom of expression, scared of human rights," Cason told international reporters.     The reporters were summoned to the meeting by Beatriz, who did not inform them that America's top diplomat would be there. Reporters were merely told they were invited to a meeting of dissidents honoring the 108th anniversary of the launch of Cuba's wars of independence. Cason also called for the release of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, a government opponent who was released in October after serving more than two years in prison only to be arrested again several weeks later. "This group is demonstrating that there are Cubans such as Dr. Biscet who do not have fear," Cason said. "They know that the transition toward democracy is already under way. We want them to know that they are not alone, that the whole world supports them,'' Cason said.

    TWO POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS INJURE 4 PEOPLE IN VENEZUELA

    Two powerful explosions damaged the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate minutes apart in the Venezuelan capital early Tuesday, injuring four people and raising tensions in a city still recovering from an anti-chavist strike. The blasts twisted the steel gates of the buildings and blew out windows in residences almost a block away. Leaflets supporting President Hugo Chavez were found outside the Spanish Embassy.

    The first blast was outside the Spanish embassy in eastern Caracas at about 2 a.m. The second explosion, 15 minutes later, rocked the Colombian consulate. The blasts slightly injured four people, including a night watchman, Lopez said. Chacao police chief Leonardo Diaz said there was a "direct relation" between the blasts, which came two days after Chavez warned Colombia and Spain not to meddle in Venezuela's domestic affairs.

    Both nations had expressed concern over the arrest of opposition leader Carlos Fernandez, who was arrested last week for his role in leading a two-month general strike against Chavez. Chavez responded angrily Sunday to foreign critics of the charges against the strike leaders. He directed warnings at some members of a "Group of Friends'' initiative created to bolster the negotiating process. "Don't mess with our affairs!" Chavez said, singling out Cesar Gaviria, OAS Secretary General, the United States, Spain and Colombia. Yesterday, the U.S. State Department warned that the Venezuelan president's words could incite violence.

    COLOMBIAçS REBELS SAY THEY ARE HOLDING AMERICANS

    The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia labeled three kidnapped American hostages prisoners of war Monday and demanded a widespread exchange of prisoners as the price of their release. In a statement harshly critical of the U.S. role in Colombia, the rebels said the Americans -- plus dozens of kidnapped lawmakers and police officers -- would be swapped for all imprisoned members of the FARC. The exchange would have to take place in a demilitarized safe haven, the rebels said.

    Hostages now for 12 days, the Americans -- Department of Defense contractors on an apparent intelligence mission -- were seized after their plane went down in jungle about 200 miles southwest of Bogotá. Two others in the plane were shot to death near the crash site. On Monday, the government charged one captured rebel in the deaths of crew members Thomas John Janis, an American, and Colombian intelligence sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz -- both of whom were shot at close range.

    A U.S. State Department official appeared to rule out negotiations with the rebels. ‚The FARC is responsible for the American crew members' safety, health and well-being. We have not authorized or requested any group to negotiate. We demand that the FARC immediately release the U.S. crew members,'' said a spokeswoman.

    GRAHAM, ENSIGN TARGET CUBAN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

    Senator Bob Graham, D-Florida, yesterday joined with Senator John Ensign, R-Nevada, in introducing a resolution calling for continued action against Cuban dictator Fidel Castroçs regime in regard to Cubaçs well-documented history of human rights violations.

    "Seven years ago today, Cuban fighters shot down two planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, an American anti-Castro group," Graham said. "In the time since that deplorable act, weçve been privy to a steady stream of reports detailing the use of intimidation, imprisonment and violence as a way to repress dissent among Cuban citizens. This resolution calls for more aggressive investigations into Cubaçs human rights violations, not only on the part of human rights organizations, but also by the global community. We have a moral imperative to protect the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of people everywhere. This resolution ensures that the international microscope will remain firmly focused on those who seek to take away those rights."

    The resolution specifically seeks action by the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union. "I have grave concerns about the horrific human rights conditions in Cuba," Senator Ensign stated. "We must send a strong signal to the dissidents and political prisoners in CubaÊwe have no illusions about the nature of Fidel Castroçs regime, we know of their plight, and we stand ready to help them."

    U.S., BRITAIN AND SPAIN SUBMIT IRAQ RESOLUTION TO U.N.

    Seeking U.N. approval for possible war against Iraq, the United States, Britain and Spain submitted a resolution to the Security Council on Monday declaring that Saddam Hussein has missed "the final opportunity'' to disarm peacefully and indicating he must now face the consequences. But France, Russia and Germany, which oppose the military option, circulated an alternative plan to pursue a peaceful disarmament of Iraq through strengthened inspections over at least the next five months. They won immediate backing from China.

    The rival positions set the stage for a heated battle over whether the council would back the U.S., British and Spanish demand for war now or the French, Russian, and German call for war to be "a last resort.'' Getting approval for the U.S.-backed resolution will be a daunting task. To pass, the resolution must have nine "yes" votes and avoid a veto by France, Russia or China. Only Bulgaria is considered a strong bet to support the U.S.-British-Spanish plan.

    Eleven of the 15 council members have endorsed the idea of continuing weapons inspections, but the United States has dispatched some of its top negotiators to Security Council capitals in recent days to push for the resolution.  In a bid to win council support, the one-page draft resolution never mentions the words "war" or "military action." Instead, the resolution makes just one demand for action by the Security Council - asking it to decide "that Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity afforded to it in Resolution 1441," which was adopted unanimously on Nov. 8.

    U.S. SAYS CHAVEZ REMARKS ARE ‚INFLAMATORYç

    The United States on Monday accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his government of using inflammatory rhetoric, possibly contributing to violence between opponents and supporters of the populist leader. "Inflammatory statements such as those attributed to President Chavez are not helpful in advancing the dialogue between the government of Venezuela and the opposition," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

    On Sunday Chavez warned the world to stop meddling in the affairs of his troubled South American nation and Venezuelan police locked up a strike leader on "civil rebellion" charges. He accused the United States and Spain of siding with his enemies, warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic relations, and reprimanded the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, César Gaviria, who is the chief mediator, in tortuous peace talks for stepping "out of line."

    Last week Chávez said he was going on the offensive against the "terrorists" and "fascists" who have defied him. Reeker said: "What we ... remain concerned about is the government's rhetoric and some of the actions that have been undermining the dialogue process." He said the United States continued to favor the dialogue mediated by Gaviria, who spent weeks in Venezuela trying to arrange an end to a strike by Chavez's opponents. The United States complained on Thursday about the arrest of business leader Carlos Fernandez, the head of Fedecamaras and one of the strike leaders.

    MEXICO REFUSES TO BEND TO U.S. ON IRAQ

    In defiance of the United States and Spain, U.N. Security Council member Mexico vowed on Saturday to maintain its opposition to an attack on Iraq. "I want to reiterate that Mexico's position has been and will be very clear. It will exclusively serve our interests, the interests of the Mexicans and no-one else," said Interior Minister Santiago Creel.  "In international forums, our principles, our traditions and above all, Mexico's peaceful vocation," Creel said. Mexico has called for U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq to be given more time to carry out their mission.

    Creelçs comments came after a plea by the U.S. ambassador for Mexico to prove its friendship to the United States, the recipient of almost 90 percent of Mexico's exports. The United States and countries supporting it are to submit a proposed resolution to the Security Council early next week declaring Iraq is not complying with U.N. disarmament demands. The resolution is expected to carry a threat of military action if Iraq does not comply quickly.

    U.N. diplomats say the votes of non-permanent Security Council members like Mexico are key because Washington wants to win the minimum nine votes needed in the council for adoption of the resolution and then challenge Russia, China or France to use their powers of veto to kill it. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, one of the staunchest U.S. allies in the Iraq crisis, failed to convince Mexican President Vicente Fox to back the resolution during a visit to Mexico on Thursday. 

    CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ GETS HOUSE ARREST

    Carlos Fernández  was put under house arrest Sunday after a judge struck down a treason charge but left standing two other serious counts during a 13-hour closed-door hearing. Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was seized Wednesday by federal agents. An arrest order was issued for another strike leader, Carlos Ortega, who remains in hiding. After Fernandez's overnight court hearing, uniformed federal agents rushed the business leader to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas.

    President Hugo Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience and trampled human rights. "He is a terrorist and a coup-plotter," Chavez said of Fernandez during the president's weekly television address. "Let the decision be obeyed, it is the court's order. If it were up to me he wouldn't be at home, he would be behind bars.''

    U.S. DEMANDS RELEASE OF HOSTAGES

    The Bush administration said Saturday it holds the Colombian rebels holding three Americans responsible for their well-being and demanded the hostages' immediate release. State Department spokeswoman Amanda Batt said the government has learned that the Americans, among the five people aboard a crashed U.S. aircraft, are held by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC.

    "Those holding them captive are responsible for their safety, health and well-being. All available resources are being used around the clock to conduct search and rescue operations,'' Batt said. "We demand their immediate and safe release.'' Pentagon officials said Saturday that President Bush has ordered an additional 150 U.S. soldiers to Colombia to help search for the three. Bush used his authority to go beyond congressional limits on the number of U.S. troops in Colombia in sending the additional soldiers, the Defense Department officials said. The extra 150 troops brought the total U.S. forces in Colombia to 411.

     THE CUBAN DICTATOR GETS WARM WELCOME FROM A COMMUNIST ALLY 

     Cuban dictator Fidel Castro had a warm welcome from communist ally Vietnam on Saturday as he kicked off a weekend of meetings with top leaders and stirred up memories of Cuban support during the Vietnam War. Cuban and Vietnamese flags flapped side by side as Castro walked down a red carpet outside the Presidential Palace with Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh to inspect an honor guard.

    After meeting communist party heads, the tired-looking Castro paid a call on a comrade-in-arms General Vo Nguyen Giap at the respected military figure's French colonial compound. Giap, now frail and showing his 91 years, is credited with defeating Vietnam's French colonial rulers in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu and for his successful strategies against U.S. forces later.

      COLOMBIAN REBELS ADMIT THEY HOLD AMERICANS

     Leftist rebels said for the first time Saturday they are holding three Americans hostage. The guerrillas demanded the Colombian military suspend operations in the southern region where the three were kidnapped. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, accused the three Americans of being CIA agents.    "We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three gringo officials in our power if the Colombian army immediately suspends military operations and overflights in the area," said the statement, signed by the FARC's secretariat.

    The Americans were on a U.S. government Cessna plane on an intelligence mission when it crashed in southern Colombia on Feb. 13. A fourth American and a Colombian army sergeant were shot and killed at the site. U.S. officials have refused to identify the men or say what government agency they were working for when their plane had engine trouble and was forced to crash land in a region controlled by the FARC. The two men who were killed were shot execution-style, according to Colombian and U.S. officials.

     CHAVEZ: "GONE TO BED WITH A SMILE," ON HEARING OF FERNÁNDEZ'S ARREST

    Members of the political opposition Thursday condemned the arrest of one of its leaders, calling it arbitrary and illegal and charging President Hugo Chávez with stepping up plans to turn Venezuela into a Cuban-style totalitarian state. Carlos Fernández, head of the businessmen's Fedecámaras alliance, was accused of treason and criminal conspiracy. He remained in jail Thursday after being arrested at gunpoint as he emerged from a restaurant the night before. Carlos Ortega, leader of the organized labor movement and a key opposition figure, went into hiding after a judge issued an arrest warrant against him.

    The moves against two of Chávez's most prominent critics came only days after Chávez threatened to close down Venezuela's largest TV networks, imposed strict currency exchange controls that are likely to hurt opposition media, and fired nearly 10,000 striking workers from the state oil company. Fernández was being held at the headquarters of the Intelligence and Preventive Services Directorate (DISIP), variously referred to as the government's secret police or spy agency.

    During his regular, Sunday morning TV and radio program this week, the president had exhorted judges and public prosecutors to take action against opposition leaders, referring to them as "coup-plotters." Since the end of the non-oil part of the strike, an emboldened Chávez has several times announced a "revolutionary offensive'' against the opposition. In a speech Thursday, he said he had ''gone to bed with a smile,'' on hearing the news of Fernández's arrest. ''It seems there are brave judges emerging now,'' Chávez said.

    TURKEY CLOSE TO APPROVE  U.S. TROOPS DEAL

    Turkey has postponed a parliamentary vote on opening bases and sea ports to 40,000 U.S. troops as it seeks about $30 billion in aid from its NATO ally to offset the economic effects of a possible war with Iraq. But Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said Friday that "a result will be reached in the coming days," stressing that "they understand our worries, we understand theirs."

    Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis added that an outline of a "broad agreement" to allow U.S. combat troops to be deployed on Turkish soil for a war against Iraq appears to be imminent. He said only a few differences still needed to be worked out.  "I personally feel that we are very close to an understanding on how we are going to cooperate," he said.

    On Thursday, despite clear frustration with the Turks, senior Bush administration officials said there was no official deadline for Turkey to accept what was described as the final U.S. offer -- a financial aid package worth $26 billion ($6 billion in grants or up to $20 dollars in loans). Turkey is reported to have been asking for about $30. But the Turks insisted the delay was for political and military reasons and not haggling over cash.

    THE CUBAN DICTATOR EMBARKS FOR A VISIT TO VIETNAM AND CHINA

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has left Cuba for a trip to Asia that will include stops in Vietnam, China and Malaysia, where he will attend next week's Non-Aligned Movement summit. The Cuban government announcement of the trip came Thursday, hours after the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said Castro would arrive there Friday. Castro has visited communist Vietnam twice before, in 1973 and 1995.

    On Sunday, Castro will go to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, for the Non-Aligned summit. The dates of his stay in communist China were not announced. The Non-Aligned Movement groups 114 mostly small and developing countries was formed in 1961. It was formed during the Cold War to steer a neutral path between the United States and the Soviet Union and has since reinvented itself to confront challenges of globalization and U.S. military and economic might.

    VENEZUELAN SECRET POLICE SEIZED STRIKE LEADER

    Shots were fired in the air as armed Venezuelan secret police entered a restaurant at midnight Wednesday and hauled away a business chief who led a strike against President Hugo Chavez. The shots rang out as protesters and private bodyguards faced off with the Chavists who grabbed Carlos Fernandez and bundled him into a waiting car, officials and witnesses said. The arrest shocked opposition leaders, already reeling from the brutal killings of three dissident soldiers and an anti-Chavez protester whose bodies were discovered this week.

    Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega, of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, was ordered to surrender, also on treason and instigating violence charges, said magistrate Maikel Jose Moreno. Ortega and Fernandez, president of Venezuela's largest business federation, Fedecamaras, led the two-month strike that started Dec. 2, seeking to oust leftist President Hugo Chavez. The strike ended this month except in Venezuela's oil sector. Chavez accuses the two strike leaders of trying to topple his government.

    U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said officials in Washington worried that Fernandez's arrest could hinder efforts to end the stalemate between Venezuela's political rivals. "We fear the act could undermine the dialogue process," said Boucher. "This increases our concerns about human rights in Venezuela."

      THREE DISSIDENT SOLDIERS, A WOMAN KILLED IN VENEZUELA 

     Three military dissidents and a female protester opposed to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have been killed execution-style after being kidnapped, bound and gagged, police said on Tuesday. The victims frequented Plaza Altamira, the site of more than four months of protests against Chavez' government. The military men had joined a call for popular resistance led by anti-Chavez Gen. Enrique Medina.

    A 14-year-old girl who apparently witnessed at least one of the killings was hospitalized after being shot, but is talking, police said. Raul Yepez, deputy director of the Caracas police homicide division, said the four victims had been fired upon with shotguns. "We are conducting the investigation to try to answer these questions," he said.

    Police said the victims were army soldier Darwin Arguello, air force soldier Felix Pinto and marine infantry corporal Angel Salas. Their bodies were abandoned on the side of a multilane highway heading out of Caracas. The civilian victim, Zaida Perozo, had already been wounded once -- during a Dec. 6 shooting at Plaza Altamira, where she was protesting, said Carlos Bastidas, a lawyer for the dissident military officers.  

    PRESIDENT BUSH DISMISSES PROTESTS, PLANS U.N. RESOLUTION

    President Bush dismissed last weekend's mass antiwar protests as well-meaning but irrelevant -- the equivalent of a marketing ''focus group'' -- as the Pentagon ordered another 20,000 U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf region Tuesday. "War is my last choice. But the risk of doing nothing is even a worse option, as far as I'm concerned. I owe it to the American people to secure this country. I will do so.''

    About 150,000 troops already are in place for a possible attack on Iraq, and the United States and Britain decided Tuesday to confront skeptics and propose one last U.N. resolution demanding that Saddam Hussein disarm, officials of both nations said. At the White House, Bush said ''democracy is a beautiful thing'' and he supported dissenters' right to express their views. But he also said the protests would not influence his decisions or those of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his closest ally.

    "You know, the size of protests is like deciding, well, I'm going to decide policy based upon a focus group,'' Bush said. The president said a new resolution ''would be useful,'' but he left the door open to act without one in case the effort falls short. ''We don't need a second resolution,'' he said. ``It's clear this guy [Hussein] could even care less about the first resolution.''

    CUBA GIVES TWO DEMOCRACY BACKERS PRISON TERM 

    A Cuban court has sentenced two supporters of the pro-democracy Varela Project to 18 months in prison for contempt and resisting arrest, organizers of the reform movement said. Jesus Mustafa Felipe, 58, and Robert Montero, 32, were sentenced Tuesday by a provincial court in the eastern city of Palma Soriano, said a statement by the Christian Liberation Movement.

    The contempt and resisting arrest charges evidently were the result of a confrontation the pair had with police in their hometown on Dec. 18, said Efren Fernandez of the Christian Liberation Movement, which informed journalists of the sentences. The men had visited a local police station to get information about a third man who had been detained and refused to leave when officers ordered them to, Fernandez said in a telephone interview.

    The contempt charge is generally applied for acts considered disrespectful to Cuban leaders, symbols or institutions. In the past it has been used for those accused of publishing or broadcasting insults against Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and other senior government officials.

   NORTH KOREA THREATENS TO SCRAP HISTORIC ARMISTICE

    The White House dismissed North Korea's threat to abandon a 1953 historic armistice if sanctions are imposed over a suspected nuclear weapons program, calling it nothing more than "strident rhetoric." War warnings and assertions that the United States was poised to attack the North have been daily fare in Pyongyang's official media since the nuclear crisis flared up late last year. But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called Pyongyang's comments "predictable" and said U.S. President George W. Bush was still searching for a diplomatic solution to the dispute.

  "This is not the first time that North Korea has used strident rhetoric as a way to blackmail other nations into providing economic or other benefits to the North Koreans," said Fleischer. North Korea demands a non-aggression pact with the United States, while Washington wants multilateral talks to press Pyongyang to ensure that its suspected atomic program is shut down.

    A State Department official said: "The U.S. will not respond to threats, broken commitments or blackmail by North Korea," he said. "Any further escalation by North Korea of the situation on the peninsula will bring international condemnation and further self-isolation."

     U.S. ARMED FORCES READY TO CONDUCT OPERATIONS

     The commander of coalition forces in Kuwait said Tuesday there are more than 100,000 U.S. troops in the country ready to launch an attack if one is ordered against Iraq.  Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, who would lead U.S. and British land forces in any invasion of Iraq, said that "if we are called upon to execute a mission we are ready to do it.

    " McKiernan said his forces could maintain that level of readiness for "as long as it takes." "You get to a certain point where you might consider rotating units or doing certain resupply actions, but I'll guarantee you we can stay here ready to conduct an operation for an unlimited amount of time." If a decision to invade Iraq does not come until the desert heats up, McKiernan said the operation of equipment will be affected. But he added, "If it's hot for us, it will also be hot for our adversary, and we will still accomplish our mission."  

    Standing in the 3rd Army's early entry command center, McKiernan said the biggest difference between today and the 1991 Persian Gulf War is the military's advances in technology. Twelve years ago as a lieutenant colonel, McKiernan said, "I could not talk on the radio with all five divisions of the 7th Corps. The distances were too great." Now, he said, he can be in contact with all five in multiple ways using satellite imagery and real-time video conferencing. But he said, "Small units and individuals still fight battles, and that part of it hasn't changed."

     NORTH KOREA VOWS TO WIN NUCLEAR STANDOFF WITH U.S.

    North Korea defiantly declared Monday that it would triumph in its nuclear standoff with the United States, and South Korea's president warned that Pyongyang's weapons program could start an atomic arms race in Northeast Asia. The North's state-run Central Radio said the world was watching the Pyongyang-Washington standoff "with sweating hands," and vowed that the Stalinist state would maintain its "mighty army-first policy."

    "The victory in the nuclear conflict is ours, and the red flag of the army will flutter ever more vigorously," said the broadcast, monitored by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. Washington and its allies are pressuring North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapon programs. The North has insisted on direct talks first with the United States, from which it wants a nonaggression treaty. Washington has rejected the petition.

    Pyongyang's declaration of ultimate victory in the nuclear standoff came a day after it hosted national celebrations for reclusive leader Kim Jong Il's 61st birthday on Sunday. The U.S. military said Monday it will conduct two joint military exercises with South Korea next month, but said the annual maneuvers are not related to the North Korean nuclear dispute. There are 37,000 American troops in South Korea. The joint drills are "defense-oriented" and designed to improve the joint U.S.-South Korea forces' ability to defend South Korea against "external aggression," the U.S. military command in Seoul said in a statement.

     THE GREAT POWER OF GOD

      This is a beautiful photo of a giant U.S. flag in Arizona. We have been informed by an anonymous  person that "the photo is authentic and unretouched. The picture was taken on regular Kodak 35 mm film and developed at a Wal Mart. The person who took the picture couldn't believe the cross created on the flag by the sun's rays." 

     CAMCO thanks them for sharing this picture with us and the world. For those who prefer to think that GOD is not watching over us all the time, go ahead and read the next news. For the rest of us.....let's call a friend to let him or her enjoy this picture.

    GOD BLESS AMERICA! as we head into a conflict made necessary by evil extremists in our world.

     COLOMBIA AND U.S. SEARCH FOR U.S. PLANE CRASH SURVIVORS

     A force of 4,000 Colombian soldiers combed a guerrilla stronghold in the southern part of the country Sunday in an attempt to find three U.S. citizens who have been taken prisoner by leftist guerrillas after their Cessna 208 crashed last week. U.S. planes, including an AWACS and helicopters, flew overhead to help direct the search for the three men, who were among five people -- four Americans and a Colombian -- aboard a U.S. government plane.

    The Colombian army said rescuers reached the site within half an hour of the crash, and found the executed bodies of the two men -- a Colombian and an American -- near the incinerated plane. They were identified as Dennis Thomas, an American working under contract to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, who was shot once in the neck; and José Cruz, a sergeant of the Colombian army, who was shot once in the chest, said a spokesman for Colombia's attorney general. The group had been on an intelligence mission en route from the capital to Florencia, in Colombia's Caqueta Department.

    Peasants said rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, seized the five crew members shooting two of them dead near the wreckage as they resisted capture. Intercepted radio transmissions from the rebels confirm that members of the FARC are holding the three men, said Commandant Jorge Mora Rangel of Colombia's armed forces.  

    VENEZUELAçS ECONOMY SHRINKS 17 PERCENT

    A general strike and lingering recession have taken a heavy toll on the Venezuelan economy, which shrank nearly 17 percent in the final quarter of last year, according to figures released by the central bank on Friday. The general strike ended Feb. 4 in all areas except the oil industry.

    The government of President Hugo Chávez has restored oil output up to about half of pre-strike levels of 3.2 million barrels per day. Production fell as low as 200,000 barrels per day in December. Meanwhile, Central Bank director Domingo Maza said the government would lift a ban on dollar sales at the end of the month. The freeze was imposed during the strike to protect Venezuela's foreign reserves, which were reduced by panic dollar buying.

    BELGIAN SUPREME COURT RULING ALLOWS JUDICIAL WATCH MURDER CASE AGAINST FIDEL AND RAÚL CASTRO TO BE PROSECUTED

    Way Now Clear for Prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity. Recently, the Belgian Supreme Court, in a landmark legal ruling, held that crimes against humanity could be prosecuted in Belgian tribunals, even if the acts occurred outside of Belgium. The ruling came in a case involving Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his then top general, both of whom are alleged to have participated in a massacre at Shabra and ShatilaŸThe Castros have personally been responsible for he torturing and murdering of hundreds of thousands of Cuban citizens and exiles, as well as terrorist acts against non-Cubans, in the last forty years of their dictatorshipŸ(Click here and read the names of the Cubans assassinated by the Castro brothers).

    "We are gratified and heartened by the Belgian Supreme Court's ruling. While successive American presidents have failed to prosecute the Castros for their crimes, ironically Belgium, a country which has in recent days blocked U.S. NATO efforts to defend Turkey in a war against Iraq, is prepared to do so. Lets roll!," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman.  (Please, click here and read Judicial Watchçs complete press release).

      THE CUBAN DICTATOR SAYS U.S. WAR ON IRAQ UNJUSTIFIED

     Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said on Friday a U.S.-led war against Iraq was unjustified because it was unlikely that Baghdad possessed weapons of mass destruction. Lashing out at his longtime ideological foe, Castro said the United States had failed to prove its case against Iraq and was acting unilaterally by ignoring the United Nations.

    "A war is about to break out. ... It is an unnecessary war, using pretexts that are neither credible nor proven," Castro said in a speech to a conference of Latin American economists. "The immense majority of world opinion unanimously rejects a new war," he said, adding that it was "hardly probable" that Iraq had biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. The Cuban dictator added that  Washington was flouting international rules and disregarding the United Nations, which "was practically dissolved by imperial decision after the fateful 11th of September."

     The 1,500 leftist economists at the anti-globalization conference issued a declaration condemning U.S. plans for a possible war on Iraq. "This time it is Iraq. It could be any other country next," the statement said.

    SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES OPERATING IN IRAQ

    Small units of elite U.S. Special Operations forces are busily operating inside several areas of Iraq to lay the foundation for a possible invasion of the country. The highly trained forces were stepping up contacts with opposition groups and helping plan for rapid seizure of large portions of Iraq should President George W. Bush give the order to go to war. Citing military officials familiar with the operations, The Washington Post reported on Thursday that two Special Operations Task Forces, with an undetermined number of personnel, had been in and out of various parts of Iraq for well over a month .

     U.S. intelligence, meanwhile, has detected movement by the Iraqi military of large amounts of explosives into southern Iraq, perhaps to destroy oil infrastructure in the event of a sweep northward by more than 50,000 U.S. troops already in Kuwait.

    Defense officials said recently that small numbers of American troops had been operating in the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. But they suggested that operations at the time were limited to that area. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lashed out on Thursday at the leaks of military information while refusing to confirm or discuss any such deployments inside Iraq. "I think they are disgraceful. They are unprofessional. They're dangerous. They put people's lives at risk," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee when asked about reports involving such secret deployments inside Iraq. "Leakers, the secretary said, "ought to be in jail."

   COVERING CUBA 3: ELIÁN (By Agustín Blázquez)

      COVERING CUBA 3:  Elián is the answer from the exile community, much maligned by the US media, to the abuses of the Clinton administration. It exposes the travesty of justice perpetrated against the citizens of America by a corrupt administration that violated its own laws.  It is dedicated to the memory of Elisabet Brotón, Eliánçs mother, who died brining her son to freedom in America.

    On Thursday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Roxy Performing Arts Center, 1645 S.W. 107^th Avenue in Miami, previews for the press, the latest documentary by filmmaker Agustín Blázquez  COVERING CUBA 3:  Elián.  It is the compelling story of Elián González from the Cuban-American point of view, in English with no subtitles.  Running time 62ç57" Color and B&W HI-FI Stereo.  Ana Margarita Martínez and Enrique Pollack will host this event. CONTACT: Gerardo Chávez  (305) 753-8610 or Agustín Blázquez (301) 949-8791.

    AN AMERICAN AND A COLOMBIAN MURDERED NEAR US PLANE, 3 FEARED KIDNAPPED

    Leftist rebels murdered an American and a Colombian soldier after a U.S. government plane made an emergency landing in a guerrilla-dominated jungle area in southern Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe said on Friday. U.S. State Department spokesman Charles Barclay said the U.S. government had been informed that three other crew members, two Americans y a Colombia army officer,  had been kidnapped by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC.

    "It has been confirmed that two crew members were murdered. A sergeant of our army and a U.S. citizen were murdered," Uribe said.  The single-engine Cessna 208, which the Colombian military said was on an "intelligence mission," was carrying four Americans and a Colombian when its engine failed on Thursday and it made an emergency landing in Caqueta province, which is largely dominated by the FARC.

    U.S. officials said the Americans aboard the plane were "civilian CIA specialist contractors" conducting a routine U.S.-Colombian mission. Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora, Colombia's chief military commander, said the five crew members were alive when the plane landed and that rebels killed the two "execution-style in an act of cruelty." It would be the first time Colombian rebels have killed an American working for the U.S. government in the Andean nation's four-decade guerrilla war. In 1999, FARC rebels killed three American rights activists after rebels accused them of being members of the CIA.. Washington has more than 500 personnel in Colombia, including 267 military personnel and 270 civilian contractors.

    EFFORT TO WEAKEN EMBARGO OF CUBA IS ELIMINATED FROM BILL

    The White House succeeded in stripping language to weaken the U.S. embargo of Cuba from a massive spending bill making its final passage through Congress, a Miami legislator said Thursday. Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart credited President Bush and his threat last week to veto the entire $397 billion spending bill if legislators dismantled any part of the four-decade-old embargo. ''President George W. Bush's support for Cuba's freedom is extraordinary,'' Diaz-Balart said in a statement.

  In a Feb. 4 letter to four key legislators, White House Budget Director Mitchell Daniels warned that Bush considers the embargo of Cuba ''vitally important'' and might veto any bill that tinkered with efforts to lessen economic sanctions of the Fidel Castro regime. 

    TWENTY TWO KILLED IN LA PAZ'S REVOLT 

    Tanks formed an iron curtain in front of Bolivia's presidential palace Thursday as a second day of violent protests swept the Andean nation and calls grew for President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada to resign. The violence was sparked by a clash between police and soldiers after most of La Paz's 7,000 police officers walked off the job and led protests Wednesday. They were joined by citizens angry over an unpopular income tax proposal. Over the two days, 22 people were killed, including at least nine police officers, and 102 were injured. Most of the disturbances Thursday were confined to the capital. Later in the day calm prevailed as striking police officers returned to their posts.

    In a nationally televised speech Thursday night, Sánchez de Lozada expressed his condolences to the families of the dead and called on citizens to resolve their problems through dialogue and not through violence. ''Democracy is not perfect. God knows it is not,'' Sánchez de Lozada said. "Hopefully together we can find solutions to our grave problems, but we'll never find them through violence, looting and destruction.'' The 72-year-old president, known by his nickname Goni, made it clear he would not resign. As police worked to restore order in La Paz, disturbances erupted in other parts of the country, where officers had also left their posts. In Cochabamba, 155 miles southeast of La Paz, rioters set fires in the street and shut down public transportation throughout the city.

    Leading the opposition effort is the leftist Evo Morales, a good friend of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who came close to winning the presidency last year and whose Movement to Socialism Party now controls about a third of Congress. Morales champions poor, mostly indigenous farmers who grow coca, the plant from which cocaine is made. In a heated address to demonstrators in La Paz's Plaza de San Francisco on Thursday, Morales called for nationwide highway blockages and civil unrest. ''We will not allow these deaths to go unpunished, we will not allow our natural resources to leave the country, we seek the resignation of the president of the republic,'' Morales told thousands of supporters. Campaigning for president last year, Morales promised to eject the Drug Enforcement Administration from Bolivia if elected and to allow coca to be freely grown.

     CAMCO WISHES YOU A HAPPY ST. VALENTINE'S DAY

   "LOVE" May be the last word in a tyrant's mind, but it's the first on the lips of a truly free woman or man.

    CUBAN EXILES SHIFTING HARD-LINE POSITION

    In a marked shift away from hard-line positions, a majority of Cuban Americans in South Florida say they support dialogue with Cuban governments officials and believe that dissidents on the island are more important than exiles to Cubaçs political future, according to a poll released Tuesday by The Miami Herald.

    "Cuban Americans in South Florida have reached the point of exhaustion at railing against the Cuban dictator and now maybe theyçre willing to do something differently", said pollster Rob Schroth, whose company conducted the survey.

    The poll seems to confirm major shift towards moderation by Cuban exiles, framed by two significant recent events: First, the January visit of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas to Miami to garner support for his Varela Project. Second, a statement in January by Jorge Mas Santos, President of the Cuban American National Foundation, that his organization would be willing to meet with high-ranking members of the Cuban government to discuss a democratic transition in Cuba, barring, of course, the dictator and his brother Raúl.

    ACCIÓN DEMOCRÁTICA FIRES ITS SECRETARY GENERAL

    Acción Democrática (AD), historically one of the main political parties in Venezuela, ousted its Secretary General Rafael Marín, alleging a lack of empathy with grassroots.

    Alberto Galíndez, ADçs Executive Secretary, said that the political organization requested Marínçs resignation stating as the main reason a poor political leadership. "In this terrible crisis, we have not seen AD as a party capable of channeling the concerns of civil society." Marín said that he was an obstacle for an agreement between AD and president Hugo Chávezç government, and emphasized that this was the reason for the decision.

   NATO FAILS TO RESOLVE TURKEY STANDOFF DUE TO ACTIONS TAKEN BY THREE VERY UNGRATEFUL "ALLIES" (FRANCE, GERMANY AND BELGIUM)

    France, Germany and Belgium rebuffed the United States for a third straight day Wednesday, rejecting a watered-down U.S. request for military assistance from NATO in preparation for a war with Iraq. The requested plan would send U.S. surveillance planes, Patriot missiles and chemical and biological detection teams to Turkey to protect it from Iraq. "There is no change in the positions of the countries that could not agree to the new proposal," said NATO spokesman Yves Brodeur.

    The emergency talks -- in their third day Wednesday -- will resume Thursday, according to NATO diplomats.  France, Germany and Belgium have refused to go along with the U.S.-backed proposal for Turkey's defense, saying such a move would hurt efforts at peace. The 19 NATO ambassadors reconvened Wednesday night after consultations with their capitals. Diplomats from the three countries have talked about waiting to approve any plan until after the Security Council gets its second report from the U.N. weapons inspectors Friday.

    Turkey has agreed to allow the United States to upgrade its bases and ports for possible use in military action against Iraq. Turkey's parliament is to vote February 18 on whether it will allow U.S. troops to use the bases.  The United States has made clear that it will take steps to defend Turkey with or without NATO backing, but would prefer the full power of NATO. "Turkey will be defended," Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday. "We've already figured out how."

    GEORGE TENET: NORTH KOREA HAS BALLISTIC MISSILE CAPABLE OF HITTING U.S.

    While testifying at a Senate committee hearing in Washington, CIA Director George Tenet was asked whether North Korea had a ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast. Before answering, Tenet turned to very quickly consult with aides sitting behind him.  "I think the declassified answer, is yes, they can do that," Tenet said.  Moments earlier Tenet said it was likely that North Korea had been able to produce as many as two plutonium-based nuclear weapons.

    The estimate is not new -- it was laid out in an unclassified CIA document in December 2001-- but Tenet is the most senior U.S. official to say so publicly. The 2001 report said North Korea's Taepo Dong 2 missile may be capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States, as well Alaska and Hawaii. The revelation came shortly after the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency declared North Korea in breach of international nuclear agreements and sent the issue to the U.N. Security Council.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation executive board voted 31-0 to cite Pyongyang for being in breach of U.N. safeguards. Only two countries, Russia and Cuba, abstained. Some officials have said there are moves to create a package for North Korea that would try to achieve a diplomatic solution. But the Security Council also could impose sanctions on Pyongyang in an attempt to persuade the North to drop its nuclear plans. North Korea has said such a move would amount to a declaration of war. 

   MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN PREPARATION FOR A POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACK
  STEPS (By Dr. Manuel Cereijo)

    If there is an asymmetric terrorist attack it will be: CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL

    If CHEMICAL, it would be limited to specific places, where there are large concentration of people, like malls, metros, stadiums. This is because a chemical warfare attack is not efficient to be launched to a city.
    If BIOLOGICAL, the population will not found out until at least 1 or 2 days after the attack, because there is always an incubation period.
    If RADIOLOGICAL, it can be detected almost immediately.

Then, what steps should be taken by the general population?

1.  HAVE ENOUGH DRINKING WATER AVAILABLE FOR THREE DAYS

2.  HAVE ENOUGH CANNED FOOD AND A MANUAL CAN OPENER

3.  HAVE A POWERED-BATTERY RADIO

4.  KEEP CONTACT WITH IMMEDIATE FAMILY BY CELLULAR PHONE

5.  IT ONE IS IN THE STREETS, AND THERE IS A RADIOLOGICAL EXPLOSION, MOVE FAST AWAY FROM THE SITE OF THE EXPLOSION, AND IN AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO WHICH THE WIND IS BLOWING  

    BIN LADEN TAPE URGES IRAQI SUICIDE BOMBS

    An audio tape with the voice of Osama bin Laden called on Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and defend themselves against a U.S. attack. The tape was broadcast on the Al-Jazeera Arab satellite station on Tuesday, the first day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. The speaker urged Iraqis to dig trenches and engage in urban warfare to fend off U.S. troops.

    "We stress the importance of martyrdom operations against the enemy, these attacks that have scared Americans and Israelis like never before," the speaker said, using a term often used by militants for suicide attacks. He urged the Iraqis to stay strong against a U.S. attack and blunt the force of a U.S. aerial assault by "digging large numbers of trenches and camouflaging them." He described al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan withstanding heavy U.S. bombardment by hiding in trenches. "With all the might of the enemy, they were unable to defeat us and take over that position. ... We hope that our brothers in Iraq will do the same as we did." "We advise about the importance of drawing the enemy into long, close and tiring fighting taking advantage of camouflaged positions in plains, farms, mountains and cities," he said. He added that the enemy is terrified about urban warfare "because they will have big casualties."

    Bin Laden urged Muslims not to cooperate with the United States against Iraq, criticizing Arab governments who support the U.S. in its efforts to rid Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction. "Anyone who helps America, from the Iraqi hypocrites (opposition) or Arab rulers ... whoever fights with them or offers them bases or administrative assistance, or any kind of support or help, even if only with words, to kill Muslims in Iraq, should know that he is an apostate."

    SECRETARY POWELL: BIN LADEN CLAIMS 'PARTNERSHIP WITH IRAQ' 

    A message has surfaced believed to be Osama bin Laden claiming a "partnership with Iraq," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday. Powell said he reviewed a transcript of the message, which he said was to air on Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arab satellite news network.

   "(Bin Laden) speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq," Powell said at a congressional hearing.  "This nexus between terrorists and states that are developing weapons of mass destruction can no longer be looked away from and ignored. As the president has said, 9/11 changed things," Powell said.  "We have a regime led by Saddam Hussein who has not accounted for all the weapons of mass destruction they've had in the past, who continues to pursue them. And we have non-state terrorist actors -- such as al Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden -- that would do anything to get their hands on this kind of material."

    Powell's remarks come as the Bush administration presses the argument that Iraq's military capability and alleged links to terrorist groups constitute an imminent threat that requires decisive action by the United Nations. Powell said the international community has tried to no avail to contain Saddam for the past 12 years. President Bush has threatened military action against Iraq if it does not disarm itself of alleged weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological or nuclear.

    U.S. GIVES DEFECTORçS BOAT BACK TO CUBA

    The Bush administration has returned a 32-foot Cuban patrol boat used by four members of the Cuban border guard Friday to flee to Key West, U.S. officials said Monday. The Coast Guard handed off the patrol boat to Cuban officials Sunday afternoon on the high seas. The U.S. Coast Guard has declined comment on how the military men, armed with a handgun and two loaded AK-47 assault rifles, managed to pull their government vessel into a dock at a Key West hotel last Friday without being noticed. The incident took place on the same day the United States raised its security alert to its second highest level and warned of a heightened possibility of terrorist attack.

    Immigration and Naturalization Service officials are interviewing the Cuban border guards, examining their request to remain in the United States, officials said. They were still in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol late Monday.

    CUBA WANTS U.S. TO REPATRIATE DEFECTORS

    Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban  parliament, said on Sunday all four defectors and the patrol boat they defected in should be returned to Cuba under U.S.-Cuba accords from 1994 and 1995 aimed at promoting legal migration between the nations.

    To allow the men and the craft to stay in U.S. territory is "a violation of the migration accords, which are very clear in this respect," he said. Alarcón's comments were the first government reaction to the defection of the four coast guardsmen, who docked undetected their patrol boat at a Key West, Fla., resort before dawn Friday, walked into town and surrendered to a police officer.

    CHAVEZ VOWS TO JAIL STRIKING OIL WORKERS

    President Hugo Chavez threatened Sunday to jail thousands of oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against him. "Fired is nothing! Many of them should go to prison for sabotaging the Venezuelan economy,'' Chavez said of the more than 9,000 workers dismissed from the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
    His threats came one day after more than 100,000 Chavez opponents protested in Caracas in support of the fired oil workers. Chavez claims most of PDVSA's 40,000 employees have returned to work. Strike leaders deny this, saying thousands refuse to return until the president rehires the 9,000 fired and agrees to an early vote on his rule. Another 900 oil workers were fired over the weekend, the newspaper El Universal said Sunday.

    Chavez called the strike an "oil coup'' aimed at unseating him by paralyzing the oil industry, which provides half of government income. He has also accused his opponents of waging an "economic coup'' which he blames for Venezuela's deteriorating economy.

    CUBA SAYS EXITS PERMITS WILL NOT BE ELIMINATED 

    Authorities here are studying a request by Cuban émigrés for changes that would make it easier for them to visit the island, but a senior communist official said Sunday the proposal did not include eliminating exit permits for Cubans living here who want to travel abroad, contrary to reports out of Havana last week.

    During recent talks in Havana with a group of Cuban exiles, ''they brought up their specific interests about entering Cuba,'' Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban parliament, told reporters at an international book fair here. "That, of course, is being studied.'' But the issue of exit permits for Cubans who live on the island did not come up, he said. ''What has been talked about with them is the relationship with them,'' Alarcón said. "I have to say truthfully that what we have talked about is trips by them to Cuba.'' Last week, Cuban officials said that both entry and exit permits were being considered.

    Currently, Cuban-born people who live abroad must obtain entry permits from Havana's government to visit. Cubans who live here must obtain exit permits to emigrate or travel abroad, in addition to the visa for the country they are traveling to. The entry and exit permits have long been criticized as onerous and expensive bureaucratic paperwork that erects barriers to free travel and family reconciliation.

    "NATION PUT ON HIGHER ANTITERRORIST THREAT ALERT" 
    HOWEVER, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HEAVILY ARMED CUBAN BORDER GUARDS LANDED UNDETECTED IN U.S. TERRITORY

    Only hours after Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that President Bush  administration has raised the nationwide terrorism threat level from "yellow" to "orange," the second-highest in the five-stage color-coded system, four heavily armed members of the Cuban Border Guard -- clad in green camouflage and wearing black boots -- landed in U.S. territory without being detected. They sprinted by boat early Friday to Key West where they arrived three hours later.

    When they arrived in Key West, at about 4 a.m., the men tied up their boat at a hotel marina and set out on foot. A few minutes later, they flagged down a police officer near the city's main entertainment strip. The men told a Key West police officer that they were patrolling Cuban waters in a speedboat when they decided to make a run for freedom. Affixed to the waistband of one of the men was a loaded, Chinese-made handgun. He was also carrying an extra magazine, police said.  When police searched the speedboat, they found two AK-47s and eight fully loaded magazines containing about 240 bullets. The defectors identified themselves as: Edgar Raúl Batista Gamboa ú the only officer in the group --, Yoandris Rodríguez Camajo, Ofil Lara Corriam and Rodisan Segura López.

    The Cubans told another officer who interviewed them in Spanish that they were "tired of the impoverished conditions and frustrated with not being able to own their homes.'' They also asked to telephone family members in Miami. One of the men told police he was a 14-year veteran of Cuba's Border Guard. Authorities had no trouble finding the boat in which the men made their voyage. Tied up in a hotel marina, it was affixed with a blue light bar and a Cuban flag. The boat is now moored at a Coast Guard station in Key West. (CLICK HERE AND READ TODAY'S EDITORIAL OF DIARIO LAS AMERICAS)

      CUBA IS A THREAT TO THE FREE WORLD (By Arch Kielly)

     Fidel Castro may have some serious problems in the near future.  The Free world considers Cuba a country that exports terrorism and maintains dangerous close ties with Iraq.  In addition, Cubaçs best friends and supporters are the  pariah countries of the world.  Countries like North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, Libya, countries that have not provided freedom nor basic human rights for their people.  The United Nations and the United States have declared war to any country that exports terrorism or produces biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.  It was the Clinton Administration that declared Cuba in the 1990s to be a threat to the United States.

    Proof that Cuba is a threat to the free world was not introduced by the CIA nor the FBI.  It came from Cuban and Soviet defectors who are experts in special warfare. Soviet Colonel Ken Alibek declared that Cuba has been producing biological weapons for more than 10 years although Cuba claims that they are only producing vaccines and medicines.  He added that Cuba is part of a  bioterrorist program formed by the late Soviet Union.  Carlos Wotzkow, a scientist of the Cuban Zoo Institute, told the West that Castro uses the institute  to produce biological weapons.   He said that the institute introduces infectious viruses in birds that migrate to the United States.  Some American scientists believe that the West Nile and the encephalitis viruses were introduced in the United States through migrating birds .

    A large number of professional Cuban military members are well aware of these practices and they are against these experiments.  They secretly oppose the Castro regime because they operate outside international laws and act against their own constitution.  Unfortunately, the Cuban military members have been placed in a dangerous situation.  Both the United Nations and the United States have stated that any civilian or military member involved in the use of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, will be charged for crimes and punished under existing international laws.  CAMCO strongly recommends to their Cuban  brothers to take no part in the production or use of these weapons.  ¡VIVA CUBA LIBRE!

 

    PRESIDENT BUSH WARNS CONGRESS ON CUBA EMBARGO

    The White House has warned Congress that it may veto a massive $390 billion spending bill if it includes language that weakens the embargo of the island. President Bush considers it ''vitally important'' to maintain the 4-decade-old embargo of Cuba, Office of Management and Budget chief Mitchell E. Daniels told four key legislators in a letter delivered Tuesday.

    The letter is the latest sign that the White House is preparing for major clashes with legislators seeking to open up trade with the island. The Bush administration, keeping a watchful eye on Cuban-American voters in Florida instrumental to its 2004 reelection, has vowed to maintain the embargo against a surge of legislative proposals to allow greater trade.

    The warning on Cuba came in a six-page letter from Daniels delivered to Rep. C.W. Bill Young, a Florida Republican who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and three other legislators.  ''Lifting the sanctions now would provide a helping hand to a desperate and repressive regime, whereas the president's policy calls for reaching out to help the Cuban people,'' the Daniels letter said. "As noted in the July 11, 2002, letter from Secretaries [Colin] Powell and [Paul] O'Neill, the president's senior advisors would recommend that he veto a bill that contained such changes.''  

    POSSIBLE DEBATE BETWEEN JORGE MAS SANTOS AND FELIPE PÉREZ ROQUE

     There is in the works a possible debate over TV between Jorge Mas Santos, Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, and Felipe Perez Roque, Cuban Foreign Minister, following the pattern of the debate between Jorge Mas Canosa and Ricardo Alarcón.

    Also, as a second option, pressure will be exerted so that on our side could participate Oswaldo Paya, leader of Varela Project, and Dr. Oscar Elias Biscett, a prominent Cuban dissident; and on their side Carlos Lage, Cuban Vice President, and Ricardo Alarcón, President of the Cuban National Assembly. Open to all pertinent issues, no censorship.

    CUBA STUDIES MOVE TO LET ITS CITIZENS TRAVEL FREELY

    Communist Cuba wants to ease its tough migration rules and may do away with exit and entry permits for its citizens, said on Thursday. Ricardo Alarcón, president of the National Assembly. He said Cuba was studying a series of changes in migration policy. Cuba is one of the few countries in the world that requires both exit and entry permits of its citizens. Cuba's 11 million inhabitants cannot leave the island without authorization papers that cost a prohibitive $300 to obtain. "(The exit permit) could be eliminated," Alarcón said.

    Cuba restricts certain professionals from leaving the country, above all doctors, who often have to wait years for a permit. Cubans living abroad, mostly in Miami, need permits each time they return to the island, even to visit their relatives. "Those outside are interested in the question of entry permits," Alarcón said. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 1.2 million Cuban Americans living in the United States, more than half in Miami-Dade County. Two-thirds of them were born in Cuba. "The restrictions on Cubans are sad. Even people loyal to the system find them denigrating," a foreign diplomat said.

    NORTH KOREA WARNS U.S. ON PRE-EMPTIVE ATTACKS

    Pre-emptive attacks on North Korea's nuclear facilities would trigger a "total war," the communist state warned Thursday after U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld labeled the North's government a "terrorist regime." The harsh rhetoric came a day after North Korea said it was putting the operation of its nuclear facilities on a "normal footing," triggering fears it was about to produce weapons materials. A spokesman at the North's Foreign Ministry said Corea was entitled to launch a pre-emptive strike against the United States. "The United States says that after Iraq, we are next," he added, "but we have our own countermeasures. Pre-emptive attacks are not the exclusive right of the U.S."

    Although Washington has repeatedly denied it plans to invade North Korea, Rumsfeld said restarting the nuclear program would give the North a troubling option - making nuclear weapons for itself or selling them to any other country. "That is something the world has to take very seriously," he said late Wednesday. "It's a regime that is a terrorist regime. It's a regime that has been involved in things that are harmful to other countries." The latest North Korean statement left officials wondering whether North Korea was trying to take advantage of Washington's preoccupation with Iraq to ratchet up pressure in its own standoff with the United States.

    U.S. DETAILS HARASSMENT OF DIPLOMATS BY CUBANS

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's agents have left human waste in the Havana homes of American diplomats, disturbed their sleep and tempted married envoys with sexual affairs in a harassment campaign aimed at exhausting the U.S. officials, according to an internal State Department document. Originally classified, the cable was written by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana in December and outlines complaints that while not new, are exceptional in their details. It was declassified this week.

    Diplomats and opponents of the Castro government have complained for years about harassment of U.S. government employees by Cuban agents and the so-called Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), Communist party loyalists who stage protests outside Castro opponents' homes. In Washington, a senior State Department official said Cuban agents monitoring U.S. diplomats in Cuba have ''gotten more aggressive'' in recent months. ''They're engaged in active psychological operations against U.S. personnel. Spouses are not immune. Children are not immune,'' said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

    Using language reminiscent of Cold War conditions for Americans operating behind the Iron Curtain, the nearly three-page cable also said that the diplomats "are treated to a steady diet of officially sanctioned provocations, surveillance, recruitment attempts and harassment.'' The cable said the goal of harassment was to ''take a psychological and physical toll'' on the American envoys. Washington severed ties with Havana in 1961 and resumed partial relations in 1977 during the Carter administration.

    BROTHER TO THE RESCUE GROUNDED

    Brothers to the Rescue, the Cuban exile fliers who patrolled the Florida Straits for Cuban rafters and sparked an international incident between Cuba and the United States, will fly no more, the group's founder said on Tuesday. The group, which gained global renown when Cuban military jets shot down two of its planes on February 24, 1996, killing four pilots, Mario de la Peña, Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre and Pablo Morales, has suspended flights due to a lack of money and a dearth of rafters from the communist-ruled island.

    Started in 1991, Brothers to the Rescue sent volunteer pilots in small planes on missions over the strait between Florida and Cuba in search of Cuban rafters who frequently fled the Caribbean island in crude boats, makeshift rafts fashioned from inner tubes and even canoes.

    Cuban exile leaders claim thousands of Cubans have died on the dangerous sea voyage since Castro's 1959 revolution. Using money donated by Miami's anti-Castro exile community, the pilots flew more than 2,500 missions in 13 years, spotting and helping to save 4,200 rafters in their first three years alone. The group proved a vital link between migrants and the U.S. Coast Guard during the rafter crisis of 1994, when more than 35,000 Cubans left the island.

    SECRETARY POWELL SAYS IRAQ HIDES ITS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION FROM U.N. INSPECTORS 

    The regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has engaged in an "active and systematic effort" to hide its weapons of mass destruction from U.N. weapons inspectors and has given training and safe harbor to al Qaeda terrorists, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. In a highly anticipated presentation, Powell used electronic intercepts, satellite photographs and other intelligence sources to try to convince skeptical members of the council that Iraq had failed to comply with U.N. resolutions and was actively working to deceive weapons inspectors.

    The secretary of state said four different sources have said that Iraq has built sophisticated, mobile biological weapons production and research facilities that could be used to make anthrax, ricin and other agents. He said that Iraq had at least seven of the mobile facilities that could be concealed on 18 trucks. Powell said U.S. intelligence believes Iraq has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons and 16,000 battlefield rockets and that Saddam has authorized field commanders to use them.

    "Everything we have seen and heard indicates that, instead of cooperating actively with the inspectors to ensure the success of their mission, Saddam Hussein and his regime are busy doing all they possibly can to ensure that inspectors succeed in finding absolutely nothing," Powell said. This council placed the burden on Iraq to comply and disarm, and not on the inspectors to find that which Iraq has gone out of its way to conceal for so long. Inspectors are inspectors; they are not detectives. The issue before us is not how much time we are willing to give the inspectors to be frustrated by Iraqi obstruction, but how much longer are we willing to put up with Iraq's noncompliance before we as a council, we as the United Nations, say: Enough. Enough.

    CHAVISTAS COMMEMORATE FAILED COUP LED BY CHAVEZ WITH ATTACK ON THE OFFICES OF CARACAçS MAYOR

    Supporters of President Hugo Chavez opened fire Tuesday on the offices of Caracas' opposition mayor Tuesday, injuring four people in an attack that marred the government's commemoration of the 11th anniversary of a failed coup led by Chavez.  The brief assault on the offices of Mayor Alfredo Pena began after government officials, including Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, honored the coup anniversary at a nearby plaza.

     When Rangel and the other officials left the area, about 20 Chavez supporters fired handguns and threw rocks at city hall.  Three police officers and a civilian were injured. A fire official said the injuries were caused by rocks and sticks and that nobody was hit by the gunfire. National guardsmen fired tear gas to disperse the rioters and arrested several. The mayor was not at city hall at the time of the attack. Earlier Tuesday, a government official rejected an opposition proposal to cut Chavez's term and instead suggested a referendum on Chavez's rule later this year to end the country's political crisis.

    SECRETARY POWELL SAYS HEçLL OFFER NO "SMOKING GUN" ON IRAQ

    Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to make a one-hour, public presentation today at the Security Council of the United Nations with photographs and perhaps transcripts of intercepted conversations in an effort to prove senior Iraqi officials have been hiding weapons and evidence of weapon programs from U.N. inspectors in violation of a UN resolution. U.N. Resolution 1441 calls on Iraq to destroy any chemical, nuclear and biological weapons or face serious consequences. Iraq has consistently denied possessing such weapons.

    "While there will be no 'smoking gun,' we will provide evidence concerning the weapons programs that Iraq is working so hard to hide," he said in a commentary published in The Wall Street Journal. "We will, in sum, offer a straightforward, sober and compelling demonstration that Saddam is concealing the evidence of his weapons of mass destruction, while preserving the weapons themselves." 

    NORTH KOREA HITS OUT AT U.S. POSSIBLE DEPLOYMENT TO THE PACIFIC

    North Korea hit out at U.S. moves to bolster its military forces in the Pacific, accusing Washington of attempting "to crush us to death." Pyongyang's reaction follows reports from officials in President Bush administration that U.S. aircraft and warships have been placed on alert for possible deployment to the Pacific. The "prepare to deploy" move is intended to signal to Pyongyang -- which has so far defied international pressure to abandon its nuclear ambitions -- that Washington is not totally distracted by the military buildup in the Persian Gulf.

    But North Korea on Tuesday accused the United States of stepping up its presence within the territory, with the help of its allies. The United States already has 37,000 troops based in South Korea and 48,000 in Japan. The Pentagon order, unveiled on Monday, will cover sending 24 bombers -- a mixture of B-52s and B-1s -- to Guam.  North Korean has said its troops are on alert in case of a U.S. attack and its people were ready and willing to sacrifice for their leader and socialism. "This unity means the unity of the people in the faith that they are ready to share the destiny with leader Kim Jong Il in difficulties and ordeals and their unity in the will to always remain true to their pledge made to him no matter how the world may change."

    AFGHAN WAR COMMANDER FACES U.S. PROBE

    Army Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of the war in Afghanistan and planning for any war in Iraq, is under investigation for alleged abuses of his office relating to his wife, defense officials said Tuesday. The Pentagon's inspector general has been looking into charges that Franks allowed his wife, Cathy, to sit in on highly classified briefings and may not have properly reimbursed the government for travel expenses when she accompanied him on some trips, defense officials said.

    Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld issued a statement late Monday calling Franks an "enormously talented commander.'' "Investigations such as this are not unusual and properly are required whenever the Office of the Inspector General is made aware of an allegation,'' Rumsfeld said. "Without commenting on the merits of the investigation, which is not yet before me, I want to emphasize that General Franks has my full trust, respect and confidence.'' The 57-year-old general, Texas native, is highly respected and decorated from his service, including in Vietnam and the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

   OSWALDO PAYA RETURNS HOME

    Greeted with a burst of applause from family and friends, Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya returned from a global tour Sunday, pledging to continue his pro-democracy petition drive and stressing that a peaceful change of regime here will be possible. "I'm back at home with the same hope,'' said an excited Paya after embracing his wife, Ofelia, his three children, and his tearful 79-year-old father, Alejandro, at Jose Marti International Airport.

    "Our Varela project continues. It's a campaign from the Cuban people and we will continue until all Cubans achieve their rights.'' "The world's reception to the Varela project is a solidarity message supporting the Cuban people and its right'' to peaceful change, said Paya, adding that many Cuban exiles in the United States are aiming for a peaceful move to democracy in the Caribbean island.

    During his 48-day world tour that began on December 14, Paya, who founded the Christian Liberation Movement, received the European Union's top human rights award, the Sakharov Prize. Since then, he met in Spain with the Prime Minister José María Aznar, in the Czech Republic with President Vaclav Havel, In Mexico City with Mexican President Vicente Fox, in the Dominican Republic with President Hipólito Mejía, in Washington, D.C. with the US Secretary of State Colin Powell, in Rome with Pope John Paul II, and in Washington, D.C. and Miami with leaders of Cuba's exile community

      VENEZUELA GOVERNMENT REJECTS OPPOSITION PLANS

     Venezuela's government on Monday dismissed an opposition proposal for a constitutional amendment aimed at cutting short the rule of President Hugo Chavez as the two sides battled over the timing of elections in Venezuela. Opposition leaders said more than 4 million Venezuelans on Sunday signed a petition for an amendment to cut a president's term in office from six years to four.

    But Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the government would not recognize the opposition initiative and said it would instead propose an August referendum. "We're proposing what we always have, the revocatory referendum after Aug. 19 as laid down in the constitution," Rangel told reporters.

    Rangel's comments signaled a fresh round of wrangling between the government and opposition, who have been locked in a bitter political dispute since April when Chavez survived a short-lived military coup. Opponents of Chavez, who say he has ruled like a corrupt dictator, this week redirected their strategy after deciding to ease a two-month strike that failed to force him from office. Under financial pressure, many businesses had already reopened, private banks resumed normal operating hours on Monday and shopping centers, universities and franchises are due to reopen later this week. But state oil workers at the heart of the shutdown are maintaining the stoppage to press for early elections.

    CONDOLENCES POUR IN FROM AROUND THE WORLD

    Most of the world Saturday expressed shock, grief and condolences for the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew. Official condolences poured in from Western capitals as well. British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote letters to President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon paid tribute to the ''courageous'' crew of the Columbia, which included the first Israeli in space, Col. Ilan Ramon.

    French President Jacques Chirac expressed in a letter to Bush "the profound emotion and feeling of solidarity in the ordeal that all my compatriots are feeling." Prime Minister Jean Chrétien of Canada said in a statement: "The seven astronauts on board were accomplished women and men of great courage who put their extraordinary skills and knowledge to the service of humankind. Each one was a hero.''

     VENEZUELAçS OPPOSITION EASES STRIKE

     Opponents of President Hugo Chavez began focusing on a petition driver to cut his term in power Saturday, after agreeing to ease a two-month strike that has crippled Venezuela's economy. "We are expecting a gradual return to activities in the various sectors that make up the country,'' opposition negotiator Manuel Cova said Saturday. "We want to give the international community our absolute disposal to negotiate an electoral solution.''

    Opposition leaders plan to hold what they call the "Great Sign-up'' on Sunday, inviting citizens to sign various initiatives rejecting Chavez's government and seeking his ouster. The opposition hopes one petition in particular - a constitutional amendment to reduce Chavez's term from six to four years - will succeed, paving the way for general elections later this year. Under the constitution, organizers need signatures from 15 percent, or about 1.8 million, of the country's 12 million registered voters - a number they expect to easily surpass. "Our idea is to get 5 million signatures,'' Carlos Ocariz, a member of the opposition party Justice First, said Saturday on Globovision television.

    The amendment was one of two proposals made by former President Jimmy Carter. The other is to hold a recall referendum on Chavez's rule halfway through his six-year term, in August. The opposition will also collect signatures for this initiative Sunday.

    THE OPPOSITION WANTS BALLOTS; THE CHAVISTAS AUTOMATIC WEAPONS

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets Mexico's Sub-Secretary of Latin America and Caribbean region Gustavo Iruegas before a meeting with the six nations members group of Venezuela's friends (United States, Brazil, Chile, Spain, México and Portugal) and Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General César Gaviria in Caracas. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan opposition protesters called for elections Friday as envoys from six nations urged Chavez's government and his foes to settle their political feud peacefully through the ballot box.

    While the opposition peacefully marched to demand early elections, Venezuela's women armed group Carapaicas talked to media during a press conference in a clandestine location in Caracas. The group comprised by chavistas, expressed their support for the six-year presidential period term for President Chavez. The opposition planned to collect signatures on Sunday to petition for a constitutional amendment to shorten the president's term in office.

        SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA DISINTEGRATES OVER TEXAS

    The space shuttle Columbia, with seven astronauts aboard, broke up as it descended over central Texas Saturday toward a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Police in Nacogdoches, Texas, reported "numerous pieces of debris" both inside the city limits and in Nacogdoches County. Residents as far east as Shreveport, Louisiana, reported seeing and feeling an apparent explosion.

    Search-and-rescue teams from the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area were alerted and residents were urged to stay away from any possible debris from the shuttle, which may be hazardous, said NASA public affairs officer James Hartfield. Shuttle commander Rick D. Husband, 45, pilot William C. McCool, 41, payload commander Michael P. Anderson ,43, mission specialists David M. Brown, 46, Kalpana Chawla, 41, and Laurel Clark, 41, and Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, 48, were on board.

    President Bush was briefed at Camp David, Maryland, and cut short his stay at the retreat to return to the White House. The administration was preparing to convene a "domestic event" conference among all domestic and military agencies that may be involved in the next step.

    US OFFICIALS DISCOUNT TERRORISM IN CRASHING SHUTTLE

    U.S. officials said there was no immediate sign that terrorism was involved in the loss of the space shuttle Columbia on Saturday, which was carrying an Israeli astronaut and six others. State Department spokeswoman Anne Marks, asked if there were any indications of terrorism, said: "I have nothing that would indicate that at this time, no." An administration official said the shuttle's altitude -- over 200,000 feet -- made it "highly unlikely" that the shuttle fell victim to a terrorist act.

    "We have no information at this time that indicates that this was a terrorism incident," said Gordon Johndroe, press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. "Obviously, the investigation is just beginning, but that is what we know now." Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge went to the White House shortly after hearing the report.   FBI spokeswoman Angela Bell said the FBI, which investigates criminal matters, was not currently part of the investigation. "We are not involved with it at all," Bell said.

    EUROPE EIGHT BACK PRESIDENT BUSH ON IRAQ

    Eight European leaders have backed U.S. President George W. Bush calling for tough action to force Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm, breaking ranks with France and Germany. In an article in Britain's Times newspaper and several other papers in Europe and America signed by Britain's Tony Blair, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, Denmark's Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Portugal's Jose Barroso,  Poland's Leszek Miller and Hungary's Peter Medgyessy; and the Czech Republic's Vaclav Havel, was hailed by the Bush administration as evidence of wider support in Europe than had been reported.

    "The transatlantic relationship must not become a casualty of the current Iraqi regime's persistent attempts to threaten world security," the eight leaders wrote. "Our strength lies in unity.  "The Iraqi regime and its weapons of mass destruction represent a clear threat to world security," the premiers wrote in a thinly-veiled appeal to doubters French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to join up. The eight European leaders said it was vital that all EU nations were seen to support U.N. resolution 1441 which paved the way for weapons inspectors to re-enter Iraq and resume their search for chemical, nuclear and biological arms.

    "The attacks of September 11 showed just how far terrorists -- the enemies of our common values -- are prepared to go to destroy them. Those outrages were an attack on all of us. In standing firm in defence of these principles, the governments and people of the U.S. and Europe have amply demonstrated the strength of their convictions. Today more than ever, the transatlantic bond is a guarantee of our freedom."  "Our goal is to safeguard world peace and security by ensuring that this regime gives up its weapons of mass destruction. Our governments have a common responsibility to face this threat," they wrote. "If they are not complied with, the Security Council will lose its credibility and world peace will suffer as a result," they added.  

     CHAVEZ FOES DEMAND POLL AS ENVOYS VISIT

     Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan opposition protesters clamored for elections Friday as envoys from six nations urged President Hugo Chavez and his foes to settle their political feud peacefully through the ballot box. The demonstrators massed outside a Caracas hotel where  envoys from the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Portugal met opposition negotiators at the start of a mission to try to solve Venezuela's political and economic crisis.

    The deputy foreign ministers from the six-nation "group of friends," formed this month to help solve the Venezuelan crisis, also held talks with left-winger president about the political deadlock behind the strike. The opposition stoppage is aimed at trying to force the populist president to quit and hold early elections. The group has a mandate to back efforts by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria to achieve an agreement on elections between the government and opposition.

    Outside the hotel, the huge crowd of protesters packed a highway, shouting "Elections now!" and "Not one step back!" and waving national flags. They called on the foreign envoys to press the government to agree to an early poll. "They should do something so we can have elections, so all these marches are not in vain," a housewife said.

    THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT CANNOT STOP PILFERAGE IN CEMETERY 

    While the administrator throws his hands in the air in impotence and the night watchman acknowledges heçs afraid to walk his beat, thieves pilfer anything smaller than a marble slab from the municipal cemetery in Florida, Camagéey province. The most often stolen items, flower pots, plastic flowers, and picture frames, are regularly offered for sale on the streets of the city.

    Miguel, 50, who didnçt want to give his last name, considers himself a victim. Thieves broke the glass on his motherçs tombstone and took the frame that held her photograph. "I complained to the cemeteryçs administrator, a man by the name of Julián, and he replied that this sort of thing happens every day but that there is nothing he can do to control it," said Miguel. The night watchman assigned to patrol the cemetery, which lies just outside of the city, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. admitted: "Içm afraid to walk my beat inside the cemetery at night because of the lack of illumination there."