VENEZUELA: US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, joined the chorus of criticism aimed at Mr Chavez last week, claiming the Venezuelan leader had shown "insufficient support" for the US war on terror, a hint that home-grown rebellion may be encouraged by international opprobrium.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has dismissed threats of a military rebellion against him after an air force colonel called him a tyrant then led a march on the presidential residence in Caracas, the nation's capital.
Dissident Col Pedro Soto, who accused Mr Chavez of attempting to install a communist regime in Venezuela, has been summoned by his superiors today to explain his actions.
"I know the Venezuelan armed forces," responded Mr Chavez, a former paratrooper who led a failed coup in 1992, "I know who is who in the barracks." The charismatic coup plotter subsequently stormed into office in 1998 in a landslide election victory won on a platform of radical social reform.
President Chavez has since gone to the polls five times to ratify support for his "peaceful, democratic revolution" which has rewritten the nation's constitution in favour, he claims, of the majority poor.
His main critics are church, media and business leaders, while his strongest support lies among the virtually destitute. Last week, Mr Chavez began a series of popular reforms which gave property titles to urban squatters.
Col Soto claimed he was an ordinary soldier fulfilling his civic duty to speak out as permitted in the new constitution which places the armed forces at the centre of national reconstruction efforts. Col Soto yesterday announced he would launch "a group of men and women to lead our country toward a better future" joining a dozen opposition hopefuls who demand early elections to test Mr Chavez's support levels.
Political analysts believe opposition groups will unite to organise a national strike next month combined with a march on the presidential palace, imitating tactics used in Ecuador and Peru. However, Mr Chavez still controls the streets and the barracks, while oil revenues fuel emergency social spending, keeping him afloat.
In his first comments on the rebellion President Chavez branded Col Soto a "traitor" and dismissed calls to step down.
"This petition means that there is no serious opposition. It means that the opposition has no leadership, no alternative plan," he said.
Meanwhile, the country enjoyed a brief respite from political intrigue yesterday as the nation's annual carnival reached fever pitch with thousands of people on the streets.