Venezuela

Reporting from Bogota, Colombia, and Caracas, Venezuela -- A Venezuelan judge on Wednesday ordered a former state governor and critic of President Hugo Chavez to remain in custody without bail while facing charges of conspiracy, incitement and spreading false information. The incorrect information, government prosecutors said, was an assertion by former Zulia state Gov. Oswaldo Alvarez Paz in a March 8 television program that Venezuela has become a drug-trafficking hub. "Venezuela has converted into a center of operations that facilitates the business of drug trafficking," Alvarez Paz said without directly accusing Chavez of being involved in illicit activity.

Venezuela said it would ship 350,000 barrels of heavy diesel oil to Nicaragua under an energy deal aimed at helping leftist front-runner Daniel Ortega win that nation's presidential election next month. The announcement came a day after Venezuela delivered 84,000 gallons of cut-rate diesel fuel to help Nicaragua ease its daily power blackouts. The energy agreement allows Nicaragua to buy Venezuelan fuel at 60% of the price and pay the outstanding 40% over 25 years at 1% interest.

Venezuela said it had reached a $250-million deal to compensate Total and BP for an oil field it seized from them in April, but said it would not make the compensation in cash. Speaking at the signing of the deal, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez pegged the compensation slightly lower than the $262 million that a government official had given earlier.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country would withdraw from the Andean free trade association because Colombia and Peru reached free trade agreements with the United States that made the group obsolete. Chavez said in a press statement that the Andean Community of Nations, which groups Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, is "dead." From Bloomberg News * Venezuela's Citgo Petroleum Corp. agreed to pay Lyondell Chemical Co.

Several companies that buy oil products from Citgo Petroleum filed a lawsuit this week alleging that the Venezuelan-owned refiner helped OPEC fix energy prices in the U.S. The suit is another blow for the company, which has been hit by calls for boycotts after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called President Bush "the devil" while addressing the United Nations in September.

Waving banners, banging pots and chanting slogans demanding the ouster of President Hugo Chavez, several thousand marchers took to the streets here Tuesday, the 16th day of an opposition strike that has crippled Venezuela's oil industry. The strike has reduced Venezuela's output of more than 2 million barrels a day to less than 400,000 barrels a day, sending crude prices above $30 a barrel, state officials said Tuesday.

Relief drew closer for thousands of thirsty mudslide survivors in Venezuela on Thursday when the United States sent in a huge airplane with machines that can purify water from the ocean and contaminated rivers. The C-5 Galaxy, the largest airplane made in the United States, arrived from Puerto Rico with two machines that can purify more than 3,100 gallons of water an hour, as well as seawater at a slower rate. "They are responding to the No.

Venezuela will halt flights by U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines and restrict American Airlines in the latest dispute between Washington and the world's No. 5 oil exporter, airlines and industry officials said Friday. Washington, increasingly at odds with Venezuela's left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, said it could weigh countermeasures should Caracas press ahead with flight suspensions in March. The restrictions on U.S. passenger and cargo flights came after U.S.

Venezuela's economy shrank 9.4% during the three months ended in June, led by a decline in construction, as the country's worst recession on record entered a sixth quarter. The drop followed a 27.6% contraction in the first quarter, the central bank said in a statement. Restrictions on dollar purchases set by the government in January amid a two-month nationwide strike have prevented businesses from importing parts, reducing production.

Venezuela moved Tuesday to take a greater cut of windfall oil profits, approving a 50% tax on foreign oil companies when crude tops $70 a barrel. The tax rate would rise to 60% when the average monthly price for crude exceeds $100, according to the bill approved by the National Assembly. Revenue from the tax could reach $9 billion annually, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said. "That's why, for the executive branch, it is urgent to create this law," Ramirez said.