A US citizens' view. Priscilla West, a US citizen who worked for PDVSA in Venezuela for two years has written these two letters that I think are very good and deserve to be read by many both here and abroad. One of them has been published here the other one is this one:
I have never been involved in US politics, but two years working within Venezuela's petroleum industry placed me squarely in the middle of that country's political arena. Now back in the US, I am in close contact with Venezuelan counterparts as the current crisis unfolds. The protests, strikes, and eventual violence of the past several weeks have been a greatly intensified repeat of the events of last April... And once again, the scant US coverage of the crisis has been disturbing.
For years I had discounted references to a "liberal media conspiracy." However, events of the past few weeks have opened my eyes. I became incensed enough to write this letter after reading postings on a pro-Chavez website thanking "brother communist" Ted Turner for his sympathetic treatment of the issue.
CNN Viewers should know that what CNN means by "Chavez was overwhelmingly re-elected to a six-year term in 2000..." is really "Chavez re-wrote the nation's constitution, increasing his own term to six years." NPR listeners hearing "...it remains unclear which side is responsible for the shootings," should know that the shooter had thousands of witnesses, admitted his guilt, and was lauded publicly by president Chavez for his actions. Venezuelan ship captains are NOT "pirates" who have "hijaked" oil tankers off the coast -- they dropped anchor in solidarity with over 90% of the nation's workforce engaged in the strike. The limited US coverage of this crisis is filled with such misrepresentations.
Chavez is a known ally of Fidel Castro, and since his election he has systematically ousted the congress, re-written the constitution, taken away land rights and other freedoms, and imposed a corrupt and non-commercial rule over the state-owned oil company PDVSA. As oil prices have surged, his oil-rich nation's economy has toppled.
The US media should consider that the leftist Chavez regime it subtly defends has repeatedly tried to revoke Venezuela's own right to free press. During last April's protests, local television broadcast signals were suddenly blocked: Live coverage of protestors outside the presidential palace was replaced with a prerecorded speech in which Chavez insisted the "situation (was) normal." (Several stations were able to reroute signal to broadcast a split screen juxtaposition of Chavez's absurd speech alongside footage of the actual scene in Caracas.) During the past two weeks, Venezuelan television and radio headquarters have been ransacked and media workers have been physically assaulted at the hands of angry Chavez supporters. Chavez accuses the media of "criminal behavior" for it's open coverage of the national strike.
We have been preoccupied with Iraq for good reason; However, war with Iraq would make Venezuelan oil supply that much MORE important to our nation. Do we want to be courting a communist dictator in Venezuela? The people of Venezuela have submitted over 2.2 million entries on an official petition for national referendum on Chavez's rule, organized numerous nationwide labor strikes and peaceful protests, and petitioned the Organization of American States. The nation's economy has ground to a halt as exports have stopped and local gasoline supplies dwindle. As I type this letter, many of PDVSA's petroleum professionals are in hiding, because armed national guardsmen have tried to force them from their homes into the office.
These workers want Venezuelan oil to flow freely into the world market just as badly as we do.... But first, they want their democratic nation back!
Concerned Oil Professional
Tulsa, OK
Priscilla West [Miguel Octavio: Venezuela]
3:17:25 PM 
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