Chavez threatens to jail strike leaders

As Venezuela's punishing general strike enters its fourth week today with no solution in sight, President Hugo Chavez is threatening to imprison employees of the state oil corporation, the motor of the country's economy, unless they return to work.

The President said on his weekly television and radio programme Hello Mr President yesterday that the Attorney General was preparing to lay charges of "sabotage" against strike leaders.

After a supreme court ruling last week, interpreted by the government as ordering an end to the oil strike, those who engaged in "acts or omissions that obstruct the application" of a temporary injunction issued by the court's constitutional branch could be jailed, said General Jose Luis Prieto, the Defence Minister .

The law cited by the minister provides for prison sentences of between six and 15 months for contempt of court.

In a broadcast at the weekend, General Prieto announced the formation of a military-led "unified command" to guarantee "vital interests such as the oil industry". This suggests that civilians will be obliged to obey military orders and, according to opposition commentators, is one of several steps the government has taken in the direction of a de facto state of emergency.

The political analyst Alberto Garrido said: "What we're beginning to see is the implementation of a left-wing version of the national security doctrine practised by South American military dictatorships of the Seventies."

As General Prieto spoke, the government's strike breaking efforts yielded a small breakthrough. The national oil company PDVSA's tanker Pilin Leon, whose crew were the first in the merchant navy to join the strike, on 4 December, was finally moved to the Bajo Grande tanker terminal on Lake Maracaibo, where it was expected to unload 260,000 barrels of petrol.

That is the equivalent of just over a day's consumption Across Venezuela, motorists are queuing for up to 12 hours to fill their tanks, with petrol production halted and supplies dwindling.

The strike, called by the opposition Democratic Coordinator in response to President Chavez's refusal to accept an early referendum on his rule, has already cost PDVSA more than $1bn (£624m) in lost export revenue.