Venezuela

WASHINGTON - The fervor for "regime change" in Iraq is spreading to another oil-producing nation: Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez's increasingly beleaguered government is losing traction daily as the Democratic Coordinator - an umbrella opposition group of business, labor and civil society - smothers Venezuela's petroleum-driven economy in a perpetual general strike that intends to induce regime change, possibly at the cost of protracted civil strife....

Melvin Mora's retirement has been greatly exaggerated. Or at least exaggerated for this country, he claims. A report out of Venezuela last month said that Mora, who played most of his career with the Orioles, issued a tearful retirement announcement while playing winter ball in Venezuela. The story ran in several places, including The Sun. But Mora said that was news to him. Despite multiple reports to the contrary out of Venezuela, Mora said what he announced was that he was no longer going to play in Venezuela because he didn't want to leave his family every year.

The indictment and suspension of President Carlos Andres Perez for corruption probably protects rather than endangers Venezuela's 35-year old democracy. But it imperils economic reform and growth in the second-largest foreign supplier of oil to the United States. How much better if Mr. Perez had been able to serve out his term until the election in December, and complete his reforms.President from 1974 to 1979, Mr. Perez is the grand old democratic politician of the Americas. He was the populist who nationalized Venezuela's oil and steel industries.

Girls basketball New Town's Tucker sharp from field in U.S. rout of Venezuela Jannah Tucker (New Town) had 17 points in 15minutes, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, in helping the United States overwhelm Venezuela, 114-32, on Wednesday and advance to the medal semifinals at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Merida, Mexico. The United States (3-0), Group B's No. 1 seed, will face Group A's No. 2 seed, still undetermined, Friday. Colleges Navy hires former Terp Letts as wrestling assistant coach Three-time NCAA qualifier and 2011 All-American Mike Letts has joined the Naval Academy wrestling staff.

VENEZUELANS determined to recall President Hugo Chavez face a formidable challenge this weekend: They must vote in numbers greater than the 3.8 million who elected the leftist-populist to office in 2000. The challenge for Mr. Chavez is to keep his government from interfering in the referendum Sunday. In a country of 13.9 million registered voters, opposition groups managed to gather the millions of signatures needed for the recall vote. They got the signatures not once, but twice, after the national electoral counsel invalidated thousands of them in March.

AS THE GENERAL STRIKE that has crippled Venezuela's critical oil industry and much of the nation's economy nears the end of its third week, that polarized nation faces the dangerous prospect of heightened conflict between militant foes and supporters of President Hugo Chavez. To protect Venezuela's embattled democratic institutions and help stabilize the world oil market, the United States and the international community should help resolve the impasse by bolstering the moderate voices who are seeking a solution that respects the country's 1999 constitution.

IT'S A sad day for American democracy when the leaders of countries whose human rights records and democratic practices are as deeply flawed as those of Paraguay and Peru show more respect for democratic institutions and the rule of law than the U.S. government demonstrates. But that's what happened last weekend, after elements of Venezuela's military led a coup that briefly ousted the country's elected president, Hugo Chavez. Mr. Chavez's return to office is a triumph for his country's embattled democratic institutions and for the popularly elected leaders who stood behind his government.

The good news is that Venezuela elected a president to keep its 35 years of democracy going, escaping the rumored threat of a military coup.The bad news is that the winner, Rafael Caldera, will be 78 at the start of his five-year term next year, that his mandate is only 28.5 percent of the vote, and that he ran as a maverick backed by 17 parties ranging from crypto-Fascist to Communist that can agree on nothing else.The problem for the disgusted Venezuelan electorate was to reject the corruption of the deposed President Carlos Andres Perez, reject the Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-Dee of the two-party politics that succeeded military dictatorship in 1958, and yet not succumb to the lure of military dictatorship again.

Communism is dead in Russia, a shell of itself in China and just hanging on in Cuba. But Lenin's corpse has a rare reason to smile. A new workers' paradise is sprouting in Venezuela, under the direction of the sometimes clownish but always cunning President Hugo Chavez. Most of the rest of the world learned the folly of autocratic socialism back in the 20th century, but Mr. Chavez prefers to repeat mistakes rather than learn from them. He has nationalized oil holdings, created new state-run firms, confiscated privately owned land and politicized finance, while endeavoring to take over telecommunications and power companies.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- It was going to be so much fun. Oscar Schmidt and Marcel De Souza were going to fulfill their long-standing dream of playing against the great American professionals. There would be a vast TV audience in Brazil. It would be one of the highlights of their lives.Instead, Brazil will play Puerto Rico today, not in the Tournament of the Americas final. The Brazilians forgot to take care of the necessary business Friday night, losing a 10-point second half lead, missing 13 consecutive shots down the stretch and eventually losing to Venezuela, 100-91.

Former Maryland Terrapin guard Greivis Vasquez, who is now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, is in his native Venezuela this week as part of a U.S. State Department "sports diplomacy" program that hopes to use athletes to improve international relations, especially between countries with strained relationships. Vasquez, a Venezuelan citizen, is teaming with former NBA player Darvin Ham and former WNBA Player Kayte Christensen to hold a series of basketball clinics for kids, as well as meet with local sports officials.

Time will tell, but last week's triumph at the Bob Hope Classic might have done more than crown Jhonattan Vegas a sports hero in his native Venezuela. It has a chance to save the sport in his homeland. Venezuela is home to just seven golf courses — half the number that existed in 2006 before President Hugo Chavez added golf to his campaign to seize private assets. Now, though, Vegas has given Venezuelans a champion. On Tuesday, Chavez took steps to tone down his venture.

When the Mariners' Felix Hernandez received a phone call in Venezuela telling him he had won the American League Cy Young Award, he told the Seattle Times he did something he hasn't done in a while. He burst into tears. "I don't have any words to explain how I feel," he said. "I mean, you cannot explain it. The first time I heard I won the Cy Young, my mind was, 'Really? Really?' And they said, 'Yes, you won the Cy Young.' "And I started crying. And my wife jumped on me. And my whole family started jumping around the house.

Sale of Cubs before Opening Day up in air baseball The Cubs are likely to remain under the ownership of Tribune through the early part of the season. Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said yesterday that it "will be a challenge" to complete the sale of the team by Opening Day on April 6 and that talks between the Ricketts family and the Tribune are ongoing. Tribune owns The Baltimore Sun. He said that none of the remaining issues "are in any way fatal to the transaction." The Ricketts family won exclusive negotiating rights on Jan. 22 in a deal worth about $900 million.

Brian McNamee says he injected Roger Clemens with drugs in a hot tub at Yankee Stadium and that among the needles he gave government investigators was one he used to inject the then-star pitcher for the New York Yankees in the summer of 2001 at Clemens' Manhattan apartment, according to the Web site sportsimproper.com. McNamee previously described injecting Clemens at the pitcher's apartment to baseball investigator George Mitchell. In addition, he told the Web site: "Sometimes it was in the Jacuzzi at Yankee Stadium."

Alex Rodriguez will have arthroscopic hip surgery today and is expected to miss six to nine weeks. The New York Yankees slugger will need further surgery after the season. The diagnosis by Dr. Marc Philippon yesterday was yet another jolt to Rodriguez during a tumultuous month in which the three-time American League Most Valuable Player admitted using steroids from 2001 to 2003 while with the Texas Rangers. Philippon spoke from Vail, Colo., on a conference call with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

CARACAS, Venezuela - A campaign by opposition groups for a recall referendum to try to oust President Hugo Chavez appeared on the brink of collapse yesterday. Opposition leaders, expecting election officials to disqualify enough of the 3.4 million signatures they have collected for a recall to keep the measure off the ballot, accused Chavez of unfairly influencing the process. Protesters battled National Guard troops across the country in anti-government demonstrations that began Friday.

With big league stars on both sides and national pride at stake, the United States and Canada gave their World Baseball Classic opener an October feel. Adam Dunn and Brian McCann each hit a two-run homer, and Team USA held off feisty Canada, 6-5, yesterday in Toronto to avenge a surprising loss three years ago. "This is a playoff atmosphere," U.S. pitcher Jake Peavy said. "Everything is on the line." Kevin Youkilis added a solo shot and J.J. Putz closed it out in a nervous ninth inning for Team USA, which was upset by Canada in the inaugural WBC. Former Oriole LaTroy Hawkins worked a scoreless inning for the win, and Putz earned the save after allowing Joey Votto's broken-bat RBI double in the ninth that cut it to 6-5 with one out. Putz then retired Justin Morneau on a grounder and got Jason Bay on a fly to right.

CARACAS, Venezuela -In the final days before a referendum that will determine whether President Hugo Chavez can run for re-election indefinitely, the campaign has an ugly edge. Anti-government protests have intensified in some cities, despite government pressure, and pro-Chavez vigilantes have attacked institutions such as the Caracas mayor's office and the Vatican's diplomatic mission. The chief of a leading opposition party, Democratic Action leader Henry Ramos, said a hand grenade exploded late Saturday, shattering windows and damaging the facade of its Caracas headquarters.