VENEZUELA: 24 June UPDATE: Chavez Finally Breaks Silence... With Tweets; Absence Stirs Succession Question.

WSJ/ New Details

Usually verbose and omnipresent President Hugo Chavez, 56, finally broke his silence...on Twitter.
It was his first contact since a 10 June operation in La Habana.
But Chavez said nothing about his health.
"Today is my army's day and the sun rose brilliantly! A huge hug to my soldiers and to my beloved people," he tweeted.
His brother Aden announced that Hugo would stay in Cuba... for 12 more days.

His 2-week absence from interviews, broadcast tirades and his many Twitter postings had fed much speculation in bars and cafes.
Especially after a deadly siege that has been underway for 11 days at the El Rodeo 1 prison outside of Caracas.

"It's all very dark, opaque and mysterious," said a professor.
"It's very unclear. As a Venezuelan, I would have bet my two kidneys that Chavez would have at least said something about what happened in El Rodeo prison."

A pollster speculates:"They are trying to pass off the problem as minor, that it hit him by chance while he was in Havana and that he can rule from Cuba for a while... This could be a way to set up a triumphal return. But Chavez has to reappear soon, because otherwise it could prove dangerous to his image."

 But his unusual absence has now raised serious questions about a successor.
"Nothing will ever be the same," said political analyst Juan Carlos Zapata. "This is the first signal that Chávez has an end and that there is nobody to take over. He might come back, but nothing will be the same."

VENEZUELA : 19 June UPDATE: Fire Erupts! 2 Soldiers, 1 Prisoner Dead, 18 Wounded After Storming El Rodeo Prisons In Guatire.

LINK CHANGE / AP


A fire has erupted in the prison where troops are vainly trying to end an inmate revolt by.

For a third day, troops are fighting for control of the El Rodeo prison...where about 50 inmates still refuse to surrender.

So far, 2 National Guard soldiers have died along with at least 1 prisoner...with 18 soldiers wounded by gunfire...after troops first stormed the Rodeo 1 prison near Caracas.

More than 3,500 troops took part in operations at the El Rodeo I and El Rodeo II prisons in Guatire, east of Caracas.
They were trying to disarm inmates days after a bloody riot there killed 22.
Officials report that they now have transferred 2,500 prisoners.

The government told the inmates' families that..."the intervention...wasn't to massacre their relatives...but to protect the lives of more than 5,000 inmates."
Hundreds of relatives are outside the jail and some have even clashed with security forces...with soldiers   even using tear gas to force them back.

VENEZUELA: 19 Dead In Prison Riot Near Caracas.

AFP

A clash between 2 gangs at the El Rodeo I jail near Caracas...has resulted in 19 deaths... Venezuela's worst prison riot in years.

Recently,  inmates at the nearby Rodeo 2 jail and at another prison abducted some officials.