Venezuelan leader envisions role in US-Cuba conflict

CNN February 3, 1999 Venezuelan leader envisions role in US-Cuba conflict

                  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's newly installed president, Hugo
                  Chavez, might serve as an intermediary in the four-decade conflict between
                  the United States and Cuba, Venezuela's foreign minister said Wednesday.

                  Chavez has not had any official talks about the idea, but believes he would
                  be well-suited for such a role and plans to study the possibility, said Jose
                  Vicente Rangel.

It was not immediately clear how feasible the proposal might be, given the
long-standing hostilities between Washington and Havana.

Chavez, 44, enjoys good relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who
spent much of Tuesday near Chavez's side during inauguration events.

                  Chavez's relations with the United States have been strained in the past but
                  are improving. He had been barred from entering the United States after
                  leading a failed 1992 coup attempt, but was granted a visa after winning a
                  landslide victory in December.

                  Last week he met President Clinton in the White House. On Tuesday, U.S.
                  Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, also in Caracas for the inauguration, said
                  Chavez "is a potential leader in the hemisphere."

Rangel said the Chavez government opposes the economic blockade
imposed by the United States against Cuba.

                  On Thursday, Chavez will attend a military parade traditionally held the day
                  after a new president is inaugurated. Chavez pushed back the event by a day
                  to coincide with the seventh anniversary of his Feb. 4, 1992, failed coup
                  attempt.