Guyana and CARICOM are monitoring the situation in Venezuela following the ousting of President Hugo Chavez from office early yesterday morning, Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally said. (See stories on page 4.)

Meanwhile, work at the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown was "normal as was possible and not affected by the changes," Venezuela's Ambassador to Guyana, Jean Francois Pulvenis, told Stabroek News.

Pulvenis said, too, that the change in government might lead to an enhanced relationship between Venezuela and Guyana and the rest of the region.

Chavez had been scheduled to visit Guyana this year on the invitation of President Bharrat Jagdeo. Jagdeo visited Venezuela at Chavez's invitation last year.

In an invited comment, Insanally, who is current Chairman of the CARICOM Council of Foreign Ministers, said that the events in Venezuela were evolving rapidly and the government and CARICOM would have to monitor developments to see how they impacted on the country and the region.

At the moment, he said, the problem in Venezuela was a domestic one but it was left to see how it evolved. "We would hope that it does not affect our relations," he said, adding that "at the moment, it would be wise for us to just let things settle down." There was no reason to think that the immediate consequences would affect relations with Venezuela, he said.

Pulvenis, who was taken by surprise by the speedy turn of events in his country, said that the change in government reflected the democracy practised in Venezuela. Apart from the protests which led to the deaths of 13 civilians and left over 110 people injured, he said, the resignation of Chavez showed a sense of responsibility by the outgoing administration to ensure that there was no more civil disorder.

He also said that the protest led by civil society reflected a new maturity by the private sector and non-governmental organisations as to the new kind of government that was emerging. He described it as a lesson for everybody.

The change in government, Pulvenis said, would introduce new factors in the relationship between Guyana and Venezuela and he hoped that practical solutions to the border problems, which continue to surface between the two countries, would be found.

He said he did not expect the provisional government, headed by President of Venezuela's business association, Fedecamaras, Pedro Carmona, to be an ideological one, but it would be one which would fight for social justice, political stability and take the economic well-being of citizens into consideration in the fight against poverty.

He expects the Guyana/Venezuela bilateral commission to continue its work to enhance ties between the two countries.

Under the Chavez government, Venezuela had aggressively pursued its claim to Essequibo and there had been intrusions into Guyana's airspace and much sabre-rattling. The Chavez administration had also strongly lobbied against investment in the Essequibo region and had succeeded in dissuading two oil explorers from prospecting in offshore areas adjacent to Essequibo. Prior to the collapse of the Beal satellite launching deal, Caracas had also strongly opposed the setting up of the project in the northwest of Guyana.

As a result, relations had deteriorated. A subsequent meeting between President Jagdeo and Chavez saw a gradual toning down of the rhetoric even though Caracas doggedly pursued its claim to the Essequibo.