CARACAS - Hugo Chavez was freed by his military captors and returned to reclaim the Venezuelan presidency Sunday, in a dramatic restoration of power two days after the military said he had resigned. Chavez stepped down from a helicopter, smiled and raised his fist in triumph as a greeted hundreds of cheering supporters outside Miraflores, the presidential palace.
Thousands in the street beyond began singing the Venezuelan national anthem.
His return shortly after 3 a.m. followed the resignation of Pedro Carmona, who resigned amid violent protests after just one day in office as the interim president of Venezuela, the No. 3 supplier of oil to the United States.
"I'm still stupefied. I'm still assimilating," Chavez said in a live television address to the nation after flying to Miraflores from captivity on a Venezuelan island in the Caribbean, the last of five places where he was held.
Chavez appealed for calm as thousands of Venezuelans thronged the streets outside the gates, singing the national anthem and setting off firecrackers to celebrate his return.
"I do not come with hate or rancor in my heart, but we must make decisions and adjust things," said Chavez, who appeared in good shape, even though he had barely slept since his arrest late Thursday.
Chavez's vice president, Diosdado Cabello, had declared himself acting president until Chavez's return from military custody. He appeared healthy and hugged supporters as a military band played.
Chavez's family, supporters and former government officials insisted he never resigned as president, as Carmona and Venezuela's high command claimed.
In a largely conciliatory speech, Chavez later told a news conference he had not been mistreated and recognized that both his government and his opponents had made mistakes.
"There isn't going to be any retaliation, no witch hunt. I haven't any thirst for revenge," Chavez said, calling for his supporters who rioted on the streets in support of his return on Saturday to go quietly back to their homes.
State prosecutors were interviewing Carmona and several senior military officers at the Fuerte Tiuna military base, even though they were not formally under arrest, said Chavez's defense minister, Jose Vicente Rangel.
Chavez supporters demonstrate on Saturday outside the presidential palace in Caracas.
The Organization of American States was sending a delegation to Venezuela to assess the situation. Chavez, a former army paratrooper who led a failed 1992 coup, was elected in 1998 on an anti-poverty platform. His term was to end in 2006.
Chavez's attorney general, Isaias Rodriguez, told Carmona's ministers they were under arrest pending possible charges.
"They must take responsibility. They will be put on trial with all their rights, but they will be put on trial," Cabello said. Some military officials also would be tried for military rebellion, he said.
Instantly returning to his old talkative form, Chavez illustrated his promises of respect for the law by waving a small blue copy of the country's constitution and held up a crucifix he had taken with him into captivity.
Chavez recalled how he had washed his own socks and underwear, and said the popular protests and army mutinies in his favor marked a historic triumph for the Venezuelan people.
"I never for a moment doubted that we would return. But I never thought we would return so quickly," he said.
Statements by military generals that he had resigned and asked to be sent abroad were lies, he said.
"They put a piece of paper on the table saying 'Resign,' but I said, "I am a president being held prisoner, but I am not resigning."
(China Daily April 15, 2002)
