Pedro Carmona

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Image:PedroCarmona.jpg Pedro Carmona Estanga (born 1941 in Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela) was briefly the President of Venezuela, from April 12 to April 13, 2002. A business leader, he was installed following a coup d'état by elements of the Venezuelan military, press, business community, and right-wing political parties against the leftist president, Hugo Chávez. During his brief period in office he:

dissolved the National Assembly, promising elections by December
pledged presidential elections within one year
declared void the 1999 Constitution adopted by referendum in 1999
promised a return to the pre-1999 bicameral parliamentary system
effective immediately, reverted the name of the nation to República de Venezuela
repealed 49 laws that gave the government greater control of the economy
reinstated retired General Guaicaipuro Lameda as president of Petróleos de Venezuela
fired the Supreme Court judges, National Electoral Court, and the ombudsman.

In the face of immense public protests and under pressure from some quarters of the military [1] Carmona was removed by civil authorities and Chávez was restored to office. Some Chávez supporters have alleged that the coup attempt was bankrolled and/or encouraged by the government of the United States, a charge the U.S. denies.

After the failure of the coup, Carmona was placed under house arrest and was accused of usurping the presidency and of engaging in rebellion. When a Venezuelan court ordered his transfer to another prison, Carmona managed to flee from his residence to the Colombian Embassy, where he asked for political asylum.

On May 27, 2002, the Colombian administration of President Andrés Pastrana Arango granted him asylum, an act which was rejected, but simultanously respected as legally valid, by Venezuelan authorities. Carmona was allowed safe passage to exit the embassy by the Venezuelan government, and arrived in Bogotá on a Colombian military flight on May 29, 2002, proceeding to check into a residential compound on that same date.

Prior to the coup and his subsequent exile, Carmona was president of Fedecámaras (the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Industry and Commerce), Venezuela's largest business-owners' association.

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