VENEZUELA TO DENY US FLIGHT REQUEST

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) President Hugo Chavez said Monday that he will deny
a request by the United States to use Venezuela's airspace for
anti-narcotics flights in the region.

The United States wants to use Venezuela's airspace for flights from three
new staging centers being set up in Ecuador and the islands of Curacao and
Aruba, which are located off Venezuela's western coast.

The new centers are expected to compensate for the U.S. withdrawal from
Howard Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone, which until May 1 had been
used for such reconnaissance flights.

Chavez, speaking Monday night during a nationally broadcast speech, said:
"We cannot accept (the flights) because Venezuela is a sovereign country."

He added that Venezuela is willing to otherwise cooperate with the United
States in the anti-drug fight, and has its own fleet of airplanes that
could assist U.S. authorities.

U.S. officials say they have offered to allow Venezuelan air force
personnel in Aruba and Curacao to ride in any U.S. aircraft that pass over
Venezuelan territory. Information gathered on narcotics trafficking also
would be shared.

Chavez also named five new Cabinet members Monday night. Six cabinet
members have resigned recently to run for seats in a constituent assembly
that will rewrite Venezuela's constitution.