June 24, 2006
Venezuela's Chávez names new defense minister

(AP Worldstream) - "President Hugo Chávez announced that an army loyalist who helped bring the Venezuelan leader back to power after a short-lived coup would become the country's new minister of defense.

Chávez, in a televised speech, said army chief Raul Isaías Baduel would shortly become the military's new commander in chief, 'effective in the coming days, and as such, will be the next minister of defense.'

Chávez thanked current Defense Minister Orlando Maniglia for his work without elaborating further.

Chávez made the announcement about 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Caracas at the site of a decisive battle in 1821, which sealed Venezuela's independence from Spanish rule (...)

Baduel was named commander of the Venezuelan army in July 2004. He helped lead forces that returned Chávez to power after dissident officers briefly unseated the leader in a coup on April 12, 2002.

Baduel also backed Chávez during a 2002-2003 strike led by the opposition, helping to bring in troops to retake control of the oil industry (...)".