Chavez officers and opposition leaders said the sentence review risked rekindling the political instability which shook the oil-rich country for more than two years leading up to a referendum in August won by Chavez. "This is a political vendetta," said retired Gen. Fernando Ochoa, who was Defense Minister when Chavez led his own failed coup bid in 1992, six years before winning his first election. "It will stir up the political crisis," said Pompeyo Marquez, leader of the opposition Democratic Coordinator alliance which Chavez defeated in the referendum. Opponents accuse the populist president, whose current term lasts until early 2007, of ruling like a dictator in a bid to impose Cuba-style communism. He says his self-styled "revolution" aims to distribute oil wealth to help the poor. Rodriguez said it was important for the country to know what really happened in the 2002 coup, which Chavez charges was backed by the U.S. government. Washington denies this. --More 2225 Local Time 1925 GMT
