members in condemning the coup and sending the OAS Secretary General on a fact-finding and diplomatic mission. The OAS subsequently established a "mesa" dialogue process, as it had in Peru following the May 2000 elections. At Chávez's request, the Carter Center and UNDP were also involved. In order to facilitate participation in this process, the opposition created the Coordinadora Democrática (CD). The CD helped organize the general strike of 2002–03 later. After the February 2003 end of the strike, the CD engaged further in the mesa process and pushed for a binding recall referendum, which was ultimately agreed on 23 May 2003.OAS, Agreement Between the Representatives of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Political and Social Groups Supporting It, and the Coordinadora Democratica and the Political and Civil Society Organizations Supporting It, Caracas, 23 May 2003. Ultimately the CD rejected the outcome of the 2004 recall referendum, which announced that Chávez would not be recalled, alleging fraud. Reactions Domestic Early on the morning after the coup, opponents of Chávez filled the streets of Caracas, "honking horns and waving the gold, blue and red of the Venezuelan flag", according to The New York Times. A headline in El Universal read "It's over!" Oscar Garcia Mendoza, president of the major bank Venezolano de Creditor, ran a "gigantic newspaper ad" celebrating Chávez's ouster, which, he wrote, would "substantially improve Venezuelan society". "This is the day that Venezuelans have been waiting for", said Luis Vicente Leon, head of a Caracas polling firm. "The situation in Venezuela has changed overnight, not only politically but also economically." About 500 protesters gathered outside the Cuban embassy in Caracas demanding an end to diplomatic relations. Protesters cut the mission's utility cables, slashed tires, and smashed the windshields of three cars with diplomatic plates. Although the Cuban ambassador told a Venezuelan official that he was not sheltering any Venezuelans, he would not allow the building to be searched. International A Rio Group meeting of Latin American governments in Costa Rica taking place soon after the coup adopted a resolution condemning the "interruption of constitutional order in Venezuela", and requesting a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS); only Francisco Flores of El Salvador said that he would recognise the Carmona government. The United States government blamed the events on the actions of the Chávez government and said Chávez had resigned the presidency, dismissed his