CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Congress appointed new Supreme Court judges
                  on Thursday and named President Hugo Chavez's vice president to serve as
                  attorney general amid heavy criticism from opposition leaders that Venezuela's
                  judicial system has lost its independence.

                  The Chavez-controlled Congress also appointed a Chavez loyalist as the new
                  national ombudsman, or public defender, concluding a process opponents say
                  was rigged from the beginning.

                  Venezuelan law called for nominations to be made by politicians of all stripes, but
                  the selections were dominated by Chavez's Patriotic Pole coalition.

                  "I wonder if the attorney general today will ever have the nerve to impeach the
                  president if he has to," said lawmaker Juan Jose Caldera of the opposition
                  Convergencia party.

                  Thirteen of 20 Supreme Court justice posts up for grabs were filled by Chavez
                  loyalists to serve 12-year terms.

                  Vice President Isaias Rodriguez was named attorney general and German
                  Mundarain, an economist who is a close associate of Chavez's political mentor,
                  Luis Miquilena, was named public defender. Both will serve seven-year terms.

                  Miquilena, head of Chavez's political party, had said earlier this year that the
                  Supreme Court, attorney general and ombudsman needed to be loyal to Chavez's
                  "revolution."

                  Congress ousted interim Attorney General Javier Elechiguerra and public
                  defender Dilia Parra. Both were Chavez appointees who turned out to be
                  mavericks by challenging the legality of some of the president's political reforms.

                  "Venezuela is living one of its worst moments as a republic, a situation in which
                  all the country's institutions share the same political philosophy," said Deputy
                  Julio Borges of the opposition Justice First party.

                  Congress president William Lara responded: "We are certain that (the appointees)
                  will do their work based on their autonomy and independence."

                  Chavez was elected president in 1998 with strong support from Venezuela's poor
                  majority. A former army paratrooper who staged a failed coup in 1992, he and
                  his supporters adopted a new constitution that shut down the
                  opposition-controlled Senate and established a unicameral legislature.

                  Subsequent elections for governors, mayors and municipal authorities mostly
                  were won by the president's supporters. Venezuelans also approved lengthening
                  the president's term from five to six years.

                  Chavez consistently denies allegations he is accumulating too much power.

                  Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.