CARACAS (June 7, 2001)—Venezuela's Office of the Public Prosecutor has issued a statement saying it has received no formal request for a ban on Ford Explorers, according to a report from the Associated Press. Several news agencies last week said that Samuel Ruh Rios, head of the Venezuelan consumer protection agency INDECU, had made just such a request.
A spokesman for Ford Motor de Venezuela said the company had no confirmation of this, and that it was frustrated in its efforts to obtain the accident statistics Mr. Ruh had. Ford expects to sell more than 4,000 Explorers in Venezuela this year, according to the AP.