Exhibit (a)(1)H.


                                                                October 12, 2001

DEAR CANTV INVESTOR:

       AES Comunicaciones de Venezuela, C. A. ("AES Comunicaciones"), a company
jointly owned by The AES Corporation and Corporacion EDC, C. A., is offering to
purchase 28,566,944 American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, of Compania Anonima
Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV) for $24.00 per ADS in cash (each ADS
representing 7 Class D shares of CANTV). Additionally, AES Comunicaciones is
offering to purchase in Venezuela 199,968,608 CANTV shares for $3.4285714 per
share in cash.

       CANTV has rejected the AES Comunicaciones offers and proposed instead a
share repurchase program financed with your money. Shareholders will vote on
this proposal at a special meeting on October 24, 2001.

       Venezuelas National Securities Commission demanded that CANTV disclose
the details of its proposal. However, as of the date of this letter, CANTV has
not provided these details to you. CANTV just does not seem to care about your
right to make an informed decision.

       CANTV's actions - including its attempt to rush a vote on a share
repurchase proposal while withholding fundamental information - are part of an
ill-advised strategy to prevent you from participating in the AES Comunicaciones
offers or any other potential offers. You must ask yourself whether CANTV is
acting in your best interests. CANTV's proposed share repurchase program is
contrary to your best interests.

                             PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS:
             VOTE AGAINST CANTV'S PROPOSED SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

       If you think your money should not be used to benefit only the
controlling shareholder and management and you want the AES Comunicaciones
offers, or any other potential offers, to proceed, you must vote AGAINST the
share repurchase program proposed by CANTV.

       AES Comunicaciones is offering to purchase your CANTV shares and ADSs for
cash at a significant premium to the pre-announcement trading prices. CANTV
instead is proposing to use your money to block the AES Comunicaciones offers
and any other potential offer. Give yourself and other CANTV share and ADS
holders the opportunity to participate in these offers by voting AGAINST CANTV's
proposed share repurchase plan.

                                  ACT URGENTLY!

       A voting instruction form accompanies this letter. Vote today. If you do
not promptly return your voting instruction, it will not be counted. Worse
still, if you do not vote promptly, CANTV may try to designate a CANTV
representative to vote your shares in favor of the proposal. A failure to vote,
therefore, will have the same effect as a vote in favor of the proposed
repurchase plan. ADS VOTING INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY YOUR BROKER OR BANK
BEFORE 5: 00 P. M. OCTOBER 22, 2001.

Time is short. If you have any questions or require assistance in voting your
shares, please call D. F. King & Co., Inc., which is assisting AES
Comunicaciones, toll-free at (800) 549-6746. Outside the U. S., call collect on
+1 (212) 269-5550.

                                          AES COMUNICACIONES DE VENEZUELA, C. A.