Chavez said to arm Venezuela vigilantes***CARACAS, Venezuela - Bolivarian Circles, the Cuban-inspired neighborhood vigilante groups charged with protecting the populist revolution of President Hugo Chavez, are being armed with weapons diverted from the military, according to army officers. The increased firepower raises the risk of violence between them and anti-Chavez groups who have marched almost daily to protest the president's order last week to fire the chief of the Caracas city police and place his forces under the control of the national guard.
Members of the Bolivarian Circles say they exist to perform community social services and support the president. But others see a more sinister purpose to the circles, comparing them to Cuban groups that keep watch on their neighbors and report any counterrevolutionary activity. "The Bolivarian Circles are a sort of militia," said Gen. Nestor Gonzalez, who charged that weapons belonging to the armed forces have been diverted to the groups. "They are progressively replacing [the army]."***
***Many police officers have refused to recognize the new police chief Chavez appointed, and Pena said violent crime has risen 40 percent since the militarization. Pena went to Venezuela's highest administrative court to appeal the takeover, and Friday evening the court ruled that he has control over police installations while they make a final ruling in the case. But Pena said the government wasn't obeying the order. "I don't have tanks or bazookas or airplanes to make the head of the military in Caracas obey a court order," he told The Associated Press. "All I can do is denounce it to you."***Source
***Chávez's October takeover of the Metropolitan Police helped trigger the now 36-day strike. The Supreme Court later ruled the military takeover illegal, but the army began making gestures Sunday to defy the court order and regain control of the law enforcement agency. ''The officers are totally kidnapped,'' said Luis Delgado, chief of the police motorcycle squad. *** Source
January 2003 - Venezuelan Troops Seize Caracas Police Weapons*** CARACAS, Venezuela - Soldiers seized most of the heavy weapons and anti-riot equipment from Caracas' police force Tuesday, police said after President Hugo Chavez threatened to increase the military's control over the force and accused it of siding with his opponents. Troops searched most of the capital's police stations at dawn and confiscated all weapons except .38 revolvers, said police chief Henry Vivas. The seizure could raise tensions in a 44-day-old general strike aimed at ousting Chavez, which has been marked by almost daily street protests, including clashes between Chavez supporters and opponents.
"We don't understand this action," Vivas told Union Radio. "This leaves us at a tremendous disadvantage against criminals. Instead of disarming criminals, they disarm the police. It's outrageous." Also seized was anti-riot equipment like tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Vivas said the confiscation violated a Supreme Court ruling ordering the government to return the force to the control of Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, a staunch Chavez foe. Vivas said he would challenge the seizure in court. A Defense Ministry spokesman declined to comment.***
Military seizes heavy arms from Caracas police-Officers left with pistols as Chávez tightens control *** By taking heavy arms away from the police loyal to his nemesis -- Peña -- Chávez weakens one of the only forces friendly to the opposition and strengthens his own grip on power. In eight pre-dawn raids, the military seized 581 submachine guns, 1,712 shotguns, 14 riot-control rifles equipped to fire nonlethal bullets, as well as tear gas launchers and ammunition clips, the police said. The 10,000 officers were allowed to keep their .38-caliber revolvers. ''Instead of disarming the criminals, they disarm the police,'' Police Director Henry Vivas complained. ``It's unprecedented.''
The intense rivalry between Chávez and the Metropolitan Police began shortly after the president's 1998 election, when he began making changes to consolidate his power. Through a constituent assembly's new constitution, Chávez abolished Congress, creating a single-chamber legislature that he controlled. But before that new assembly got to work, an interim Congress appointed a new public prosecutor, comptroller, Supreme Court, and elections council, which until then had functioned as independent powers. ''When all you want is one political party, one newspaper, one radio station, and control over police and banks,'' Peña said, ``you are instituting a totalitarian regime.''***