National Guard Gen. Rafael Damiani Bustillos claimed Chavez had ordered guardsmen to remove thousands of protesters who are supporting dissident executives at the oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela. The executives want Chavez to rescind top managers he appointed on Feb. 25.
Government officials couldn't immediately be reached by telephone to comment on Bustillos' claim.
Guard troops took positions around the building in eastern Caracas on Tuesday to protect it.
"The president of the republic ordered the National Guard to use force to remove people in front of (the building)," Bustillos told Associated Press Television News.
He urged officers not to obey "a presidential lunacy that is going to (ruin) the name of the armed forces, especially the National Guard." He also appealed for calm, both from the opposition and the government.
Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin said earlier Wednesday the government would take any action "under the law" to preserve order.
Also on Wednesday, an army general whose duties included patrolling part of the western border with Colombia accused Chavez of taking a "passive" attitude toward leftist Colombian guerrillas.
Brig. Gen. Nestor Gonzalez Gonzalez said at a Caracas news conference that Colombian guerrillas maintain camps along the remote frontier and that Chavez's government was lying when it denied such camps exist inside Venezuela.
Gonzalez Gonzalez accused Chavez of refusing to govern democratically, of sympathizing with the rebels and politicizing Venezuela's military.
"Mr. President, you have betrayed the country," he said. "Respect the national armed forces."
Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel said he had no immediate comment.
Gonzalez Gonzalez is a former commander of army schools and of forces operating in the western state of Tachira, along the Colombian border. He was relieved of his command in January after news reports that he urged fellow generals to refrain from politics.
Last month, Colombian Gen. Martin Carreno said rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, had camps inside Venezuelan territory and had attacked his forces from the other side of the border. The March 20 battle left at least 41 soldiers and rebels dead. [End]
Venezuelan Army General Nestor Gonzalez departs after speaking to the press, April 10, 2002. General Gonzalez sharply criticized President Hugo Chavez, accusing him of betraying the nation with his leftist policies and of lying about the presence of Colombian Marxist guerrillas in venezuelan territory. The denunciation comes at a time when the populist leader is facing a national anti-goverment strike by labor and business opponents and an escalating protest in the state oil giant PDVSA. REUTERS/Stringer - Apr 10 3:05 PM ET