Ramon Rodriguez, a serving navy officer and close Chavez confidant who was interior minister until the president resigned on Friday morning, was punched by a furious mob as he was led handcuffed to a police vehicle outside an upscale Caracas apartment building.
"He is suspected of responsibility for yesterday's incidents," the mayor of Caracas' Chacao neighborhood, Leopoldo Lopez, told reporters.
Chavez was being detained at a military base, although it was not clear if he had been charged. Rodriguez has been the only one of his former ministers to be arrested, but police have rounded up several men suspected of firing on the huge anti-Chavez protest in central Caracas on Thursday.
Chavez, 47, a former paratrooper, resigned early on Friday under pressure from senior armed forces officers who had lost patience with his confrontational leadership style and left-wing populist politics. [End]
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State Dept. Statement on Venezuela - Fri Apr 12, 2:04 PM ET - By The Associated Press [Full Text] The State Department statement Friday on the ouster of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez:
In recent days, we expressed our hopes that all parties in Venezuela, but especially the Chavez administration, would act with restraint and show full respect for the peaceful expression of political opinion. We are saddened at the loss of life. We wish to express our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and look forward to working with all democratic forces in Venezuela to ensure the full exercise of democratic rights. The Venezuelan military commendably refused to fire on peaceful demonstrators, and the media valiantly kept the Venezuelan public informed.
Yesterday's events in Venezuela resulted in a transitional government until new elections can be held. Though details are still unclear, undemocratic actions committed or encouraged by the Chavez administration provoked yesterday's crisis in Venezuela.
According to the best information available, at this time: Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans gathered peacefully to seek redress of their grievances. The Chavez government attempted to suppress peaceful demonstrations. Chavez supporters, on orders, fired on unarmed, peaceful protesters, resulting in more than 100 wounded or killed. Venezuelan military and police refused orders to fire on peaceful demonstrators and refused to support the government's role in such human rights violations. The government prevented five independent television stations from reporting on events.
The results of these provocations are: Chavez resigned the presidency. Before resigning, he dismissed the vice president and the cabinet. A transition civilian government has promised early elections.
We have every expectation that this situation of democracy will be resolved peacefully and democratically by the Venezuelan people in accord with the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The essential elements of democracy, which have been weakened in recent months, must be restored fully. We will be consulting with our hemispheric partners, within the framework of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, to assist Venezuela. [End]