Chavez's security forces have been beefed up with Castro's agents and the armed civilians are Chavez's Bolivarian Circle Chavistas, also called thugs and looters.
Baltazar Porres, a senior Catholic bishop whom Chavez turned to for protection on the night of the coup, said last week's violence was a "machete blow to the soul of the Venezuelan people" and though Chavez' apologies for the errors of his rule were a good start "more has to be done." He has called for a full investigation into the killings. A prominent human rights group said on Saturday at least three journalists had received death threats after reporting on the killings, which opposition groups blame on armed gangs and other allies of Chavez.-- The government says most of the dead were Chavez supporters.
One of the dead was a reporter and I believe two others were wounded. Chavez has blamed unrest on the media (and just about everyone else) and his Chavistas have been terrorizing them for a long time. Interesting that in a protest numbering 500,000, reports had so many casualties.
What are the odds on Mr. Ortega's living to a ripe old age?