Posted on 12/07/2002 12:54:13 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's opposition stepped up protests against President Hugo Chavez's government Saturday to demand his resignation after three people were killed and 28 others wounded at an opposition rally.
The opposition declared Saturday a national day of mourning as hundreds of people in black clothing gathered at Plaza Francia. More confusion reigned as protesters wrested handguns from two people in the crowd they called "infiltrators."
Opposition leaders blamed Chavez supporters for the fatal shootings during a protest Friday night at an eastern Caracas plaza, which threatened to ignite more violence in a 6-day-old general strike to unseat Chavez.
Chavez appealed for calm and denied opposition claims that he was behind the attack, which occurred moments after the opposition said it would extend the strike. Chavez asked former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who has tried to mediate in Venezuela, to help calm tensions.
Across the city, meanwhile, Chavez supporters were staging a march Saturday celebrating the anniversary of Chavez's first presidential election in 1998.
The pro-Chavez march outraged the opposition Democratic Coordinator political movement. In a statement, the group accused the government of "having declared war against the people" and called for protests throughout the country and, in Caracas, a "march against terrorism" to the headquarters of the government-owned oil monopoly.
Citing the threat of violence, the U.S. State Department on Saturday urged American citizens not to travel to Venezuela.
The opposition wants to force a referendum on Chavez's rule. Chavez, who was briefly ousted by a coup in April, accuses the opposition of trying to provoke another coup.
Chavez's approval among the poor - his core constituency - has slipped to about 45 percent in recent polls, while his overall support hovers around 30 percent. Many Venezuelans accuse the populist former paratrooper of ruining the economy, courting communism and stirring class warfare in this South American nation.
Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, was trying to convene emergency talks. But early Saturday, the government representatives canceled because they said the meeting site wasn't safe, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Gaviria planned to convene the talks again late Saturday afternoon, the source said.
"It's necessary to search for an immediate way out, because we're falling very quickly into a spiral of violence," said dissident Gen. Enrique Medina Gomez, an opposition leader.
Timoteo Zambrano, a delegate to talks with the government, told Union Radio the opposition would demand Chavez's resignation at the next negotiating session.
The strike has paralyzed Venezuela's oil industry, and on Friday night all seven directors of the state-owned oil company offered to resign to protest the board appointment of a Chavez ally, Alfredo Riera.
Chavez's appointment of Riera and other supporters to the PDVSA board earlier this year prompted oil managers to protest what they called a politicization of the company. Their protest eventually paralyzed exports and helped provoke the April coup. Chavez rescinded the appointments.
The United States depends on Venezuela for more than 10 percent of its imports of crude oil, the raw material for heating oil and gasoline. A prolonged shutdown - coupled with the threat of war in Iraq - could drive U.S. energy prices sharply higher.
Hundreds of people were listening to a speech Friday night at the Plaza Francia, the opposition's main rallying point, when several bursts of gunfire were heard.
People dived to the ground and huddled together to protect themselves. Bloodied people were hustled into ambulances and bystanders tried in vain to revive the dead.
"They came out of nowhere and started shooting like crazy," said Gabriela Barreto, 19, who suffered a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
Some opposition leaders were quick to blame the president for the attack. Chavez said he was appalled by the accusations.
Pedro Aristimuno, head of Caracas' health department, said the dead included a 17-year-old girl, a 70-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man. Leopoldo Lopez, mayor of the Caracas district where the plaza is located, said 28 people suffered bullet wounds.
Seven suspects were detained, including one Lopez said confessed to shooting at the crowd. It was unclear what role the other detainees - who included British citizen Frank Ignacio Pieret - were accused of playing. But Lopez said so many injuries "could not have been caused by just one person."
Police confiscated a handgun from taxi driver Joao De Goveia, 39, a Portuguese citizen who has lived in Venezuela for more than 20 years, Lopez said. He said Goveia admitted firing about 10 shots into the crowd.
A bloodied Goveia, shown on television as police shoved him into a sport utility vehicle, told journalists he had confessed. In a brief, confused statement, he said he targeted journalists allied with the opposition.
Goveia was taken to the Justice Ministry on Saturday for questioning.
Sat Dec 7,12:03 PM ET Unidentified men react December 7, 2002 in Caracas, at the site were three persons were killed when at least one gunman opened fire December 6 on a square packed with opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Oppositon leaders blamed Chavez for the fatal shooting of the protesters and threatened to prolong indefinitely a strike that has choked off oil exports in the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Employees of the state-run oil monopoly joined the strike. Shipping agents said Venezuela - the world's fifth-largest oil producer - had stopped exporting oil altogether. The government insisted exports were only delayed.
They can't continue like this. So Chavez will be leaving one way or another. The mode of departure up to Chavez. I would like to see the opposition unite into a true freedom force but it too is divided.
No Peace In Venezuela: Chavez Presidency Drives Wedge Between Families*** CARACAS, Venezuela -- Graciela Angarita hasn't spoken to her sister in more than a year. Theirs is a family feud that is becoming more and more common in a country roiled by political turmoil. While many Venezuelans often find themselves disagreeing with their brothers, sisters, parents and cousins over issues great and small, observers say, they have rarely allowed their differences to drive them apart. Now, though, the national uproar over President Hugo Chavez's rule seems to be rending many families. "She doesn't call me, and she doesn't visit me when she's in town," Angarita, a physician, said of her sister. Since last April, when violence flared in the streets and a coup briefly ousted Chavez, the country's political drama has divided the armed forces labor union and petroleum producers. Now it has arrived at the doorsteps of many households, and some people, like 34-year-old Juana Sulvaran, find it easier not to speak to close relatives. "Five of my seven brothers and sisters voted for Chavez," said Sulvaran, an economic analyst. "Today, only one is a Chavez supporter -- and she doesn't speak to the rest of us." ***
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.