Posted on 02/27/2003 1:06:25 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela -- A march by thousands of anti-government protesters forced the suspension of talks aimed at ending Venezuela's political turmoil Wednesday, while the U.S. Embassy beefed up security following "credible" threats.
Marching just days after the arrest of a leader of a crippling two-month strike, the demonstrators dared President Hugo Chavez's government to jail them, waving placards reading "Chavez, your mask is off, dictator!" and "Put us all in prison!"
An opposition member holds a poster which reads: 'Chavez remove your mask, Dictator' during a rally in support of the general strike leader Carlos Fernandez who is under house arrest, and Carlos Ortega who is in hiding, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Talks between government and opposition delegates were scheduled to begin mid-afternoon Wednesday, but the march forced their rescheduling until today.
Protest leader Carlos Fernandez has been ordered under house arrest to face rebellion and other charges for leading the 63-day general strike against Chavez. Police are searching for strike co-leader Carlos Ortega.
Members of Alliance Democratic (AD), an opposition party march in support of general strike leaders Carlos Fernandez who is under house arrest, and Carlos Ortega who is hiding, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2003. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch)
The protesters marched past the Fedecamaras business chamber of which Fernandez is president and ended at the labor confederation headquarters where Ortega is president. There were no reports of violence.
Authorities were also seeking to arrest seven people who were fired from executive positions with the state-run oil company for participating in the work stoppage. A judge issued the warrants Wednesday night.
Juan Echeverria, an attorney representing the executives, said he had reports that they would be charged with interrupting and "damaging the means used to supply" fuel, which carries a sentence of up to six years upon conviction.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy closed Wednesday after receiving "credible information of a threat to its security," a statement said. The closure came a day after two bombs ravaged Colombian and Spanish diplomatic missions, injuring four people and generating fears that the nation's political crisis was entering a more violent phase.
At a U.S. request, Venezuelan officials said they sent more than a dozen federal agents, national guardsmen and municipal police to boost security around the embassy, which wasn't expected to reopen until Friday.
No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's bombings, which blew out ceilings and twisted metal street signs. Both sides in Venezuela's conflict blamed each other, and the finger-pointing threatened to undermine Organization of American States-sponsored negotiations.
"Negotiations, it seems, are becoming less and less viable as the days go on," said Michael Shifter, an analyst at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think tank.
Leaflets supporting Chavez were found near both blasts. They were seized on by the opposition as evidence that the attacks were carried out by government sympathizers.
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel ridiculed these suggestions and said opponents of the president might have been involved.
Fernandez's arrest this weekend came just days after the sides signed an agreement rejecting violence and provocative language.
"The government is violating and walking all over the agreement that we signed when the ink has not even dried," said Americo Martin, one of the opposition delegates at the peace talks.
Fernandez said he would fight the detention order. "I'm a political prisoner," he said from his home.
Chavez Plans for Terrorist Regime
A Terrorist Regime Waits in the Wings***During the 1990s, the Clinton administration looked the other way as the FARC grew stronger. In 1995, according to a recent Rand study for the Pentagon, it had 7,000 fighters on 60 fronts; five years later, there were 15,000 to 20,000 FARC combatants on more than 70 fronts. The huge increase was financed with money from American cocaine and heroin users, but the Clinton administration reversed long-standing bipartisan policy and drew a distinction between drug traffickers and guerrillas. On condition of anonymity, a senior State Department official assured Insight with a straight face in 1999 that "there is no such thing as narcoterrorists." ***
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.