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Unknown assailants early Jan. 19 threw five tear gas canisters at the headquarters of the Apostolic Nunciature in north Caracas, the Vatican’s embassy in Venezuela, El Universal reported. The canisters exploded inside the building. Assailants also lobbed tear gas canisters at the house of an anti-government media mogul and torched a student leader’s car, Reuters reported. Pro-government group La Piedrita allegedly was behind the attacks.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Hugo Chavez has been accused of using Venezuela's oil riches to meddle in Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Now, Peru's president says the Venezuelan leader may be doing it here by funding militants and anti-poverty centers that preach populist revolution. In recent weeks, Peruvian police have arrested nine people the government alleges are militants bankrolled by Venezuela. And the head of a Congressional investigatory committee accused Venezuela of supplying funds to outreach centers he says agitate against the government. President Alan Garcia supports the ongoing investigation into the centers. Venezuela and allies Bolivia and Ecuador "want...

Some ten Mexican citizens may be among the dead from the Colombian military attack carried out last Saturday against a FARC camp in Ecuador, confirmed today the Coordinating Minister of Internal Security, Gustavo Larrea. Larrea said to news reporters that there could be "more than ten, a numerous group" of the at least 24 people who died in Operation Fenix, in which died the number two of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), "Raul Reyes". The minister said that they were a group of professors and students from the Autonomous National University of Mexico (Unam) who had "come...

Chavez supporters await call to arms By Jeremy McDermott, in Caracas Last Updated: 1:52am GMT 29/11/2006 Thousands of armed Venezuelans are preparing to ensure that President Hugo Chavez is re-elected on Sunday and will "shed their blood" for the cause if necessary. President Hugo Chavez watches a parade in Caracas Paranoid about the prospect of a coup or losing the presidential election fair and square, the firebrand leader of anti-American sentiment in Latin America has spent his eight years in office filling government jobs with acting and retired army officers. With Mr Chavez hoping to win another six years in...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – President Hugo Chavez constantly warns Venezuelans a U.S. invasion is imminent. Now he’s begun training a civilian militia as well as the Venezuelan army to resist in the only way possible against a much better–equipped force: by taking to the hills and fighting a guerrilla war. Supporters of the president, a former paratroop commander, are increasingly taking up his call. Chavez wants 1 million armed men and women in the army reserve, and 150,000 have already joined, surpassing the regular military’s force of 100,000. Now Venezuelans are also organizing neighborhood–based militia units for Chavez’s Territorial Guard....

Nearly 15 years after the collapse of the USSR, America could encounter what would have been unthinkable during the Cold War - a hostile, communist nation on our southern border. If the plans of the Marxist president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, are successful, America's neighbor to the south will become a virtual enemy camp. For the past five years, Chavez has sent money and agents to Mexico to finance and infiltrate local political groups on the left, according to a Mexican news daily The goal is ideological -- pro-Chavez operatives want to dominate the increasingly powerful left wing in Mexico....

Dictators and strongmen enjoy basking in their own glory. Spain's Generalisimo Francisco Franco waved from balconies to arranged crowds. North Korea's Kim Jong-il once preferred to be called "Dear Leader." Uganda's Idi Amin loved to show off in race cars. Cuba's Fidel Castro turned olive-green fatigues and seven-hour speeches into trademarks. None managed to extend their charisma much beyond their borders. But Venezuela's authoritarian President Hugo Chavez seems to be making waves -- not only in South America, but also in the United States, throwing money around from his country's oil industry, which he controls. Here, his government reportedly pays...

Chavez prepares his people's army to confront US By Sophie Arie in Caracas (Filed: 04/03/2006) Venezuela begins training a vast army of civilian reserves today to fight off the attack its Left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, says the United States is plotting against it. The oil-rich state aims to teach up to two million volunteers, from the unemployed to office workers, shop assistants and housewives, basic military skills such as marching in step or shooting to kill.Hugo Chavez warned Venezuelans to expect an attack from the US If it reaches that size, the force will be the largest civilian reserve army...

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (USA) - Venezuelan exile groups in this U.S. territory accuse Hugo Chavez of interfering with the internal affairs of the United States by expanding his "Bolivarian Circles" to U.S. shores. At the popular local talk show "En La Mirilla" (In The Cross Hairs), Venezuelan exile leaders exposed the attempts of the Chavez "Bolivarian Revolution" to stir revolt in this U.S. Commonwealth. The accusations coincide with the visit of Venezuelan Minister Luis Tascón to the island. Tascón, infamous for publishing lists of opposition members in Venezuela by using electoral lists, is in Puerto Rico to meet with...

In Venezuela, publishing this report would be a crime carrying a 40-month prison sentence. Autocrats and Activists Warning! Do not discuss, debate, or distribute this report in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This report contains statements critical of President Hugo Chávez, a criminal offense punishable by fine and imprisonment there. The Law on the Social Responsibility of Radio and Television went into effect in Venezuela in November 2004, followed by amendments to Venezuela’s Criminal Code that went into force in March 2005. These measures make it a criminal offense to insult or show disrespect for the president and other government...

WASHINGTON - Miami's Jesús Soto supports Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's vision of ''participatory democracy.'' Valerie Pusch of Chicago backs Chávez because of his policies on behalf of the poor. And they say so loudly, as heads of their local Bolivarian Circles -- among the dozen or so U.S. copies of the groups Chávez has set up throughout his country to mobilize Venezuelans on behalf of his socialist ``revolution.'' Even as Chávez attacks President Bush as his sworn nemesis, his government is running a strong campaign to curry favor with U.S. citizens through leftist grass-roots groups, paid lobbyists and public relations...

An e-mail is bouncing around the Internet with photographs of alleged Bolivarian gunmen in an area of Caracas that appears to be 23 de Enero. Many appear to be teenagers, they are wearing Bolivarian t-shirts with Che Guevara's face super-imposed on Venezuela's national colors, and they are armed with Glock 9mm semi-automatic handguns. According to Pensamiento Militar Venezolano 2005, a strategic and tactical military defense document drafted under the direction of President Hugo Chávez, the core mission of these armed youths is to turn Caracas into a kill zone where escualidos will be hunted down systematically if the Chávez regime...

QUITO - An Ecuadorean military intelligence report alleges that leftists from Ecuador and seven other Latin American nations received guerrilla training in Venezuela this year from backers of President Hugo Chávez. The report does not link Chávez personally to the training in explosives, weapons and urban guerrilla tactics. But it notes that part of the training took place in two Caracas military bases, one used by the army reserves and another that houses the Defense Ministry. And in a concluding section, it says that backers of the Venezuelan president, ``with covert support from the government of Hugo Chávez . ....

ON SEPTEMBER 24 the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution that, in part, called on Iran "to observe fully its commitments and to return to the negotiating process that has made good progress in the last two years." The resolution is just the latest chapter in the ongoing dispute over Iran's nuclear programs, but a look at the votes cast by the IAEA's members reveals a great deal about the international landscape: Of the IAEA's 35 board members, 22 voted in favor of the resolution, 12 abstained (including Russia, which is heavily invested in Iran's nuclear programs), and one...

London 06.09.05 | A church located southeast of Caracas in "Barrio El Winche" of Fila de Mariches and attended by the congregation of Laura Sisters and the Salesian Fathers has been invaded and taken over by supporters of Hugo Chavez, El Universal reports today. Members of Endogenous Battle Units (Unidades de Batalla Endógenas or UBE) -a Chavez invention to create a new democratic model of popular support- expressed that the action was taken in order to establish, in the church, a post of military security that shall be manned by Venezuela's National Guard.

Demagogues: Jesse Jackson was in top form, flying into Caracas to take a cheap shot at Pat Robertson and sing the praises of Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. But amid the huzzahs, something ugly was happening outside. Seems that Chavez was in top form, too, doing what dictators like his pal Fidel Castro do. Opposition leaders say that while Jackson was visiting over the weekend, Chavez's men sent mobs to ambush about 1,000 peaceful protesters with rocks, bottles and fireworks in downtown Caracas. Venezuelan media reported nine injured, two seriously. An eyewitness said those hit hardest, and often from behind, were vocal...

In Caracas, Venezuela Rafael Cabrices does not know whether the attack will come by sea, by land, or even from within Venezuela. But he is sure that US President George W Bush is plotting to oust leftist President Hugo Chavez - and Mr Cabrices is preparing his people to fight. "That crazy man wants the petroleum," Mr Cabrices, 60, says in his office decorated with posters of Che Guevara, Simon Bolivar and President Chavez. In the empty parking lot outside, civilian "corporals" bark commands at groups of adults and teenagers in white shirts and black caps and pants. They are...

In a recent speech to the Council of the Americas, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice delivered an upbeat assessment concerning South America. She included the continent as part of the “larger tide of liberty” that was sweeping the globe, declaring the region “committed to democracy”. While the secretary’s optimistic tone is certainly pleasing to the ear, it fails to recognize the challenge posed by Venezuelan’s president, Hugo Chavez. An ally of both Fidel Castro and the government of Iran, Chavez has worked tirelessly to frustrate US efforts across the continent. His most recent provocation, among many others, was charging the...

The elimination of the Armed Forces committed to a democratic state is an essential condition to the development of the project headed by Hugo Chávez. The institution that swore loyalty to whom ever was elected by the people, as representative of the whole society (which includes everyone, whether they voted for him or not) does not work for this regime. The principle of alternating [in power] must be weakened so that, instead, the caudillo can install himself [in power] to the end of time. This is the reason the Armed Forces must be changed into an institution committed ideologically to...

CARACAS,VENEZUELA-Venezuelan army reservists are training civilians, apparently to defend their country against a presumed U.S. invasion. But critics say President Hugo Chávez is building a private army. It began loudly, with a boombox blasting the calvary bugle through the soft, early-evening air. The sound prompted 80 or so mostly young men and women, dressed in white T-shirts and black baseball caps, to run to get into a tight military formation. ''Buenas noches!'' barked army reservist Sgt. Ricardo Nahmens, dressed in camouflage, at the unarmed group gathered recently in the gravel parking lot in western Caracas. ''Guarantee of security and national...

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Chanting "fatherland or death," dozens of President Hugo Chavez's supporters lined up in formation, vowing to defend the country if the United States tries to invade. Led by an army reservist, the volunteers in black caps said their numbers would swell in the coming months. The start of training for "Popular Defense Units" marks a more confrontational stage in U.S.-Venezuelan relations. Chavez is tightening his personal security, accusing Washington of backing a plot to assassinate him. While U.S. officials seek to isolate a leader who has become a symbol of anti-American sentiment in Latin America, Chavez is...

Sources: Chavez Calls In Foreign Aid in Preparation for Crackdown?Dec 09, 2002 Summary The risk of violence is escalating in Venezuela, where multiple sources say President Hugo Chavez is arming domestic supporters and possibly calling in help from Cuban nationals and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Analysis The threat of major violence in Venezuela within the next two or three days is increasing rapidly in cities like Caracas and Maracaibo, Stratfor sources say. The government of embattled President Hugo Chavez is arming hundreds of civilian supporters, at least three small groups of Colombian rebels have crossed the border...

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) confirmed that Rodrigo Granda Escobar, known as "the Chancellor" was kidnapped in Venezuela, while attending the Second Bolivarian Peoples Conference. In a statement published on their web page, the Central Command of this organization blamed the kidnapping of "Ricardo", as he is known within FARC, on "the Colombian intelligence services" and blamed his deportation on "gringo advisors and the complicit support of corrupt elements of the Venezuelan police". In the statement they went on to ask that the government of Venezuela make "its position clear regarding guarantees to the other bolivarian organizations that...

Miami.- The ties between the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, and the extremist Tupamaros goes back to 1980 when the president was still an army officer, according to Alberto Carías, the "ideological leader" of this organization [as published in the "The Miami Herald"] Carías – who admitted that his organization took the name of the Uruguayan guerrilla group that operated in the seventies, told the newspaper that he and his men fought in the coup d’etat of February 4, 1992 by Chavez against the democratic government of president Carlos Andrés Pérez. The "Herald" published today an extensive interview with Carías...

<p>WASHINGTON - It was both an auspicious and ominous way to begin the week: Auspicious because of President George Bush's resolute demand that Saddam Hussein and his sons leave Iraq. There were also ominous noises from his predecessor in the White House, Bill Clinton, who bared not only his antagonism to the president but his horror at envisioning a strong America.</p>

CARACAS, Venezuela - From her bed in a Caracas military hospital, the wiry, chain-smoking prisoner vowed to continue a hunger strike and risk becoming the first death in Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's "revolution." "Comandante" Lina Ron, who considers herself a modern version of "Tania," a woman who fought alongside Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, says she is a willing martyr for Chavez's cause. She was arrested after leading a violent pro-Chavez counter-protest against demonstrating university students. Thousands follow her lead in Venezuela and they have increasingly quashed dissent, breaking up anti-government protests, intimidating journalists and alarming the president's critics. Chavez...

Venezuela No Longer a Reliable Oil Partner April 3, 2003: It seems that the basis of Venezuelan-U.S. relations, oil and democracy, has faded with the promise of oil in Iraq. The plea for democratic reforms in Venezuela has not been enough for an increased presence of the U.S. The U.S. has been careful in mediating the stalled negotiations between the opposition and the government. The opposition calls for a constitutional amendment that would reduce the president’s and Congress’s term from six to four years, and the government has promised only to accept a referendum on the president’s tenure, doomed to...

The peach stucco house fades into Kendall's landscape, not a hint of the politics humming inside. Posters line a room in the back, bearing the likeness of embattled Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Red pins dot a U.S. map, marking this pro-Chávez base and others recently formed around the nation, known as Bolivarian Circles -- the controversial beating heart of Chávez's civic support. One year ago, Jesús Soto's Kendall home became the first U.S. extension of the Chávez-organized groups. In Venezuela, critics claim, the groups are armed and trained by the government and strike out violently against journalists and civilians. ''We...

President Hugo Chavez relies on a group of staunch supporters outside the cabinet to help defend his government. Many hold senior positions within the armed forces, the ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), community organisations and local government. Several are linked to the so-called Bolivarian Circles, described by the government as civil action groups which give a voice to the poorest sectors of Venezuelan society. Named after the national hero, Liberator Simon Bolivar, about 70,000 of these community groups - which lobby the government directly for funds - have been set up across the country to fight for the rights of...

Embassies of Chavez's Critics Bombed Feb. 24: Three were wounded in the explosion of two bombs in the Spanish Embassy and Colombian consulate Monday in Caracas, Venezuela early today. Signed brochures promoting President Hugo Chavez’s “Bolivarian Revolution” were found at the sites. A Venezuelan government official said, "We are outraged and will find those responsible for the crimes” (www.eluniversal.com) as he evaluated the damage. The violent act comes in a time of gross discontent by the Chavez regime with the negotiating committees led by Cesar Gaviria, ex–president of Colombia and current secretary general of the Organization of American States. Gaviria...

Powerful explosions just minutes apart devastated the Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions Tuesday, injuring four people and raising fears that Colombian-style terror has reached next-door Venezuela. The attacks in Caracas came two days after President Hugo Chavez denounced Colombia and Spain, among other nations, for allegedly interfering in Venezuelan affairs. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts. Leaflets supporting Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution," a political movement loosely based on the writings of 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar, were found outside both missions. But Chavez's government dismissed the papers as a "ridiculous" plant and said no one should jump to...

As Washington prepares a high-stakes military venture in the Persian Gulf, a growing physical threat is being posed by Iraq, Libya and Iran to the soft underbelly of the United States. Hundreds and possibly thousands of agents from rogue Arab nations are working hard to help President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela take control of South America's largest oil industry and create al-Qaeda-friendly terrorist bases just two hours' flying time from Miami. Arab advisers now are reinforcing a sizable contingent of Cubans in efforts to reorganize Venezuela's security services, assimilate its industries based on totalitarian models and repress a popular opposition...

To members of the International Media Dear Sirs: I have become very disappointed with the poor amount and sometimes unjust coverage given to the TRUE current Venezuelan political and economic crisis, as well as the slanted view presented in the American media regarding this extremely important matter. In the next few paragraphs, I will present some facts that I hope will give a different view of what is generally presented in American newspapers and broadcasts. I dearly hope that this will give a clearer sense of what is truly happening in Venezuela and shed some light on the indescribable damage...

CARACAS, Venezuela - A group of lawyers filed a lawsuit against Hugo Chavez in Spain's highest court accusing the Venezuelan president of crimes against humanity and state terrorism. Attorney Alfredo Romero, representing 6 Spanish citizens and 24 Venezuelans, told The Associated Press in Caracas Tuesday said the suit argues that Chavez was responsible for disturbances on April 11, 2002. The violence erupted when pro- and anti-Chavez demonstrators clashed in downtown Caracas - 19 Venezuelans died and hundreds more were wounded, among them one Spaniard who was killed and three injured, he said. The riots spurred a coup that ousted Chavez...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's National Assembly hasn't finished a session in the last two weeks, partly because opposition lawmakers are being harassed and even attacked by President Hugo Chavez's most radical supporters. "We've been forced to suspend the sessions because nobody can work like this, trying to vote while knowing that armed thugs are waiting outside," Cesar Perez, a member of the Social Christian Party, said Friday. More than 200 riot police and National Guardsmen were sent to the assembly on Thursday night to protect lawmakers from rowdy "Chavistas" who threw rocks and bottles when opposition legislator Pastor Heyra tried...

It is one thing to write about the authoritarian soul of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as I have for years, and another to see its ugly face. Last Friday, while marching with my 13-year-old daughter in Caracas, through unbearable fumes of tear gases, I could clearly distinguish the face of fascism. We were part of a peaceful demonstration of several hundred thousand Venezuelans who were marching to demand early elections as a democratic solution to the current political crisis. Near the end of the route, we were ambushed by armed civil groups who attacked us with tear gas, stones, sticks...

Much of South America is spiraling into a political and economic morass that invites not only further demographic dislocation but an unprecedented haven for terrorism and political extremism. Yet in the Bush administration, only the Department of Defense (DoD) seems to be presenting a plan to salvage a democratic future for the region, even as the State Department and the National Security Council (NSC) offer only what one observer calls "bureaucratic bromides." U.S. inattention to its neighbors is reaping a bitter harvest: * Colombia, under a new, pro-U.S. president committed to smashing his country's two Marxist-Leninist narcoterrorist groups and eradicating...

On January 5, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's former personal pilot dropped a bombshell that has been ignored by just about every major U.S. news organization: The Venezuelan president, according to the pilot, gave al Qaeda a substantial sum of money following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Venezuelan Air Force Major Juan Diaz Castillo, who is now seeking political asylum in the United States and says his "life and liberty are in danger in Venezuela," says Chavez chose him to conduct the transfer because he trusted him as a close personal assistant. But Díaz, disgusted with Chavez's regime, resigned his...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Gasoline pumps have almost dried up and staple food stocks in many places are dwindling, but President Hugo Chavez still commands broad support, especially among Venezuela's majority poor. Chavez's foes launched a general strike on Dec. 2 to force him to resign or allow early elections, before a possible recall vote in August. They are betting that strangling Venezuela's oil-dependent economy will motivate Venezuelans to demand his resignation or force a vote. But millions of people, especially among Venezuela's poor and working class, insist they won't allow a return of the two-party system that Chavez displaced in...

<p>The Bolivarian Circles are modeled after Cuba's Committee for the Defense of the Revolution and serve as liaisons between the neighborhoods and the government as well as fomenting key support for Chavez.</p> <p>CARACAS - Dressed in a yellow crocheted sweater and seated behind a cracked Formica table trimmed with Christmas tinsel, Maria Gisela Blanco looks more like a schoolteacher than a foot soldier in a political revolution.</p>

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Shrugging off a Supreme Court ruling to give up military control of the Caracas police, Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez on Thursday vowed to defend his "revolution" despite an opposition strike that has throttled the country's vital oil industry. Chavez, who survived a coup in April and is resisting calls to resign, also vowed to purge state oil firm PDVSA from what he called "coup plotting oil elites" as he intensifies efforts to crack down on an 18-day-old strike that has blocked shipments from the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter. "Behind the attempt to stop PDVSA there's...

PRESIDENT Hugo Chavez has won the support of the Venezuelan army in his battle to end a general strike now in its third week. But the real victim of the dispute, called by the country's opposition in the hope of ousting him from the presidency, is the economy. The stoppage has practically halted exports of Venezuelan oil; as a result, an increasing number of the country's firms face the prospect of losing business and market share. International oil prices are being nudged higher by the uncertainty caused by the strike. And as rival groups of demonstrators clash in the streets...

<p>CARACAS, Venezuela - Bolivarian Circles, the Cuban-inspired neighborhood vigilante groups charged with protecting the populist revolution of President Hugo Chavez, are being armed with weapons diverted from the military, according to army officers.</p> <p>The increased firepower raises the risk of violence between them and anti-Chavez groups who have marched almost daily to protest the president's order last week to fire the chief of the Caracas city police and place his forces under the control of the national guard.</p>

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Clashes between Venezuelan troops and supporters of President Hugo Chavez killed one person, wounded 20 and prompted an appeal for peace from the head of the Organization of American States. National Guardsmen and police on Tuesday battled dozens of pro-Chavez activists who had surrounded city hall, trapping the mayor and opposition leaders inside for several hours. The opposition is calling for a referendum on the president's continued rule. Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, but they repeatedly regrouped to throw rocks, fire shots and burn tires in the streets. A National Guard soldier and...

Mayor Alfredo Pena's building looks more like a besieged fortress than a city hall, with bullet-pocked windows and doors barricaded against radicals loyal to President Hugo Chavez. "If the world wants proof that Chavez doesn't want dialogue, here it is," Pena said in his office, daylight peeking through a bullet hole in a red curtain. Seven months after a coup briefly toppled the leftist president, Venezuela is descending into political chaos again. Chavez must not only contend with opposition forces, but also admits he is losing control of his radical street fighters. On Monday, a pro-Chavez mob led by Lina...

<p>The police here say they're up against a new adversary — armed supporters of their own president, Hugo Chavez.</p> <p>Recriminations are still flying almost two months after police responding to a street protest ran into a carefully planned ambush.</p> <p>Pinned down by snipers, officers radioed desperately for help as high-caliber bullets pierced their armor-plated water cannon. Three officers and four civilians were wounded.</p>

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Nine people were shot and wounded in violent disturbances in Venezuela on Thursday after the Supreme Court rejected a preliminary proposal to put on trial four military officers accused in April's uprising against President Hugo Chavez. After police clashed with supporters of the populist leader clamoring against the ruling, at least eight civilians were wounded by gunfire and a police officer was shot in the leg, authorities said. Several other officers suffered minor injuries in the clashes. "They have taken eight people wounded by gunfire to Lidice Hospital," police commissioner Leobaldo Navas told local radio. Navas...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled a judge's decision to free three men accused of homicide in the shooting deaths of opposition protesters that provoked an April coup. The court ordered a lower tribunal to arrest the men and then determine if they should be held without bail. On July 11, Judge Norma Sandoval ruled that videotape allegedly showing the men shooting at protesters during an opposition march on April 11 was inadmissible as evidence. Sandoval ordered Caracas city councilman Richard Penalver, Rafael Cabrices and Henry Atencio released from custody. The three, all members of President Hugo...

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of President Hugo Chavez' opponents marched in Caracas on Thursday, calling for the resignation of the left-wing leader and his attorney general whom they accuse of bias in the probe of killings during last month's coup. With chants of "out, out," and "Hugo, Hugo, time to go," demonstrators snaked through Caracas to the office of Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez, who is investigating the fatal shooting of 17 people during an anti-government rally on April 11 that triggered the coup. "The criminals are still walking about free," said Mohamad Mechi, whose 18-year-old son Jesus...

CARACAS - Amid new threats of a military coup, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has purged nearly half the armed forces leadership and replaced it with younger officers believed to be loyal to his leftist ideals. Chávez has removed so many generals and admirals since a failed coup last month that he has been obliged to appoint some lower-ranking colonels in their place, further irking proud commanders by bypassing requirements that top officers fill top posts. But the crackdown has not stopped secret groups of mid-level officers from issuing threats, including one last weekend, to topple Chávez unless he amends his...