breakingnews.iol.ie 25/02/2003 - 10:53:59 Two powerful explosions injured four people and damaged the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate in the Venezuelan capital early today. Broken glass covered the street outside both buildings while windows in residences almost a block away were shattered by the force of the blasts. Steel gates at the buildings were twisted. Leaflets supporting President Hugo Chavez’s so-called Bolivarian Revolution, a political movement based loosely on the writings of 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar, were found outside the Spanish Embassy. “We believe these were very potent bombs judging by the damage done,” said the mayor of Caracas’ Chacao district, Leopoldo Lopez. The first blast was outside the Spanish embassy in eastern Caracas at about 2am The second explosion, 15 minutes later, rocked the Colombian consulate. The blasts lightly injured four people, including a night watchmen. The explosions came shortly after Chavez warned Colombia and Spain, among other countries, not to meddle in Venezuela’s domestic affairs. Both nations had expressed concern over the arrest of opposition leader Carlos Fernandez, who was arrested last week for his role in leading a two-month general strike against Chavez. Authorities said no arrests had been made in connection with the two explosions early this morning.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 By: Roy S. Carson

Security services report two explosions in the early hours of Tuesday morning ... one at the Spanish Embassy in La Castellana and a second at the Colombian Consulate in Chacaito.  First reports say 4 people have been injured and there has been "significant destruction" to both diplomatic missions as well as to neighboring buildings.

The bombings took place at approximately 2:00 a.m. local time.  A security guard at the Spanish Embassy was injured and three buildings and two homes in the neighborhood suffered severe material damage.

Globovision Channel 33 TV news has been showing this picture of one of the pamphlets

Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez arrived at the scene outside the Spanish Embassy soon afterwards and told reporters that pamphlets, ascribed to the Bolivarian Liberation Front (BLF) urban militia, had been recovered claiming Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez to be part of "a fascist oligarchy" and that "the Bolivarian revolution does not need the interest or the intervention of" OAS secretary general Cesar Gaviria or US ex-President Jimmy Carter.

• Government officials have unhesitatingly denounced the attacks as cowardly and have promised a full investigation.

The explosion at the Colombian Consulate took place some fifteen minutes after the original explosion at the Spanish Embassy, injuring a security guard, his wife and young daughter ... the building's glass-frontage has been entirely shattered and there has been substantial damage to buildings close by.  A Colombian diplomat was quickly at the scene but said she would not make any statement to the media until later.

Meanwhile, State Security DISIP police and CICPC detectives are working with fire department officials to sift through the wreckage and the rubble to determine what happened.  Traces of C4 Semtex have been discovered and immediate arrangements have been made for heightened security at other embassies and diplomatic residences.

Theories abound as diplomats and security executives attempt to piece the events together.  Early suspicions have been raised that the explosions are part of an opposition counter-offensive attempting to discredit the government using the BLF urban militia as a pretext.

"Just because BLF pamphlets were discovered at the scene does not necessarily mean that they were behind the bombings," a DISIP source has told VHeadline.com.  "In the weird scenario that is Caracas these days, it could just as easily have been some opposition hot-heads trying to deflect attention away from the general manhunt for CTV leader Carlos Ortega ... we are keeping an open mind!"

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Opposition negotiators are threatening to withdraw from the non-violence agreement that government and opposition negotiators agreed to last week, accusing President Hugo Chavez Frias of ignoring international conventions.

According to one of the negotiators, Timoteo Zambrano, the opposition will withdraw from the agreement if the international community continues to do nothing and if the government fails to comply.

"Chavez doesn't respect any international treaties or conventions," and he also questioned the role of the Organization of American States (OAS0 in the Venezuelan crisis.  The President told the international community not to interfere, but "when democracy is threatened in a country" the international community is obliged to take the necessary action."

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Opposition leaders have strongly criticized President Hugo Chavez Frias' comments regarding Organization of American States (OAS) secretary general Cesar Gaviria, saying they are just an attempt to discredit the OAS chief in a bid to stall the negotiation process that Gaviria is facilitating.

This follows comments by the President urging Gaviria to stay out of affairs that he shouldn't be meddling in after the OAS chief expressed concerns over the detention of Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez.

Opposition negotiator Timoteo Zambrano insisted "he cannot be accused on meddling" and warned that opposition negotiators may be forced to withdraw their support for the non-violence pact signed recently. The pact was the first concrete agreement produced in over 100 days of negotiations and was signed last week as a direct initiative of the OAS chief.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Colombian government spokesman Ricardo Galan has read a statement in which the Colombian government urgently calls for President Hugo Chavez Frias to collaborate in the Colombian government's fight against terrorism and guerilla groups. 

• According to the spokesman, the Colombian government still believes that rebel groups are using Venezuelan territory as a refuge where they run to to escape the Colombian army.

Venezuela's neighbor has made many similar pleas to President Chavez Frias and his government, but it appears they are now growing increasingly concerned by what they perceive as Venezuela's apparent inaction on the issue.

The Colombians are once again calling for joint coordination of activities in the clampdown against the guerillas from both sides of the border.