Carter Tries Again to Aid Crisis In Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan. 20 -- Violence surged again today between supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez as former U.S. president Jimmy Carter renewed efforts to mediate Venezuela's political crisis. Gunfire during a protest march killed one person and wounded 15, officials said.
Chavez's government, meanwhile, told two private television stations that they were under investigation and faced possible fines for broadcasting political commercials backing a seven-week national strike against Chavez.
The governor of the state of Miranda, Enrique Mendoza, a Chavez opponent, said Chavez supporters attacked an opposition march in Charavalle, about 20 miles south of Caracas.
Raul Gonzalez, 38, who was shot in the leg, said he and other Chavez supporters blocked a road as opposition marchers approached, and both sides began tossing rocks and bottles.
"There were shots from all over," he said. "Everything was in confusion." Gonzalez said he did not know where the gunfire came from.
One opposition marcher, Mayordina Morales, 52, said both sides were throwing objects when police started shooting.
Fifteen people were wounded by gunfire, a state official said. Twelve people suffered other injuries.
Six people have died in protests since Venezuela's opposition called the strike Dec. 2, crippling the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
Carter was meeting with Chavez, opposition figures and Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, who has been trying since November to mediate an electoral solution to the crisis. The Atlanta-based Carter Center is sponsoring the talks with the OAS and the United Nations.
The government notified private television stations Globovision and Radio Caracas Television that they faced administrative proceedings for allegedly supporting efforts to topple Chavez. The complaint alleges that the stations illegally ran opposition advertisements supporting the strike and promoting anti-government marches, Globovision reported.
The stations, which long have accused Chavez of trying to stifle freedom of expression, face fines or the loss of their broadcasting licenses. Their directors condemned the government inquiry as an attack against media freedom.