Venezuela Blasts Hit Spanish, Colombian Sites

reuters.com Tue February 25, 2003 03:41 AM ET By Patrick Markey

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Explosions hit a Spanish Embassy building and the Colombian consulate in the Venezuelan capital Caracas early on Tuesday, buckling their metal gates and shattering windows in neighboring buildings, officials and witnesses said.

A guard was slightly injured at the Colombian consulate building, police said. There were no immediate reports of other casualties.

The explosions came just a day after President Hugo Chavez, whose self-styled "Bolivarian Revolution" aims to help the poor, accused the United States and Spain of siding with his enemies and warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic relations.

A Reuters reporter heard a loud explosion at a cooperation suboffice of the Spanish embassy in the east of the capital. The gate of the building had been blown off by the blast; across the street, windows of another building were smashed.

"It punched a hole in the wall surrounding the building," the reporter said.

Police and fire officials said there had also been an explosion outside the Colombian consulate building not far from the Spanish embassy site. The glass walls of the Colombian building were also shattered.

Officials could not immediately say what had caused the explosions. Leaflets scattered at the site of the Spanish embassy explosion referred to the "Bolivarian Liberation Front," a previously unheard of group.

Venezuela's political struggle between Chavez and his opponents often flares into violence and street clashes and media outlets critical of Chavez have been previously targeted by grenade attacks.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER ARREST

The Venezuelan leader's criticisms followed a flurry of international concern over the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, a prominent opposition businessman who was charged with rebellion for leading a two-month strike to pressure Chavez into accepting elections.

Chavez and his foes have been locked in a fierce deadlock over his rule since April when he survived a short-lived coup by rebel military officers. The president has recently hardened his stance against critics he brands "terrorists" trying to topple him.

The opposition strike severely disrupted the vital oil exports and production that account for half of Venezuelan government revenues and battered its teetering economy.

But Chavez has so far resisted calls for elections from opponents who accuse him of ruling like a dictator and inspiring supporters to violence with his fiery speeches laced with threats and class warfare rhetoric.

Venezuela's crisis has drawn in the international community with leaders who fear the world's fifth largest supplier of oil could slide into civil war as Chavez allies and enemies battle over his government.

The U.S., Spain and four other countries have backed efforts by the Organization of American States to broker a deal on elections to defuse the crisis. But the talks have been mired in wrangling and Chavez on Sunday appeared to push away members of the six-nation group.

A grenade exploded in January at the Venezuelan residence of the ambassador from Algeria, which had offered to assist Chavez in his efforts to offset the impact of the strike.

That explosion followed bomb threats made against several foreign embassies in Caracas. The German, Canadian and Australian embassies were evacuated after receiving calls made in the name of a group claiming to be the Patriotic Committee for Venezuela.