U.S. notes timing of Caracas bombs, Chavez rhetoric
www.alertnet.org 25 Feb 2003 22:51
WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The United States condemned bombings against the Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions in Caracas on Tuesday and suggested a link with verbal attacks by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on both countries.
Two bombs tore into the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate, injuring five people less than 48 hours after President Chavez accused the two nations of meddling in Venezuela's political crisis.
"Let me strongly condemn today's bombings and, of course, the use of any form of violence," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told a daily briefing.
"We note that those bombs follow some sharp verbal attacks by President Chavez on the international community, as well as individual Venezuelans and institutions," he added.
Reeker declined to say that the United States saw a causal connection between the bombs and the rhetoric.
Leaflets scattered at both sites were signed by the "Bolivarian Liberation Force - the Coordinadora Simon Bolivar urban militias." The Coordinadora Simon Bolivar is a known radical pro-Chavez group.
Venezuela's government quickly denied its sympathizers were behind the blasts and suggested that some elements of the opposition had more to gain from the attacks, which could isolate the troubled oil-rich nation.
Reeker said the bombings showed the need for rapid progress in dialogue between supporters and opponents of Chavez.
Chavez's opponents, saying he ruled like a dictator, tried to drive him out of office by launching a general strike in December but the strike fizzled out in February. Chavez says he is a friend of the poor against the old elite.