Venezuela: We Have Suspects in Bombings
www.centredaily.com Posted on Fri, Feb. 28, 2003 ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela - The government has identified suspects in this week's bombings that damaged Colombian and Spanish diplomatic missions, President Hugo Chavez said Friday.
"We have them fingered. Let them rear their heads and they'll see," Chavez told the state television station, Venezolana de Television, during a visit to an electricity plant in southeastern Venezuela. He did not elaborate.
It was the president's first comments on the blasts, which occurred minutes apart Tuesday at the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate in Caracas.
The explosions slightly injured four people and damaged nearby buildings. Spain, Colombia, the United States and other nations demanded a swift investigation and warned Venezuela's protracted political crisis may have entered a new, more violent phase.
The U.S. Embassy reopened Friday after closing the previous day, citing "credible information of a threat to its security." The government sent more than a dozen federal agents, national guardsmen and municipal police to the mission after U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro requested increased security.
The bombings came a day after Chavez lashed out at Colombia and Spain for allegedly interfering in Venezuela's domestic affairs. Colombia and Spain had expressed concern over the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, head of Venezuela's largest business chamber. He faces rebellion and other charges for leading a 63-day general strike.
Leaflets supporting Chavez were found near both blasts, prompting opposition leaders to accuse the government.
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel suggested radical Chavez opponents trying to destabilize the country may have been responsible.
Federal investigators have not said what type of explosives were used.
The blasts came as Venezuela is trying to recover from an unsuccessful two-month strike to force early elections. The strike cost Venezuela $6 billion, according to government estimates, hobbled what was once the world's fifth largest exporter and plunged the economy deeper into recession.
Venezuela's opposition - an assortment of business leaders, labor unions and conservative and leftist political parties - accuses Chavez of sowing class hatred and driving away investment with antibusiness policies.
Chavez counters that his foes belong to an economic elite intent on overthrowing a democratically elected president and thwarting his efforts to spread Venezuela's oil wealth to the poor.
Negotiations between the government and opposition resumed Friday after a 10-day lull but made no significant advances, said mediator Cesar Gaviria, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States. Gaviria said tensions over the bombings and Fernandez's arrest cast a shadow over the talks.
"We've had a difficult week," Gaviria said. "We haven't been able to advance to a better climate that would allow an electoral, peaceful, constitutional and democratic solution."