Official Says Politics Might Official Says Politics Might Be Behind Caracas Blast

<a href=www.voanews.com>VOA News 13 Apr 2003, 00:59 UTC

Venezuela's government and opposition are blaming each other for an explosion at a Caracas office building early Saturday.

The high-intensity explosion occurred before dawn at the Caracas Teleport office building. No one was injured in the blast, which shattered windows, twisted steel, and destroyed a conference area in the building's basement.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said there is reason to think opponents of President Hugo Chavez may have planned the explosion, which occurred in a building that hosted key political negotiations on Friday.

But earlier, police said Saturday's explosion was similar to February blasts at the Spanish Embassy and the Colombian Consulate. Those attacks came shortly after Mr. Chavez accused Spain and Colombia of meddling in Venezuela's affairs.

Two men were in the building at the time of Saturday's explosion. A watchman escaped injury because he was sleeping under a desk, and a technician was several floors above the explosion.

The bombing comes one day after government and opposition representatives met in the building with negotiators from the Organization of American states. The two sides agreed Friday to work toward a referendum to support or reject the presidency of Hugo Chavez.

Mr. Chavez's opponents say he has destroyed the country's economy, and have been calling for him to resign.

Friday also marked the one-year anniversary of a short-lived coup against the president. Mr. Chavez returned to power within two days.