Chavez Supporters, Opponents Clash; One Person Killed (Update2)

By Alex Kennedy

Caracas, May 1 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuelans opposed to President Hugo Chavez clashed with his supporters near the presidential palace. One person was shot dead by a passing motorcyclist, and another was injured, police said.

``Out of nowhere, there were five shots fired,'' Leopoldo Lopez, an opposition leader and mayor of the Chacao municipality in Venezuela's capital, told Globovision television station.

The shooting took place at the end of a march by tens of thousands of Chavez supporters and opponents who threw rocks, bottles and explosives as police used tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. Police arrested a man after the shooting, Henry Vivas, the Caracas police chief, said on Globovision.

A shootout at an opposition march in Caracas a year ago led to the deaths of 19 people and sparked a military coup that removed Chavez from office for two days. In early December, his opponents staged a two-month nationwide strike aimed at removing the president from office. Chavez since has restricted Venezuelans' access to dollars, causing shortages of food and other goods. Last Updated: May 1, 2003 15:57 EDT