Unknown Gunmen Open Fire on Opposition Rally in Caracas

<a href=www.voanews.com>VOA News 24 May 2003, 18:33 UTC

Unknown gunmen have fired on an opposition rally in Venezuela's capital Caracas, leaving one person dead and at least 17 injured. The wounded include two National Guard soldiers.

Police say the shooting Saturday occurred as hundreds of opponents of President Hugo Chavez marched through a narrow street in the poor neighborhood of Catia, a bastion of support for the populist leader. Authorities said the shots came from a housing complex that faced the street rally.

The violence comes one day after Mr. Chavez announced a political deal with his opponents to hold a referendum on his presidency later this year. Opponents accuse the former paratrooper of imposing an authoritarian rule that is ruining the economy of the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.

Political rallies in Venezuela have been a frequent target of violence in recent months, and several people have been killed