www.voanews.com VOA News 25 Feb 2003, 17:30 UTC

Authorities in Venezuela say two separate explosions have damaged the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate in Caracas.

Officials say at least four people were injured when powerful plastic explosives rocked the buildings and surrounding areas early this Tuesday morning.

Police say the first blast destroyed the Spanish embassy's gate and shattered windows in adjacent buildings. Minutes later another explosion shook the Colombian consulate, not far away. That blast also broke windows and damaged nearby structures.

Police say no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. But they recovered pamphlets signed by the pro-government Bolivarian Liberation Force at the scenes of both incidents.

The attacks come less than two days after President Hugo Chavez warned both Spain and Colombia not to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs. The two countries, along with other nations, had expressed concern last week about the government's arrest of one of the country's opposition strike leaders, Carlos Fernandez.

The business leader is now under house arrest and accused of treason and other crimes for his involvement in a two-month long strike aimed at toppling President Hugo Chavez. Another strike leader, Carlos Ortega, went into hiding after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Venezuela's Deputy Foreign Minister, Arevalo Mendez, has condemned Tuesday's bombings.

www.stuff.co.nz 26 February 2003

CARACAS: Explosions have hit a Spanish Embassy building and the Colombian consulate in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, buckling their metal gates and shattering windows in neighbouring buildings, officials and witnesses say.

A guard was slightly injured at the Colombian consulate building yesterday, police said. There were no immediate reports of other casualties.

The explosions came just a day after President Hugo Chavez, whose self-styled "Bolivarian Revolution" aims to help the poor, accused the United States and Spain of siding with his enemies and warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic relations.

A Reuters reporter heard a loud explosion at a cooperation sub-office of the Spanish embassy in the east of the capital. The gate of the building had been blown off by the blast; across the street, windows of another building were smashed.

"It punched a hole in the wall surrounding the building," the reporter said.

Police and fire officials said there had also been an explosion outside the Colombian consulate building not far from the Spanish embassy site. The glass walls of the Colombian building were also shattered.

Officials could not immediately say what had caused the explosions. Leaflets scattered at the site of the Spanish embassy explosion referred to the "Bolivarian Liberation Front," a previously unheard of group.

Venezuela's political struggle between Chavez and his opponents often flares into violence and street clashes and media outlets critical of Chavez have been previously targeted by grenade attacks.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER ARREST

The Venezuelan leader's criticisms followed a flurry of international concern over the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, a prominent opposition businessman who was charged with rebellion for leading a two-month strike to pressure Chavez into accepting elections.

Chavez and his foes have been locked in a fierce deadlock over his rule since April when he survived a short-lived coup by rebel military officers. The president has recently hardened his stance against critics he brands "terrorists" trying to topple him.

The opposition strike severely disrupted the vital oil exports and production that account for half of Venezuelan government revenues and battered its teetering economy.

But Chavez has so far resisted calls for elections from opponents who accuse him of ruling like a dictator and inspiring supporters to violence with his fiery speeches laced with threats and class warfare rhetoric.

Venezuela's crisis has drawn in the international community with leaders who fear the world's fifth largest supplier of oil could slide into civil war as Chavez allies and enemies battle over his government.

The US, Spain and four other countries have backed efforts by the Organization of American States to broker a deal on elections to defuse the crisis. But the talks have been mired in wrangling and Chavez on Monday appeared to push away members of the six-nation group.

A grenade exploded in January at the Venezuelan residence of the ambassador from Algeria, which had offered to assist Chavez in his efforts to offset the impact of the strike.

That explosion followed bomb threats made against several foreign embassies in Caracas. The German, Canadian and Australian embassies were evacuated after receiving calls made in the name of a group claiming to be the Patriotic Committee for Venezuela.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk By Chris Thornton

NEW reports claimed today Colombian authorities believe that two IRA members were directly involved in a social club bombing that killed 36 people earlier this month.

Reports citing Colombian security sources said the authorities believe two IRA and four members of the Basque group ETA aided FARC rebels in the attack on February 7 in the South American country's capital, Bogota.

The Colombian government has already said that it believes the car bomb, which also injured 160 people and wrecked the exclusive El Nogal club, used IRA or ETA technology.

They have increasingly emphasised links between the IRA, Eta and FARC during the current trial of three IRA suspects.

The claims of direct IRA involvement in the bombing came just after the arrest of a Farc suspect described as one of the terror group's leading bomb-makers.

Edgar Morea, (36), also known as Javier Tanga, was arrested as he and others were allegedly preparing to blow up bridges linking Bogota to the south of the country.

Morea was linked to the El Nogal blast and a series of other bombings which took place in Bogota.

It was after his arrest that the claims emerged of direct IRA involvement in the car bomb attack.

The security sources claimed that IRA and ETA members slipped into Colombia over the border with Venezuela.

Colombian security sources have emphasised links between the three terror groups as they press the American authorities for more aid in their fight against terrorism.

www.zwire.com

By:CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, Associated Press Writer February 25, 2003

CARACAS, Venezuela - Two powerful explosions damaged the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate minutes apart in the Venezuelan capital early Tuesday, injuring four people and raising tensions in a city still recovering from an anti-government strike.

Broken glass covered the street outside both buildings and their steel gates were twisted by the force of the blasts. Windows in residences almost a block away were blown out.

Leaflets supporting President Hugo Chavez's so-called "Bolivarian Revolution," a political movement loosely based on the writings of 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar, were found outside the Spanish Embassy.

"We believe these were very potent bombs judging by the damage done," said the mayor of Caracas' Chacao district, Leopoldo Lopez.

The first blast was outside the Spanish embassy in eastern Caracas at about 2 a.m. The second explosion, 15 minutes later, rocked the Colombian consulate. The blasts lightly injured four people, including a night watchman, Lopez said.

The explosions came a two days after Chavez warned Colombia and Spain, among other countries, not to meddle in Venezuela's domestic affairs.

Both nations had expressed concern over the arrest of opposition leader Carlos Fernandez, who was arrested last week for his role in leading a two-month general strike against Chavez.

The strike brought Venezuela's economy to a virtual standstill and crippled production in the country's all-important oil industry. Opposition leaders staged the protests in hopes of getting Chavez to step down or hold early elections.

Federal agents are trying to hunt down another opposition leader, labor boss Carlos Ortega, who is also wanted for alleged crimes linked to the work stoppage.

Authorities said no arrests had been made in the two explosions.

Chavez responded angrily Sunday to foreign critics of the charges against the two strike leaders. He directed warnings at some members of a "Group of Friends" initiative created to bolster the negotiating process.

"Don't mess with our affairs!" Chavez said, singling out Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, the United States, Spain and Colombia.

On Monday, opposition representatives sent a letter to Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, coordinator of the "Friends" group, calling for an urgent meeting to discuss "the worsening of the Venezuelan situation."

The opposition says Chavez has ruined the economy and is amassing power in his own hands. Chavez accuses his critics of trying to spark a coup.

Negotiations between the government and the opposition were suspended last week because Gaviria had commitments abroad, but are to resume Wednesday.

www.cnn.com Tuesday, February 25, 2003 Posted: 10:11 AM EST (1511 GMT)

Bomb squadron officers carry a tool box outside Colombia's consulate, which was damaged by an explosion Tuesday in Caracas.

CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- Powerful explosions only minutes apart early Tuesday badly damaged the Spanish Embassy and the Colombian consulate in Caracas, officials said, injuring four people.

Leopoldo Lopez, mayor of the district of Chacao in Caracas where the embassy is located, told local media there had been attacks at both locations, injuring a guard at the embassy.

The first blast occurred at 2:10 a.m. (1:10 a.m. ET) at the Spanish Embassy -- located in the La Castellana neighborhood -- badly damaging the main entrance to the property, plus shattering glass and shearing the balconies off adjacent buildings.

A second blast at 2:25 a.m. (2:25 a.m. ET) devastated the Colombian consulate in the Chacaito neighborhood and heavily damaged a two-story building across the street.

A consulate guard was injured in the blast, along with two others.

The explosions came about 24 hours after President Hugo Chavez, on his weekly radio and TV show called "Hello President," warned the world to stop meddling in the affairs of his troubled South American nation.

Last week, Venezuelan police locked up a popular strike leader on "civil rebellion" charges.

During the broadcast, Chavez accused the United States and Spain of siding with his enemies, warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic relations, and reprimanded the chief mediator in peace talks for stepping "out of line."

The U.S. State Department warned that the Venezuelan president's words could incite violence.

"Inflammatory statements such as those attributed to President Chavez are not helpful in advancing the dialogue between the government of Venezuela and the opposition," Philip Reeker, a State Department spokesman, said ahead of the Tuesday attacks.

He also said that "they are concerned that heightened political rhetoric has contributed unnecessarily to some of the recent violence in Caracas."

-- Journalist Adrian Criscaut contributed to this report.