NewsMine — war-on-terror — venezuela — apr-2002-coup — Viewing Item

Terrorism kills chavez opponents prosecutor Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6868068 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6868068 Car Bomb Kills Venezuela Top Prosecutor - Gov't Fri Nov 19, 2004 08:07 AM ET By Patrick Markey CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - A car bomb killed a top Venezuelan state prosecutor investigating opponents of President Hugo Chavez who were accused of backing a 2002 coup against the left-wing leader, authorities said on Friday. The yellow Toyota jeep destroyed in the blast late Thursday belonged to Danilo Anderson, who was leading the case against several hundred opposition politicians, lawyers, businessmen and ex-military officers, senior officials said. Authorities said they would wait for forensic tests on the badly burned body before fully identifying the driver. "We are almost certain that it was him," Interior Minister Jesse Chacon said early Friday. "This was without a doubt an attack." Investigators found some of Anderson's belongings strewn around the wreckage of his car in a middle-class Caracas suburb. His family waited at the scene. Chacon said an initial probe showed an explosive could have been placed under the driver's seat. The blast came during a period of relative calm in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, which has been rattled by often violent confrontation over Chavez's rule since he survived the 2002 coup. The tough-talking former army officer won an Aug. 15 referendum on his tenure and Oct. 31 regional elections consolidated his political control and left opponents scrambling to redefine their role. Chavez, elected in 1998 vowing to fight poverty and corruption, suspended a trip to Costa Rica Friday to attend an Ibero-American summit. It was not clear whether he would go ahead with a longer tour starting Monday to Spain, Libya, Iran and Russia. FEARS OF BACKLASH Anderson was leading the investigation into about 400 Chavez opponents for their part in the 2002 rebellion that briefly ousted the populist president. The prosecutor told Reuters less than two weeks ago he hoped to shortly complete the formal indictment of all of the accused. He was vilified by opposition supporters as part of a political vendetta by an increasingly authoritarian president who controls key institutions such as the courts. Opposition leaders appealed for calm and some said they feared the government would use the killing to justify a tougher crackdown against its political enemies. "Let's hope they don't rush into accusations and finger-pointing," said Rafael Huizi, a former vice-admiral and fierce Chavez critic among those being investigated. The Venezuelan president has offered a peace dialogue to opponents he previously condemned almost daily as terrorists. But he has also vowed to deepen his self-proclaimed revolution for the poor. Chavez dismisses his foes as "rich elites" opposed to his social reforms; his opponents say he is trying to install a Cuba-style communist state. Their conflict has often spilled into violence, but car bombings are rare in Venezuela, unlike in neighboring Colombia. Last year, two bombs exploded outside Colombian and Spanish diplomatic buildings in Caracas in attacks the government blamed on anti-Chavez military officers now seeking asylum in the United States.

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