Posted on 07/11/2002 1:41:03 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela - Ruben Figueroa left his job and family to spend day and night beneath a bridge near the presidential palace. His mission: to defend President Hugo Chavez - with his life if necessary.
"First, they have to kill me. They have to kill my friend. They have to kill a lot of people," said the 40-year-old former customs official who belongs to a civilian group called "The Guardians of the Palace."
On Thursday, Figueroa's group will face off with a march called by opposition groups commemorating the April 11 coup that ousted Chavez for two days; 18 people were killed and hundreds wounded when an opposition march was confronted by police, National Guard troops and civilian gunmen.
Using the slogan "Never Forget," a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups has held demonstrations each month to commemorate the victims of the coup. To deter more violence in the march Thursday, the opposition agreed not to march to the palace and instead, march six blocks away.
They insist Chavez, whose term ends in 2007, cannot govern the country, which is mired in recession and social unrest. They are organizing a referendum that will seek to shorten his term.
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Wednesday security measures were being taken to ensure a peaceful march. The government declared the area around the palace off limits to protesters.
Chavez was expected to be out of town, at a military ceremony in the central city of Maracay.
On Wednesday, 200 paratroopers were stationed at a Caracas military base. Army commander Gen. Julio Garcia Montoya said the move was a pre-scheduled event that happened to coincide with the march and that he anticipated no trouble.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Wednesday the United States will ask the Organization of American States to press its offer to broker talks between Chavez and Venezuela's leading opposition parties.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who left Venezuela Wednesday after failing to broker a peacekeeping mission between opposition parties and Chavez, said Chavez was instructing his followers not to confront marchers.
On the bridge is a cross honoring Chavez supporters who died April 11. Posters identify enemies of Chavez's leftist revolution - journalists, businessmen, labor leaders, politicians and rebel military officers.
Even without violence Thursday, many fear the possibility of violence. Freddy Boulton, president of a Caracas gun store, said dozens of citizens have to come to his store in recent weeks to arm themselves.
"This is something totally new," Boulton said. "I'm on a permanent campaign to explain to people, 'Look, this is no reason to have a weapon. Political ideas should be confronted with political ideas."
Chavez facing a storm of coup threats - Wary Venezuelans hoard food, guns*** CARACAS - A new wave of coup threats against President Hugo Chávez is pushing Venezuelans to the edge of hysteria, with many residents of the capital stockpiling food and condo associations preparing an inventory of guns in case of looting. Clandestine communiqués and videos from alleged military officers vowing to topple the leftist president emerge almost daily. As each rumor peaks and wanes, the country's battered currency fluctuates wildly against the U.S. dollar. The threats and an accompanying gusher of dire rumors have sparked an unprecedented crisis in this oil-rich nation, virtually paralyzing the country and awakening fears of bloodshed, even civil war.
U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro said Wednesday the coup rumors helped prompt a State Department warning this week that Americans in Venezuela should take security precautions. ''In a country where there are so many rumors, it's important for foreigners to be careful,'' he said. The crisis atmosphere is even more intense than in April, when a sudden military coup forced Chávez out of power for two days amid a whirlwind of political violence and looting that left 70 dead. ''The country is on the verge of a nervous breakdown,'' the centrist TalCual newspaper said this week in an editorial that called for calm.***
Venezuelans Circle Wagons Amid Coup Jitters *** CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Carlos, a Venezuelan computer engineer, beefed up his home security with razor wire and a steel door after April's coup against President Hugo Chavez unleashed a frenzy of looting and sent pro-government gangs roaming through Caracas. But the father of two, sporting glasses and a Windows 2000 shirt, has a few extra surprises planned for the armed thugs he fears might breach the apartment's new security gate bent on robbery and political revenge. "I've thought about preparing flammable alcohol and acid to throw down the stairs," said Carlos, who would only give his first name. "I'd have to come out and defend my building."
Fears of more political violence have middle-class and wealthy Venezuelans scurrying to buy weapons, stock up on supplies and fortify their homes as they fret over another military rebellion and attacks by the president's supporters. Security hysteria has seized parts of the capital. In plush apartment complexes, lawyers and executives form committees to repel marauding gangs and housewives bombard police officials with queries about tear gas and Molotov cocktails. "In my office, in the last four weeks, people have bought about 10 shotguns and enough ammunition to keep fighting for months. I'm talking about a type of collective panic," said Jose, a Caracas financial advisor. ***
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Chavistas: Venezuelan street toughs: Helping "revolution" or crushing dissent?****CARACAS, Venezuela - From her bed in a Caracas military hospital, the wiry, chain-smoking prisoner vowed to continue a hunger strike and risk becoming the first death in Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's "revolution." "Comandante" Lina Ron, who considers herself a modern version of "Tania," a woman who fought alongside Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, says she is a willing martyr for Chavez's cause. She was arrested after leading a violent pro-Chavez counter-protest against demonstrating university students. Thousands follow her lead in Venezuela and they have increasingly quashed dissent, breaking up anti-government protests, intimidating journalists and alarming the president's critics...............Chavez has called Ron a political prisoner. "We salute Lina Ron, a female soldier who deserves the respect of all Venezuelans," he said recently. ****
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