Venezuela troops and police fought pitched street battles on Friday with supporters of President Hugo Chavez who tried to disrupt an opposition rally in an impoverished area of Caracas considered a government stronghold. At least 14 people were injured.
Police and National Guardsmen atop armored personnel carriers lobbed tear gas to disperse about 100 supporters of Chavez before the bulk of the opposition marchers could arrive in the eastern Caracas neighborhood of Petare.
The "Chavistas," as the president's supporters are known, fought back throwing bottles, rocks, fire crackers and Molotov cocktails at security forces. They also looted a nearby police station after tearing down the walls with sledge hammers and metal rods.
Gunfire from unknown sources wounded one police officer and three civilians, said Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceno. At least 10 people were slightly hurt by flying objects, he added. Two police officers were hurt when they were accidentally hit by police motorcycles, said Caracas health secretary Pedro Aristimuno. Twenty-five children were evacuated from a nearby hospital because of the choking tear gas.
Two blocks away, a few dozen opposition protesters who had arrived early cheered the security forces on -- then fled from the drifting tear gas.
Moments after the skirmishes, hundreds of opposition marchers surged toward the scene. Speakers at a makeshift stage urged them on, shouting, "We'll keep protesting through the tear gas!" The protest ended without further incident.
Ignoring government warnings that violence could erupt, opposition parties called the protest as part of a series of events in Caracas slums to prove Chavez's traditional support among the poor has evaporated.
The protest came three weeks after unidentified gunmen killed one and wounded 10 at an opposition march in an impoverished neighborhood in western Caracas. There were no arrests.
"A truly dark story has repeated itself. We had said this was the least appropriate place to stage this demonstration," said Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel.
Opponents refused to cancel the protest, insisting they wouldn't be intimidated by what they called government-sponsored violence to silence dissent.
"I'm hear for my grandchildren because I want a real democracy," said opposition protester Angelo Valles, 54, covering his tearing eyes with a handkerchief as he crouched behind a tree.
Chavez denies he encourages violence. He counters opponents constantly provoke chaos to justify the ouster of a democratically elected president who stands up for the poor. The president was briefly ousted in an April coup last year and defied demands he step down during a ruinous two-month general strike that collapsed in February.
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