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Protesters demand action on violence in Venezuela

Protesters took to the streets of Venezuela's capital, demanding a crackdown on crime as troops responded with tear gas and the justice minister acknowledged significant reforms are needed within all the nation's police forces.

The slayings of three young brothers by their kidnappers ignited the protests in least five areas of the city on Wednesday. Troops in riot gear used tear gas to disperse protesters who blocked a highway in eastern Caracas, witnesses said.

As the protesters were pushed back off the highway, some began setting tires and trash bins alight on nearby roads. Many gathered at a plaza in the affluent Altamira district, a stronghold for opponents of President Hugo Chavez.

"Chavez always criticizes the US and talks about thousands of innocent people killed in Iraq, but what about the thousands who are killed here," said 26-year-old protester Gustavo Marin.

The unrest was touched off by the discovery on Tuesday of the bodies of the three Faddoul brothers -- John, 17, Kevin, 13, and Jason, 12, who all had Canadian-Venezuelan citizenship. The bodies of the boys, who were shot in the head and neck, were found outside of Caracas more than a month after they were kidnapped at a bogus police checkpoint on their way to school. The body of their 30-year-old driver was also found.

Justice Minister Jesse Chacon said every police force in this crime-ridden South American nation must be reformed to purge them of criminal-minded cops.

"This model has failed and all the complaints of human rights violations, the creation of death squads, in all the police departments show it," Chacon said on TV.

He urged Venezuelans to unite against violent crime, but not to turn the incident into a politically motivated attack on the Chavez administration.

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said investigators have questioned two police officers in the killings, which spurred widespread mourning and an outburst of frustration at the constant anxiety Venezuelans feel over their security.

"Today it was them but tomorrow it could be my sister and me," said Fady Rahal, a 16-year-old classmate of John Faddoul, as she spoke through tears at a protest. "What kind of a country is this?"

A Venezuelan photographer died after being shot on his way to cover a protest. Jorge Aguirre of the newspaper El Mundo was shot and killed en route to covering a demonstration, said Jose Gregorio Yepez, an editor at the paper.

Violent robberies, kidnappings and murders are frequent in Venezuela. There were 9,402 homicides reported last year, down slightly from 2004, according to government statistics.

Kidnappings also rose from 51 in 1995 to 201 in 2002, according to the latest government statistics available. Independent observers believe the real figures are much higher because many do not report kidnappings for fear of endangering their families.
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