[A-List] Venezuela: destabilisation continues

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Five injured as blasts hit Caracas embassies
By Andy Webb-Vidal in Caracas, Leslie Crawford in Madrid and James Wilson in
Bogotá
Financial Times: February 26 2003

Two powerful explosions severely damaged the Spanish embassy and the
Colombian consulate in Caracas on Tuesday, leaving five people injured by
flying debris and glass.

Police said the blasts, audible across the city at about 2am, appeared to
have been caused by C4 explosive detonated by remote control or timed
devices.

Pamphlets scattered near the two blasts referred to the "urban militia" of
the "Bolivarian Liberation Force", a group based near the Colombian border
that is supportive of President Hugo Chávez. But by on Tuesday night no
group had publicly claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The flyers called for the expulsion of the US and Spanish ambassadors, and
César Gaviria, the secretary-general of the Organisation of American States,
who is chairing faltering talks between the government and opposition groups
aimed at easing the country's political deadlock.

Spain and the US are members of a six-nation "Group of Friends", formed in
January to bolster the OAS mission to broker an electoral solution to the
conflict. "The revolution does not need your self-interested intervention.
The fight will continue," read one of the pamphlets.

Lucas Rincón, the interior minister, said the government "categorically
condemned and rejected such acts" and it was "the party most interested in
ensuring the cases were rigorously investigated".

The bombings came less than two days after Mr Chávez accused the US and
Spain of siding with his opponents, who say the left-leaning president is
governing like a dictator.

The US and Spain criticised the heavy-handed detention last week of Carlos
Fernández, the head of the Fedecamaras business federation, which co-led a
two-month strike aimed, unsuccessfully, at pressing for early elections and
forcing Mr Chávez's resignation.

Bogotá has also criticised Venezuela for not doing more to stop Colombian
rebels hiding in Venezuelan territory, prompting Mr Chávez to question
whether diplomatic relations with Colombia should be suspended.

Bogotá warned on Tuesday that Colombian rebels and paramilitaries, along
with drug-trafficking, were problems that could grow in Venezuela and turn
the country "into a branch of the Colombian tragedy".

Colombian government officials have been annoyed that Mr Chávez, who
frequently labels his domestic opponents as "terrorists", has consistently
refused to use the word to describe Farc guerrillas.

Although the leaflets echoed the words of Mr Chávez, local security experts
said the blasts could have been carried out by groups radically opposed to
the president, with the intention to attribute responsibility to the
government.

The US on Tuesday called on the Venezuelan authorities to conduct a thorough
investigation to determine who perpetrated the attacks, and stepped up
security at its embassy in Caracas.

Spanish officials were quick to absolve the Venezuelan government from any
responsibility. In Madrid, Angel Acebes, the interior minister, offered
Venezuela help in combating terrorism.

Mr Chávez has not forgiven Spain, the US and Colombia for their hasty
recognition of the brief government that emerged during the failed coup
against him last April.