Metropolitan Police Chief Henry Vivas said Saturday's
shooting broke out during a wake held by followers of the
leftist president in eastern Caracas for one of the two people
killed Friday.
Supporters of Chavez blamed police for the deaths that
occurred when gunfire erupted during violent street clashes
involving rival demonstrators, troops and police on Friday.
The shootings raised tensions during a five-week-old
opposition strike which has crippled oil exports by the world's
No. 5 petroleum exporter. Opposition leaders have vowed to keep
up the shutdown until Chavez resigns or calls early elections.
Vivas said some of those taking part in the wake on
Saturday opened fire on police officers with handguns. Police
officers replied with tear gas and shotgun pellets.
"They were shooting at us and we have two officers
injured," Vivas told reporters. He said a male officer was hit
in the thigh by a bullet and a female inspector was hit by
fragments when a bullet ricocheted off a wall.
Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel, a close ally of Chavez,
accused the metropolitan police of firing at those attending
the wake. The pro-Chavez mayor of Caracas' Libertador District,
Freddy Bernal, said two people were hurt by plastic
riot-control pellets fired by police.
Bernal also said a woman died from the effects of tear gas
but this could not be confirmed by police or firefighters.
National Guard troops were called in to restore order. The
two days of violence broke an uneasy calm that had held over
the Christmas and New Year holidays.
In a broadcast to the nation late on Saturday, Interior
Minister Diosdado Cabello appealed for calm but accused the
opposition of inciting hatred and violence.
"We cannot allow Venezuela to be led down the path of
hatred," Cabello said.
RIVAL MARCHES
Earlier on Saturday, several thousand Chavez supporters
waving national flags and chanting pro-government slogans
marched and held a rally in a Caracas square.
Thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets
in other cities around the country in support of the opposition
campaign to force the president to step down.
Foes accuse Chavez of trying to install Cuba-style
communism in Venezuela with his self-proclaimed revolution.
They brand him a dictator and say his left-wing reforms,
coupled with corruption and chronic mismanagement, have been
leading the oil-rich country toward economic ruin.
Opposition leaders said on Saturday they were determined to
hold a referendum on Chavez's rule next month despite
government objections. The nonbinding consultative referendum,
scheduled by electoral authorities for Feb. 2, will ask
Venezuelans if they want the president to resign.
"We will hold the referendum against all odds," opposition
representative Timoteo Zambrano told Reuters.
The government is contesting the referendum in several
appeals filed to the Supreme Court, describing it as
unconstitutional and refusing to fund it.
Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived a coup in
April, has said he will ignore the referendum result. He
accuses opponents of trying again to topple him.
Chavez tells foes they must wait until August -- halfway
through his current term due to last until 2007 -- when the
constitution allows for a binding referendum on his rule.
But opposition leaders say the country's crisis cannot
wait. They plan a public collection to raise the $21.4 million
required to finance the Feb. 2 referendum.
The deadlocked political conflict in South America's
biggest oil producer has jolted world oil markets and caused
international alarm, especially in the United States, which has
seen its imports of Venezuelan oil disrupted. Venezuela
normally provides more than 13 percent of U.S. oil imports.
In Friday's clashes, two people died from gunshot wounds
and four were injured by bullets. At least 20 others were hurt
by stones and other objects thrown. Government and opposition
blamed each other for the deaths.
