CURIEPE, Venezuela – National Guard troops seized a police station controlled by a leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday, sparking clashes between soldiers and protesters that authorities said injured eight people.
Hundreds of townspeople massed outside the police station in this small town east of Caracas after the National Guard evicted police. The protesters hurled rocks, bottles and molotov cocktails. Troops in riot gear fired tear gas at the crowd.
The clashes added to tensions between Chavez's administration and elected opposition officials who denounce the government for trying to undermine them and strip them of authority.
"I hold the interior minister responsible because this is a premeditated plan," Miranda state Gov. Henrique Capriles said in a televised news conference, accusing the National Guard of acting like the "militia of a political party."
There was no immediate response from the national government, and the Defense Ministry did not return a call seeking comment.
As the conflict wound down later Wednesday, Adriana D'Elia, a Miranda state government representative, said state authorities agreed to move their police to another building after meeting with the municipality's pro-Chavez mayor, Liliana Gonzalez.
"We believe that dialogue is the most important in these tense situations," D'Elia said.
The conflict began shortly before dawn when about 40 soldiers from the National Guard tossed tear gas canisters at the police post, forced officers to leave and took over the building, said Elisio Guzman, director of the Miranda state police. He contended the troops were following orders from the mayor.
Gonzalez blamed the police for the confrontation. "We needed this space for the municipal police," she said. "We asked them to leave within the legal time frame, and they didn't do it. That's what caused this situation."
Hours later, some protesters covered their faces with T-shirts while throwing rocks and bottles at troops outside the police station. Protesters set tires afire in the streets, which were littered with rubble and a torched car.
"We don't agree with the move to take out the state police," said Abigail Landaneta, a 41-year-old teacher among the protesters, who said the group was nonpartisan and simply upset with the National Guard's takeover of the police station.
Landaneta said the police are needed to fight rampant crime in the rural town, and "there should be dialogue between the government and the governor."
Tensions between Capriles and Chavez's government have been brewing since the opposition politician defeated an incumbent ruling-party candidate in elections last year.
Two people were injured and five required treatment after inhaling tear gas, Miranda state police said. An eighth person, a National Guard soldier, was injured by a thrown bottle, said Jose Manuel Prado, an official from Venezuela's civil protection agency at the scene.
Troops shot plastic bullets at the protesters, D'Elia said. She said a television cameraman working for the channel RCTV was among those injured, requiring five stitches on his face.
Guzman said the National Guard troops carried out "waves of attacks" on residents who turned out to protest. The police director said he ordered officers under his command to stand down, telling them to avoid conflict.
A similar clash erupted Friday when National Guard troops tried to seize another state police station on orders from a pro-Chavez mayor in Miranda, which includes part of Caracas and surrounding areas to the south and east. Guzman said four people suffered minor injuries during that fight in the town of Caucagua, where protesters prevented troops from taking the police post.
Chavez has defended such moves saying they are aimed at improving public service and fighting corruption.
A South Korean woman struggles with her umbrella in Seoul. AFP/Jung Yeon-Je
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