Caracas, Sept 21: Venezuelan police fired tear gas on Friday to disperse anti-government demonstrators in Caracas and foes of President Hugo Chavez accused him of deliberately seeking violent confrontation with his military and civilian opponents. With coup rumors once again sweeping the world's fifth largest oil exporter, opposition leaders said the former paratrooper turned president, who survived a brief coup in April, was looking for a pretext to assume emergency powers and tighten his left-wing rule.
A group of about 100 anti-Chavez protesters, many carrying national flags, gathered on Friday outside state oil company offices near the La Carlota military air base in east Caracas.
National Guard troops in riot gear, backed by two armored vehicles, sealed off the air base. They ordered the protesters to disperse and, when they refused, fired tear gas.
Choking in a thick white cloud of gas, the demonstrators scattered. Some fainted and were helped away. The troops fired several more gas canisters as the protesters advanced again.
In an apparent preventive measure against anti-government protests, the authorities decreed no-go security zones around military installations and state television headquarters. Bureau Report