VENEZUELA: A car bomb killed a leading Venezuelan prosecutor investigating opponents of President Hugo Chavez who were accused of backing a 2002 coup attempt against the leftist leader, officials said yesterday.
The killing of Mr Danilo Anderson revived fears of renewed political violence in the world's fifth largest oil exporter, which until recently had been shaken by violent confrontation over Mr Chavez's six-year presidency.
Authorities said the yellow jeep destroyed in the remote-controlled explosion in a Caracas suburb late on Thursday belonged to Mr Anderson, who was leading the case against several hundred opposition politicians, lawyers, businessmen and former military officers.
Interior Minister Mr Jesse Chacon said forensic tests on the badly-burned body identified the driver as Mr Anderson and an initial investigation showed an explosive had been placed near the driver's seat.
"An explosive was placed on the vehicle, which was detonated by wireless remote control," Mr Chacon said. "There is no other way to describe this other than terrorism."
Officials said the prosecutor had received threats and had recently been physically attacked in a shopping mall.
Political tensions had calmed in Venezuela recently after Mr Chavez won a recall referendum in August and consolidated his political control in regional elections in October that left opponents scrambling to redefine their role.
Mr Chavez has accused the United States and other foreign governments of blindly backing opponents who claim to be defending Venezuela's democracy against dictatorship. But he says some are US-backed "terrorists" and "coup-mongers" bent on toppling or killing him.
Some of those under investigation are opposition civic rights activists who face trial after re- ceiving US funds for pro-democracy work. The US denies the president's charges that it is seeking to oust him.
Mr Chavez, a former army officer elected in 1998 vowing to fight poverty and corruption, suspended a trip to Costa Rica yesterday to attend an Ibero-American summit. It was not clear whether he would go ahead with a longer tour starting on Monday to Spain, Libya, Iran and Russia.
Mr Anderson was leading the investigation into about 400 Chavez opponents for their part in the 2002 rebellion that briefly ousted the populist president. The prosecutor said less than two weeks ago he hoped to shortly complete the formal indictment of all of the accused.
He was vilified by opposition supporters as part of a political vendetta by an increasingly authoritarian president who controls key institutions such as the courts.
Government supporters rallied outside the Attorney General's office chanting "Justice, justice" but the capital was otherwise quiet. Some opposition leaders said they feared the government would use the killing to justify a crackdown against its political enemies. Mr Chavez dismisses his foes as "rich elites" opposed to his social reforms; his opponents say he is trying to install a Cuba-style communist state. Their conflict has often spilled into violence, but car bombings are rare in Venezuela.
Last year, two bombs exploded outside Colombian and Spanish diplomatic buildings in Caracas in attacks the government blamed on anti-Chavez military officers now seeking asylum in the US.