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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Gunmen opened fire on students returning
from a march Wednesday in which 80,000 people denounced President Hugo
Chavez's attempts to expand his power. At least eight people were
injured, including one by gunfire, officials said.
Photographers for The Associated Press saw at least four gunmen --
their faces covered by ski masks or T-shirts -- firing handguns at the
anti-Chavez crowd. Terrified students ran through the campus as
ambulances arrived.
National Guard troops gathered outside the Central University of
Venezuela, the nation's largest and a center for opposition to
Chavez's government. Venezuelan law bars state security forces from
entering the campus, but Luis Acuna, the minister of higher education,
said they could be called in if the university requests them.
Antonio Rivero, director of Venezuela's Civil Defense agency, told
local Union Radio that at least eight people were injured, including
one by gunfire, and that no one had been killed. Earlier, Rivero said
he had been informed that one person had died in the violence.
The violence broke out after anti-Chavez demonstrators -- led by
university students -- marched peacefully to the Supreme Court to
protest constitutional changes that Venezuelans will consider in a
December referendum.
The amendments would abolish presidential term limits, give the
president control over the Central Bank and let him create new
provinces governed by handpicked officials.
The protesters demand the referendum be suspended, saying the
amendments would weaken civil liberties in one of South America's
oldest democracies and give Chavez unprecedented power to declare
states of emergency.
"Don't allow Venezuela to go down a path that nobody wants to cross,"
student leader Freddy Guevara told Globovision.
Chavez, who was first elected in 1998, denies the reforms threaten
freedom. He says they would instead move Venezuela toward what he
calls "21st century socialism."
The Supreme Court is unlikely to act on the students' demands, given
that pro-Chavez lawmakers appointed all 32 of its justices.
Hundreds of National Guardsmen and police in riot gear were posted
along the march route to prevent clashes between protesters and Chavez
sympathizers, but they were restricted from entering the campus.
from a march Wednesday in which 80,000 people denounced President Hugo
Chavez's attempts to expand his power. At least eight people were
injured, including one by gunfire, officials said.
Photographers for The Associated Press saw at least four gunmen --
their faces covered by ski masks or T-shirts -- firing handguns at the
anti-Chavez crowd. Terrified students ran through the campus as
ambulances arrived.
National Guard troops gathered outside the Central University of
Venezuela, the nation's largest and a center for opposition to
Chavez's government. Venezuelan law bars state security forces from
entering the campus, but Luis Acuna, the minister of higher education,
said they could be called in if the university requests them.
Antonio Rivero, director of Venezuela's Civil Defense agency, told
local Union Radio that at least eight people were injured, including
one by gunfire, and that no one had been killed. Earlier, Rivero said
he had been informed that one person had died in the violence.
The violence broke out after anti-Chavez demonstrators -- led by
university students -- marched peacefully to the Supreme Court to
protest constitutional changes that Venezuelans will consider in a
December referendum.
The amendments would abolish presidential term limits, give the
president control over the Central Bank and let him create new
provinces governed by handpicked officials.
The protesters demand the referendum be suspended, saying the
amendments would weaken civil liberties in one of South America's
oldest democracies and give Chavez unprecedented power to declare
states of emergency.
"Don't allow Venezuela to go down a path that nobody wants to cross,"
student leader Freddy Guevara told Globovision.
Chavez, who was first elected in 1998, denies the reforms threaten
freedom. He says they would instead move Venezuela toward what he
calls "21st century socialism."
The Supreme Court is unlikely to act on the students' demands, given
that pro-Chavez lawmakers appointed all 32 of its justices.
Hundreds of National Guardsmen and police in riot gear were posted
along the march route to prevent clashes between protesters and Chavez
sympathizers, but they were restricted from entering the campus.
