International

Venezuelan President quits amid chaos

CARACAS (Venezuela) APRIL 12. The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, the former army paratrooper who polarised his country with his strongarm rule, resigned under military pressure on Friday after a massive Opposition demonstration ended in a bloodbath.

Mr. Chavez (47), presented his resignation to three officers after he was confronted by the military high command at the presidential palace, said the Air Force chief, Gen. Regulo Anselmi, who was present at the time.

Mr. Chavez, wearing military fatigues and a red beret _ as he did when he led a failed 1992 coup against the then-President, Carlos Andres Perez _ left the palace for Caracas' Fort Tiuna army base at 3 a.m. (local time) on Friday. He was being held there while investigators decide what charges he could face for Thursday's violence, said the army commander, Efrain Vasquez Velasco. Thirteen people died and more than 100 were wounded.

Thousands of Venezuelans celebrated, waving flags, blowing whistles and jamming a main highway in Caracas. Police warned that Mr. Chavez's supporters reportedly were distributing weapons, especially in the hillside slums surrounding the capital. Officers raided storehouses, seizing dozens of firearms. Downtown, streets were littered with debris _ and in some places, stained with blood. Most shops and businesses remained closed, and most people simply stayed home, stunned and wondering what would come next. Buses were half-empty, and those reporting to work hurried amidst rubble-strewn sidewalks.

Pedro Carmona, head of Venezuela's largest business association, announced he would head a transitional Government to be installed later on Friday. He also announced an immediate end to a general strike called earlier this week against Mr. Chavez. Mr. Chavez quit just hours after at least 13 people were killed and 110 wounded during a 150,000-strong Opposition demonstration in downtown Caracas. Mr. Chavez had ordered National Guard troops and civilian gunmen, including rooftop snipers, to stop the marchers from reaching the palace, military officers said.

The rapid developments stunned this oil-rich, yet poverty-stricken nation. But opposition to Mr. Chavez's three-year presidency had been growing for some time. For Mr. Chavez, who on Tuesday boasted he would remain President until 2021, the end came quickly.

After Thursday's violence, the military high command decided Mr. Chavez had to go, and they confronted him en masse in his offices. National Guard troops seized the Government television station as tanks rumbled on the streets. Mr. Chavez, surrounded by a nervous Cabinet, finally handed his resignation to the Armed Forces Inspector General, Lucas Rincon Romero and the National Guard commander, Belisario Landis.

— AP

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