Former Venezuelan officer denies involvement in Caracas bombings(in Miami)

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Wed, Oct. 20, 2004

Former Venezuelan officer denies involvement in Caracas bombings
Associated Press


MIAMI - A former Venezuelan national guard lieutenant accused of bombing two diplomatic missions in Caracas last year said he and another former officer had nothing to do with the attacks.

Jose Antonio Colina said Tuesday he and former national guard Lt. German Rodolfo Varela were at a public square in the Venezuelan capital on Feb. 25, 2003, when the explosions at the Spanish Embassy and Colombian Consulate hurt four people.

President Hugo Chavez's government wants Colina and Varela extradited from the United States to face trial in the bombings. Both men arrived in the United States last December seeking political asylum and are being detained as their immigration hearings proceed.
(snip)

On Oct. 4, immigration Judge Neale Foster dealt a blow to the men by admitting into evidence the Venezuelan government's request to extradite them. Colina said he remained optimistic that Foster would grant him and Varela asylum.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9964313.htm
(Free registration is required)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Official says radicals plot to kill Chavez

Tuesday, October 19, 2004 · Last updated 9:38 p.m. PT

Official says radicals plot to kill Chavez

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Radical government opponents allegedly planning to assassinate President Hugo Chavez are seeking refuge in a poorly patrolled mountainous region in neighboring Colombia, Venezuela's interior minister said Tuesday.

Jesse Chacon's comments came after Chavez, on Sunday, announced increased security measures following warnings that opponents had hatched a new plot to kill him.

Opposition leaders have said such allegations of supposed plots are diversionary tactics by the president, aimed at distracting Venezuelans from the economic woes of the oil-rich South American nation.

"We've been following these operations that are being planned ... There are suspects here and others in Colombia," Chacon said at a news conference. "Given the ease in which they can cross the border, they enter (Venezuela) then return to Colombia."
(snip/...)

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Venezuela%20Assassination%20Plot

[AP]

2. "Toothaker"? That's a great name.

I love that. I'll remember that.