scoone
01-17-2004, 06:11 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela (*******) - Venezuela is investigating threats of firebomb attacks against the embassies of the United States, Britain and Spain in Caracas, Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said on Saturday.
"The case ... will be investigated thoroughly by the government's intelligence and security organizations. The national government is very interested in clearing up the situation," Rangel said in a statement.
Late Friday, the British and U.S. embassies issued separate warnings to their citizens of possible attacks between Sunday and Tuesday.
The British Embassy told its nationals it had been informed a "radical group" in Caracas was planning to strike the diplomatic premises of the United States, Britain and Spain with an incendiary device. It did not identify the group.
A Spanish embassy official said he did not have any details.
The U.S. Embassy warned its citizens of a threat against U.S. interests in Caracas. The statement referred to the risks of explosive devices in the capital of the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
Diplomatic, government and military installations have been targeted by several bomb attacks in the past year.
The threats followed a tense week between Washington and Caracas when U.S. officials and Chavez, who has irked the U.S. government by strengthening ties with anti-U.S. states such as Cuba, exchanged fierce public criticism.
Chavez accused members of President Bush's administration of meddling in Venezuelan internal affairs by calling on Chavez, a populist ex-paratrooper, to submit to an opposition-backed referendum this year on whether he should remain president.
A Spanish Embassy technical office and the Colombian consulate in Caracas were badly damaged by bomb blasts last February. An unexploded grenade was also found near the residence of a U.S. embassy official in Caracas last year.
"The case ... will be investigated thoroughly by the government's intelligence and security organizations. The national government is very interested in clearing up the situation," Rangel said in a statement.
Late Friday, the British and U.S. embassies issued separate warnings to their citizens of possible attacks between Sunday and Tuesday.
The British Embassy told its nationals it had been informed a "radical group" in Caracas was planning to strike the diplomatic premises of the United States, Britain and Spain with an incendiary device. It did not identify the group.
A Spanish embassy official said he did not have any details.
The U.S. Embassy warned its citizens of a threat against U.S. interests in Caracas. The statement referred to the risks of explosive devices in the capital of the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
Diplomatic, government and military installations have been targeted by several bomb attacks in the past year.
The threats followed a tense week between Washington and Caracas when U.S. officials and Chavez, who has irked the U.S. government by strengthening ties with anti-U.S. states such as Cuba, exchanged fierce public criticism.
Chavez accused members of President Bush's administration of meddling in Venezuelan internal affairs by calling on Chavez, a populist ex-paratrooper, to submit to an opposition-backed referendum this year on whether he should remain president.
A Spanish Embassy technical office and the Colombian consulate in Caracas were badly damaged by bomb blasts last February. An unexploded grenade was also found near the residence of a U.S. embassy official in Caracas last year.