Venezuelan Coup Fallout Continues

Tens of thousands of President Hugo Chavez’s opponents marched in this capital Thursday, calling for the resignation of the left-wing leader and his prosecutor general, whom the protesters accuse of bias in the probe of killings around last month’s brief coup.

With chants of “Out, out!” and “Hugo, Hugo, time to go!” demonstrators snaked through the city to the office of Prosecutor Gen. Isaias Rodriguez, who is investigating the fatal shootings of at least 15 people during an anti-government rally April 11 that triggered the coup.

“The criminals are still walking about free,” said Mohamad Mechi, whose 18-year-old son, Jesus Mohamad Capote, was killed when gunmen opened fire on the anti-Chavez protest. “If we don’t get justice, those who killed my son will kill others.”

Meanwhile, the businessman who replaced Chavez during the brief coup has asked Colombia for political asylum, Venezuela’s foreign minister said.

“I have just been told by the Colombian foreign minister that Pedro Carmona has asked for political asylum and he is in the Colombian Embassy here in Caracas,” said Luis Alfonso Davila, the Venezuelan minister.

In Bogota, the Colombian capital, Colombian Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez de Soto said his nation would try to make a decision on the request quickly.

Carmona disappeared Thursday morning after going for a walk outside his home in Caracas, his lawyer said. His escape came a day after a court ordered him transferred from house arrest to jail. He has been charged with rebellion.

The demonstrations, riots and looting surrounding the coup left at least 40 people dead.

In the chaotic hours after the April 11 shootings, rebel civilian and military leaders removed Chavez from power. Loyal troops reinstated him two days later.

Chavez opponents claim that pro-government gunmen opened fire on their peaceful protest, while the president accuses rivals of orchestrating the rally as part of a wider conspiracy to topple his government.

On Thursday, protesters handed in more than 3 million signatures demanding the resignation of Rodriguez, the prosecutor general, who has denied charges that he is too closely linked to Chavez to investigate the deaths.

So far, four people have been arrested in the investigation.