Venezuela Negotiations Site Is Bombed; No One Is Hurt
A bomb exploded before dawn Saturday in the building where Venezuela’s government and opposition have been negotiating a peace agreement, destroying three floors but injuring no one.
The attack came one day after the Organization of American States brokered a deal between the government and opposition to work toward a referendum on President Hugo Chavez’s rule.
Federal police chief Carlos Medina said the attack may have been politically motivated. An opposition negotiator said the blast was intended to intimidate his delegation at the talks, while the government blamed “coup-plotting” sectors of the opposition.
The explosion destroyed the first three floors of the Teleport building in central Caracas, shattering windows, destroying the entrance and twisting steel gates.
Elevator cables hung from the facade and broken glass, roof tiles and light fixtures littered the ground.
A night watchman and a technician, the only two people inside the building when the blast hit, were unharmed, said Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceno.
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