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In reply to the discussion: Caracas Mayor Who Opposed Government Apparently Arrested [View all]Judi Lynn
(160,527 posts)CARACAS, Friday February 27, 2009
Chávez: The government is in debt to the Caracazo victims
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez took part on Friday in a mass to honor the casualties of the Caracazo and said that "the Bolivarian state is in debt to the victims of February 27th, 1989."
"The Bolivarian state should make bigger efforts in search of justice in the face of that assault, not only in terms of claiming the issue as a historical event of fair rebellion of the poor, but also in search of justice to find the perpetrators," said the head of state.
He recalled that state authorities issued a bench warrant against then President Carlos Andrés Pérez, "but he is protected by the US government; he is the first one who should pay for the genocide."
Chávez also put the blame on Metropolitan Mayor Antonio Ledezma, who was the Caracas governor in 1989. "He is mostly responsible for that assault on the Venezuelan people, because he led the Metropolitan Police."
http://www.eluniversal.com/2009/02/27/en_pol_art_chavez:-the-governme_27A2237975
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27 February 2011 Last updated at 19:03 ET
Victims of Venezuela's Caracazo clashes reburied By Sarah Grainger
BBC News, Caracas
Exactly 22 years after violent clashes between police and protesters killed hundreds of people in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, some of the victims have been reburied in a special monument in the city's biggest cemetery.
The bloody clashes in February 1989 became known as the Caracazo - literally the big one in Caracas - as security forces loyal to the then president Carlos Andres Perez cracked down on protesters demonstrating over price rises.
Official figures put the number killed at around 300, but some reports suggested as many as 3,000 people lost their lives.
Many were buried anonymously in mass graves, making it impossible to be certain of the number.
The 71 laid to rest on Sunday had originally been buried in a communal grave in a section of the capital's general cemetery known as "the Plague".
Their remains were exhumed in 2009 and taken to a military base where they were checked to verify that they dated from the Caracazo.
More:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-12593085
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The last two images are street art murals depicting El Caracazo massacre in Caracas.
You can be sure they'll be coming down in a heartbeat as soon as a right-winger takes control.