Gun Battles Rage In Caracas

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30294, 21 November 1963, Page 15

Gun Battles Rage In Caracas

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter— Copyright)

CARACAS (Venezuela), November 20.

Crack troops and police today joined forces in a bloody counter-attack against “terrorist” snipers seeking to enforce a general strike call in Caracas.

Gun battles had by midnight taken 19 V ve s and continued to rage through the small hours. Officials feared the dawn death toll in the fight against the Castro-inspired Armed Forces of Liberation (F.AL.L.) would rise still higher. The 19 known dead included two policemen. About 75 were reported wounded. As night fell last night, shooting echoed through the

streets In working-class districts. Government forces sought out gunmen trying to force the city into a general strike. On police orders, stores and business houses defied the strike call by the F.A.L.N. which is aimed at showing the rebels' power to sabotage elections called for December 1. But gun-shy citizens stayed home and the stores did little business. Most of the gun battle victims were pedestrians or bus passengers struck by richocheting bullets. The Venezuelan Interior Minister (Mr Manuel Mantilla) announced that 150 “terrorists’* had been arrested. Late last night incendiarists struck at the port of Maracaibo, where they burned down a warehouseThe rebels also scattered on many streets thousands of tacks and nails to cripple transport. Many motorists stayed at home rather than risk punctures. Navy units, originally scheduled to participate in joint exercises off the Colombian coast, cancelled the operation and patrolled the Venezuelan coast to prevent any Cuban aid reaching the terrorists. . Three tons of arms, believed to have been smuggled in from Cuba, were found buried on a lonely beach in north-western Venezuela two weeks ago. Unconfirmed reports said United States and Venezuelan patrol craft were chasing a Cuban arms ship off the coast