Troops Back Takeover of Capital’s Police
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From Times Wire Reports
Venezuelan troops fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to clear protesters outside a Caracas police station, a day after President Hugo Chavez seized control of the police from the mayor, a foe of the president’s.
Dozens of military vehicles, backing hundreds of soldiers, were deployed to enforce the takeover, a measure denounced by the opposition as illegal.
Interior Ministry officials Saturday ordered the 8,000-member police force to report to the government to guarantee order because it said a strike by some officers had hampered operations.
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