Tear gas attack at opposition newspaper 'El Nuevo Pais' -- hardline government supporters under suspicion

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): A suspected hard line group of government supporters known as La Piedrita (Little Stone) was under suspicion on Tuesday of returning to the attack when men on motorbikes threw two tear gas canisters at the offices of a newspaper critical of President Hugo Chavez.

The newspaper, El Nuevo Pais, is owned by Rafael Poleo, whose opposition to Chavez is a secret to no one.

• His daughter, Patricia, lives in Miami, accused by the government of having been involved in the crisis which briefly ousted Chavez from office in April 2002.

La Piedrita first came to public attention when pamphlets in its name were found after a similar tear gas attack on the headquarters of private channel Globovision -- whose opposition to Chavez is also known to all -- earlier this month.

On October 10, a Globovision camera crew were stopped from filming, and their equipment snatched, as they covered a protest in 23 de Enero, not far from Miraflores presidential palace. La Piedrita was the prime suspect in this incident as well.

Questions were raised as to why nearby Metropolitan Police (PM) officers didn't take action. On Tuesday, while firefighters quickly treated people affected by the gas, it was noted that it was only later that a PM patrol car turned up.