One killed as 80,000 march against Chavez coup

AP/CNN:

Gunmen opened fire on students, killing at least one, as they were returning from a march Wednesday at which 80,000 people denounced President Hugo Chavez's attempts to expand his power.

At least one person was killed and six were wounded, officials said.

Photographers for The Associated Press saw at least two gunmen -- one wearing a ski mask and another covering his face with a T-shirt -- firing handguns at the anti-Chavez crowd.

Terrified students ran through the campus as ambulances arrived.

National Guard troops gathered outside the Central University of Venezuela, the nation's largest and a center for opposition to Chavez's government. Venezuelan law bars state security forces from entering the campus, but Luis Acuna, the minister of higher education, said they could be called in if the university requests them.

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Chavez has set loose the thugs of "revolution" as well as the anger of people who want the choice for freedom. It is too early to tell whether peaceful marches will change much in Venezuela and there is little reason for optimism. Socialism usually requires repression on a mass scale and Chavez has provided plenty of evidence that he is the guy in charge of repression.