CARACAS, Venezuela – Two people were shot to death Saturday during a confrontation between supporters of President Hugo Chavez and his opponent in next month’s presidential election, Henrique Capriles, Venezuelan authorities said.
Clashes have erupted previously during the campaign for the Oct. 7 vote, but these were the first deaths.
Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami said the shooting happened when loyalists of both candidates faced off on a road between the communities of Barinas and Barinitas in the country’s central plains, about 280 miles southwest of Caracas, the capital.
The justice minister, who described the bloodshed as an “isolated incident,” said police were looking for the shooter and trying to determine what led to the confrontation.
Speaking in a telephone interview broadcast by state-run Venezolana de Television, Aissami did not say anything about the dead men’s political affiliation. But opposition officials said both were participants in a motorcade of Capriles supporters.