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The paunchy, greying 60-year-old [Mr. Cabrices] was a polarizing figure in Venezuela, even before he launched the paramilitary training. During the coup that briefly unseated Mr. Chavez in April, 2002, he was filmed firing a pistol from a downtown bridge.

Mr. Cabrices and the other bridge gunmen were jailed for a year, then cleared. Although 17 demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured that day, the episode made Mr. Cabrices a hero among Mr. Chavez's supporters. But to the President's opponents, he represents the impunity and violence they accuse the government of promoting.

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The implication is that Mr. Cabrices and the other gunmen killed 17 people. Ridiculous. They were returning fire from Carmona supporters. 17 pro Chavez demonstrators were killed!

The private media used the same tactics, they showed the video spliced, so it showed the gunmen on the bridge with their pistols, then showed dead bodies in the street. But there was nobody below the bridge where the media claimed they were massacring the civilians.

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"What in the world [is the threat] that Venezuela sees that makes them want to have all those weapons?" U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked last week.

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