Danilo Anderson, 38, was driving to his home in Caracas on Thursday night when his Jeep exploded. The bomb was activated by remote control and designed to explode upwards, said officials. "This was a political assassination," says Venezuela's information minister, Andres Izarra. Mr. Anderson was highly prominent in Venezuela for leading several cases against opponents of President Chávez, including an investigation into nearly 400 right-wingers who supported the military coup attempt against him. The president was ousted for two days in 2002 before loyalist troops returned him to power. Mr. Anderson had also prepared the case against a group of army officers who declared themselves in open rebellion against Mr. Chávez. Some of these, now living in exile in the U.S., have been accused of links to last year's bombings at the Spanish and Colombian embassies in Caracas. Read more

In other news from Caracas, a new libertarian center and social library opened its doors on 11/14/2004.