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I thought that I recognized this scene. It's the CCT Tamanaco hotel overlooking air force base (La Carlota=Base Francisco de Miranda). In 1992 coup attempt, govt placed heavy guns on hotel roof and shot on rebellious base, while rebels shot at hotel.
2/ I was staying in hotel at the time. All guests were evacuated to an underground restaurant and placed under tables. I was placed under a table with the famous marathon runner Bill Rogers, who was there to be grand marshal of Caracas marathon the next day. We could hear a
3/ a machine gun battle in the parking garage. Eventually the government prevailed by evening and curfew imposed. The artillery fired on hotel was heavy enough to go through rooms and walls on both sides of the hotel and out the other side. A couple of hotel employees were killed
4/ On a normal Friday night, there were lots of murders in Caracas. I've sometimes wondered whether there were fewer deaths on this Friday night due to curfew than a normal Friday in Caracas. The next day, things seemed to have settled down, so I went sightseeing in main square.
5/ however, a 2nd curfew had been declared during my subway ride. I (and about 20 others) ended up being pinned in an alley by a sniper until government troops arrived and told us to run down the main plaza. I was younger and fitter then, but didn't run nearly as fast as I wanted
6/ prior to going downtown, I'd taken some pictures of the hotel, showing about 1/3 or 1/4 of windows shot up. The police objected, but let me keep my camera. However, about 30 seconds after I later arrived in main plaza, a tough looking young guy stole the camera from my hand.
7/ I was probably 6 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier, but I figured that he was a lot tougher and hungrier than me and it was only a camera. But I would have liked to have the pictures of the shot up hotel. Repair of the hotel began the next day and proceeded much faster than
8/ things ever happened in Venezuela. Where, at the time, you usually required 6 permits from different agencies, requiring 6 months and three retracing to the beginning, in order to blow your nose.
9/ anyway, it's interesting, after all these years, to see exactly the same view as the Chavez rebels had in 1992.
10/ I wrote Climate Audit post on incident in 2005. There were other interesting events before and after: a huge military-style gold robbery in Puerto Ordaz airport three days earlier; and a controversial presidential pardon of drug kingpin soon after climateaudit.org/2005/08/25/rem…
