Three people, including a 4-year-old girl, were slightly wounded when the blast near the Colombian Consulate sprayed shards of debris and ripped off the building's steel and glass facade at around 1:15 a.m. EST.

Fragments from a smaller explosion minutes earlier at the nearby Spanish Embassy cooperation office hurt two people, authorities said. None of the injured were in serious condition and no one claimed immediate responsibility for the attacks.

"If this had been at two in the afternoon instead of at two in the morning we would have had a lot of dead," Chacao district Mayor Leopoldo Lopez told reporters.

Chavez, whose self-styled "Bolivarian revolution" promises to ease poverty, accused Spain and the United States on Sunday of siding with his enemies and warned Colombia he might break off diplomatic ties over accusations that he met with that country's Marxist rebels.

The timing of the blast was not lost on Washington, which has since tightened security at the US Embassy in Caracas.

"We note that those bombs follow some sharp verbal attacks by President Chavez on the international community, as well as individual Venezuelans and institutions," said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker. He declined to draw an outright connection between the rhetoric and the attacks.

Police refused to comment on possible motives or the type of explosives used by the bombers.

Leaflets scattered at both sites were signed by the "Bolivarian Liberation Force -- the Coordinadora Simon Bolivar urban militias." The Coordinadora Simon Bolivar is a known radical Pro-Chavez group.

"Our revolution will not be negotiated, only deepened," one leaflet read.

Bitter Conflict

The twin bombings appeared to be the worst attacks in the Venezuela's recent history. The bitter political struggle between Chavez and his opponents has often flared into violence and street clashes; media outlets critical of the president have been the targets of grenade attacks.

His mostly poor supporters see Chavez's populist reforms as the path to a better life. Opponents accuse the former army paratrooper of ruling like a dictator and inspiring violence with his fiery speeches laced with class warfare rhetoric.

Venezuela's government quickly denied its sympathizers were behind the blasts and suggested that some elements of the opposition had more to gain by isolating the oil-rich nation.

"We believe this is about a plan to create problems between Venezuela and two amicable nations," Deputy Foreign Minister Arevalo Mendez told reporters.

Explosives experts in blue and gray camouflage fatigues picked though the wreckage at the Spanish Embassy site and Colombian Consulate, where they were looking for bomb parts.

An official from the DISIP state security police told local radio that a powerful plastic explosive was placed at the Colombian Consulate, leaving a small but deep crater in the concrete driveway outside.

"All indications are it was a bomb...They were looking for an alternative site in an isolated area to launch a night-time attack," Colombian Consul General Juan Carlos Posada told Reuters, bits of broken glass crunching under his shoes.

Chavez's criticisms of the United States, Colombia and Spain on Sunday followed their statements questioning the arrest of Carlos Fernandez, a prominent opposition businessman charged with rebellion for leading a two-month strike against the leftist leader. Chavez said they had no right to comment on his nation's internal affairs.

Venezuela's crisis has drawn in the international community, with leaders fearing the world's fifth-largest oil supplier could slide deeper into violence as Chavez allies and enemies face off.

Nobel peace prize winner and former US President Jimmy Carter along with a six-nation group including the US and Spain have backed so-far fruitless talks by the Organization of American States (OAS) to defuse the crisis. Those negotiations are aimed at early elections, fiercely opposed by Chavez.

Another leaflet found at the blast sites criticized the OAS chief Cesar Gaviria and Carter, saying the "revolution" did not need their help in the peace talks.

Struggle Since Coup

Chavez and his foes have been locked in a fierce political struggle over his rule since April when he survived a short-lived coup by rebel military officers. The president has hardened his stance against critics he brands "terrorists" trying to oust him by sabotaging the oil industry.

The opposition strike began on Dec. 2; it severely disrupted the vital oil exports that account for half of Venezuelan government revenues. The shutdown fizzled out in February, although the oil sector still struggles to recover.

The president's self-styled "revolution" mingles left-leaning policies, such as land reform and cheap credits for the poor, with nationalism styled after 19th century South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar.

Tuesday's explosions are not the first incidents involving foreign missions in Caracas. A grenade exploded in January at the residence of the ambassador from Algeria, who had promised technical aid to help Chavez stem fallout from the oil strike.

(China Daily February 26, 2003)