CARACAS, Venezuela - A grenade exploded outside the home of Cardinal Ignacio Velasco, prompting immediate condemnation Wednesday from the Roman Catholic Church which vowed to boost efforts to end Venezuela's political crisis.
The attack, which church officials said caused no injuries or damage, came after a day of violence across this South American nation. The violence has raised tension at peace talks between President Hugo Chavez's leftist government and Venezuela's opposition. The church is supporting the talks.
Velasco, Caracas archbishop and vice president of Venezuela's Episcopal Conference, was home when the grenade exploded about midnight (0400 GMT).
There were no immediate claims of responsibility. On Sunday, grenades exploded at the headquarters of Venezuela's largest business and labor associations, which oppose Chavez's government.
"This kind of action won't achieve anything. The Church always promotes human rights," Monsignor Hernan Sanchez Porras told Union Radio.
Monsignor Jose Luis Azuaje, secretary general of the Episcopal Conference, condemned the climate of impunity in Venezuela and blamed the attack on people "who don't want dialogue or peaceful solutions to the crisis."
On Tuesday, clashes between Venezuelan troops and Chavez street activists killed one person, wounded 20 and prompted calls for peace from the head of the Organization of American States, which is mediating in the peace talks.
More than 400 National Guardsmen and police fought dozens of Chavez supporters after they surrounded city hall Tuesday, trapping the city's mayor and opposition leaders inside for several hours. Protesters repeatedly fled tear gas and rubber bullets, only to regroup to throw rocks, fire shots and burn tires in the streets.
City security official Alcides Rondon said Edwin Flores, 23, was killed during the clash. Thirteen people sustained bullet wounds and seven were injured by rubber bullets, Rondon said.
The government said it was trying to find the gunmen.
Late Tuesday, government supporters — including lawmakers Cilia Flores and Iris Varela — assaulted Greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, a Chavez critic, as he was visiting shooting victims in Caracas' Lidice Hospital, Globovision television reported. Pena was knocked down and whisked away amid shouts of "Kill him!"
Cesar Gaviria, the OAS secretary general, urged the government to punish those responsible for Tuesday's violence, saying he was worried about a growing "climate of impunity" in Venezuela. He referred to a brief April coup in which more than 60 people died; no one has been prosecuted for the killings.
Education Minister and government negotiator Aristobulo Isturiz condemned Tuesday's violence — and unleashed a scathing attack on the opposition, saying it was plotting a coup even as it negotiated.
Isturiz accused opposition leaders of holding a gun to the government's head by threatening to call a general strike if their demand for early presidential elections was not met. Venezuela's constitution says the earliest a vote on Chavez's rule can be held is August 2003. Chavez's term runs to 2007.
A general strike preceded April's coup, along with protests by executives at Venezuela's state owned oil monopoly. Oil executives resumed protests this week, citing a politicization of the company under Chavez.
Meanwhile, the Venezuela government sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemning an opposition pact with dissident military officers who have been protesting against Chavez since Oct. 22. Monday's pact calls for a "restoration of democracy" in Venezuela.
"It is incomprehensible that leaders of the (opposition) participate in the dialogue meetings on the one hand ... while others sign a pact with coup-plotting military officers," the letter said.
Venezuela's state news agency, Venpres, accused police officers who report to Pena of sparking Tuesday's violence by disrupting a peaceful city hall protest — a claim seconded by ruling party lawmakers. The demonstrators said Pena was inside plotting a coup against Chavez.