Venezuelan troops firing tear gas and plastic bullets Friday stopped opposition protesters from marching to a summit of developing nations leaders to demand a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez.
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The clashes broke out as hundreds of National Guard troops backed by armored vehicles barred the path of the demonstration by thousands of opposition supporters advancing toward the summit venue in Caracas.
Clouds of tear gas wafted across one of Caracas' main avenues, less than a mile (about one kilometer) from the hotel and theater complex where leaders from 19 nations from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean were gathering.
The demonstrators had planned to try to hand over a message to the foreign leaders explaining their campaign to secure a recall vote against populist Chavez. They say he is ruling the world's No. 5 oil exporter like a dictator.
The heads of state of Brazil, Argentina, Iran, Zimbabwe and Jamaica were attending the summit of the Group of 15 developing nations. When the clashes broke out, Chavez was holding private meetings before the scheduled opening of the meeting Friday.
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