A half a million people reportedly marched on the Palace in Caracas demanding his resignation.

If he refuses, can a coup be far behind?

[Update at 2:37PM PDT]

Now, he’s apparently shut down the private television stations, while condemning them on the government station. This is always the end point of imposed socialism. No other freedom can survive the usurpation of property rights.

I think that President Chavez is due for a long vacation in someplace like Havana, and soon.

[Update at 2:52 PM PDT]

Here’s the latest update from AP.

Multiple shots were fired near the palace, and scuffles with police erupted in several downtown locations. Some people fired on crowds from rooftops. A body lay in a pool of blood next to the presidential palace.

Greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, a Chavez opponent, quoted Manuel Rojas, director of Caracas’ Hospital Vargas, as saying that four people were killed and 24 wounded.

“Chavez has shown his true face. This dictator’s apprentice brutally ordered the repression of a peaceful demonstration,” Pena claimed.

[Late update at 10:34PM PDT]

The coup is now official according to Reuters. Chavez is history.

I don’t know if this is good, but getting rid of Chavez surely isn’t bad. At a minimum, we should be in there gathering up any intel that we can, to see what kind of mischief Castro was up to in South America, and what relationships there may have been with guerilla groups like FARC in Colombia (which may be the next threat to stability in the region).