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Lawyer Antonio Lopez has been shot dead in a shoot-out with police officers who were attempting to arrest him as a suspect in the last Thursday slaying of Venezuelan state prosecutor Danilo Anderson.

Police chief Henry Zerpa says police officers attempted to detain Lopez who drew a gun and began firing at the cops. Two police agents were wounded in the shootout close to Plaza Venezuela in downtown Caracas.

Late last week, Lopez had reportedly gone into hiding and was actively sought by National Crime Squad (CICPC) detectives investigating the assassination of state prosecutor Danilo Anderson (38) last Thursday evening.

Anderson died in a fireball after some 250 grams of C-4 explosives were detonated under his Toyota 4WD … the government has already said the cold-blooded killing may have been aimed at preventing Anderson's prosecution of opposition supporters involved in an April 2002 coup d'etat against President Hugo Chavez which saw US-backed Dictator for a Day Pedro Carmona Estanga seize power.

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez has told the media that investigators have already traced a vehicle used by Anderson's attackers who used C-4 military explosives and a wireless trigger device to detonate two bombs under Anderson's Toyota.

Interior & Justice (MIJ) Minister Jesse Chacon said National Crime Squad (CICPC) detectives had traced a series of telephone calls which have helped identify suspects, including Lopez.

Anderson had been investigating some 400 opposition supporters who had lent their signatures to a coup decree backing the US puppet dictator who took power during the brief coup against Chavez. Anderson had already announced that he was investigated the opposition's former Metropolitan Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena (who still remains in hiding) and eight policemen for shootings during an opposition march, as well as some 59 rebel military officers.

Some of those rebel officers are already implicated in the last year bombings of the Colombian Consulate and the Spanish Embassy in Caracas as well as the Teleport building HQ of a Carter Center/OAS 'Friends of Venezuela' negotiating team.

Venezuela has repeatedly asked the United States to extradite three rebel officers cited in Venezuelan court proceedings to answer charges of having orchestrated the bombings. Chacon says “I hope the US government believes that terrorism must be fought and extradites them back to Venezuelan jurisdiction … the United States should wholeheartedly support Venezuela's efforts against terrorism.”

In update news: It is understood that one of the two CICPC officers wounded in the gun battle with Lopez has just died. Police found guns, grenades and explosives in Lopez' car and further caches at his residence. The dead policeman has just been named as Alberto Pavon. He died in a Caracas hospital this afternoon.