Officers trying to provoke coup, Venezuelan president says

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Military officers demanding elections are desperately trying to incite a coup while cloaking themselves in the constitution and they will be defeated, President Hugo Chavez vowed Thursday.

In his first reaction to the call to rebel by dozens of officers, Chavez dismissed the protest as "a show" and said he had foiled a coup plot linked to a Monday general strike against his government.

"We will continue to defeat them, one after another," he said.

Venezuela is deadlocked between Chavez, who defended his leftist revolution for Venezuela's majority poor, and a growing and increasingly frustrated opposition that wants a fast vote to ease social tensions -- and embarrass Chavez into resigning.

The dissident officers are citing a clause in Venezuela's constitution allowing citizens to rebel against an anti-democratic government. Union Radio reported more than 80 soldiers joined the protest, along with thousands of civilians. The military, however, has stayed put.

Chavez said he was encouraged that some opposition leaders were "showing signs of reason" by distancing themselves from coup-plotting and collecting signatures for a referendum on his rule.