Six police officers were hurt, including one who was shot in the arm, and firefighters treated 12 people, including five children, affected by the tear gas, Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceno said.
At least 12 people were detained by police, Ramon Muchacho, the Caracas city government security coordinator, told Caracas Metropolitan Television.
Rioters also set garbage on fire and stoned the offices of Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena, who controls the police force.
National Guard troops patrolled streets littered with smoldering debris. Shops closed and workers hurried home.
Fireworks are illegal in Venezuela. But the law is widely ignored and people set them off constantly during the holiday season, making Caracas colorful but deafening.
Fireworks caused at least 200 fires in Caracas last December, 10 times the monthly average, according to figures from the city's fire department.
Tensions have been high in the South American nation as opposition leaders are demanding a recall referendum on President Hugo Chavez. The opposition said Tuesday that more than 3.6 million people had signed a petition calling for the vote, well above the number needed.
The National Elections Council isn't expected to announce official results of the weekend petition drive for weeks. But Chavez called it a "gigantic fraud," insisting his adversaries did not gather enough signatures.
Opponents accuse the president of dividing the oil-rich country and trying to impose a Cuban-style regime. Chavez claims a corrupt political class that left a majority of Venezuelans in poverty wants its privileges back.
photo credit and caption:
Street vendors leave with their goods after a confrontation with police who seized illegal fireworks from their stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch)
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