Opposition, government wrestle on internet, airwaves over clinic firebombing claims

CARACAS, Venezuela – More than a week later after Venezuela's ruling party won the presidential election, a national dispute is raging over government accusations that opposition provocateurs have been firebombing Cuban-run neighborhood health clinics in revenge.

The opposition has waged a media counteroffensive showing the claims to be seriously exaggerated and in some cases entirely false. With meticulously dated amateur photos of undamaged clinics, opposition supporters have vividly illustrated how cell-phone cameras, Twitter and Facebook can help even the playing field against a government that came to dominate broadcast media during the late Hugo Chavez's 14-year presidency.

The fight is fueling tension in a country that's deeply polarized and almost exactly divided between supporters of the government and an opposition that claims the April 14 election was stolen.