Americas summit protest turns violent

WOW! In my previous post about commenting on President Bush's trip to Argentina and the protests that are going on, I never expected the protests to get this bad! From CNN.Com:

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (CNN) -- Protesters set one building on fire Friday and threw objects at police in the streets of this resort city as the leaders of 34 nations began the fourth Summit of the Americas.

Video showed flames and smoke on the bottom floor of one multistory building just blocks from the summit site.

CNN Producer Alec Mirian said that in response to the violence police officers showed up on motorcycles followed by officers on foot in riot gear.

Many of the protestors wore red bandanas and carried wooden sticks several feet long, while some had rocks. Some threw small explosives similar to Molotov cocktails.

Earlier in the day, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led thousands of protesters in a rally against President Bush's policies.

Chavez, who U.S. leaders have said is a source of instability in the hemisphere, condemned what he called U.S. imperialism while demonstrators opposed to the Iraq war and U.S.-led trade policies called Bush a "fascist" and a "terrorist."

Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona also participated in the protest, wearing a T-shirt accusing Bush of war crimes. (See video of the protest -- :28)

Chavez, a left-leaning populist, routinely denounces Bush as "Mr. Danger" and refers to the United States as "the Empire."

Bush was expected to see Chavez at the summit later in the day. At a brief news conference, Bush said he would be "polite."