CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Associates of Teodoro Petkoff say the former communist guerrilla turned Venezuelan government minister and outspoken opponent of Hugo Chavez has died.
Petkoff's Tal Cual newspaper announced Wednesday that its founding editor had died after a long illness. He was 86.
As a student leader Petkoff twice escaped from a high-security prison in his fight against the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jimenez and later became a guerrilla fighter.
But he was always known for an independent streak and for changes of course. He served as a planning minister in a conservative government charged with implementing an austerity program that earned the respect of Wall Street.
In recent years, his newspaper was a frequent critic of Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro.
