by 12:30 pm, thousands of government supporters were gathered around the palace blocking all routes to miraflores except for the llaguno overpass, which was where the bolivarian circles had gathered to overlook the route. as the march turned a corner and began to approach the miraflores at about 2:00 pm, the national guard fired about 12 tear gas canisters from behind the palace walls and the protesters fled back down the road. as more marchers pressed toward miraflores, the leaders of the protest, guaicaipuro lameda and rear admiral molina tamayo, "kept calling on them to surge forward for a direct assault on the palace about two hundred yards away" and urged the crowd to advance through the tear gas about 20 minutes after the initial confrontation. the protesters made it closer to miraflores and the presidential guard responded with more tear gas, about 20 gas canisters causing panic and a dispersion of the demonstrators to areas surrounding the palace.