Caracas, Venezuela ? A high court in Venezuela ordered the government of Hugo Chavez on Friday to turn police stations, guns, radios and motorcycles over to Caracas’ opposition mayor, a major victory for anti-Chavez forces on the 12th day of a devastating strike.

But Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena said the soldiers who took over the Metropolitan Police force weren’t respecting the order, and in fact responded to the decision by confiscating pistols and motorcycles from the officers.

Chavez ordered the militarization of Caracas’ 9,000-member police force on Nov. 16, claiming a police labor dispute jeopardized public security. The order outraged the opposition, which called it a Chavez power grab, and was a catalyst in their call for a strike beginning Dec. 2.

The strike, in which the opposition is demanding Chavez resign or call early elections, sent Venezuela into political crisis, crippled its giant oil industry and fueled sometimes violent street demonstrations.

Many police officers have refused to recognize the new police chief Chavez appointed, and Pena said violent crime had risen 40 percent since the militarization.

Pena went to Venezuela’s highest administrative court to appeal the takeover, and Friday evening the court ruled that he had control over police installations while they made a final ruling in the case. But Pena said the government wasn’t obeying the order.

“I don’t have tanks or bazookas or airplanes to make the head of the military in Caracas obey a court order,” he said.