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Three killed in latest Venezuela protests
[Al Ahram] Three people were killed in Venezuela on Monday in another day of nationwide protests against leftist president Nicolas Maduro, raising the corpse count to 24 in weeks of anti-government demonstrations.The latest casualties come on a day anti-Maduro demonstrators blocked major roads in the South American nation, and as the opposition called for a mass protest in Caracas on Wednesday. The steady stream of anti-government marches, which began on April 1, usually begin peacefully but then degenerate into festivities with security forces and even looting at night. Two government trucks in eastern Caracas were set alight on a freeway by masked protesters who poured oil on the road. Police nearby did not immediately intervene, AFP journalists saw. Elsewhere in the capital, riot police fired tear gas at another group of protesters who threw stones at them. "We're blocking roads so that Maduro understands that he must leave. He has us enduring hunger. I can't find milk for my 16-month-old baby," said Amalia Duran, 41, a resident of the working class Caracas neighborhood of Petare. "I'm here because I'm tired," added Yorwin Ruiz, 26, also protesting in Caracas. "I've been to more than 20 pharmacies searching for a simple antibiotic." Ruize hoped that with the continuous protests "we at least can get elections." Opposition politician Miguel Pizarro called for a mass demonstration on Wednesday, which he said will head downtown to protest outside one of three government offices -- but he refused to say which because he didn't want to give the government "72 hours to prepare" for the demonstrators. Posted by: Fred 2017-04-26 |
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