Venezuelan soldier ‘executes’ rioter
HORRIFIC footage shows the moment two soldiers shot a protester at pointblank range during antigovernment riots in Venezuela.
The protester was hurling rocks over the fence of La Carlota air base, in the capital Caracas, last week when the soldiers approached to within metres of the riots.
One of the officers pulled out a rifle and fired, striking the activist in the chest. He stumbled off-camera and is seen being carried by a group of people a few minutes later.
The Washington Post reported the man was 22-year-old David Jose Vallenilla. He died in hospital after being shot in the chest three times.
The death toll from weeks of clashes at anti-government protests has risen to 75.
Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro accuse him of attempting to bring about a dictatorship.
It follows a decision in late March by Venezuela’s Supreme Court – whose rulings have consistently favoured the President – to take over the Oppositionled Congress’s legislative powers.
Since then there have been daily demonstrations and street battles between anti-government protesters and Maduro’s security forces and supporters.
Protesters in Caracas and other cities marched on military bases on the weekend to demand an end to “brutal repression” and call for the President’s resignation and new elections.
On Saturday at a military parade, Mr Maduro said an unspecified number of people had been arrested and would face military trial for planning a coup plot with the backing of Venezuelan opposition leaders and the aim of inspiring a US intervention.