Venezuela stir turns violent, 2 killed
Caracas, April 20: A teenage boy and a woman died after being shot on Thursday during massive protests in Venezuela against President Nicolas Maduro, bringing to seven the number killed this month in a mounting political crisis.
Riot police fired tear gas to force back stone-throwing demonstrators as tens of thousands of people joined protest marches in Caracas and several other cities. The Opposition has accused Maduro of letting state forces and gangs of armed thugs violently repress demonstrators as he resists Opposition pressure for him to quit.
Despite Wednesday’s deadly violence, his opponents upped the ante by calling for fresh protests on Thursday.
“On Friday, at the same time we are summoning the whole Venezuelan people to mobilise,” senior Opposition leader Henrique Capriles told a news conference.
“Today there were millions of us and tomorrow even more of us have to come out.” The 17-year-old boy was shot by gunmen on motorbikes who also threw tear gas canisters into a crowd of protesters, Amadeo Leiva, head of the Clinicas Caracas Hospital which treated him, said.
A 23-year-old woman, Paola Ramirez, died after being shot in the head in the western city of San Cristobal, the state prosecution service said later in a statement. Authorities had previously reported five other people killed, including a boy of 13, in protests around the country earlier this month.
Pressure on the Leftist president has been mounting since 2014, as falling prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports have aggravated an economic crisis. Venezuelans are suffering shortages of food and medicine.