Boy among four people killed in Venezuela riots
CARACAS: A teenage boy was shot dead in renewed protests against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, one of four people killed in a week of unrest, officials said Wednesday.
State prosecutors said a 13-yearold boy was one of two new victims in recent clashes.
Opposition lawmaker Alfonso Marquina identified the teenage victim as Brayan Principal and said he was killed during unrest in the western city of Barquisimeto on Tuesday night.
The boy “was shot in the abdomen last night,” Marquina said.
He blamed the death on armed supporters of the government.
A 36-year-old man was also killed in Barquisimeto in a separate incident, the state prosecution service said.
Two 19-year- old students were killed during earlier unrest, one on April 6 and one on April 11, according to authorities.
Maduro is fighting efforts to oust him as Venezuela, once a booming oil exporter, struggles with shortages of food and medicine and a wave of violent crime.
Dozens of people have been injured and more than 100 arrested since last Thursday, according to authorities.
Scuffles broke out between government supporters and opponents during a Holy Week procession at the Santa Teresa church in central Caracas on Wednesday.
The last major clashes in Caracas erupted on Monday during protests formally called by the opposition.
The opposition has not organised any major protests since then, but sporadic rallies and blockades have been reported across the country, including those in Barquisimeto. — AFP