Anti-government street protests turn violent in Venezuela

RIGHT-WING opposition supporters took to the streets of Caracas and other cities in Venezuela on Saturday in violent protests against the government as fears mount of a possible repeat of the February 2014 Guarimbas opposition-led riots that left 43 people dead.

Venezuelan Vice-President Tareck el Aissami said the march was “illegal and unconstitutional”, adding that the protesters were “seeking a provocation that will lead to violence”. He criticised what he termed “international bullying” against Venezuela, which he said had “triggered a psychological and media war against the national constitution, the government and its people”.

In particular, El Aissami accused opposition leader Henrique Capriles of inciting violence in the protests.

On Friday, Capriles was banned from running for office for 15 years for misappropriating government funds for personal and political use.

Although Saturday’s march began peacefully, groups of protesters threw missiles, including home-made Molotov cocktails, and blocked major roads. Not too far away, Chavistas gathered for a celebration on Avenida Bolivar, branding it a “government of the street”. Many sang in the presence of a handful of United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) leaders.

PSUV politician Jorge Rodriguez described recent events in Venezuela as a “brutal and sustained aggression against the Venezuelan people”.

The riots were organised in protest against a decision by the Supreme Court to temporarily assume some responsibilities of the National Assembly as long as the legislature continued to be “in contempt” of the constitution, a ruling that was eventually overturned.