Street protests turn deadly in Venezuela
Tens of thousands take to the streets as turmoil continues
A teenager is one of two protesters slain as tens of thousands of people flood the streets of Caracas in what’s been dubbed the “mother of all marches” against the embattled president.
CARACAS, Venezuela — A teenager was one of two protesters slain as tens of thousands of opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets of Caracas on Wednesday in what’s been dubbed the “mother of all marches” against the embattled socialist.
Carlos Romero, just three days away from celebrating his 18th birthday, was walking home from a soccer game when he bumped into pro-government militias stalking a small pocket of protesters, a close family friend Melvin Sojo, said at the hospital where doctors tried in vain to save the boy’s life.
Sojo, who grew up in the Romero home, said police and two people who rushed his brother to the hospital told him the boy had been shot in the head by pro-government groups. Official confirmation of Sojo’s account was not immediately available, and the county’s energy minister said the boy was killed during an attempted assault.
A second protester, a 23-yearold woman identified as Paola Ramirez, was killed by gunfire from pro-government groups.
They became the sixth and seventh persons killed since protests began three weeks ago over the Supreme Court’s decision to strip the opposition-controlled congress of its last remaining powers after a year-long battle.
Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez told lines of state workers preparing to join a large countermarch that the reports of the boy’s death at the hands of pro-government groups were false, saying he had been killed during a botched assault, and that they would have to use all their political weaponry to combat the lies of Maduro’s “fascist” opponents.
“We’re a peaceful people, but we’re also armed,” he said.
Tens of thousands of angry protesters converged from 26 different points across the capital to attempt to march downtown to the Ombudsman’s office. Their progress was blocked by lightarmored vehicles and a curtain of tear gas and rubber bullets fired by police.
In some areas government supporters, some of them armed, circled on motorcycles.
The Supreme Court’s decision was later reversed amid overwhelming international rebuke and even a rare instance of public dissent in the normally disciplined ruling elite. But it had the added effect of energizing Venezuela’s fractious opposition, which had been struggling to channel growing disgust with Maduro over widespread food shortages, triple-digit inflation and rampant crime.
With its momentum renewed, the opposition is pushing for Maduro’s removal and the release of scores of political prisoners.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Trump administration is concerned about the political turmoil in Venezuela and feels Maduro is trying to squash his opponents.
Tillerson told reporters at the State Department that the U.S. is “concerned that the government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and is not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard.”