Deadly protests take place as Venezuela votes in controversial election

A protester in Caracas.
(Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images)

As many as 14 people were killed Sunday in Venezuela during violent protests against President Nicolas Maduro's election to create a constitutional assembly.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said as many as 14 people died during demonstrations, while the prosecutor's office confirmed gunfire killed at least six people, including a national guardsman. Many Venezuelans stayed away from the polls, calling the election a sham. The assembly would rewrite the constitution and have nearly unlimited powers to dissolve institutions like the parliament, now controlled by the opposition. The opposition believes the assembly would turn the country into a dictatorship, and the election is being criticized by many foreign governments as being illegal.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.