At least three people have been shot dead and dozens more injured during what organisers called the "mother of all protests" against the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Carlos Moreno, 18, was fatally wounded when armed government supporters known as "colectivos" opened fire on a nearby opposition gathering in Caracas, striking the student in the head.
Another student, Paola Ramirez, was shot dead by men chasing her and her boyfriend as they left a protest in San Cristobal, near the border with Colombia.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
"I heard shots and when I arrived she was on the ground. I tried to protect her as much as I could," Ramirez's boyfriend said.
The third fatality was a national guardsman killed by a sniper during protests in Miranda state, according to human rights ombudsman Tarek Saab.
Last month, Venezuela's Supreme Court dissolved the opposition-controlled National Assembly and took over its powers, bringing the country a step further to dictatorship.
Thousands of protesters yesterday took to the streets, led by opposition figurehead and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, calling for "new presidential elections and the release of jailed opposition politicians", the BBC reports.
"Fears of bloodshed had been stoked after President Nicolas Maduro put troops on the streets, supplied guns to sympathetic civil militias and called for a simultaneous rally of his supporters against what he said was a United States-backed coup," says The Guardian.
According to the New York Times, Maduro "defied international calls, including a plea from the American State Department, to allow peaceful assemblies".
Capriles, who has been banned by the government from holding political office for 15 years, has vowed to continue the protests, calling for further marches on Thursday.
-
Political cartoons for January 10Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a warning shot, a shakedown, and more
-
Courgette and leek ijeh (Arabic frittata) recipeThe Week Recommends Soft leeks, tender courgette, and fragrant spices make a crisp frittata
-
Trump’s power grab: the start of a new world order?Talking Point Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the US president has shown that arguably power, not ‘international law’, is the ultimate guarantor of security
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Venezuela ‘turning over’ oil to US, Trump saysSpeed Read This comes less than a week after Trump captured the country’s president
-
Delcy Rodríguez: Maduro’s second in command now running VenezuelaIn the Spotlight Rodríguez has held positions of power throughout the country
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
