Three Die in Protests in Venezuela

On Wednesday, armed vigilantes riding motorcycles attacked demonstrators who were against the Venezuelan government, setting off gunfire into swarms of people, turning the biggest protests since President Nicolas Maduro took office violent. After the gunfire had stopped, three people were pronounced dead.

Chaos erupted in Caracas’ downtown when the motorcycle gang drove up and started shooting at over 100 protesters that had been arguing with security forces near the end of heated by still peaceful protests that had been organized by opposition hardliners. Most of the 10,000 or more participants from the demonstrations had already left the area.

A man was knocked to the ground, with a wound to his head from a gunshot, when protesters started to flee in panic when gunshots started. Onlookers than screamed out assassins and rushed the student to a nearby police vehicle.

In addition, the leader of 23^rd of January a pro-government collective was killed. This is what militant supporters of the socialist administration in Venezuela call themselves.

Diosdado Cabello the President of the National Assembly said the man referred to as Juancho was assassinated by fascists but gave no other details.

Trouble moved toward the east to neighborhoods where the wealthy live following nightfall and another demonstrator was killed from a gunshot wound.

Calm finally returned sometime around midnight, leaving only smoldering trash, where demonstrators had thrown rocks at government offices.

The latest unrest follows a wave of increasingly violent protests led by students that are spreading across the country the past couple of weeks. The students’ anger is fueled by their frustration with the way Maduro is handling the economy that is plagued by inflation, concerns over human rights and worsening crime rate.

Maduro said he regretted the deaths, which he place the blame on fascist groups that he says are conspiring to have him overthrown. Maduro said he has ordered his security forces to protect the larger cities and block actions that destabilize the country.

The current threats do not show any signs of stopping the hard line opposition leaders. During a news conference late Wednesday, the opposition leaders blamed the government supporters for the violence, saying they infiltrated the big march as it was ending, citing as their evidence the refusal by police to use any force to control a small number from throwing rocks.