Protesters in Venezuela have accused the government of murdering a jailed opposition lawmaker, who the authorities say killed himself. Crowds were calling for justice at a rally outside the Sebin intelligence agency headquarters in Caracas where Fernando Albán had been held.
Venezuela's Opposition appeared close to disintegration this week after a key leader ditched the main coalition opposed to President Nicolas Maduro, bolstering the socialist leader ahead of elections due next year.
A 20-year-old Venezuelan protester died on Friday after being shot in the head, authorities said, taking fatalities from a month of anti-government unrest to at least 40 as the opposition geared up for more demonstrations. Hecder Lugo was hurt during fighting between demonstrators and security forces in Valencia on Thursday that also injured four others, the local opposition Mayor Enzo Scarano said in a series of tweets.
Venezuela's opposition renewed nationwide protests on Thursday to pressure President Nicolas Maduro to hold elections and improve a collapsing economy, and vowed to keep up pressure by staging three more protests in the next four days.
Venezuela's pro-government Supreme Court on Saturday revoked its controversial annulment of the opposition-led Congress amid international condemnation and protests against populist president Nicolas Maduro. Unprecedented pressure from other Latin American nations and dissent within its own ranks, and the military, appear to have been the catalyst for the court reversing its Wednesday ruling.
Venezuela's chief prosecutor broke with the government on Friday and rebuked a Supreme Court decision stripping Congress of its last vestiges of power, showing a crack in the unity of the embattled populist government of President Nicolas Maduro as it came under a torrent of international condemnation over what many decried as a major step toward dictatorship.
One of Venezuelan top opposition leader on Monday launched a tour of Latin American countries to rally support for his side in its bid to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office. Henrique Capriles, a senior figure in the opposition MUD coalition, was in Paraguay, Argentina and planned to move on to Brazil.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday he was prepared to escalate a state of emergency imposed this week after opposition-led protests in the capital and other cities. Maduro told supporters he would give the order - which implies suspending laws and rights to maintain public order - if “violent” anti-government acts occurred.
The army in crisis-hit Venezuela has to choose whether it is with the constitution or with [President Nicolas] Maduro, opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Tuesday.He made the statement to journalists after Maduro decreed a state of emergency broadening the powers of soldiers and police - and a day before opposition-led marches demanding a referendum to oust the president.
Venezuela said the opposition coalition MUD has won a two-thirds super majority in the country’s legislature, a major victory in Sunday’s elections.