A 23-year-old man has been fatally shot in the head during overnight protests in northern Venezuela against the embattled president Nicolas Maduro over the shortage of food and medicine in the oil-rich country.
The young man was in a demonstration" in northwestern Lara state "when he received a shot to the head that killed him instantly," the public attorney's department said in a Tuesday statement.
The man was the 25th person to die this month in a wave of street protests against Maduro
On Monday, three other protesters were killed during nationwide protests by opponents calling for elections to remove Maduro from office.
Most demonstrators rallied peacefully, but some masked protesters turned the rallies violent after they threw stones and clashed with police who fired back tear gas and rubber bullets.
Massive anti-government rallies have been held in Venezuela in recent weeks since Venezuela’s Supreme Court stripped the opposition-controlled parliament of its powers.
The move unleashed long-simmering anger and sparked the fiercest protests against him in three years. While that decision was later revoked, protests have only gained momentum.
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The opposition, which blames Maduro, the army, and the national guard for the recent violence in the country, has called for an early presidential election. Currently, a presidential election is scheduled to take place in Venezuela next year.
Maduro claims that the protests are incited by the Unites Stated to remove him from power.