News / Venezuela

Venezuela protest claims one more life, prosecutors say

Tuesday, 11 April 2017 4:46 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 11 April 2017 4:46 PM ]

A demonstrator protesting against President Nicolas Maduro's government throws back a tear gas grenade at riot police in Caracas, Venezuela, April 10, 2017. (AFP photo)

Authorities in Venezuela have announced that one more protester has died as a result of clashes between police and anti-government protesters.

Prosecutors said on Tuesday that Daniel Queliz had died earlier in the day in the northern city of Valencia.

“He was wounded in the neck by a bullet,” the state prosecution service said, adding that the shooting came when police broke up a demonstration near a housing complex. It added that the 20-year-old student was dead on arrival at hospital. A friend said he was struck by gunfire while participating in the protest.

Queliz is the second person killed in less than a week of protests by followers of Venezuela’s opposition. Another 19-year-old man, identified as Jairo Ortiz, died on Thursday when police shot him in the chest during a protest in the capital Caracas. Authorities have charged a policeman over the killing.

Venezuelan opposition activists clash with riot police in Caracas on April 10, 2017. (AFP photo)

Anti-government demonstrations intensified in Venezuela on April 1 after the Supreme Court decided to strip the congress of its last vestiges of power.

The court later withdrew the move but protesters pushed with calls on President Nicloas Maduro to leave office.

The embattled president is blamed for Venezuela’s economic woes while the opposition also regrets his lack of tolerance for dissent. Maduro says the Western-backed opposition has hugely capitalized on the global slump in oil prices to try and remove him from office.

Prosecutors said acts of violence took place in Tuesday's unrest in Valencia and added that some 40 people were to be charged.

International groups have criticized excessive use of force by police in the recent protests, saying protesters were indiscriminately targeted by tear gas and rubber bullet.

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