Venezuela protester succumb to injury, toll rises to 48

Venezuela’s anti-government protests have been reignited with a 23-year-old man reportedly being killed by gunshots during protests west of the country.

The attorney general's office in the city of Valera said in a statement on Sunday that the young demonstrator had been killed a day earlier after being shot by unknown gunmen.

"At that moment, (Edy Alejandro) Teran Aguilar received a bullet in the chest," said the statement, adding that 18-year-old male and a 50-year-old woman were also injured in the shooting.

The death of Aguilar raised the toll from protests that began in Venezuela on April 1 to 48 people. The demonstrations were triggered by a decision in the pro-government Supreme Court which moved last month to strip the opposition-dominated parliament of its last vestiges of power. The court later withdrew from the decision facing increasing popular discontent, however, protests continued with the opposition and its supporters demanding President Nicolas Maduro’s removal from office.

Foro Penal, a non-governmental monitor, says that the military and the government have jailed 2,200 people since the start of the protests.

Massive protests were held on Saturday in various cities and towns across Venezuela with reports suggesting some of them turned violent. Some 46 people were injured in the capital Caracas in clashes that erupted in eastern part of the city while a youth was wounded by gunfire in the suburb of San Antonio Los Altos.

Maduro has yet to offer any concession to protesters as he insists that the opposition is continuing to capitalize on the slump that began three years ago to hit the prices of oil, Venezuela's chief revenue source, to undermine his government. Maduro also accuses the United States of providing direct support to the opposition drive aimed at his ouster.

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