A 22-year-old student (click here) from the central city of Valencia in Venezuela died on Wednesday after being shot in the head during an anti-government demonstration, her family said.
Genesis Carmona, who was studying tourism and was also a local beauty queen, was shot during a demonstration on Tuesday.
She is one of six victims of the political unrest that has gripped the South American country since imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Security forces and protesters fought throughout Venezuela on Thursday in streets blocked by burning barricades....
I guess jail was a safe place for him.
REUTERSPublished: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 3:05 PM
Updated: Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 1:52 PM
Venezuelan security forces arrested (click here) opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday on charges of fomenting unrest that has killed at least four people, bringing tens of thousands of angry supporters onto the streets of Caracas.
Crowds of white-clad protesters stood in the way of the vehicle carrying the 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist after he made a defiant speech, said an emotional farewell to his family, and gave himself up to soldiers.
The vehicle eventually reached a military base.
Opposition leaders hope Lopez's arrest will galvanize street demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro, though there is no immediate sign the protests will topple the socialist leader.
"I am handing myself over to an unfair justice system," the protest leader told supporters, standing on a platform next to a statue of Cuban poet and independence hero Jose Marti....
Here too, demonstrations turned violent by confrontation and the Venezuelan President stated the violence was necessary. Some of the decent was predictable simply because President Chavez had died. It opened up the possibility other interests had a chance to move into power. That just happens because of a release of tensions in a population. Chavez was not really hated by the people.
By William J. Dobson
February 20, 2014
...As startling as the violence itself (click here) was the fact that the government gave no warning or explanation in advance. In a rambling national address earlier that day, President Maduro spoke of the need for peace—then praised the work of paramilitary thugs and promised to target members of Popular Will, a leading opposition party. Its leader, Leopoldo Lopez, was spending his second night in a military prison, after surrendering himself to authorities on Tuesday to face trumped-up charges implicating him for the death of three Venezuelans at protests. Even if Lopez, one of the opposition’s best-known leaders, is imprisoned, Maduro isn’t acting like the man with the upper hand. In his remarks Wednesday, he seemed erratic and unsure of himself, which only fuels rumors that he may have diminishing control over the state and its security forces....
It is the brute force of the current president that is the problem. He is using it against unarmed citizens. President Maduro was next in line after Chavez. I am quite sure while President Chavez was ill, Maduro ruled in the nation. I think he didn't expect this considering he was well known. The protests and uprising is somewhat new to him. He needs to temper his response.
