Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro take to the streets of Caracas to counter an opposition march, April 19, 2017. Demonstrators are calling for the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro amid the country's ongoing economic crisis.
Capriles said that one of the fundamental requirements for the opposition to abandon street protests is for the democratically-elected government of Maduro to schedule general elections despite the fact the Maduro's term does not end until 2019 and that it runs contrary to what is established in the country's constitution.
Lawmaker Olivia Lozano told the El Nacional newspaper the perpetrators were supporters of the ruling party.
And there are accusations the Maduro government is becoming a full-blown dictatorship. The defence minister claimed this was ordered in response to an external threat following the declaration from the US that Venezuela was being considered a "national security threat".
That sets the stage for prolonged disruption in volatile Venezuela, where security forces have been blocking rallies this month and protests have dissolved into clashes with rock-throwing youth.
They have demanded Maduro step down as any signs of democracy have washed away.
Massive anti-government protests in Venezuela have turned deadly, with three deaths being reported after Wednesday's "mother of all protests".
The opposition have called for another protest on Thursday, raising the spectre of prolonged disruption in the country. They were further fueled when the government barred the opposition's best-known leader, two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, from holding public office.
"Those responsible for the criminal repression of peaceful democratic activity, for the undermining of democratic institutions and practices, and for gross violations of human rights, will be held individually accountable for their actions by the Venezuelan people and their institutions, as well as by the global community", the U.S. State Department said in a statement Tuesday.
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The proposed statement would have demanded that North Korea "conduct no further nuclear tests" and halt missile launches. One diplomat said it was unlikely the Security Council would be able to resolve differences on the statement.
Maduro didn't provide any evidence to back up his claim that a coup attempt was under way, and the opposition rejected his comments as a desperate attempt to intimidate Venezuelans from exercising their constitutional right to protest.
Demonstrators burn an effigy of President Nicolas Maduro during a protest in Caracas on April 19. "We're fed up. We want elections to get Maduro out, because he's destroyed this country", said protester Ingrid Chacon, a 54-year-old secretary.
He gave a fiery speech on Wednesday, accusing the opposition leaders of inciting violence. The government has repeatedly blocked any attempts by the opposition to oust Maduro from power by a referendum vote. "We are saddened by the deaths of a man and a woman and concerned at the reports of numerous persons injured".
The government has put hundreds of protesters in jail and stood by as groups who support the government have violently attacked opposition members of the congress.
For his part, National Assembly President Julio Borges has sent more than a dozen letters to leading global banks warning them of the risk to their reputations and bottom line if they throw a lifeline to Maduro as he seeks to bolster an economy suffering widespread shortages of food and other goods while avoiding a default on foreign debt.
Rallying his troops this week, Maduro sent the army into the streets and ordered pro-government militias to be expanded to half a million members, "each with a rifle".
"We were on a motorbike and they were following us, shooting", her boyfriend said.
The governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay are "energetically condemning" the violence in Venezuela and lamenting that global calls for the ongoing demonstrations to be peaceful have been ignored.
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