Tag Archives: Maduro

Venezuelan soldier shoots protester dead in airbase attack, minister says

Riot security forces members congregate next to a government truck that was set on fire during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Veron

By Andreina Aponte

CARACAS (Reuters) – A Venezuelan military police sergeant shot dead a protester who was attacking the perimeter of an airbase on Thursday, the interior minister said, bringing renewed scrutiny of the force used to control riots that have killed at least 76 people.

At least two soldiers shot long firearms through the fence from a distance of just a few feet at protesters who were throwing rocks, television footage showed.

One man collapsed to the ground and was carried off by other protesters. Paramedics took at least two other injured people to a hospital, a Reuters witness said.

“The sergeant used an unauthorized weapon to repel the attack, causing the death of one of assailants,” Interior minister Nestor Reverol said on Twitter. He said the air force police sergeant faced legal proceedings.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in recent months to protest against a clampdown on the opposition, shortages of food and medicine, and President Nicolas Maduro’s plan to overhaul the constitution.

The reaction of the security forces to provocation at marches has been in the spotlight since images showed a national guard member pointing a pistol at demonstrators on Monday, prompting the opposition to intensify its street campaign.

The protesters who attacked the fence outside La Carlota airbase in the wealthy east of Caracas had earlier burned a truck and a motorbike when security forces firing rubber bullets broke up a march destined for the attorney general’s office.

David Jose Vallenilla, 22, died after arriving at a hospital in the Chacao municipality where the protest happened.

Opposition supporters march during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Opposition supporters march during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Caracas, Venezuela June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

SHOTS, PETROL BOMBS

A small group of protesters throwing petrol bombs from behind flimsy homemade shields cheered when powerful fireworks used as weapons landed near troops in the airbase. They managed to rip down a section of the fence surrounding the base, despite volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets.

At least one soldier aimed a shotgun through the fence, Reuters pictures showed. The national guard uses shotgun cartridges filled with small rubber pellets against protests.

Reverol said two soldiers were seriously injured by “explosives” the protesters launched, and said shots and petrol bombs hit a primary school on the base during the attack.

Opposition lawmaker Jose Manuel Olivares said Vallenilla had been killed by the national guard firing rubber bullets at point blank range. Olivares, whose arm was wounded in the protest, called for sit-ins on highways on Friday and protests at military bases on Saturday.

Vallenilla suffered wounds to the lungs and heart, a doctor who attended him told Reuters. The attorney general’s office said he was shot three times.

Maduro says the violence is part of a foreign-led plot to overthrow his government and criticizes the opposition for fanning it, however authorities have taken action against three national guard sergeants accused of killing a boy on Monday.

Venezuela’s national guard is a wing of the military charged with internal public order. It mainly uses tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to control protests that frequently escalate into riots.

On Monday, a teenager died during another protest in the same area after footage showed a national guard soldier pointing a pistol at protesters.

Maduro moved the head of the national guard to a new position looking after security in the capital after that incident, part of a reshuffle that brought several more military figures into his cabinet.

“I have ordered an investigation to see if there was a conspiracy behind this,” Maduro said earlier on Thursday. He said the men involved in Monday’s shooting had been detained.

The office of the attorney general, a former Maduro loyalist who has turned against him over his push to rewrite the constitution, named three national guard sergeants on Thursday, saying they were charged with homicide for that shooting and that a court had put them in custody.

(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Richard Pullin and Paul Tait)

OAS nations wind up empty handed on Venezuela condemnation

A banner is seen with a small group of Venezuelan protesters outside the site where the Organization of American States (OAS) 47th General Assembly is taking place in Cancun, Mexico June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

By Anthony Esposito

CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) – The Organization of American States failed on Wednesday to issue a formal declaration condemning Venezuela’s government for its handling of the political and economic crisis in the South American country, despite a last-minute push by Mexico and the United States.

But member nations, including Mexico, committed to keep pressing the issue until the crisis in Venezuela, where at least 75 people have been killed in more than two months of protests, is peacefully resolved.

“Mexico’s position on Venezuela is a position that will not waver, it’s a position that says representative democracy is the only form of government acceptable in the Western Hemisphere,” Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told reporters.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is accused by opponents of leading the OPEC member toward dictatorship by delaying elections, jailing opposition activists and pressing to overhaul the constitution.

Videgaray and OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro repeated calls for Venezuela to establish an election timetable, respect for human rights, political prisoners to be freed, an independent judiciary and respect for the autonomy of the legislature.

Foreign ministers from the 34-nation OAS bloc failed to agree on a resolution formally rebuking Venezuela after the issue of the crisis-racked nations consumed most of the three-day general assembly in Cancun, Mexico.

An effort by a group of nations, led by the United States, Mexico and regional allies, to include a declaration on Venezuela by tucking it into a more general resolution on human rights also failed.

Throughout the OAS sessions, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez fought back at attempts to chastise her nation, accusing U.S. allies of being “lapdogs of imperialism.”

Rodriguez left her post as foreign minister on Wednesday to run for a seat in a controversial new congress, drawing praise from Maduro as a “tiger” for her feisty defense of the socialist government.

Twenty states voted to pass the draft resolution censuring Venezuela on Monday, falling short of the 23 votes, or two-thirds majority, needed.

Maduro accuses opponents of seeking his violent overthrow with U.S. support. He has called for the creation of a super-body, or constituent assembly, with powers to overhaul the constitution, in voting set for the end of July.

Four years of recession caused by failing socialist economic policies plus the decline in global oil prices have battered Venezuela’s 30 million people and made Maduro deeply unpopular.

Opposition leaders accuse Maduro of leading Venezuela toward dictatorship by delaying elections and jailing opposition activists, while food and medicine run short and inflation is believed to be in the triple digits.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Tom Brown and Lisa Shumaker)

On buses and trains, Venezuela opposition leaders protest Maduro

FILE PHOTO - A protester holds a national flag as a bank branch, housed in the magistracy of the Supreme Court of Justice, burns during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

By Diego Oré and Andreína Aponte

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan legislators and opposition leaders on Thursday staged protests against President Nicolas Maduro aboard buses and trains in Caracas in an effort to bypass blockades of street demonstrations by security forces.

Maduro’s adversaries have for more than two months been holding marches and rallies that are routinely cut short by troops and police, resulting in clashes that have left at least 71 people dead.

“Our message is going to travel all the stations of the subway,” said opposition deputy Juan Mejia before boarding a Caracas subway train.

“Our message will reach all those Venezuelans who have expressed a desire for a different country, but who have to go out and get their daily bread to help their family.”

Mejia said that employees of the capital’s subway, which has for years been closely controlled by the ruling Socialist Party, made announcements over loudspeakers warning of delays due to “a group of opposition sympathizers.”

Maduro’s critics say he is seeking to forge dictatorship through a legislative superbody known as a constituent assembly to be elected on July 30 in a vote opposition leaders say is rigged in favor of the Socialists.

Maduro, who was elected after the death of his mentor Hugo Chavez in 2013, says the protests are an effort to overthrow him and blames the opposition for scores of deaths. He says the constituent assembly will help the country escape a crippling economic crisis.

Authorities confirmed two more student deaths at protests on Thursday. Luis Vera, 20, was crushed by a car in the oil region of Zulia, while Jose Gregorio Perez was hit in the face in the mountain state of Tachira, the public prosecutor’s office said.

Another group of deputies boarded city buses that run through Caracas and nearby cities and explained to passersby their view that the constituent assembly “formalizes the dictatorship.”

Activists also organized a 6 a.m. visit to the National Electoral Council, which the opposition accuses of favoring Maduro’s government, to put up posters with messages such as “CNE accomplice of the dictatorship.”

It was the first time during the current wave of demonstrations that protesters were able to reach the institution. Previous marches to the headquarters were blocked by security forces.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence held up Venezuela on Thursday as a prime example of what happens when democracy is undermined and urged Latin American leaders to condemn its government, comments Maduro described as nauseating.

(Writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Lisa Shumaker)

Venezuela opposition condemns ‘vandalism’ in apartment block raids

People walk past the broken fencing of a building after opposition supporters and security forces clashed in and outside the building on Tuesday according to residents, in Caracas, Venezuela June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

By Diego Oré

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition lawmakers on Wednesday said security forces used excessive violence during a raid to capture protesters in a sprawling middle-class apartment complex carried out after officers came under fire.

Videos taken during the raid show an armored truck smashing through the gates of the Los Verdes complex, in an operation that Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said resulted in the capture of 23 people who had been involved in attacks on security forces.

“These subjects were involved in violent acts in which several officials were injured by gun fire,” Reverol said, describing clashes at a barricade close to the apartments as the trigger for the raid.

Los Verdes is located in a Caracas neighborhood that has been the site of almost nightly clashes over two months since protests broke out against government restrictions on the opposition and chronic shortages of basic consumer goods.

With at least 68 killed since April, the increasing intensity of protests and the government response has led some to warn that Venezuela risks descending into deeper political violence.

The government calls violent protesters “terrorists” who want to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, and says that acts including attacks on police, the burning of vehicles and a looting and arson attack on a court building this week delegitimize their cause.

Dozens of car windows were smashed and at least 12 elevators broken during the operation on Los Verdes, said a Reuters witness at the site on Wednesday. One resident said an agent shot her dog in the eye.

“They are mafia criminals armed by the government,” said opposition lawmaker Tomas Guanipa, describing as “vandalism” the government action at the complex, which houses some 4,500 people.

Small protests and clashes rumbled on in several parts of Caracas and other cities on Wednesday, with security forces firing tear gas to clear a roadblock in a wealthy part of the capital and protesters burning a car.

Reverol said two people were killed in an accident when one motorcycle hit another after turning back from an opposition barricade on Wednesday.

The opposition street movement has been fanned by Maduro’s plan for July 30 elections for a special assembly to rewrite the constitution, which critics say are stacked in the government’s favor and will result in the opposition-controlled congress being dissolved.

The opposition is determined to stop the vote, calling instead for a presidential election. In a sign of how heated rhetoric has become, opposition lawmakers warn the situation could descend into armed conflict if protesters are not heard.

“If this government insists on going ahead, the world needs to know, sadly, what is coming here is a major war for the Venezuelans,” said lawmaker Juan Requesens at a sit-in protest blocking a Caracas highway on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Anti-Maduro chants ring at Venezuela soccer heroes’ welcome

Fans shout slogans against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government during a welcoming ceremony for Venezuela's under-20 soccer team, upon their arrival from the FIFA U-20 World Cup, in Caracas, Venezuela June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

By Diego Oré

CARACAS (Reuters) – Thousands of soccer fans repeatedly chanted against President Nicolas Maduro’s government during a homage in a stadium on Tuesday to Venezuela’s youth team who were runners up in a World Cup final.

Some 20,000 people in the Olympic Stadium cheered as each of the players, dressed in the red wine colored “Vinotinto” national strip, was welcomed on stage.

But for a short period before the event began, much of the crowd shouted a popular anti-government slogan, with the chants surging again several times during the ceremony.

“It’s going to fall, it’s going to fall, this government is going to fall!” the fans sang at the stadium in Caracas.

At one point, the chants became so loud that team coach Rafael Dudamel pleaded with the crowd to quieten down, saying from the stage: “Nobody should steal this moment from us.”

Protesters demanding elections, along with an end to food and medicine shortages, have stormed the streets of Caracas and other cities almost every day since early April.

At least 68 people have died in the often violent demonstrations, including protesters, government supporters, bystanders and members of the security forces.

The president says his foes are seeking a violent coup.

Unusually for such an event, Tuesday’s homage was not broadcast live on the main state television channel, which instead showed Maduro at an event with army officials. Earlier the team’s arrival at the airport was broadcast.

The youth side unexpectedly reached the Under-20 World Cup final in South Korea, the strongest ever performance for a soccer side from a country where baseball has long been the national sport.

Although beaten by England in the final, the players’ success has created a rare moment of joint pride amid the bitter political divide and violence.

“Even though they lost, they are our champions. This is the greatest achievement in our football history and we will not forget,” said architecture student Roberto Hernandez, 22.

“This country needs some happiness and these kids gave us spadefuls of that every time they won a game.”

Though coach Dudamel was judicious in his words on Tuesday, he irked the government last week when, after a semi-final victory, he called on Maduro to “stop the weapons” and lamented the death of a 17-year-old protester.

The violence was unabated on Tuesday, with a 45-year-old police officer shot dead during a demonstration in the mountain state of Merida. State governor Alexis Ramirez condemned the death as an act of “hooded terrorists” who shot at police, injuring two more plus two students.

(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Andrew Hay)

Venezuela chief prosecutor accuses government of harassment; violence flares

A protester holds a national flag as a bank branch, housed in the magistracy of the Supreme Court of Justice, burns during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

By Andreina Aponte and Corina Pons

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s chief prosecutor said on Monday her family had been threatened and followed by intelligence agents since she split with the government, and violence broke out in protests at the Supreme Court over a bid to change the constitution.

Luisa Ortega, a former ally of President Nicolas Maduro who has turned against him and the ruling Socialist Party, has questioned Maduro’s handling of opposition street protests in recent weeks and challenged his plan to rewrite a constitution brought in by late leader Hugo Chavez.

“Somebody is threatening my family,” she said in a radio interview. “They harass them. They follow them, patrol cars that look like SEBIN,” she said, referring to the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN).

State officials have launched a series of verbal attacks on Ortega, ranging from questioning her sanity to accusing her of promoting violence.

She said she would hold the government responsible if her family was harmed.

Fanned by anger at triple-digit inflation along with shortages of food and medicine, protests have grown smaller but more violent over the past two months, with at least 67 killed and thousands injured.

Ortega’s office said it was investigating the death on Monday of a man called Socrates Salgado, 49, in a coastal town near Caracas. Opposition politicians said he died during a protest.

“INEPT”

In April, Ortega successfully challenged a Supreme Court decision to assume the powers of the opposition-controlled legislature, making her the highest official in years to openly break with the ruling party.

She filed a Supreme Court challenge last week to Maduro’s plan to elect a legislative super-body known as a constituent assembly, that will have the power to rewrite the constitution and in some cases dissolve state institutions.

The Supreme Court rejected the challenge on Monday.

“The electoral chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice declares that the (challenge) filed by Luisa Ortega Diaz is inadmissible because it is an inept accumulation of pretensions,” the court said on Twitter.

In response, Ortega launched another legal challenge, this time claiming that 13 judges appointed to the court in 2015 were put there via an “irregular” process and that they should be replaced.

Protesters angry at the pro-government court’s ruling on Monday attacked a branch of the court with petrol bombs and damaged a bank in the same building, which was engulfed in smoke and flames. Several protesters were injured as security guards tried to repel them.

Police arrested 24 people for their involvement in the daylight attack on a busy office block, which was condemned by Maduro as a terrorist act. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said it was the work of government agitators.

Outside the Supreme Court headquarters in downtown Caracas, protesters backing Ortega were confronted earlier by government supporters.

Maduro says Venezuela is the victim of an “economic war” that he says can only be addressed by a constituent assembly.

The elections council has set an election for the assembly for July 30. The opposition is refusing to participate in the vote, saying it is rigged in favor of the Socialist Party.

In a move seen as crimping opposition power, the Interior Ministry on Monday took direct control of the state police force in Miranda, a region that includes a wealthy part of Caracas. Capriles, a former presidential candidate, is its governor.

Citing the current constitution, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said the six-month “intervention” was justified because there was evidence the police force was involved in rights abuses and organized crime.

Capriles said the plan was to use the police force to repress protests and said members of the force should not obey any order that violated human rights or the constitution.

(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel and Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and Paul Tait)

Venezuela inflation so far this year at 128 percent: congress

Riot security forces members catch fire during riots at a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela, June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

CARACAS (Reuters) – Inflation in Venezuela’s crisis-hit economy was 127.8 percent in the first five months of 2017, the opposition-led congress said on Friday in the absence of official data.

Economic hardship in the country, where many are skipping food and there are severe shortages, is helping fuel opposition protests that have led to at least 67 deaths in the last two months.

Various factors underlay the five-month price rise, including excess money-printing by the central bank, restrictions on imports and a recent devaluation of the bolivar, opposition lawmaker and economist Angel Alvarado said.

May inflation was 18.26 percent, he added, presenting the latest opposition-calculated index.

President Nicolas Maduro’s government has not published official data for more than a year.

Government opponents say Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, have wrecked a once-prosperous economy with 18 years of state-led socialist policies ranging from nationalizations to currency controls.

The government says it is victim of an “economic war” led by opposition-linked businessmen.

(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Venezuela assembly plan threatens Chavez legacy: prosecutor

A woman reacts at the place where 17-year-old demonstrator Neomar Lander died during riots at a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela, June 8, 2017. The sign reads: "Neomar, entertainer for ever". REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

By Eyanir Chinea

CARACAS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Maduro’s plan for a new popular congress to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution threatens to destroy the political legacy of former leader Hugo Chavez, the chief state prosecutor said on Thursday.

Maduro, 54, who calls himself the “son” of Chavez and guarantor of his late mentor’s socialist ideals, has cast the constituent assembly plan as the way to restore peace after two months of anti-government unrest that has killed 67 people.

Critics, including some traditional government supporters, have said there is no need to rewrite the constitution reformed by Chavez in 1999, and insist that a referendum should be held to determine if the country wants such an assembly.

“I think with this (assembly) we are destroying President Chavez’s legacy,” Luisa Ortega, the prosecutor who broke with Maduro several weeks ago, said outside the Supreme Court.

Chavez ruled Venezuela from 1999-2013, winning a plethora of elections due to his oil-fueled social welfare policies, charisma, and connection with the poor.

He is still revered by many, though critics argue that his populist policies are the base for the current economic meltdown.

Opposition leaders are calling for a general election to settle Venezuela’s crisis. They have said that the assembly plan is a sham with skewed rules to ensure the socialists remain in power.

“A constituent (assembly) behind the backs of the people cannot be,” Ortega added, also denouncing the “ferocious repression” of anti-Maduro protests.

“Those opposed to the assembly are called traitors, fascists, terrorists – we cannot live in a country like that,” Ortega said.

The pro-government Supreme Court has already shot down one appeal against the constituent process lodged by Ortega, the highest-profile dissenter from within government since the protests started in April.

On Thursday, she asked the court to block the constituent process put in place by Maduro and the national election board.

Opposition protesters have been on the streets near-daily for more than two months demanding elections, foreign humanitarian aid, freedom for hundreds of jailed activists, and autonomy for the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

They call Maduro a dictator who has wrecked the OPEC nation’s economy. The 54-year-old president says they are right-wing “fascists” seeking a coup.

The latest fatality from the unrest was 17-year-old protester Neomar Lander, who died during clashes with security forces in Caracas on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Diego Ore, Corina Pons and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

Fourteen Venezuelan army officers jailed in first week of protests – documents

A demonstrator waves a Venezuela's flag while clashing with riot security forces during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

By Girish Gupta and Andrew Cawthorne

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s security forces arrested at least 14 army officers on suspicion of “rebellion” and “treason” in the first week of protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s government in early April, according to military documents obtained by Reuters.

The soldiers, who include colonels and captains, are being held in Ramo Verde prison in the hills outside Caracas, according to lists being circulated within the military.

The documents said their cases were being “processed”, and it was not clear if they had been formally charged.

The lists emerged after allegations by Venezuelan opposition leaders that a purge is underway within the military to quash dissent over the handling of massive demonstrations against the socialist government since early April.

The documents seen by Reuters only went up to April 8, after which opposition leaders and rights activists say many more soldiers have been rounded up.

The military’s National Guard unit has been at the forefront of policing the protests, using tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against masked youths who hurl stones, Molotov cocktails and excrement against security lines.

At least 65 people have died, with victims including government and opposition supporters, bystanders and members of the security forces. Hundreds more have been injured.

Opposition leaders say there is increasing disquiet within the military over the use of force against protesters who are demanding general elections, foreign humanitarian aid and freedom for jailed activists.

In public, top military officers have backed Maduro’s accusation that an “armed insurrection” is being mounted by violent conspirators seeking a coup with U.S. backing.

But privately some National Guard members have complained of exhaustion and disillusionment.

ASYLUM REQUESTS

A few soldiers have gone public with their discontent.

Three lieutenants fled to Colombia and requested asylum last month, prompting the Venezuelan government to demand their extradition to face charges of coup plotting.

Opposition media last week published a video purporting to be a Venezuelan naval sergeant expressing his dissent and urging colleagues to disobey “abusive” and “corrupt” superiors.

“I reject Mr. Nicolas Maduro Moros as an illegitimate president and refuse to recognize his regime and dictatorial government,” Giomar Flores said in a seven-minute video, wearing a white naval uniform and black beret next to a Venezuelan flag.

Reuters could not confirm his case or whereabouts.

Neither the Information Ministry nor the Armed Forces responded to requests for information.

Late leader Hugo Chavez turned the military into a bastion of “Chavismo” after a short-lived coup against him in 2002.

Though Maduro, 54, does not hail from the army as Chavez did, he has kept ties strong, placing current or former soldiers in a third of ministerial posts, and giving them control over key sectors like food distribution.

Opposition leaders have been openly calling for the armed forces to disobey Maduro and side with their demands, but the top brass have repeatedly pledged loyalty.

(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Brian Ellsworth and Jonathan Oatis)

Venezuela’s Maduro vows referendum, death toll from unrest hits 62

Demonstrators look on as motorcycles belonging to riot security forces are set on fire during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

By Diego Oré and Andrew Cawthorne

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro pledged on Thursday to hold a referendum on a new constitution he has proposed to try and quell two months of anti-government unrest that has killed at least 62 people.

His comments came after criticism from opponents and some within his own government that his plan to create a new super-body, known as a constituent assembly, to rewrite the national charter was anti-democratic.

Chief state prosecutor Luisa Ortega had said creating the assembly without a plebiscite, as happened in 1999 when Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez rewrote the constitution, threatened to “eliminate” democracy in Venezuela.

Maduro said on state television: “I shall propose it explicitly: the new constitution will go to a consultative referendum so it is the people who say whether they are in agreement or not with the new, strengthened constitution.”

There was no immediate reaction from Venezuela’s opposition, which now has majority support after years in the shadow of the ruling Socialist Party whose popularity has plunged during the OPEC nation’s brutal economic crisis.

Foes are likely to try and turn any referendum into a vote on Maduro himself. They have been calling for the next presidential election, slated for late 2018, to be brought forward.

The government has said elections for the new constituent assembly will be held in late July, although opposition leaders say the process is skewed to ensure a pro-Maduro majority.

There was no word on when the plebiscite would be held.

Earlier, authorities announced that gunmen had killed a judge involved in the sentencing of Venezuela’s best-known jailed political leader, Leopoldo Lopez.

The judge, 37-year-old Nelson Moncada, was shot and stripped of his belongings as he tried to get away from a street barricade on Wednesday night in Caracas’ El Paraiso district, the scene of regular clashes, the prosecutor’s office said.

This week has seen widespread violence around the Venezuelan capital, with security forces repeatedly breaking up marches by opposition supporters towards government offices downtown, and skirmishes continuing into the night.

“DEMOCRACY BEING ELIMINATED”

Protesters frequently block roads with trash and burning tires, sometimes asking passers-by for contributions towards a self-styled “Resistance” movement against Maduro.

El Paraiso has seen nightly clashes between demonstrators, pro-government gangs and National Guard soldiers.

The government said Moncada was one of the judges who ratified Lopez’s 14-year jail sentence, and suggested that might have been the motive for his killing.

“We cannot exclude the possibility this was done by hitmen hired by right-wing terrorists to keep creating and spreading terror,” Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said, referring to Venezuela’s opposition.

Victims from two months of unrest have included supporters on both sides, bystanders and members of the security forces.

The latest death came in Lara state, where 46-year-old Maria Rodriguez was shot during a demonstration on Thursday, the state prosecutor’s office said, without giving more details.

Maduro, 54, calls his opponents coup-mongers seeking his violent overthrow with U.S. support akin to the short-lived ouster of his predecessor Hugo Chavez in 2002.

Ortega, the chief prosecutor, launched a blistering attack on Maduro from the steps of the pro-government Supreme Court, criticizing its ruling this week endorsing the assembly plan.

“It seems that participative and protagonistic democracy, which cost Venezuelans so much (to get), is being eliminated,” said Ortega, who broke with Maduro a few weeks ago.

“This sentence is a backward step for human rights,” she added, before reading extracts from a past Chavez speech.

In further political drama, the Supreme Court ordered opposition leader Henrique Capriles on Thursday to avoid roadblocks in the Miranda state that he governs, or face jail.

Miranda includes part of the capital, Caracas, and the volatile towns of San Antonio de Los Altos and Los Teques, where anti-government street barricades have been common.

Capriles, a 44-year-old lawyer, narrowly lost a 2013 vote to Maduro after Chavez’s death from cancer and has been at the forefront of this year’s protests, calling for civil disobedience.

Authorities have already barred Capriles from running for new political posts for 15 years, over allegations of “administrative irregularities” that he denies, potentially hobbling another bid to run in 2018.

(Additional reporting by Andreina Aponte, Eyanir Chinea and Alexandra Ulmer; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Andrew Hay, Toni Reinhold and Paul Tait)