Venezuelan Opposition Leader Says His Office Was Attacked, Set On Fire

College student Jairo Ortiz was shot dead by an unknown assailant during a protest in a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Caracas.

Capriles responded to the ban on Thursday, saying, "The only one who is disqualified here is you, Nicolas Maduro".

The opposition blames Maduro for an economic crisis, triggered by the fall in oil prices, but accentuated they say by mismanagement.

New protests are planned for next week.

"The country has chosen the path of dictatorship", he said.

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"We continue to defend the Constitution!"

Capriles branded Friday's ban part of what the opposition alleges is a "coup" by allies of Maduro, who is resisting opposition calls for a vote on removing him from power.

"When the dictatorship squeals it's a sign we're advancing", Capriles said in a speech on Friday.

Earlier this week, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto received leading Venezuelan opposition activist Lilian Tintori, the wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, in a policy shift that reflects Mexico's increasing assertiveness against the government of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

After this week's demonstrations, Maduro dismissed Capriles as "politically finished".

Over the last few days, authorities have accused Mr Capriles of inciting violence and bloodshed by leading protests against the unpopular president.

The move, decried by his supporters and foreign governments, followed last week's short-lived Supreme Court decision to gut the opposition-controlled legislature of its last vestiges of power.

The move by the Supreme Court, which was stacked with Maduro-allies during the last session of the National Assembly before it fell in opposition hands, sparked fierce condemnation from activists, global powers and even supporters of President Maduro.

The court later reversed the rulings after an global outcry, but kept in place other measures limiting the assembly's powers.

Police in Caracas fired tear gas and rubber bullets at some of the protesters amid a weeklong protest movement that shows little sign of losing steam.

Capriles can appeal against his sanction within two weeks to the comptroller and within six months to the Supreme Court.

The South American country is suffering from triple-digit inflation, shortages of basic foods and medicines, and one of the world's highest murder rates. Opposition leaders say it is an arbitrary mechanism that allows the ruling Socialist Party to sideline popular politicians without due process.

Although he has retained the crucial support of the army so far, that could be changing, political analyst Luis Salamanca said.

The decision to politically neutralize Capriles will likely stoke tensions in Venezuela, where more than 100 political prisoners are now being held, according to the opposition and rights groups.

The restiveness comes amid the country's deep humanitarian crisis sparked by an economic meltdown.

The wave of protests has revived fears of broader unrest in Venezuela, where 43 people were killed during riots in 2014.