Clashes Erupt At Anti-Government Protests In Venezuela

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But the move against GM, the United States' biggest automaker and one of its most recognizable brands, was a much more powerful statement, and could lead to a further erosion of relations between the two countries.

Our chief foreign affairs correspondent, Margaret Warner, reports. Organizers called this the mother of all marches, but there were clashes shortly after the march started.

Maduro had rallied his supporters to turn out for a counter march Wednesday, and thousands showed up wearing the red clothing that marked them as Chavistas.

"I want the people to prepare to win it peacefully and with votes". Here, the president of the republic is playing with fire.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay on Monday signed a joint statement asking for the Venezuelan government "to guarantee the right to peaceful demonstration", and avoid violence against protesters. The 17-year-old was shot by gunmen on motorbikes who also threw tear gas canisters into a crowd of protesters, Amadeo Leiva, head of the Clinicas Caracas Hospital which treated him, told AFP.

Demonstrators have tried repeatedly in recent days to reach the capital city's downtown. At least five people have been killed and many more injured in clashes.

Moncada told members of the Washington-based organization that the resolution by the OAS on April 3 was to blame for the violence that occurred at demonstrations in the last two weeks.

"We are concerned that the government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and is not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard nor allowing them to organize in a way that expresses the views of the Venezuelan people", he said.

MARGARET WARNER: These latest protests erupted last month, after the pro-government Supreme Court took over the powers of the national legislature controlled by the opposition. The actions from the Supreme Court were quickly overturned following a national and worldwide outcry. But the criticism continued. The Supreme Court has installed a coup d'etat it can not correct. There have been large food shortages and also triple-digit inflation in the country, which has led to the unrest with its people.

Opposition leaders have called for the National Assembly's powers to be fully restored, for all political prisoners to be freed, for a humanitarian corridor to be opened and for stalled elections to take place. In February, Lopez's wife went to the White House with Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Putin criticizes opponents' corruption fight in Russian Federation
The institute was, until recently, run by Leonid Reshetnikov - seen here, left, with Iranian envoy Ali-Akbar Velayati in 2016. The institute says he served as the director of Russia's foreign intelligence service from 2007 to 2016.

Venezuela is grappling with a new wave of political protest since April 4 that has led to the deaths of six people and almost 600 arrests.

Inaugural committee records filed with the Federal Election Commission show Citgo Petroleum, a USA affiliate of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, was one of the biggest corporate donors to events surrounding the swearing-in ceremony.

The Maduro government's seizure of US -based General Motors' sole factory in Venezuela is likely to add to Tillerson's worries.

Recent moves by Maduro to tighten his grip on power and ban Capriles from politics have escalated the country s political and economic crisis and sparked worldwide cries of concern. Pressure on the leftist leader has been mounting since 2014, as falling prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports have aggravated an economic crisis, creating severe shortages of food and medicine in the state-led economy.

Maduro has rarely appeared more vulnerable since his election in 2013 after the death of his predecessor Chavez. Maduro has struggled ever since.

"The opposition is trying to provoke a conflict but they aren't going to achieve their goal", said Marquez, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the eyes of the late Hugo Chavez, a symbol of revolutionary zeal in Venezuela. Private enterprise has a really hard time producing goods and services, which means we basically don't have them.

The opposition call became even stronger when the government banned opposition leader Capriles from doing any political work for 15 years.

For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Margaret Warner.

Maduro deployed the Venezuelan armed forces to the streets on Sunday night amid rising tensions.

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