Several hundred supporters of the Venezuelan government staged a colorful rally in the capital Caracas today, as opponents called for more protests against President Nicolas Maduro and his leftist administration.
Venezuela has seen almost daily anti-government demonstrations over violent crime, shortages of essential goods such as toilet paper, and inflation, in the most serious challenge yet for Maduro since succeeding the late socialist-populist Hugo Chavez last year.
At least 28 people have died and 400 have been injured in the student-led protests that started on February 4 in San Cristobal, in the west of Venezuela, and later spread to Caracas and several other cities.
More From This Section
Many of the pro-government supporters held up Venezuelan flags and wore red, the color closely associated with Chavez and his "Bolivarian revolution," while armed forces joined in the rally.
Meanwhile the Popular Will, a prominent Venezuelan opposition party, called for a rival demonstration in another part of the capital, "to repudiate the brutal onslaught of state security and pro-government (vigilante) groups against demonstrators.