A 13-Year-Old Boy Is Among Four Dead as Venezuela Protests Continue

A young boy was among four people killed over the past week as protests continued in Venezuela amid swelling opposition to the nation’s President Nicolas Maduro.

Brayan Principal, 13, died in the western city of Barquisimeto after being shot in the abdomen during a night of violent confrontations, Agence France-Presse reports.

An opposition lawmaker, Alfonso Marquina, told AFP he believed armed supporters of the government were responsible for the boy’s death.

State prosecutors and other authorities said three other people had died during the political unrest over the past week, AFP reports; two 19-year-old students and a 36-year-old-man.

More than 100 have been arrested and dozens injured during the week of unrest, according to AFP, as thousands of people have taken to the streets to decry Maduro, who claims the opposition is colluding with international actors to create unrest and undermine the nation’s economy.

Riot police have used tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators in the capital Caracas, where protest leaders have pledged to maintain pressure on the President.

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Opposition members say his government is eroding the country’s democratic institutions and inching toward authoritarianism. The government’s failed attempt last month to limit the powers of Congress enraged the opposition and alarmed the international community.

[AFP]