Anti-Government Protests in Venezuela Turn Violent<br />By NICHOLAS CASEY and PATRICIA TORRESAPRIL 4, 2017<br />BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Venezuelan security forces on Tuesday clashed with protesters on the streets of Caracas as<br />thousands gathered to protest a decision by the country’s Supreme Court to seize power from the legislature.<br />While the court reversed the most disputed parts of its ruling on Saturday,<br />that did not stop crowds from massing in a large middle-class Caracas district to accuse President Nicolás Maduro of trying to eviscerate Venezuela’s democratic institutions and establish one-man rule.<br />Despite the tear gas and the pro-government gangs, Tuesday’s protest was a chance for many to renew grievances against the government’s<br />handling of the economy, which contracted an estimated 10 percent last year, leaving shortages of basic foods and medicines.<br />Lilian Tintori said that I march today to see my family reunited again,<br />The protest was the opposition’s most recent attempt to focus resentment against Mr. Maduro, who was<br />seen as being behind the botched attempt last week to effectively dissolve the National Assembly.<br />The National Guard and the national police arrived about an hour after the demonstration<br />began, firing tear gas into the throngs and deploying trucks mounted with water cannon.
