National Guards charge opponents of President Nicolas Maduro as they block protesters from reaching the national ombudsman office in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo / AP
National Guards charge opponents of President Nicolas Maduro as they block protesters from reaching the national ombudsman office in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo / AP
Protesters seized control of the main highway through Venezuela's capital again today, but their march toward government buildings downtown was pushed back by police water cannons and stinging clouds of tear gas.
Although the standoff has played out the same way several times this month, opponents of President Nicolás Maduro insist they will continue to pressure his Government through near-daily protests, sit-ins and other acts of civil disobedience.
One 20-year-old protester died after being struck in the face with a gas canister in the city's upmarket Altamira district, authorities said.
The blocked march underscored the degree to which the country's political crisis has become a battle of attrition between Maduro and his re-energised opponents.
Caracas was crippled for another day, as the Government shut down subway and bus systems and choked off highway access to the capital in what appeared to be an attempt to limit the size of the protests.
Thousands marched against the Government anyway, some ready with gas masks. By calling their supporters into the streets repeatedly, opposition leaders say they want to wear down security forces and force the Government to meet their demands: new elections, the release of political prisoners, acceptance of international aid and a return to democratic rule.
Their ability to summon huge crowds also sends a message to Venezuela's armed forces, said political analyst Margarita López Maya, because Maduro grows increasingly dependent on their loyalty as he weakens.
Opposition leaders are appealing directly to Venezuelan soldiers, asking them to defy Maduro's orders and force the Government to give ground.
"By putting thousand and thousands of people in the streets almost every day, they're trying to keep the cost of supporting Maduro very high for the armed forces," said López Maya. "And the Government is in a slide that looks irreversible."
The unrest has left at least 28 dead this month, according to Venezuelan officials, including protesters, police, government supporters, alleged looters and several others who appeared to be bystanders.
Triggering the anti-government surge was a perfunctory attempt by pro-Maduro judges last month to incapacitate Venezuela's legislative branch, which the opposition has controlled since it won a landslide victory in 2015 elections.
The court mostly reversed the decision, but anger swelled again a few days later when the Government barred opposition leader Henrique Capriles from running for office.
Venezuela's downward spiral has left food and medicine in short supply but anger at the government in abundance. Maduro charges that his enemies are trying to sabotage the oil-rich country's economic recovery and are paving the way for a foreign invasion.
"They want to fill our country with hate, to push our country into violence," Maduro said today. He said he plans to announce "a historic measure" in the coming days but did not elaborate.
Venezuela threatened this week to withdraw from the Organisation of American States in retaliation for the bloc's push to censure the Maduro Government.
The process of withdrawing from the body would take up to two years, analysts said, and could deepen Venezuela's political paralysis because the opposition-controlled legislature would block the move.
Chris Sabatini, a Latin America expert at Columbia University, said Venezuela's withdrawal would risk a breakup of the hemisphere's oldest international alliance if Nicaragua, Bolivia and other Maduro allies follow him in protest.
"Not only would it be unprecedented regionally, it would send a signal globally of Venezuela's rejection of long-standing international rules and commitments," said Sabatini. "And it would isolate Venezuela."
