Venezuela Protests: 1 Dead, Hundreds Arrested In Raid On Student Opposition Camps

One member of Venezuela’s federal police was shot to death and four other people were wounded on Thursday during a raid carried out by security forces on four student opposition encampments in the Caracas neighborhood of Chacao, according to El País. Dozens of police in anti-riot gear descended on the opposition stronghold before dawn on Thursday to remove barricades set up by protestors in the street; demonstrators resisted, throwing rocks, bottles and petrol bombs in a clash that lasted throughout the day. Over 240 were arrested.

In a speech following the events, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro said the national policeman had been killed after being shot in the neck while cleaning up an area where students had set up their encampment. “He was vilely assassinated by these murderers from the Venezuelan right wing,” Maduro said. El Universal notes that Maduro apparently misidentified the slain officer, naming another person wounded during the protests, but reports identified the officer as 26-year-old Jorge Steve Colina Tovar. “While we’re governing and dignifying the people, just now a sniper killed a young man from the PNB [national police],” said Maduro.

The death toll stemming from protests now stands at 42, while about 450 of the more than 3,000 people detained are still in the custody of authorities, according to Reuters. The news comes two days after the release of a survey showing that Maduro’s approval ratings have sunk drastically since November, when the last such poll was performed. Almost 60 percent of the Venezuelan public said they believed Maduro should not serve out the rest of his term, which ends in 2019.