Venezuelan protest overrun by government forces.

[another_liberal]

Source: Al Jazeera America

In a major show of force, hundreds of National Guardsmen in riot gear and armored vehicles prevented an "empty pots march" from reaching Venezuela's Food Ministry on Saturday to protest now-chronic food shortages.

President Nicolas Maduro's government, meanwhile, celebrated an Organization of American States (OAS) declaration supporting its efforts to bring a solution to the country's worst political violence in years, calling it a diplomatic victory. The United States, Canada and Panama were the only nations to oppose the declaration. "The meddling minority against Venezuela in the OAS, Panama, Canada and the U.S., is defeated in a historic decision that respects our sovereignty," government spokeswoman Delcy Rodriguez tweeted.

Later Saturday, several hundred student protesters trying to block streets with barricades skirmished with tear gas-firing riot police in Caracas' wealthy Chacao district in what has become a nearly daily ritual. There were no immediate reports of injuries as motorcycle-mounted riot police, taunted from apartment buildings, chased protesters through darkening streets.

(snip)

The capital's government-allied mayor had refused the marchers a permit to hold the "empty pots" rally, leading opposition leader Henrique Capriles to accuse authorities of trying to criminalize" peaceful protests. "Nicolas (Maduro) is afraid of the empty pots of our people. He mobilizes hundreds of soldiers against empty pots," he said of the man who defeated him by a razor-thin margin in April presidential elections. Capriles also reiterated opposition complaints that the government is sending "functionaries and groups of paramilitaries — which they have armed — to put down protests."

Read more: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/8/venezuelan-protestoverrunbygovernmentforces.html

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The OAS majority is clearly behind Maduro's government, only Panama of all Latin nations voting against him. This support is bound to encourage the government to go the way of more forceful actions in putting down street protests.