Venezuelan troops on Thursday rounded up hundreds of youth activists and dismantled camps set up to protest against President Nicolas Maduro, and a policeman was shot dead in the demonstrations and clashes that ensued around Caracas, according to the Associated Press.
Pre-dawn raids by National Guard troops broke up four tent camps maintained by student activists in the capital of the OPEC member nation during three months of protests, the AP reported. After the raids, hundreds of demonstrators and residents poured onto the streets, setting up barricades, a common tactic during three months of unrest.
The protests, which have waned in recent weeks even as sporadic clashes continued, began again as masked youths hurled stones and petrol bombs, while police fired tear gas in upmarket east Caracas, according to the AP.
Five people were injured and one policeman died of bullet wounds, authorities said, the AP reported. Witnesses said shots were fired from buildings down into the streets.
"A sniper killed the policeman while he was cleaning debris left by these violent, murderous protesters," a somber Maduro said during an address to the nation, according to the AP. "He was vilely killed."
Troops cleared away the remnants of the camps, where students from all over the country had lived in tents, chanting and strumming guitars beneath banners with anti-government slogans, such as "Maduro, assassin," the AP reported.
"These arrests are irresponsible because this is a peaceful protest and we are not trying to topple the government," said Jose Manuel Perez, 22, a student leader, according to the AP. "Mr. President, think about what you're doing. We demand respect for the students."
The government said soldiers arrested 243 people in camps it said were bases for staging violent protests, the AP reported. Officials reported detainees including a pregnant woman and "apparently" one foreigner, along with confiscated items including mortars and Molotov cocktails.
