Original sentence: " The Venezuelan prison minister, Iris Varela, also called colectivos a "fundamental pillar in the defense of the homeland".According to some sources, more than half of those killed during the protests were killed by colectivos.During the 2014 Venezuelan protests against President Nicolás Maduro, certain colectivos are alleged to have acted violently against the opposition protesters, usually without impediment from Venezuelan government forces.Human Rights Watch said that "the government of Venezuela has tolerated and promoted groups of armed civilians," which HRW claims have "intimidated protesters and initiated violent incidents".In Maracaibo, it is alleged that certain colectivos attempted to rape individuals in an apartment complex without intervention from the National Guard.President Maduro has thanked motorcyclists for their help against what he views as a "fascist coup d'etat... being waged by the extreme right", while distancing himself from armed groups by stating that they "had no place in the revolution"
Edited sentence: " The Venezuelan prison minister, Iris Varela, also called colectivos a "fundamental pillar in the defense of the homeland" calling the opposition protesters "cowards" since they were "scared" of the colectivos.During the 2014 Venezuelan protests against President Nicolás Maduro, colectivos were able to act violently against the opposition protesters, usually without impediment from Venezuelan government forces.However, despite President Maduro's attempt to distance himself from armed groups by stating that they "had no place in the revolution", he also publicly thanked colectivos for their help against protesters and said that he would "continue to need their help".Human Rights Watch said that "the government of Venezuela has tolerated and promoted" colectivos that  "intimidated protesters and initiated violent incidents".In Maracaibo, colectivos attempted to rape individuals in an apartment complex without intervention from the National Guard.More than half of those killed during the protests were killed by colectivos