17-year-old boy fatally shot along with woman and National Guardsman as the opposition calls for another mass protest on Thursday 
 
 At least three people have been killed and dozens injured in Venezuela as street battles erupted alongside a mass anti-government demonstration that the opposition billed as “the mother of all marches”. 
 
 A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in the head in a neighbourhood of Caracas, while several hours later a woman was killed in gunfire during a rally in the Andean state of Tachira near the Colombian border. 
 
 At least one legislator had to be hospitalised, and images posted online showed opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles choking on teargas. 
 
 Venezuela on the brink: a journey through a country in crisis Read more 
 
 As night fell, a few thousand people were still gathered in a plaza in wealthy eastern Caracas as residents in nearby buildings banged pots and pans in a show of support. A group of youths with their faces covered tore down street signs and billboards for makeshift barricades. They then launched rocks and Molotov cocktails against lines of police and national guardsmen who responded with tear gas in cat-and-mouse skirmishes. 
 
 The opposition called for another protest on Thursday, raising the specter of prolonged disruption in the country. 
 
 “Same place, same time,” said Capriles on Wednesday night. “If we were millions today, tomorrow we’ll be more.” 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Demonstrators clash with police during protests in Caracas. Photograph: GUTIERREZ/EPA/REX/Shutterstock 
 
 Fears of bloodshed had been stoked after President Nicolás Maduro put troops on the streets, supplied guns to sympathetic civil militias and called for a simultaneous rally of his supporters against what he said was a United States-backed coup. 
 
 
 
 Wednesday’s deaths brought the total number of deaths at protests this month to seven. 
 
 
 
 The first victim on Wednesday, Carlos Moreno, was not taking part in the demonstration but was shot when government supporters approached an opposition gathering and opened fire, witnesses told Reuters. Moreno, who was three days from his 18th birthday, was shot in the head, and later died in the hospital. 
 
 
 
 Hours later, university student Paola Ramírez died in the opposition stronghold of San Cristóbal, after she and her boyfriend, were shot at by a group of men as they left a protest. 
 
 “We were on a motorbike and they were following us, shooting,” her boyfriend told Reuters. “I left her on a block where she was going to find her sister and I went to hide the bike. I heard shots and when I arrived she was on the ground. I tried to protect her as much as I could,” he said. 
 
 A National Guard sergeant was later killed by a sniper, the human rights ombudsman Tarek Saab tweeted on Wednesday night. 
 
 
 
 State TV images showed red-shirted government loyalists on the rival march “to defend the homeland”. 
 
 Violence after anti-government march in Caracas – in pictures Read more 
 
 But their numbers were far exceeded by the tens of thousands who joined protests across Venezuela to express their anger and frustration at an administration that has led the country with the planet’s biggest oil supplies into the world’s deepest economic recession. 
 
 Banners reading “No more dictatorship” highlighted the steady erosion of democracy. In the past month, the supreme court attempted to circumvent Congress’s legislative powers – a power grab which was subsequently reversed, while opposition figurehead Capriles was banned from running for office for 15 years. 
 
 Many targeted the Venezuelan president, who is blamed for high inflation and the chronic shortages of food, medicine and other basic goods. The chant “Esta es la ruta para salir del hijueputa” (“This is the way to oust the son of a bitch”) echoed repeatedly around the downtown district. 
 
 
 
 The protesters came from all walks of life. Some said they had previously supported the government under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, but the worsening economic and social crisis had made them march for change. 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Demonstrators build a barricade while clashing with riot police during the so-called ‘mother of all marches’ in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday. Photograph: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters 
 
 “We are desperate and tired of living in misery,” said Kelvyn Cava, a former Chavista from the eastern state of Zulia. “With Chávez our salaries were worth something. Now, if hunger doesn’t kill us, then crime will.” 
 
 A group of Catholic clergy were also among the crowd, although the Vatican has tried to adopt a neutral position in hosting talks between the two sides. 
 
 
 
 “I came with several priests because we have reached the breaking point for this regime of narcotraffickers and terrorists. We need peace and to reconstruct this country,” said Father José Palmar. 
 
 
 
 “We ask Pope Francis to do for Venezuela what Pope John Paul II did for Poland,” he add, referring to the role that the Catholic church played in overthrowing communism in eastern Europe during the Soviet era. 
 
 
 
 Others said they were prepared for clashes with the security forces. “We have come today because we want freedom and a functional economy. It’s paralysed,” said Luis Machado, a money changer who was wearing gloves in case he had to pick up a gas canister and throw it back at the security forces. 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest A demonstrator against Nicolás Maduro’s government in Caracas on Wednesday. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 Foro Penal, an NGO that tracks human rights abuses, said that at least 24 people had been detained in connection with the demonstration. 
 
 Eleven countries from the Organisation of American States have jointly called on all sides to remain peaceful and urged the government to call new elections. 
 
 This was echoed by the United States, which issued a communique on Tuesday warning that “those responsible for the criminal repression of peaceful democracy institutions and practices, and for gross violations of human rights, will be held individually accountable for their actions by the Venezuelan people and their institutions, as well as by the international community”. 
 
 
 
 Maduro responded in a live televised address on Tuesday night in which he claimed, “The US government, the state department, have given the green light, the approval for a coup process to intervene in Venezuela.” 
 
 He then signed a decree to mobilise the military to defend internal order. The government has also tried to reduce the size of protests by cutting subway services and setting up highway roadblocks. 
 
 
 
 For seasoned observers of Venezuelan politics, this may sound familiar. In the 18 years since the late Hugo Chávez, and his successor Maduro assumed power, Venezuelans have grown accustomed to giant rallies for and against the government. 
 
 Several have turned violent, but none have spurred significant change. Although the opposition seized control of Congress in the 2015 election, they are divided and have failed to galvanise popular discontent. 
 
 
 
 'We are like a bomb': food riots show Venezuela crisis has gone beyond politics Read more 
 
 But there are differences from the past. The economy is deteriorating, with the IMF predicting this week that Venezuelan unemployment will surpass 25% this year as the country suffers a third year of recession. There is also less regional support for Maduro following the rightward shift of governments in Argentina and Brazil. 
 
 The mood is becoming more confrontational. 
 
 
 
 Whereas in previous marches people wore white shirts and baseball caps with Venezuela’s tricolor flag, this time protesters on the frontline hid their identity behind masks and hoodies. Banners and flags have given way to slingshots and rocks. 
 
 Even Maduro was recently pelted with objects in the eastern city of San Félix, traditionally a bastion of government support. 
 
 
 
 On Wednesday, the president addressed a red-shirted crowd of supporters in Caracas, saying that a “corrupt and interventionist right wing” had been defeated. 
 
 Socialist Venezuela chipped in $500,000 to Trump's inauguration Read more 
 
 “Today the people stood by Maduro!” the president said, who claimed that more than 30 “terrorists” had been arrested. “We’ve triumphed again! Here we are, governing, governing, governing with the people!” he added, before breaking into song. 
 
 Shortages of food, medicine and other basics have eroded support for the government in poor neighbourhoods. According to the Observatory of Social Conflict, there were close to 5,000 incidents of protests in 2016 – 15% more than in the previous year. 
 
 “This is no longer people chanting and taking selfies. People are indignant – and they are resolute,” Capriles said. 
 
 ||||| Demonstrators take cover with a piece of corrugated tin roofing during anti-government protests in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Tens of thousands of opponents of President Nicolas Maduro... (Associated Press) 
 
 Demonstrators take cover with a piece of corrugated tin roofing during anti-government protests in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Tens of thousands of opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets of Caracas in what's been dubbed the "mother of all marches" against the embattled... (Associated Press) 
 
 CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Two people were shot dead as opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities Wednesday, battling security forces in what's been dubbed the "mother of all marches" against the embattled socialist leader. 
 
 Tens of thousands of protesters made an unsuccessful attempt to march to downtown Caracas as security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd. Dozens even had to slide down a concrete embankment and into the Guaire River to escape the noxious fumes. 
 
 Carlos Romero, just three days away from his 18th birthday, was walking to play soccer with friends when he bumped into pro-government militias stalking a pocket of protesters, family spokesman Melvin Sojo told The Associated Press, based on the accounts of two people who rushed Romero to the hospital after he was hit by gunfire. 
 
 "This was supposed to be a happy moment but instead I came home to see my brother die," said Sojo, who grew up in the Romero home and returned Tuesday from Ecuador, where he had been living the past year. 
 
 There was no immediate confirmation that the militias shot the boy, and some government officials cast doubt on the account, saying Romero was killed during an attempted assault. 
 
 In the western city of San Cristobal, a 23-year-old woman identified as Paola Ramirez was shot dead by similar groups, according to Mayor Patricia Gutierrez, who said the groups circled demonstrators on motorcycles as they were heading home from the demonstration. 
 
 The two killings bring to seven the death toll since protests began three weeks ago over the Supreme Court's decision to strip the opposition-controlled congress of its last remaining powers, a move that was later reversed but not before enraging the opposition and causing a storm of international criticism. The charges that Venezuela is moving toward a full-blown dictatorship come against the backdrop of an ever-deepening economic crisis. 
 
 As night fell, a few thousand people were still gathered in a plaza in wealthy eastern Caracas as residents in nearby buildings banged pots and pans in a show of support. A group of youths with their faces covered tore down street signs and billboards for makeshift barricades. They then launched rocks and Molotov cocktails against lines of police and national guardsmen who responded with tear gas in cat-and-mouse skirmishes likely to last deep into the night. 
 
 The Supreme Court's decision energized Venezuela's fractious opposition, which had been struggling to channel growing disgust with Maduro over widespread food shortages, triple-digit inflation and rampant crime. They've called for another day of protests Thursday. 
 
 "We'll see each other tomorrow at the same place and same time because our fight for democracy doesn't end," former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who the government last week barred from running for public office, said at an evening press conference to announce the opposition's next steps. 
 
 Opponents are now pushing for Maduro's removal through early elections and the release of scores of political prisoners. The government last year abruptly postponed regional elections the opposition was heavily favored to win and cut off a petition drive to force a referendum seeking Maduro's removal before elections late next year. 
 
 Maduro, addressing supporters at a large countermarch, seemed open to some sort of electoral showdown. He said he was "anxious" to see elections take place sometime "soon" and repeated his call for dialogue, saying he had a proposal he wanted to make the opposition. 
 
 "Today they attempted to take power by force and we defeated them again," said Maduro. 
 
 Opposition marchers included Liliana Machuca, who earns about $20 a month holding two jobs teaching literature. Although she doesn't expect change overnight, she said protesting is the only option the opposition has after what she says are scores of abuses committed by the government. 
 
 "This is like a chess game and each side is moving whatever pieces they can," said Machuca, her face covered in a white, sticky substance to protect herself from the noxious effects of tear gas. "We'll see who tires out first." 
 
 A short block away, a sea of red-shirted government supporters marched by calmly, some dancing to a salsa band that tried to provide an air of normalcy to the otherwise tense political standoff that has paralyzed Venezuela the past few weeks. 
 
 Many were state workers like Leidy Marquez, who was bused in from Tachira state, on the other side of the country, along with co-workers at state-run oil giant PDVSA. 
 
 "The opposition is trying to provoke a conflict but they aren't going to achieve their goal," said Marquez, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the eyes of the late Hugo Chavez, a symbol of revolutionary zeal in Venezuela. 
 
 The government has responded to the near-daily protests with its own show of force: jailing hundreds of demonstrators, barring Capriles from running for office and standing by as pro-government groups violently attack opposition members of congress. 
 
 The president also signed orders on TV late Tuesday activating the "green phase" of enigmatic military plans to defend Venezuela against what he describes as U.S.-backed attempts to sow chaos and overthrow him. He also said authorities in recent hours had rounded up unnamed members of an underground cell of conspirators at Caracas hotels, including some who were allegedly planning to stir up violence at the march. 
 
 Maduro didn't provide evidence to back his claim that a coup attempt was underway, and the opposition rejected his comments as a desperate attempt to intimidate Venezuelans from exercising their constitutional right to protest. 
 
 "We're convinced the country knows who the true coup mongers are and it's against them we will march," the opposition said in a Tuesday late-night statement. 
 
 Foreign governments are also warning about the increasingly bellicose rhetoric and repressive stance of the government. 
 
 Maduro this week said he was dramatically expanding civilian militias created by Chavez and giving each member a gun. There's also criticism that the government isn't doing enough to restrain the collectives — motorcycle-driving militants — that have operated like shock troops firing on protesters as security forces stand by. 
 
 "We're a peaceful people, but we're also armed," Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez told state workers gathering for Wednesday's rally. 
 
 The U.S. State Department said those who commit human rights abuses and undermine Venezuela's democratic institutions would be held accountable. 
 
 "We are concerned that the government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and is not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard, nor allowing them to organize in ways that expresses the views of the Venezuelan people," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Wednesday. 
 
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 Joshua Goodman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APjoshgoodman 
 
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 More Associated Press reporting on Venezuela's problems can be found at https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone
– What anti-government activists in Venezuela called the "mother of all marches" turned bloody on Wednesday, with at least three people killed and dozens more injured during rallies and marches across the country. The Guardian reports that at least one opposition lawmaker was hospitalized after taking part in the demonstrations, and photos shared online showed opposition leader Henrique Capriles choking on tear gas during a protest in Caracas. Thousands of people clashed with soldiers and riot police in the capital, with protesters building barricades and throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at security forces. The AP reports that one of the people shot dead during the protest in Caracas was Carlos Romero, who was three days away from his 18th birthday. Family members say he was on his way to play soccer when he found himself between protesters and pro-government militias. Another victim was a 23-year-old woman shot dead by militia members as she was on her way home from a protest, according to the mayor of the city of San Cristobal. A third victim, a National Guardsman, was reportedly shot dead by a sniper. Protesters, including Catholic clergy members, are seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition has called for another mass protest on Thursday.