Protesters stage violent rally in Venezuela

Anti-government protesters have clashed with police in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, as unrest continues in the Latin American country.

The protesters threw Molotov cocktails at police officers after they blocked the Francisco Fajardo highway in east Caracas with trucks on Saturday.

The protesters, who had covered their faces so as not to be identified, set fire to several vehicles on the highway. Police reportedly used tear gas and rubber bullets against them.

Anti-government protests have been going on in Venezuela for months. The protesters demand that President Maduro step down and a new president be elected in an early election.

Maduro, for his part, has convened a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution to address growing political unrest. That move has only further angered the protesters and the opposition, which has refused to take part in rewriting the constitution.

Protester set a man on fire during a rally against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, May 20, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Some 50 people have died in the violence in Venezuela over the past weeks.

People have also been protesting high inflation as well as food and medicine shortages. The opposition and its supporters blame Maduro’s leftist government for the crisis.

The left-wing government, however, says the protests are incited by the United States.

Both sides accuse one another of resorting to violence.