Opposition students march against Venezuelan President Maduro’s government in Caracas

Opposition students march against Venezuelan President Maduro’s government in Caracas

Opposition students march against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in Caracas February 12, 2015. Venezuelan troops blocked students during marches against Maduro on Thursday as pro-government supporters also rallied on the anniversary of 2014 protests that led to 43 deaths. In Caracas, troops cordoned off scores of students on an unauthorized march to a church where they planned a mass in honour of demonstrators who died. Instead, a priest came out and said brief prayers in the open-air. Also in the capital, thousands of red-clad supporters of Maduro, the successor to late socialist leader Hugo Chavez who died of cancer in 2013, held a much larger rival rally. Mindful of nearly four months of clashes last year, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding Maduro’s resignation and protesting over the OPEC nation’s faltering economy, some Caracas residents stayed at home to avoid trouble. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA – Tags: BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST POLITICS EDUCATION)