Grisly 24-hour period leaves 4 dead in Venezuela unrest
CARACAS, Venezuela — Business owners shuttered shops, a burned police station stood charred black and a state officer in western Venezuela was under arrest Tuesday following a spasm of violence that resulted in at least four deaths in anti-government protests.
An especially grisly 24 hours of turmoil coming after nearly two months of political unrest had nervous residents staying indoors in restive cities like San Cristobal near the border with Colombia.
Authorities announced Tuesday that four men ranging in age from 17 to 33 had died from gunshot wounds at separate protests over the preceding day. Diego Hernandez, 33, and Luis Alviarez, 18, were killed in Tachira, while Yeison Mora Castillo, 17, died near a protest farther east in the state of Barinas on Monday. Diego Arellano, 31, died during surgery Tuesday after being shot at a demonstration south of Caracas.
Friends and relatives of Arellano gathered outside the clinic where he died and sang the national anthem as his body was removed from the facility.