Hundreds of Venezuelan protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces who tried to disperse them with tear gas, as the death toll from three-week street battles rose to 18.
At least 41 protesters, including eight foreigners, were arrested during the latest rally in Caracas, state television reported, while the mayor of the wealthy Chacao district said at least two civilians were shot and one suffered cuts and bruises.
With no sign of a breakthrough in the political crisis gripping the oil-rich country, the United States urged President Nicolas Maduro to hold talks with protesters and end the bloody violence.
"They need to reach out and have a dialogue, and bring people together and resolve their problems," Kerry said in Washington, urging against "arrests and violence in the streets."
Kerry said the United States was working with Colombia and other countries to bolster mediation efforts.
Maduro has labeled the protests that began on February 4 a Washington-backed attempted "coup."
He claims that radical opposition leaders have joined students angered by high inflation and goods shortage in plotting to topple his nearly year-old government.
- Protests against abuses -
Police fired tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse the demonstrators, many of them masked after they set up barricades around the Altamira neighborhood and were throwing Molotov cocktails at the security forces.
Maduro said several members of the Bolivian National Guard were "ambushed" and shot at while removing debris from the streets of the economic hub of Valencia. One died from a shot in the eye and another was shot twice in the leg.
"All these things are aimed at triggering a backlash from security forces," Maduro said from the Miraflores presidential palace, where he was holding talks with representatives of various political and social sectors.
"Justice must prevail against implacable murderers and those preparing paramilitary groups... to hide behind alleged protests and seek civil war."
Protest organizer Alfredo Romero, president of the Venezuelan Penal Forum, said 33 cases of "cruel and inhuman treatment or torture" have been reported to the public ombudsman.
One of the cases involves an alleged rape using a rifle of a young man arrested by the National Guard.
The Venezuelan government said it was investigating 27 cases of human rights abuses, though it provided no details of possible wrongdoing.
Some of the deaths have been attributed to violent clashes with police, but other victims have been shot by unidentified gunmen, whom the protesters have accused of being government agents.
The government has denied all links to such killings.
"The Public Ministry will not allow human rights violations under any circumstances," Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said.
In announcing a rise in fatalities linked to the protests, she also announced that 1,044 had been detained, of which 72 remain behind bars.
- 'Inexcusable' violence -
The US Congress has condemned "inexcusable" violence against anti-government protesters, calling for a dialogue to end the crisis and urging President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on those responsible for the crackdown.
The resolution came one day after Venezuela reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a second opposition figure accused of crimes linked to the protests, including arson, public incitement and criminal damage.
Leopoldo Lopez, of the Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party, had turned himself in last week after a warrant went out for his arrest.
The party said Thursday that Maduro's embattled government was now seeking Carlos Vecchio, the Voluntad Popular party's national political coordinator.
Court officials have not confirmed the arrest warrant.
Hundreds of Venezuelan protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces who tried to disperse them with tear gas, as the death toll from three-week street battles rose to 18.
At least 41 protesters, including eight foreigners, were arrested during the latest rally in Caracas, state television reported, while the mayor of the wealthy Chacao district said at least two civilians were shot and one suffered cuts and bruises.
With no sign of a breakthrough in the political crisis gripping the oil-rich country, the United States urged President Nicolas Maduro to hold talks with protesters and end the bloody violence.
“They need to reach out and have a dialogue, and bring people together and resolve their problems,” Kerry said in Washington, urging against “arrests and violence in the streets.”
Kerry said the United States was working with Colombia and other countries to bolster mediation efforts.
Maduro has labeled the protests that began on February 4 a Washington-backed attempted “coup.”
He claims that radical opposition leaders have joined students angered by high inflation and goods shortage in plotting to topple his nearly year-old government.
– Protests against abuses –
Police fired tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse the demonstrators, many of them masked after they set up barricades around the Altamira neighborhood and were throwing Molotov cocktails at the security forces.
Maduro said several members of the Bolivian National Guard were “ambushed” and shot at while removing debris from the streets of the economic hub of Valencia. One died from a shot in the eye and another was shot twice in the leg.
“All these things are aimed at triggering a backlash from security forces,” Maduro said from the Miraflores presidential palace, where he was holding talks with representatives of various political and social sectors.
“Justice must prevail against implacable murderers and those preparing paramilitary groups… to hide behind alleged protests and seek civil war.”
Protest organizer Alfredo Romero, president of the Venezuelan Penal Forum, said 33 cases of “cruel and inhuman treatment or torture” have been reported to the public ombudsman.
One of the cases involves an alleged rape using a rifle of a young man arrested by the National Guard.
The Venezuelan government said it was investigating 27 cases of human rights abuses, though it provided no details of possible wrongdoing.
Some of the deaths have been attributed to violent clashes with police, but other victims have been shot by unidentified gunmen, whom the protesters have accused of being government agents.
The government has denied all links to such killings.
“The Public Ministry will not allow human rights violations under any circumstances,” Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said.
In announcing a rise in fatalities linked to the protests, she also announced that 1,044 had been detained, of which 72 remain behind bars.
– ‘Inexcusable’ violence –
The US Congress has condemned “inexcusable” violence against anti-government protesters, calling for a dialogue to end the crisis and urging President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on those responsible for the crackdown.
The resolution came one day after Venezuela reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a second opposition figure accused of crimes linked to the protests, including arson, public incitement and criminal damage.
Leopoldo Lopez, of the Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) party, had turned himself in last week after a warrant went out for his arrest.
The party said Thursday that Maduro’s embattled government was now seeking Carlos Vecchio, the Voluntad Popular party’s national political coordinator.
Court officials have not confirmed the arrest warrant.
