VENEZUELA: Anti-govt protests turns messy as protesters fling faeces at soldiers

Nationwide protests against President Nicolas Maduro which has lasted for over a month now turned messy when demonstrators lobbed bottles and bags of faeces at soldiers in Caracas.

Thousands of opposition supporters poured onto the streets decrying Venezuela’s economic crisis and demanding elections on Wednesday in the so-called “Shit March” on Wednesday on the main highway through Caracas.

“These kids live in a dictatorship, they have no other option but to protest however they see fit,” said Maria Montilla, 49, behind lines of youths with masks, slingshots and makeshift wooden shields.

Many carried stones and so-called “Poopootov cocktails” – faeces stuffed into small glass bottles – which they threw when National Guard troops blocked their path, firing gas and turning water cannons on the crowds.

“There’s nothing explosive here. It’s our way of saying ‘get lost Maduro, you’re useless!’,” said one young protester, who asked not to be named, between tossing bottles of faeces.

In the last one month, violent clashes between supporters of the opposition and President Nicolas Maduro have hit Venezuela with the opposition asking Maduro to step down, accusing him of eroding democracy.

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