31.03.19: Outage Protest

Protests erupted in Caracas this afternoon following yet another massive disruption to the country’s electrical system.

The latest outage started at around 9:20 AM local time:

Venezuela has been plagued by nation-wide power outages that have affected virtually every corner of the country. The outages are the culmination of over a decade of massive corruption and misma

Even the poorest areas of Caracas–once bastions of chavismo–saw protests this afternoon. The video below shows demonstrators in the Monte Piedad area of the 23 de enero in the capital:

In the video below, demonstrators bang empty water containers and chant “Y va a caer! Y va a caer! Este gobierno va a caer!” (It will fall! It will fall! This government will fall!), a popular anti-government slogan:

The protests were still happening into the evening hours. The image below shows residents blocking a road int he Capuchinos neighbourhood of Caracas at around 6:00 PM local time:

The video below shows a blocked intersection somewhere in the Catia neighbourhood of Caracas:

Colectivo Armado Attacks Protest in Caracas, Injuring Two

El Nacional is reporting that at least two protesters were injured by gunshot after a colectivo armado attacked a demonstration on the Fuerzas Armadas avenue of Caracas. The demonstrators were out on the street to protest against the ongoing power outage in the city.

Below, images of some of the members of the colectivo:

The video below shows a member of the same colectivo firing his weapon at an unseen target:

Another view of a colectivo armado in Caracas this afternoon moving its way down a street:

The video below captured some of the gunfire from the colectivo:

The video below shows a small section of the street, while gunfire can be heard in the background:

Below, another video of the colectivo in action:

“Colectivo armado” is the common name for pro-government groups of armed civilians who sometimes attack anti-government protests.

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