Ongoing Protests In Venezuela: Over 1,500 Arrested This Month

Protests have continued in Venezuela with many vowing that they will remain in the streets until they see change. It's estimated that at least 1,500 people have been arrested just this month during various protests. A few have also lost their lives, at least 29 people so far.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets there, being met with tear gas from the state and water cannons.

Pro-government citizens have also taken to referring to the opposition as 'terrorists'.

The President claims that all of the criticism surrounding him, his policies, and the continually declining state of Venezuela, are just a conspiracy for a coup that's supposedly being influenced by the US. We have heard similar claims made by other dictators around the world when their actions have been questioned by the international community and those within their own country; it's just a paranoid plot to take them down.

Though some protesters have been seen throwing rocks,burning cars, or engaging in other violence, that can't be said for all of the demonstrators on the streets. And many of them have accused the state of using repressive means to silence peaceful protests and they've repeatedly referred to President Maduro as a dictator.

Just this week it's reported that protesters blocked a highway in the nation's capital for about 8 hours.

Many of the protesters say that they are engaging in civil disobedience and that this is the only thing available to them to try and bring attention to the problem and seek a change to the degrading issues that they face daily.

Both the police and protesters have been injured in the clashes.

And what is Maduro doing to try and make things better? Well, right now he's focused on officially withdrawing the country from the Organization of American States (OAS) according to the foreign minister for the country.

The decision comes after the OAS recently decided to convene and hold a meeting to discuss the situation in Venezuela. According to the foreign minister for the country, they believe the OAS is looking to destabilize “constitutional democracy” in the country in order to facilitate some conspired foreign plot against them.

But if the leaders there do really have any interest in "constitutional democracy" then they might want to pay attention to what message the hundreds of thousands of citizens are overwhelmingly trying to send them in the streets.

They also might not want to try and dissolve Congress in order to operate in a more authoritarian fashion.

Pics:
Ariana Cubillos / AP
Carlos Eduardo Ramirez / Reuters
Christian Veron / Reuters

Sources:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-27/venezuela-death-toll-jumps-as-protesters-battle-security-forces/8475488
https://steemit.com/money/@doitvoluntarily/venezuela-pulls-highest-value-banknote
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-violence-idUSKBN17T0HG
https://steemit.com/politics/@doitvoluntarily/protests-erupt-in-venezuela-over-political-corruption
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/04/in-venezuela-the-mother-of-all-marches/523725/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/OAS-Decides-to-Hold-Controversial-Meeting-on-Venezuela-20170426-0031.html