What's happening in Venezuela?

A student during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 .ap Three U.S. diplomats, the Panamanian mission, and even CNN Español, have recently been expelled from Venezuela under the pretext of "foreign intervention" in the Bolivarian Republic.

Fresh violence has erupted in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, between police and opponents of President Nicolas Maduro. Masked protesters burned effigies of the president after a rally called "Resurrection of Democracy". Police responded to petrol bombs in the Chacao district with tear gas and water cannon.

Picture of the general-in-hiding, Antonio Rivero The new passenger was Antonio Rivero, a former general who went into hiding in February to avoid arrest for his role in the protests that have rocked the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Moving into Spanish, he apologised for the subterfuge involved in our rendezvous.

For many weeks now, tens of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in protest. We who are fortunate enough to live in freedom must stand up to oppression and injustice and remind the Venezuelan people that they are on the right side of history.

A student march slated for Wednesday changed its initial route due to squads of the National Guard deployed on several sites intended to be covered. However, it was repressed at the entrance of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) which goes to Plaza Venezuela.

CARACAS, Venezuela - A squad of motorcycle-mounted police wheels into an intersection newly seized from student protesters in a barrage of tear gas in eastern Caracas' wealthy Chacao district, an important centre of resistance to Venezuela's socialist-led government.

(Via Marialejandra D Guzman Gozzo)

Ongoing news and features on political instability and demonstrations in the South American country

(Via Carlos Mayora)

(CNN) -- Student protesters pack the streets. Violence surges. Tear gas billows. Opposition leaders and government officials blame each other for the unrest, and both sides show no sign of backing down. No matter who you believe, it's clear that tensions are running high in Venezuela.

Special thanks to Gabriela Montero for sharing her concern in the current Venezuelan situation.

Geraldine Moreno, 23, was shot twice in the face with a shotgun by the Venezuelan National Guard. Blinded and disfigured, the student died three days later. She was one of four protesters killed by Venezuela's armed forces in the past month.

Hugo Chávez died a year ago and today Venezuela is suffering his unfortunate legacy. Although the country sits on the world's largest oil reserves, the economy is a train wreck in slow motion. Inflation is running at an annual rate of 56 per cent

VICE News continues its coverage of the protests in Caracas against Nicolas Maduro's government, where opposition leaders organized a massive roadblock in the center of the city.

VICE News continues its coverage from Caracas, where students took to the streets once again to protest President Nicolas Maduro's government and pay tribute to those killed in earlier protests.

Over the past six weeks in Venezuela, a coalition of political groups opposed to the President-Nicolas Maduro-and students angry over dramatic crime rates have taken to the streets in mass demonstrati…

When Jared Leto expressed his support for the "dreamers" who are resisting Venezuela's government during the Academy Award ceremony this week, he became the latest actor to dive into the country's bitter political divide. Mr. Leto's declaration to millions of viewers set off a skirmish, with Venezuela's communications minister retweeting, "Whoever had doubts that the U.S.

(Via Alida Zavarce)

News mediums, reporters, and truth-sharers, feel free to use this and share it with your viewers. Please SHARE! Song credit: Hans Zimmer "Woads to Ruin" #PrayForVenezuela #SOSVenezuela

Protests continue more than three weeks after student-run demonstrations in Venezuela sparked deep tensions and violence. Anti and pro-government demonstrations are expanding across the divided country as they head into the holiday week marking the anniversary of former President Hugo Chavez's death. -- Leanne Burden Seidel ( 32 photos total)

(Via Pavle Luger)

Venezuela's protests are gaining in numbers and momentum. What began in early February as a few localized protests on remote progressive student campuses has now spread to Venezuela's capital, uniting citizens of all political stripes who are fed up with the country's soaring crime rate, mounting inflation, and rampant shortages.

(Via Jesús Gutierrez)

The discovery of Venezuela's oil goes back to the time of the conquistadors. And the debate over who should benefit from it goes back almost as far.

(Via Luis Ordoñez)

Until this month, Angel Vivas was a little-known figure who had retired from Venezuela's armed forces seven years ago after he refused orders from Hugo Chávez, the then president, to swear the Cuban-inspired oath: "Fatherland, Socialism or Death". Today the 57-year-old former general is a hero to many anti-government protesters.

March 1, 2014 Tibisay Velasco joined a few hundred Venezuelans gathered in front of the White House in Washington to protest against the leftist government of Venezuela and to call for the release of Leopoldo López, an opposition leader. Related Content

Credit: Reuters/Jorge Silva 1 of 8. Anti-government protesters use makeshift shields as protection during clashes with the National Guard at a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro government in Caracas March 2, 2014. There are no signs that Maduro, who says the protests are part of a U.S.-backed coup plot, could be ousted in a Ukraine-style overthrow despite widespread discontent with soaring inflation and chronic product shortages.

Visit http://www.justice4venezuela.org... As you watch this video, Venezuelans are being attacked by government forces for exercising their right to protest. Demonstrators have died at the hands of the police, and more than 500 have been shot or assaulted by groups loyal to Nicolás Maduro. More than 600 have been imprisoned and many have been tortured.

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This week's most dramatic photojournalism came from the streets of Ukraine and Venezuela. .