CARACAS: Venezuela’s opposition ratcheted up the pressure on President Nicolas Maduro at mass protests on Wednesday, announcing plans for a new march and general strike. “We are going to notify Nicolas Maduro that the Venezuelan people declare that he has abandoned his post,” the speaker of the National Assembly, Henry Ramos Allup, said to cheers from hordes of protesters in Caracas. Jesus Torrealba, secretary general of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), drew thunderous applause when he announced the general strike. Three people were shot in the northwestern city of Maracaibo, said Alfredo Romero, head of Venezuelan rights group Foro Penal. Maduro held his own rally with thousands of supporters outside the presidential palace.

Source: Manila Times October 27, 2016 14:17 UTC