Riot police have used pepper spray on elderly anti-government protesters marching in the Venezuelan capital. The "march of the grandparents" was the latest in a series of protests launched by the opposition since April.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
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Venezuelan police on Friday blocked a march by some 2,000 elderly protesters, some of them in wheelchairs, who were demonstrating in Caracas against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government and demanding subsidies for food and medicines.
Riot police with helmets and shields used pepper spray several times in a bid to control the crowd, according to opposition politicians. The protesters had intended to march to the office of the country's human rights ombudsman.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles criticized the use of force against elderly people.
"No one has the right to attack a grandpa. they are the moral reserve of the country," he said.
Since launching protests against Maduro in early April, the opposition has been employing a number of tactics, staging rallies for women, musicians and medics. It is planning a "march of mothers" for Sunday.
The ruling socialist government has tried to respond in kind each time. On Friday, it held its own rival old people's rally in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, where protesters called out slogans in support of Maduro and his late predecessor Hugo Chavez.
Protesters threw punches at policeImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Llano
Collapse in oil revenue
At least 39 people have died and 800 been injured in the protests, which highlight the suffering of Venezuelans amid an economic crisis that has led to drastic shortages of food and medicine in the oil-rich country. The Health Ministry on Wednesday issued data showing an increase of 30 percent in the deaths of babies aged less than one in 2016, while 65 percent more women died of causes linked to childbirth.
The health minister, Antonieta Caporale, was dismissed the day after the 2016 figures were released, although she took over the post only in January of this year.
The shortage of medicines and other essential supplies has been caused by a collapse in prices for Venezuela's oil exports. Maduro, who is resisting opposition pressure to call early elections, has called the crisis a US-backed conspiracy.
Protests paralyze Venezuela's society
DW talked to Venezuelan journalist and photographer Ivan Reyes whose images highlight the stories of the people marching against the government.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Journalism born of need
"I’d been working as a journalist for a year when the protests started in 2014. Many independent media have come into existence in the last two years due to the government censorship, and that's how I became a reporter," Ivan Reyes told DW. He started capturing the new wave of riots on a daily basis at the end of March.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Welcome to the stone age
The ruling by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which took away immunity from opposition parliamentarians, set off a surge of protests paralyzing the country. Although the protests were peaceful at first, government forces soon started throwing stones into the crowds. "Seriously, the police were given stones! This man, Lino Rivera, was hit by one on April 4," Reyes said.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Highway to hell
The marches take place all over Caracas every day, but they usually end on the city highways. This photo shows two officers of the national guard shooting tear gas grenades into the lines of protesters. "The projectiles should be shot above people’s heads - so the international laws says," says Reyes. "But the armed forces shoot straight into the demonstrators."
Image: Ivan Reyes
"We are all Juan"
Juan Pablo Pernalete, 20, died after being hit by a projectile on April 26. The death of the student of Universidad Metropolitana triggered angry protests in the following days. "People were chanting 'Todos somos Juan! Todos somos Juan!'" ("We are all Juan") Reyes told DW. Congressmen Miguel Pizarro and Carlos Paparoni and the Governor of Miranda Henrique Capriles all came to pay tribute.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Evasive action
Defense has become the key element for survival. "The people seem to be organized better every day," says Reyes. Against the wishes of the protest leaders, several groups have started using DIY weapons and even Molotov cocktails against the government forces, as seen in this photo. "It’s a battle they can’t win," says Reyes.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Heros of the day
"Jesús was one of those injured in the demonstrations on May 4. He was gasping and stuttering after he got hit in the head. People in the crowd spotted him and carried him to one side where paramedics gave him first aid. The members of Primeros Auxilios UCV are the real heroes of history," Reyes said of the group of doctors who go to the protests every day to help the injured.
Image: Ivan Reyes
The wrath of the women scorned
On May 6, a women’s protest against the regime was organized by Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, Venezuela's opposition party. The march wasn’t allowed to reach its destination, the Ministry of Justice, as they were halted by female officers of the national police. Former politician María Corina Machado and the student president of Universidad Central de Venezuela were among the protesters.
Image: Ivan Reyes
Ode to Venezuela
This image shot by Reyes went viral right after it was published by the author on May 8. The picture is one of the strongest snapshots from the Venezuelan protests, showing a young man walking down a road playing the Venezuelan anthem. "I don’t see the protests ending soon," said Reyes. "Let’s see which side gets tired first."
