BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2019) The death toll in violent protests in Venezuela increased to 26 people, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict non-governmental organization (NGO) said on Thursday.
"As of 2:00 p.m. [18:00 GMT] 26 deaths in protests have been confirmed. The death toll includes only identified victims," the NGO said.
The Venezuelan authorities have not officially reported any victims so far.
Over the past few days, Venezuela has been witnessing mass anti-government protests. On Wednesday, the leader of the opposition-run parliament, Juan Guaido, declared himself the country's interim president. The United States urged Maduro to step down and let Guaido assume the presidency. Maduro has responded that Washington attempted to stage a coup d'etat in Venezuela and announced his decision to cut off diplomatic ties with the United States.
