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href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13135">https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13135</a></font>
<h1 id="reader-title">Maternity Hospital Attacked in Venezuela,
Death Toll Rises to 53</h1>
<div id="reader-credits" class="credits">By Lucas Koerner May
18, 2017<br>
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<p><span> </span>Caracas, May 18, 2017 (<a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuelanalysis.com"><span>venezuelanalysis.com</span></a>)
– A maternity hospital was attacked in Venezuela's
Miranda state Wednesday as the death count in ongoing
violent anti-government protests ascends to 53. </p>
<p>Three newborns and one pregnant woman in labor were
evacuated from the Carrizal Maternity Hospital after the
facility was besieged for two consecutive days by
opposition demonstrators. </p>
<p>According to hospital’s director, Doctor Natalia
Martinho, smoke was entering the hospital from the
barricades of burning rubble erected just 50 meters from
the building by protesters, endangering the health of
patients on the fourth floor.</p>
<p>The barricades reportedly prevented doctors,
specialists, and all but two of the hospital’s twelve
nurses from arriving for their shifts, leaving Martinho
on duty for 36 hours alongside two residents.</p>
<p>Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has confirmed that
a 27-year-old pregnant woman from Aragua currently in
labor was evacuated along with three newborns “who could
not receive their treatment for 36 hours due to the
terrorist groups of the opposition”.</p>
<p>The attack comes as violent opposition protests
demanding early presidential elections enter their
seventh week.</p>
<p>Over the past couple days, two more people have been
reported dead in the unrest, which has seen opposition
supporters clash with authorities, attack public
institutions and state security personnel, and blockade
roads nationwide. </p>
<p>On Wednesday, Manuel Castellanos was shot and killed in
the vicinity of an opposition protest in Tachira state.
The 46-year-old was reportedly making a purchase when he
was shot in the neck and subsequently rushed to the
hospital without vital signs. </p>
<p>Following an investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s
office ordered the arrest of three National Guard
sergeants to be charged with the murder. The arrests
follow the indictment of two National Bolivarian Police
officers and a state police functionary for the killing
of protesters Luis Jose Alviarez Chacon (18) and Diego
Hernandez (33) also in Tachira. </p>
<p>Located along the southwestern border with Colombia,
Tachira has long been a hotspot of violent clashes
between anti-government protesters and authorities.</p>
<p>On Tuesday night, two multimedia centers were <a
href="http://albaciudad.org/2017/05/saquean-sala-de-infocentro-para-personas-con-discapacidad-visual-en-tachira/">ransacked</a>
in the Tachira municipality of Cardenas, including one
containing highly expensive specialized equipment
serving visually impaired people.</p>
<p>The following evening, an army barracks in La Grita,
Tachira, was <a
href="https://www.el-carabobeno.com/quemado-cuartel-militar-en-la-grita/">besieged</a>
for six hours by masked militants wielding Molotov
bombs.</p>
<p>Six alleged paramilitaries have also been arrested by
authorities elsewhere in the state in a separate
incident.</p>
<p>Venezuela’s Defense Ministry has ordered the deployment
of 2000 National Guard personnel to the border state in
order to reestablish law and order.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in Lara state, the local newspaper Ciudad
Barquisimeto <a
href="http://ciudadbqto.com/2017/05/18/encapuchados-secuestraron-y-asesinaron-a-pedro-josue-carrillo-habitante-de-la-porronera/">reported</a>
the kidnapping and murder of local socialist activist
Pedro Josue Carrillo, whose body appeared on Thursday.
According to alleged eyewitnesses, the United Socialist
Party of Venezuela (PSUV) member and community organizer
was kidnapped Tuesday by masked men in a blue Meru truck
who were overheard saying, “pick him up, this one is a
Chavista.”</p>
<p>“[Carrillo’s] remains were found in Quibor with burn
marks and signs of torture, common practices of
Colombian paramilitarism,” said local PSUV leader Juan
Campos. </p>
<p>Venezuela’s Public Prosecution has yet to issue a
statement confirming the death.</p>
<p>The violent unrest continued into Thursday when a
protester was fatally injured during a demonstration in
Zulia state.</p>
<p>According to a communiqué by Venezuela’s Public
Prosecution, Paul Moreno (25) was run over by a truck
while at a street protest in Maracaibo. He was
subsequently rushed to the hospital where he died
shortly thereafter of a brain injury. </p>
<p>The fourth Zulia state prosecutor, Israel Vargas, has
been commissioned to investigate the killing.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, new details have emerged surrounding the
deaths of Diego Arellano and Yeison Mora.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Justice Minister Nestor Reverol revealed
that according to autopsy results, Arellano – a
31-year-old student protester in San Antonio – was
killed by an 11.03-milimeter metallic sphere fired from
close range, indicating that the killer was “among the
demonstrators”. </p>
<p>Twelve similar metal spheres and a makeshift pipe bomb
were likewise discovered at the crime scene near to
where the National Guard was positioned, suggesting that
they were being fired by the demonstrators. </p>
<p>Reverol also noted that the steel ball bearings are
similar to those that caused the deaths of <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13117">Miguel
Castillo</a> and <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13113">Armando
Cañizales</a> earlier this month. Despite the forensic
evidence implicating protesters in the killings, the
opposition has continued to blame the deaths on state
security forces. </p>
<p>In Barinas, uncle of 17-year-old Yeison Mora has
accused opposition protesters of causing the death of
his nephew. The family member, Alexis Mendoza, indicated
that Mora was on his way to the hardware store with his
brother when he crossed paths with the demonstration and
was shot in the head. </p>
<p>According to preliminary autopsy results announced by
Barinas Governor Zenaida Gallardo, the impact to the
youth’s right infraorbital nerve “was not caused by a
firearm but by a marble”, which was presumably fired
from a makeshift weapon used by protesters. </p>
<p>In response to the findings, Mendoza condemned the
opposition for allegedly using his nephew’s death as
“propaganda” to fuel further anti-government protests. </p>
<p>“We, the family, are refuting all that the opposition
is doing with the death of my nephew, making propaganda
with the death of Yeison, and we are going to clarify
that effectively, it’s almost proven that it was a
protester who shot him,” he told Venezuelan National
Radio.</p>
<p>According to data compiled by <a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/13081">Venezuelanalysis</a>,
12 people have been killed directly by opposition
supporters since April 4, while 8 deaths have occurred
at the hands of authorities. A further five deaths have
resulted from accidents caused by anti-government
barricades, while eight people were electrocuted during
an attempted looting. Twenty deaths have still yet to be
accounted for. </p>
<p class="published">Published on May 18th 2017 at 8.26pm
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