Police stood guard as protesters poured into the streets of Venezuela’s capital Thursday.
Opposition leaders have vowed to make their voices heard with a peaceful march dubbed “The Takeover of Caracas.”
Their focus: demanding a recall referendum aimed at removing President Nicolas Maduro from power.
Venezuela’s government claims the opposition has a more nefarious aim: violence in the streets. State television called for supporters of the government to march in an “anti-coup” protest.
“Anyone who tries to undermine peace in the country will be arrested,” lawmaker Diosdado Cabello, a prominent politician in Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, said before the demonstrations.
Supporters of the opposition warned that the government could be gearing up for a crackdown.
As protests began Thursday, tensions were already clear as officers in riot gear stood face to face with lines of demonstrators in some parts of Caracas.
In recent days, Venezuela’s government has detained at least six opposition leaders, accusing them of conspiring against the government.
“Those detained have a history of destabilizing acts in our country, and it cannot be ruled out that there will be more detentions of violence-generating elements of the Venezuelan ultra-right,” Interior and Justice Minister Nestor Reverol said this week.
Speaking to demonstrators Thursday, opposition leader Henrique Capriles accused government officials of trying to block people from reaching the protests.
Government threats won’t make the opposition back down, said Capriles, who narrowly lost to Maduro in a 2013 election after longtime leader Hugo Chavez’s death.
“Maduro is afraid! The more obstacles there are, the more people will peacefully be in the streets!” Capriles wrote on Twitter.
For months, opposition parties have been pushing for the government to hold a referendum on Maduro’s presidency.
Many Venezuelans have lost patience with the socialist President amid widespread shortages of food and medical supplies, surging crime levels, rolling blackouts and massive inflation. Experts predict Venezuela’s economy will shrink by 10% this year, while inflation will rise by 700%.
Venezuelan officials say they aren’t to blame for the country’s mounting problems; they accuse the political right of carrying out an economic war to undermine the government.
That explanation didn’t pass muster with demonstrators in the streets Thursday.
“There is no food. There is no paper. There is no medicine. We are dying,” protester Maria Alvarez told CNN en Español. “Please, help Venezuela. This has to end. Maduro, you have to understand that your time is up.”