Venezuelan National Guard Uses Tear Gas at Residential Home in Maracaibo

Amid anti-government rallies in Venezuela, National Guard used tear gas against protesters, local media reported.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) —The Venezuelan National Guard has thrown grenades with tear gas to the building of a residential home for children and elderly people in the city of Maracaibo, according to reports.

The NTN24 news outlet reported on Monday that the National Guard used the grenades after an attempt of people participating in an anti-government rally to hide in the building of the social facility.

According to the media outlet, the rescuers and civilians had brought children and elderly people away from the building.

The Latin American state has been hit by a long-term economic and political crisis. The tensions between the country's authorities and oppositions escalated in early April after Venezuela's Supreme Court tried to take over legislative powers from the opposition-controlled parliament. The ruling had been reversed, but a number of demonstrations, resulting in clashes between protesters and police, had been held since then. A total number of people killed in the clashes is about 40, while over 800 more have been injured in the capital alone.