CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The Latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):

For the first time in three weeks of protest, demonstrators in Venezuela have crossed from the wealthier eastern side of the nation's capital to the west without encountering resistance from state security.

Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara likened the march toward some of the city's more humble neighborhoods as "crossing the Berlin wall."

Tens of thousands of protesters dressed in white are marching in cities around Venezuela Saturday in homage to at least 20 people killed in a wave of unrest that has jolted the nation.

Opposition leaders marched with their arms wrapped around each other into western Caracas Saturday, vowing to continue protesting until new elections are granted.

Thousands of Venezuelans dressed in white are marching in a silent protest paying homage to the at least 20 people killed in unrest generated after the nation's Supreme Court stripped congress of its last powers, a decision it later reversed.

Walking with black bands tied around their arms and carrying signs denouncing President Nicolas Maduro, protesters in Caracas Saturday were heading toward the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, where they were expecting to pray for those killed.

The protest is the latest mass gathering in a wave of tumult that has rocked the nation over the last three weeks as demonstrators press for new elections.

Those killed include protesters and bystanders struck by gunfire and a dozen dead Friday in overnight clashes and looting that destroyed more than two dozen businesses.</s>CARACAS (AFP) - Dressed in white, Venezuelan protesters marched in silence on Saturday (April 22) to demand the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, a show of defiance after three weeks of unrest that left 20 people dead.

After tense negotiations with security forces blocking their way, protesters in Caracas were allowed to march to their destination, the headquarters of the Catholic bishops’ conference.

A brief scuffle took place on the capital’s east side, where police fired tear gas to disperse a group of demonstrators trying to join the main march.

But there were no reports of violence on the scale seen at other protests, where there have been running battles pitting riot police and pro-government vigilantes against demonstrators hurling stones and Molotov cocktails.

The centre-right opposition accuses the leftist government of repressing protests and sending armed thugs to attack them.

The “silent protest” was a test of the authorities’ tolerance for peaceful demonstrations.

“I’m sure they’ll meet us with the usual (tear) gas, which is how they preach peace,” said 71-year-old protester Hector Urbina.

Protesters also marched to the Catholic Church’s episcopal seats in several other cities across the country, tightly guarded by the police and national guard.

Many wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the word “peace.” Others carried white flowers or Venezuelan flags, while one protester wielded a giant wooden cross.

The opposition is seen as close to the Church, which the government accuses of playing politics against it.

'NOTHING TO LOSE'

The opposition blames Maduro for the unraveling of oil giant Venezuela’s once-booming economy, which has left the country mired in shortages of food, medicine and basic goods.

Some protesters silently prayed, others carried Christian-themed banners or images.

“I’m not afraid,” said protester Jessica Muchacho, 33.

“We’ve got nothing left to lose. The government’s already taken everything, all possibility of living our lives with dignity.”

The opposition plans to return to a more confrontational strategy on Monday, when it is calling for Venezuelans to block roads in a bid to grind the country to a halt.

On Thursday, protests descended into a night of clashes, riots and looting that left 12 people dead in Caracas. More pockets of violence erupted on Friday night.

Residents described terrifying scenes Thursday night and early Friday.

“It was like a war,” said Carlos Yanez, a resident of the El Valle neighborhood in southwestern Caracas, where 11 people were killed.

The two sides blame each other for the unrest.

Vice President Tareck El Aissami accused the opposition of sponsoring a “spiral of terrorism” to trigger a coup.

Senior opposition leader Henrique Capriles fired back that the government’s “savage repression” was causing the violence.

FOURTH WEEK ON EDGE

Maduro, the heir of the leftist “Bolivarian revolution” launched by the late Hugo Chavez in 1999, says the protests are part of a US-backed coup plot.

Pressure on the socialist president has been mounting since 2014, when prices for Venezuela’s crucial oil exports started to plunge.

The crisis escalated on March 30, when the Supreme Court moved to seize the powers of the legislature, the only lever of state authority not controlled by Maduro and his allies.

The court partly backtracked after an international outcry. But tension only increased when the authorities slapped a political ban on Capriles on April 7.

According to pollster Venebarometro, seven in 10 Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro, whose term does not end until 2019.

The opposition is demanding elections to exit the crisis.

The secretary general of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro – one of Maduro’s harshest critics – accused the government of cowardice.

“When the political leadership gives the order to open fire on its own people, that’s a very strong signal of cowardice and weakness,” he told AFP.</s>The Latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):

For the first time in three weeks of protest, demonstrators in Venezuela have crossed from the wealthier eastern side of the nation's capital to the west without encountering resistance from state security.

Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara likened the march toward some of the city's more humble neighborhoods as "crossing the Berlin wall."

Tens of thousands of protesters dressed in white are marching in cities around Venezuela Saturday in homage to at least 20 people killed in a wave of unrest that has jolted the nation.

Opposition leaders marched with their arms wrapped around each other into western Caracas Saturday, vowing to continue protesting until new elections are granted.

Thousands of Venezuelans dressed in white are marching in a silent protest paying homage to the at least 20 people killed in unrest generated after the nation's Supreme Court stripped congress of its last powers, a decision it later reversed.

Walking with black bands tied around their arms and carrying signs denouncing President Nicolas Maduro, protesters in Caracas Saturday were heading toward the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, where they were expecting to pray for those killed.

The protest is the latest mass gathering in a wave of tumult that has rocked the nation over the last three weeks as demonstrators press for new elections.

Those killed include protesters and bystanders struck by gunfire and a dozen dead Friday in overnight clashes and looting that destroyed more than two dozen businesses.</s>CARACAS, Venezuela — The Latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):

For the first time in three weeks of protest, demonstrators in Venezuela have crossed from the wealthier eastern side of the nation's capital to the west without encountering resistance from state security.

Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara likened the march toward some of the city's more humble as "crossing the Berlin wall."

Tens of thousands of protesters dressed in white are marching in cities around Venezuela Saturday in homage to at least 20 people killed in a wave of unrest that has jolted the nation.

Opposition leaders marched with their arms wrapped around each other into western Caracas Saturday, vowing to continue protesting until new elections are granted.

Thousands of Venezuelans dressed in white are marching in a silent protest paying homage to the at least 20 people killed in unrest generated after the nation's Supreme Court stripped congress of its last powers, a decision it later reversed.

Walking with black bands tied around their arms and carrying signs denouncing President Nicolas Maduro, protesters in Caracas Saturday were heading toward the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, where they were expecting to pray for those killed.

The protest is the latest mass gathering in a wave of tumult that has rocked the nation over the last three weeks as demonstrators press for new elections.

Those killed include protesters and bystanders struck by gunfire and a dozen dead Friday in overnight clashes and looting that destroyed more than two dozen businesses.</s>Venezuela opposition march to honor those killed in violence

Venezuela's opposition marched in silence on Saturday to honor a dozen people killed in three weeks of protests demanding that the government of President Nicolas Maduro hold delayed elections and address a growing economic crisis, Reuters reported.

Twelve people have been killed in a renewed wave of demonstrations this month in incidents primarily involving security forces or armed civilians. Another eight were electrocuted in a looting incident that took place following a protest.

Thousands of people dressed in white shirts marched to the headquarters of the country's Catholic archdiocese on the west end of Caracas.

"We want free elections, we want to get rid of this corrupt government," said Iomira Barrios, 60, an environmental consultant who says she can no longer find work.

"Right now people are willing to fight, because they have declared a dictatorship and we cannot allow it."

Anger over the OPEC nation's triple-digit inflation and Soviet-style product shortages boiled over after the Supreme Court last month briefly assumed the powers of Congress, triggering accusations that Maduro was building a dictatorship.

The court reversed course after international condemnation, but Maduro's government further fueled the protests by barring the opposition's most popular politician, Henrique Capriles, from holding office for 15 years.

Ruling Socialist Party officials say the demonstrations, in which protesters throw rocks at police and block streets with burning debris, are violent disruptions of public order meant to overthrow the government.

The opposition says the elections council should call elections for governors that were supposed to be held last year, and accuse the council of indefinitely delaying them because the Ruling Socialist party would likely lose in many states.

The next presidential elections are scheduled for late 2018.

Demonstrations have generally started with daytime marches that are broken up by National Guard troops. They usually devolve from there into confused melees between troops and hooded protesters that stretch well into the evening.

The last week has seen an increase in late-night looting in working class areas. Unrest that began late on Thursday night in the Caracas neighborhood of El Valle left eleven people dead from either electrocution or gunfire.

The economy has been in free-fall since the collapse of oil prices in 2014. Once a generous oil-financed welfare state, Venezuelan consumers now struggle to obtain basic food and medicine.</s>CARACAS, April 22 (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition prepared to march in silence on Saturday to honor a dozen people killed in three weeks of protests demanding that the government of President Nicolas Maduro hold delayed elections and address a growing economic crisis.

Twelve people have been killed in a renewed wave of demonstrations this month in incidents primarily involving security forces or armed civilians. Another eight were electrocuted in a looting incident that took place following a protest.

Opposition leaders blame a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces, who have arrested hundreds of people and on several occasions flooded hospitals and clinics with tear gas.

Ruling Socialist Party officials say the demonstrations, in which protesters throw rocks at police and block streets with burning debris, are violent disruptions of public order meant to overthrow the government.

Saturday's protest, however, was to be a silent one out of respect for those who died.

"(The demonstration) today shall be a thundering and historic silence that beats on the conscience of the oppressor," wrote opposition legislator Miguel Pizarro via Twitter.

Marches are planned for cities around the country and in the capital Caracas, where the opposition will gather in 20 different places and march to the headquarters of the country's Catholic archdiocese.

Anger over the OPEC nation's triple-digit inflation and Soviet-style product shortages boiled over after the government-leaning Supreme Court last month briefly assumed the powers of Congress, triggering accusations that Maduro was building a dictatorship.

The court walked back the measure after international condemnation, but Maduro's government further fueled the protests by barring the opposition's most popular politician, Henrique Capriles, from holding office for 15 years.

The opposition says the elections council should call elections for governors that were supposed to be held last year, and accuse the council of indefinitely delaying them because the Ruling Socialist party would likely lose in many states.

The next presidential elections are scheduled for late 2018.

Demonstrations have generally started with daytime marches that are broken up by National Guard troops. They usually devolve from there into confused melees between troops and hooded protesters that stretch well into the evening.

The last week has seen an increase in late-night looting in working class areas. Unrest that began late on Thursday night in the Caracas neighborhood of El Valle left eleven people dead from either electrocution or gunfire.

The OPEC nation's economy has been in free-fall since the collapse of oil prices in 2014. Once a generous oil-financed welfare state, Venezuelan consumers now struggle to obtain basic food and medicine. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)</s>CARACAS, Venezuela -- Thousands of Venezuelans dressed in white, some walking with their hands up, marched Saturday in a silent protest in homage to the at least 20 people killed in unrest generated after the nation's Supreme Court stripped congress of its last powers, a decision it later reversed.

Saturday's protest was the latest mass gathering in a wave of tumult that has rocked the nation over the past three weeks as demonstrators continue to press for new elections. Throughout the protests, state security forces have confronted protesters with tear gas, drawing international condemnation. Those killed include protesters and bystanders struck by gunfire and a dozen dead in overnight clashes and looting that destroyed more than two dozen businesses in a working-class neighborhood.

"We should remember there are people who were killed fighting for the cause we are defending," opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara told demonstrators walking through Caracas on Saturday. "And if they died for this we don't have the right to rest."

Elsewhere in the city, smaller pockets of violent protesters, some of them with their faces covered and throwing rocks, clashed with riot police, who responded with tear gas.

The opposition contends rogue, armed pro-government groups are fomenting the violence. Government leaders claim the violence is being generated by right-wing opposition forces working with criminal gangs in an attempt to remove them from power.

"These are terrorist groups on a mission to sow hate and death," Diosdado Cabello, leader of the ruling socialist party, told supporters last week.

For the first time, protesters were able to cross on Saturday from the east to the western side of Caracas without being confronted by state security, an act that Guevara compared in a tweet to "crossing the Berlin wall" that divides one half from the other. Eastern Caracas is home to some of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods, while the western side has poorer communities.

Once assembled outside the headquarters of the Roman Catholic bishops' confederation, religious leaders led the crowd in a moment of silence and asked God for strength. Then a string of political leaders passed around a megaphone and from the back of a pickup repeated their demand of recent days for immediate elections and freedom for dozens of jailed government opponents they consider political prisoners.

"Let it be heard: The dictatorship is in its final days," said Maria Corina Machado, who was stripped of her seat in congress in 2014. The crowd responded with shouts of "Freedom! Freedom!"</s>CARACAS - Venezuela's opposition prepared to march in silence on Saturday to honour a dozen people killed in three weeks of protests demanding that the government of President Nicolas Maduro hold delayed elections and address a growing economic crisis.

Twelve people have been killed in a renewed wave of demonstrations this month in incidents primarily involving security forces or armed civilians. Another eight were electrocuted in a looting incident that took place following a protest. Opposition leaders blame a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces, who have arrested hundreds of people and on several occasions flooded hospitals and clinics with tear gas.

Ruling Socialist Party officials say the demonstrations, in which protesters throw rocks at police and block streets with burning debris, are violent disruptions of public order meant to overthrow the government.

Saturday's protest, however, was to be a silent one out of respect for those who died.

"(The demonstration) today shall be a thundering and historic silence that beats on the conscience of the oppressor," wrote opposition legislator Miguel Pizarro via Twitter. Marches are planned for cities around the country and in the capital Caracas, where the opposition will gather in 20 different places and march to the headquarters of the country's Catholic archdiocese. Anger over the OPEC nation's triple-digit inflation and Soviet-style product shortages boiled over after the government-leaning Supreme Court last month briefly assumed the powers of Congress, triggering accusations that Maduro was building a dictatorship.

The court walked back the measure after international condemnation, but Maduro's government further fueled the protests by barring the opposition's most popular politician, Henrique Capriles, from holding office for 15 years.</s>After a peaceful protest on the weekend went uncontested by Venezuelan authorities, civilians are poised to ramp up their demonstrations on Monday.

Thousands of protesters dressed in white marched into the west of Venezuela's capital on Saturday- an act likened to 'crossing the Berlin Wall' - in reaction to the deaths of 20 people during anti-government riots.

Three weeks of constant protests have involved violent clashes between the people of Caracas and riot police, and after a short respite over the weekend, things look set to turn ugly once more.

Civilians are being urged by the opposition to the government to flood the streets and block off the roads in order to grind the country to a halt.

Experts have previously said that under-fire President Nicolas Maduro will remain in power as long as Venezuelan's poorest citizens do not rise up.

One of the opposition leaders, Henrique Capriles, urged the crowd 'to keep coming out into the streets - this isn't the time to give up, it's a time to resist.'

The opposition plans to return to a more confrontational strategy on Monday, when it is calling for Venezuelans to block roads in a bid to grind the country to a halt.

Its leaders blame Maduro for the unraveling of oil giant Venezuela's once-booming economy, which has left the country with shortages of food, medicine and basic goods.

The spark that set off the near-daily protests was an attempt by the Supreme Court to take over the powers of the opposition-dominated Congress.

Although it partly reversed course after an international outcry, the move fueled widespread indignation in Venezuela that was heightened when an order came down barring Capriles from political office.

It will be a far cry from the weekend when demonstrators - who have called for elections and measures to halt the economic freefall which has engulfed the South American nation - dressed in white in honour of the 20 protesters who have died in clashes with police in the past month.

Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara likened the march toward some of the city's more humble neighborhoods as 'crossing the Berlin wall'.

Dressed in white, Venezuelan protesters opposed to President Maduro marched in silence in several cities on Saturday to pay respects to 20 people killed in three weeks of unrest.

The silent protest saw opposition leaders march with their arms wrapped around each other, having vowed to continue protests until their call for elections are granted.

They were joined in protest by Spaniards in Puerta del Sol square, in Madrid, Spain, where people gathered in their droves to show solidarity.

Unlike demonstrations in recent days, the rallies in Caracas, Maracaibo, Barquisimeto and San Cristobal passed with no major violence reported between protesters and police.

A few minor scuffles briefly broke out in the east of the capital when police forced back the crowd with tear gas. A female journalist said she was assaulted by pro-government heavies downtown and a male journalist was detained for hours by intelligence officers, their union said.

For the first time since the turmoil in the streets started at the beginning of April, the demonstrators were able to cross Caracas, including several districts loyal to Maduro and his late predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Tense negotiations saw security forces who had been blocking their way step aside to allow them to march to their destination, the headquarters of the Catholic bishops' conference.

Protesters also marched to the Catholic Church's episcopal seats in several other cities across the country, tightly guarded by the police and national guard.

The opposition is seen as close to the Church, which the government accuses of playing politics against it.

The 'silent protest' was a test of the authorities' tolerance for peaceful demonstrations.

The center-right opposition has accused the leftist government of repressing past protests and sending armed thugs to attack them.

Many wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the word 'peace.' Others carried white flowers or Venezuelan flags, while one protester wielded a giant wooden cross.

In Caracas, a priest and an evangelical pastor led a mass for the demonstrators from the back of a truck.

Some of the protesters said they were not afraid of the government.

'We've got nothing left to lose. The government's already taken everything, all possibility of living our lives with dignity,' said protester Jessica Muchacho, 33.

'The government has to back down, it has to listen to the people,' said a protesting lawyer, Rosibel Torres.

A sociologist, Francisco Coello, predicted that 'the people will continue to protest,' demanding early elections.

On Thursday, protests descended into a night of clashes, riots and looting that left 12 people dead in Caracas. More pockets of violence erupted Friday night.

'It was like a war,' said Carlos Yanez, a resident of the El Valle neighborhood in southwestern Caracas, where 11 people were killed.

The two sides blame each other for the unrest.

Maduro, the heir of the leftist 'Bolivarian revolution' launched by the late Hugo Chavez in 1999, says the protests are part of a US-backed coup plot.

Pressure on the socialist president has been mounting since 2014, when prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports started to plunge.

According to pollster Venebarometro, seven in 10 Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro, whose term does not end until 2019.

The secretary general of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro - one of Maduro's harshest critics - accused the government of cowardice.

'When the political leadership gives the order to open fire on its own people, that's a very strong signal of cowardice and weakness,' he said.

A dozen people died in unrest on Friday during overnight clashes and looting. Victims of violence in the past month have included protesters and bystanders struck by gunfire.

Most of the deaths took place in El Valle, a working class neighborhood near Caracas' biggest military base where opposition leaders say a group of people were hit with an electrical current while trying to loot a bakery protected by an electric fence.

Two days of massive protests on the streets of Caracas spilled into a violent night in several parts of the city, with residents in El Valle witnessing repetitive gunfire, street barricades set aflame and more than a dozen businesses looted.

Amid the confusion, mothers and newborn children had to be evacuated from a maternity hospital named after the late leader Hugo Chavez when it was swamped with tear gas.

Opposition leaders blamed the government for repressing protesters with tear gas but standing idly by as businesses were looted. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez pointed the finger at the opposition, saying armed groups controlled by them were responsible for the attack at the hospital.

'We reject and do not accept those irresponsible declarations,' said Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate who the government recently barred from running for public office.</s>Thousands of protesters dressed in white have marched into the west of Venezuela's capital today - an act likened to 'crossing the Berlin Wall'.

After three weeks of protests centred in the most wealthy areas of Caracas, today's march saw demonstrators march toward the city's slums.

Experts have previously said that under-fire President Nicolas Maduro will remain in power as long as Venezuelan's poorest citizens do not rise up.

Demonstrators - who have called for elections and measures to halt the economic freefall which has engulfed the South American nation - dressed in white in honour of the 20 protesters who have died in clashes with police in the past month.

The marchers in Caracas did not encounter any resistance from law enforcers, according to reports in Venezuela.

Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara likened the march toward some of the city's more humble neighborhoods as 'crossing the Berlin wall'.

The silent protest saw opposition leaders march with their arms wrapped around each other, having vowed to continue protests until their call for elections are granted.

A dozen people died in unrest on Friday during overnight clashes and looting. Victims of violence in the past month have included protesters and bystanders struck by gunfire.

Most of yesterday's deaths took place in El Valle, a working class neighborhood near Caracas' biggest military base where opposition leaders say a group of people were hit with an electrical current while trying to loot a bakery protected by an electric fence.

Two days of massive protests on the streets of Caracas spilled into a violent night in several parts of the city, with residents in El Valle witnessing repetitive gunfire, street barricades set aflame and more than a dozen businesses looted.

Amid the confusion, mothers and newborn children had to be evacuated from a maternity hospital named after the late leader Hugo Chavez when it was swamped with tear gas.

Opposition leaders blamed the government for repressing protesters with tear gas but standing idly by as businesses were looted. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez pointed the finger at the opposition, saying armed groups controlled by them were responsible for the attack at the hospital.

'We reject and do not accept those irresponsible declarations,' said Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate who the government recently barred from running for public office.
Dressed in white, the Venezuela opposition march, in silence, to the headquarters of the country's Catholic archdiocese to honor the more than a dozen people killed in three weeks of protests. For the first time, protesters were able to cross from the east to the western side of Caracas without being confronted by state security.