REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

CARACAS/SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Saturday to mark 50 days of protests against the unpopular government of President Nicolas Maduro, with unrest gaining momentum despite a rising death toll and chaotic scenes of nighttime looting. Major opposition marches took place across the oil-rich nation of 30 million on Saturday, with protesters in Caracas brandishing placards that read “No More dictatorship in Venezuela” while in the volatile border city of San Cristobal masked youths threw rocks, and a Reuters witness saw two protesters wielding machetes. Many Venezuelans are furious with Maduro's government, blaming it for soaring inflation, shortages of everything from food to medicine, and a crackdown on human rights. Shannon, 57, who led a similar rapprochement last year that stalled over imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez, also met with opposition figures and civil society activists on his short visit to Caracas. “Fifty days and they’ve assassinated 50 people… Despite everything, on day 50, amid more repression, there is more resistance and more fight for Venezuela,” he said. Some of the shootings took place in Tachira state, near the border with Colombia, where Maduro this week deployed 2,600 soldiers after riots and looting. Maduro's opponents expressed confidence that the march on Caracas's main motorway would surpass that of Apr 19, the largest so far in seven weeks of demonstrations that have left 47 people dead, hundreds injured, 2,200 detained and some 161 imprisoned by military tribunals. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivered his most scathing critique of U.S. President Donald Trump yet Friday, telling him to stop intervening and “get your pig hands out of here.”

Speaking before a crowd of supporters, a fired-up Maduro accused Trump of promoting an interventionist policy that infringes on his socialist government’s sovereignty.
Marking the 50th consecutive day of protests, hundreds of thousands demonstrate throughout Venezuela against President Nicolás Maduro, with civil unrest growing despite the increasing number of casualties.