Riot police and pro-government vigilantes fought running battles in Caracas with protesters demanding the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro

The death toll in three weeks of violence at anti-government protests in Venezuela jumped to 20 people after a night of clashes and pillaging left 12 people dead in Caracas. Two days of massive protests on the streets of Caracas against the government of President Nicolas Maduro 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. About 50 children were evacuated from a Caracas hospital Thursday which the Venezuelan government blamed on an attack by armed gangs but the opposition attributed to tear gas used to quell unrest. Demonstrators have vowed not to flinch in their campaign to oust Maduro, despite three weeks of protest violence that has left eight people dead, including three on Wednesday. Nine people have now been killed and hundreds injured during three weeks of nationwide demonstrations against the government of Nicolas Maduro, the heir to the Leftist “Bolivarian Revolution” begun by the late Hugo Chavez. Venezuelan National Assembly deputy Marialbert Barrios said on Thursday that a total of 585 people were arrested during anti-government demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday.
Venezuelan authorities report 12 people were killed overnight in the capital Caracas, mostly in the El Valle working class neighborhood where 54 people, including newborn babies, were forced to evacuate a maternity hospital. Others have fled to Colombia. This death toll during the three weeks of anti-government protests is 20.