International News

Venezuela’s Capriles says govt supporters ‘besieged’ him

CARACAS, (APP/AFP): Venezuelan opposition leader
Henrique Capriles said that armed supporters of the leftist national government “besieged” him and other travelers at an airport Wednesday evening on the island of Margarita.
News of the incident came as thousands of Venezuelans staged rival protests Wednesday, with the opposition pressing for a referendum on recalling President Nicolas Maduro.
Two-time presidential candidate Capriles blamed Maduro for the airport incident, accusing him of “looking for a death.”
Capriles said the others managed to get out after he intervened with
airport authorities, but he was trapped for much longer.
“We were besieged for four hours by the government’s armed bands,” Capriles said in a video disseminated on social media site Periscope after he left the airport.
Oil giant Venezuela’s once-booming economy has gone into meltdown as crude prices have crashed since mid-2014, triggering a severe financial crisis.