The Heat: Crisis grips Venezuela

The Heat

People gather for a homage to Miguel Castillo at the spot where he died yesterday in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, May 11, 2017. Castillo, 27, was killed during an anti-government protest when security forces dispersed thousands of people marching to the Supreme Court to reject a government initiative to rewrite the constitution. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan police use water cannons to quell anti-government activists outside the Supreme Court.

For six weeks now, hundreds of thousands of protesters have spilled into the streets of Caracas to demonstrate against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. At the same time, there have also been large pro-government marches in the capital.

The protests were triggered by a decision from the Venezuelan Supreme Court to strip power from the National Assembly, the opposition-held Congress.

For more coverage of what’s happening on the ground, CGTN’s Stephen Gibbs reports.

For more on the crisis in Venezuela:

  • Eva Golinger, an international attorney and author of “The Chavez Code: Cracking U.S. Intervention in Venezuela”
  • Maria Paez Victor, chair of the Canadian, Latin American and Caribbean Policy Center
  • Juan Gonzalez, U.S. State Department for 16 years and is currently an associate vice president with The Cohen Group
  • Dany Bahar, a Venezuelan Economist and Fellow with the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution