Venezuelan security forces throw tear bombs at protesters

Venezuelan law enforcers on Friday dispersed anti-National Constituent Assembly protesters of several hundred who took to Caracas streets with home-made Molotov cocktails.

The South American country held the National Constituent Assembly election on July 30, when over 8 million of the 19 million registered voters cast their ballots for a turnout rate of 41.5 percent.

The voting was to elect the 545-seat assembly which is deputied to revise the country’s constitution. The July 31 ballot elects 364 of the deputies while the remaining 181 deputies will be filled in by different civil society groups.

Friday’s protesters claimed anti-riot police had fired rubber bullets into protesters at Chacaíto in eastern Caracas.

Some protesters had to break a wall of a shopping mall to get away from police tear gas and some protesters allegedly suffered some injuries and wounds. But no death is reported so far.

Before the National Constituent Assembly election, there have been casualties in the clashes between anti-government protesters and law enforcers. But the government and the opposition parties never agreed on the number of protest deaths.