Venezuelan Beauty Queen Killed During Protest

Venezuelan beauty queen Genesis Carmona, 22, has become one of the latest victims in the continued unrest in the troubled country. The young college student was shot in the head at a protest Tuesday a...
Venezuelan Beauty Queen Killed During Protest
Written by Lacy Langley
  • Venezuelan beauty queen Genesis Carmona, 22, has become one of the latest victims in the continued unrest in the troubled country. The young college student was shot in the head at a protest Tuesday and died later in the hospital.

    “How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?” a relative of Carmona’s said. He asked not to be named, but added, “She only needed one more semester to graduate.”

    The beauty won the Miss Tourism competition in 2013 and was actually studying tourism in school, according to Reuters.

    A total of five have died since an opposition rally last week wherein opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez turned himself in to authorities, but urged his supporters to keep fighting through a pre-recorded video that was to be released if he were to be arrested.

    “Today, more than ever, our cause has to be the exit of this government,” he said of current President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. “Let’s fight. I will be doing so.”

    Three people were shot at an opposition rally in Caracas last week and one was run over by a car at a rally in the coastal town of Carupano. Many protesters have been injured and scores have been arrested.

    “We cannot underestimate those fascist groups whose boss is behind bars,” Maduro said in his televised speech late on Wednesday. “I’m not playing with democracy. I do not accept that they challenge the Venezuelan people and our Constitution.”

    U.S. President Barack Obama has other ideas about their spiraling situation. He said Maduro should release protesters and focus on the “legitimate grievances” of his people. He also said that both parties had a responsibility to work together fix what is tearing their country apart.

    Demonstrators say that they are calling for the ouster of Maduro over essential issues such as inflation, crime, corruption, and unfair distribution of goods.

    Image via YouTube

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