Every year on April 19, Venezuela celebrates the beginning of the struggle for independence and this year the holiday has been used by both Chavismo and the opposition to go out into the streets. Marches have been held throughout the country and riots have occurred in Caracas when opposition demonstrators tried to reach the area of official buildings.

There have been three deaths, a 24-year-old girl, a 19-year-old boy and a military member of the Bolivarian National Police. There are many versions of what happened. The opposition claims that the young people killed were members of the opposition and have been shot and killed during the mid-term riots. Meanwhile, El Universal reports that the dead girl’s relatives have said she was not present at the demonstration. The boy’s brother said he was not an opponent.

Meanwhile, Nicolás Maduro calls for dialogue with the opposition’s spokespeople and urges them to “end violence and cowardice.” Tareck El Aissami, Vice President of the Government, said that opposition leaders have planned and financed street incidents to influence international opinion and justify an intervention. However, opposition leader Henrique Capriles has called for more demonstrations this week.

The media war between supporters and opponents of the Venezuelan government is getting tougher and tougher. Journalist Pascual Serrano denounces that international media manipulate information to expose Nicolás Maduro’s government as a “repressor of peaceful protesters” and to “escalate riots.”