Barricades, Arrests Overnight as Venezuela Protests Spread to Low-Income Areas

Venezuelans blocked streets and lit fires during scattered protests across the country on Tuesday night with over 40 people arrested during the growing anti-government unrest in the midst of a crippling economic crisis. In a worrying sign for leftist President Nicolas Maduro, groups in low-income, traditionally pro-government neighborhoods took to the streets in nighttime protests during the typically calm Easter week, witnesses and opposition lawmakers reported. Many were galvanized by footage of a crowd in the poor town of San Felix heckling and throwing objects at the usually closely-protected Maduro during a rally on Tuesday, before state television cut off the broadcast. "Last night's protests in Caracas and the provinces are not isolated occurrences, we Venezuelans are sick of living in a dictatorship," said opposition lawmaker Olivia Lozano on Twitter, as the coalition prepared for another protest on Thursday. More…