Heroes or agitators? Young lawmakers on Venezuela's front line

One was knocked off his feet by a water cannon. Another was pushed into a drain. Most have been pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, beaten and hit by pellet shots. A group of young Venezuelan lawmakers has risen to prominence on the violent front line of anti-government marches that have shaken the South American country for three months, bringing 75 deaths. On the streets daily leading demonstrators, pushing at security barricades and sometimes picking up teargas canisters to hurl back at police and soldiers, the energetic National Assembly members are heroes to many opposition supporters. But to President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government, they are the chief "terrorists" in a U.S.-backed coup plot aimed at controlling the vast oil wealth of the OPEC nation. More…