US condemns murder of opposition politician before Venezuela election

Venezuela opened an investigation on Thursday into the murder of a local opposition leader days before an election that is stirring fears of renewed political violence in the volatile South American Opec nation. Luis Díaz, leader of the opposition Democratic Action party in Guarico state in Venezuela’s central plains, was shot during a public meeting on Wednesday night in the latest of several violent incidents during the campaign. The US condemned the killing and called on the Venezuelan government to protect all political candidates. “This was the deadliest of several recent attacks and acts of intimidation aimed at opposition candidates,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “Campaigns of fear, violence, and intimidation have no place in democracy.” More…