| Barquisimeto shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of theVenezuelan presidential crisis | |
.svg)  Barquisimeto 2020 Barquisimeto shooting (Venezuela) | |
| Location | Juan de Villegas parish,Barquisimeto,Lara state,Venezuela |
| Date | 29 February 2020; 5 years ago (2020-02-29) |
| Weapons | Firearms |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 10 |
| Perpetrators | Colectivos |
The2020 Barquisimeto shooting occurred on 29 February 2020, when pro-governmentcolectivos shot at the Speaker of theNational Assembly of VenezuelaJuan Guaidó and his supporters inBarquisimeto,Lara state during a demonstration, leaving ten injured.[1][2]
A power struggle concerning who is the legitimatePresident of Venezuela began on 10 January 2019, when the opposition-majorityNational Assembly declared that incumbentNicolás Maduro's2018 re-election was invalid; that the office of the President of Venezuela was therefore vacant; and declared its president,Juan Guaidó, to beacting president of the nation. As of February 2020, Guaidó had beenrecognized as the interim president of Venezuela by 54 countries,[3] including the United States and most nations of Latin America and Europe.[4]
On 29 February Juan Guaidó mobilized a march against the government of Nicolás Maduro in the Juan de Villegas parish,Barquisimeto,Lara state. Guaidó was in a van at the time of the shooting, which was fired upon by pro-governmentcolectivos. Bolivarian National Intelligence Service agents were also reported of having participated in the attack.[1] The shooting left a total of ten wounded, including a 16-year-old boy.[5][non-primary source needed] Guaidó's vehicle received nine gunshots.[1]
According to opposition deputyAlfonso Marquina [es], in addition to the wounded, one person was kidnapped.[6]
Venezuelan government:Diosdado Cabello, president of theConstituent Assembly, said that the shooting was afalse flag attack.[7] Venezuelan opposition: Juan Guaidó, after the shooting, said that "the dictatorship tried to assassinate me today. They aimed at me. Our only limit is the physical limit".[8] Guaidó accused Diosdado Cabello of being the intellectual author of the shooting.[9]TheEuropean Union,Spain, and theOrganization of American States condemned the attack against the demonstration.[1]
European Union: The EU issued a statement saying: "Acts of this nature against the opposition and the democratically elected National Assembly and its members are unacceptable and further hinder efforts towards a political solution to the crisis. The right of all political forces and civil society to demonstrate peacefully must be respected."[1]
Spain: TheSpanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the shooting and rejected the harassment against Juan Guaidó.[1]