Venezuela’s anti-government protests got worse today with the deaths of three men, bringing the death toll in the current spate of unrest to 25 lives lost.  Three National Guardsmen and several protesters were wounded.

Two of the deaths came in an opposition-dominated neighborhood in Valencia, where residents are unhappy with the scarcity of basic items and rising unemployment.  The hardcore protesters erect barricades, and the pro-government side takes them down.  But today, the anti-government protesters shot and killed National Guard Captain Ramso Ernesto Bracho.  A stray bullet hit 42-year-old Guillermo Sanchez, killing him.  Sanchez wasn’t pro- or anti-government; he was just outside trying to paint his house.

An anti-government protester was also killed.  Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said 20-year old Jesus Enrique Acosta was an engineering student at the University of Carabobo.  Capriles, who twice failed to be elected president, said the “government is responsible for the peace of the country.”  But he didn’t call off the protests against the democratically-elected government.