Caracas: At least 69 people were injured in Caracas on Tuesday, two from gunfire, during clashes between demonstrators and security forces, Venezuela's health services said.
Local press said a third person suffered a gunshot wound while the government claimed a soldier was hit by a bullet during the clashes sparked by a call from Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido on the military to help him force President Nicolas Maduro from power.
Venezuela's self-proclaimed acting president Juan Guaido claimed on Tuesday that troops had joined his campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro, whose government vowed to put down what it called an attempted coup by the US-backed opposition leader.
An apparently carefully planned attempt by Guaido to demonstrate growing military support disintegrated into rioting as palls of black smoke rose over eastern Caracas.
The government said it was "deactivating" an attempted coup by a small group of "treacherous" soldiers.
And there was little early sign Maduro's iron grip on the military -- which has kept him in power in a months-long standoff with Guaido — had slipped. On Twitter, he claimed the military chiefs had assured him of their "total loyalty".
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