Venezuela Protests 2014: Yet Another Beauty Queen Lost to Gunfire, Lopez in Custody
- Staff Writer
- Feb 20, 2014 10:06 AM EST
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It has been less than two months since former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear was gunned down in an apparent robbery attempt, and Venezuela has lost yet another celebrated beauty queen, this time a victim of violence related to the ongoing protests in Caracas.
Genesis Carmona, 22, a model, beauty queen and student was shot in the head during protests on Tuesday and later died in a local clinic from her wounds. She is the fifth confirmed fatality stemming from the anti-government protests against the administration of Nicolas Madura. Carmona was shot during a rally in the city of Valencia in central Venezuela. The earlier shooting victims had been in the capital city of Caracas.
As with the reports coming out of Caracas, witnesses in Valencia reported seeing men arriving on motorcycles and opening fire on protesters in the streets, according to the Mirror. In addition to Carmona, nine other protesters were wounded in the attack.
UPI reports Carmona was supporting the anti-government protests and was a supporter of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.
"How long are we going to live like this?" an un-named relative of Carmona told Reuters. "How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us? She only needed one more semester to graduate."
Carmona had been studying tourism and had won the Miss Tourism pageant title in her home state. She was the fourth person killed by gunfire during the protests. Another person died after being run over by a car.
The opposition leader Lopez was arrested on Tuesday after leading a march in Caracas. A warrant had been issued for his arrest by the government and Lopez said he would face the administration.
"If my jailing serves to awaken a people, serves to awaken Venezuela ... then it will be well worth the infamous imprisonment imposed upon me directly, with cowardice," he said into a megaphone before making his way from the crowd to the police lines where he was taken into custody according to CBS. He was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday to discover what charges he would face.
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