Updated 03:20 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Opposition Leaders Ask Venezuelan President To Investigate Assassination of Campaign Official Luis Manuel Diaz

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Opposition leaders have urged Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, to investigate the murder of opposition leader, Luis Manuel Diaz. The opposition leader's death was the latest in a series of violent incidents that lead up to the congressional elections on Dec. 6.

Diaz was a high-ranking local official of the Democratic Action Party that opposes Maduro. He was gunned down on Wednesday after he was seen leaving a campaign appearance in Altagracia de Orituco. He reportedly appeared at the campaign event with Lilian Tintori, wife of jailed opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, reports LA Times. The secretary general left behind a wife and two young sons.

Diaz was reportedly shot by an armed man who opened fire from a moving vehicle near the stage that was set up for the rally. While no arrests were made during the attack, it was reported that spectators had thrown rocks onstage when Tintori and Diaz were speaking.

Tintori said that the incident left her traumatized and she believed that her life is in danger as she thinks the shot was meant for her and not for Diaz. She believed that the recent string of violent attacks on the members of the opposition were of Maduro's doing. The outspoken critic of the government is seeking justice for the jailing of her husband, the former Caracas borough mayor. She is actively campaigning for opposition candidates.

The U.S. State Department condemned the Diaz incident as an "act of intimidation aimed at opposition candidates."

Maduro continues to deny responsibility for the recent string of attacks on the members of the opposition party. The Venezuelan president said that he had already ordered an investigation on the Diaz shooting. He also said that Diaz's murder might have been done by some rival gangs in the area, and that this was their way of "settling scores."

The Venezuelan president added that he and the Chavistas are 'guarantors of peace'. He also said that he had evidence that the opposition leaders were planning acts of violence, as well as sabotage this coming weekend.

Maduro's popularity continues to inch further down as a result of recent events, reports Reuters. In a recent report, Maduro's approval rating had inched down to just 24.3 percent. Apparently, he lacks the charisma that the late president, Hugo Chavez, had. Maduro is currently preparing for the Dec. 6 parliamentary election. The political opposition is already said to have its best chance in years at winning the National Assembly.

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