Deadly protests mar Venezuela ballot as voters snub Maduro assembly
Deadly protests rocked Venezuela on Sunday as voters broadly boycotted an election for a constitutional super-body that unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro vowed would begin a "new era of combat" in the crisis-stricken nation.
Anti-Maduro activists wearing hoods or masks erected barricades on roads, and scuffles broke out with security forces who moved in quickly to disperse demonstrators who denounced the election as a naked power grab by the president.
Authorities said 10 people were killed in the confrontations, which made Sunday one of the deadliest days since massive protests started in early April.
Maduro, widely disliked for overseeing an unraveling of Venezuela's economy, has promised the assembly will bring peace by way of a new constitution after four months of opposition protests in which more than 120 people have been killed.
Opposition parties sat out the election, saying it was rigged to increase Maduro's powers, a view shared by countries including Spain, Canada, Colombia and the United States.
