At least 64 people were arrested in Venezuela following anti-government protests in Caracas and the western city of Barquisimeto, the executive director of the non-governmental organization Foro Penal Venezolano, Alfredo Romero, said Saturday.
"Yesterday, Sept. 12, there were demonstrations in Barquisimeto...there were 47 arrests as a result of protests where certain violent demonstrations are said to have occurred," Romero told Efe.
People found hiding in two apartment buildings that were searched during the night were taken to Detachment 47 of the Bolivarian National Guard, or GNB, Romero said.
He said the District Attorney's Office in Lara state, west of Venezuela, told the NGO about the 47 people who were arrested there.
He also added that in the Venezuelan capital, after staging some "flamboyant" demonstrations that sparked "a lot of disturbances," 17 people were arrested who had hidden in a shopping mall, among whom were two minors.
"Among the protesters are a number of students, we don't know exactly how many, we haven't been able to contact them or their families directly," he said.
The protesters arrested in Caracas were taken to headquarters of the Sebin intelligence service where, Romero said, "they are being interrogated."
He recalled that authorities have 48 hours to present detainees in court.
Venezuela went through a wave of protests against the Nicolas Maduro government that started last February and went on with great intensity for four months, with violent incidents and an official toll of 43 dead, hundreds injured and thousands arrested. EFE