Chief prosecutor: At least 114 deaths in Venezuela crisis

FILE - In this July 24, 2017 file photo, an anti-government demonstrator holds up an image of Venezuela's constitution during a tribute to those killed during protests against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro has provoked international outcry and enraged political opponents by pushing for a special assembly tasked with rewriting the troubled South American nation’s constitution. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File) FILE - In this July 24, 2017 file photo, an anti-government demonstrator holds up an image of Venezuela's constitution during a tribute to those killed during protests against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro has provoked international outcry and enraged political opponents by pushing for a special assembly tasked with rewriting the troubled South American nation’s constitution. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

By Associated Press July 28, 2017 1 min read

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Venezuela’s chief prosecutor is reporting at least 114 deaths in nearly four months of protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Late Thursday the prosecutor’s office released a list of 109 dead from violence related to demonstrations and street blockades across the country.

The office later reported at least five more deaths via Twitter, including a police officer slain Thursday afternoon in the town of Ejido, Merida state. The western state has been the scene of violent clashes between protesters and police.

The toll is expected to climb as authorities enforce a ban on protests ahead of a polarizing vote Sunday to begin the rewriting of Venezuela’s constitution. Protesters say the election of a constitutional assembly will allow Maduro to eliminate democratic checks and balances and install an authoritarian single-party system.