Venezuela Security Forces Admit Protest 'Excesses'

Venezuela's Attorney General is investigating almost 100 security force members on charges of torture resulting from "excesses" in dealing with anti-government protests, a high-ranking military official announced Sunday.

"There have been some excesses committed in recent days," General Vladimir Padrino López, head of Venezuela's military strategic command, told national TV channel Venevisión.

"We can say that there are 97 members of the armed forces and national police being investigated by the attorney general for cruel treatment and torture."

However, the military chief played down the figures by reassuring that it represented less than 1 percent of the "92,000 members of the security forces working," as he described, "under the pressure and violence" of anti-government protests.

Padrino described the protests as a "coup d'état in progress" against President Nicolás Maduro, who took office last year after the death of Hugo Chávez.

The protests, which have now entered their third month, have seen repeated clashed with police, resulting in the deaths of at least 41 people – including protesters, security forces and innocent bystanders.

Both sides have accused the other of causing the deaths, in some cases by hiring armed militia.

Over 670 people have also been injured and 175 detained in the unrest, according to official data.

-'No orders to hurt or kill'

But Padrino said the security forces were acting "in accordance with the rule of law" and that "no soldier had been ordered to hurt, harass or kill Venezuelans."

Protesters have regularly blamed police for using heavy-handed tactics. Military and government figures, including the president, have denounced street protesters as "fascists" and "masked thugs."

Protesters across Venezuela have called on Maduro to step down, as well as urging the government to tackle rampant crime, sky-high inflation, unavailable staple products, and squeezed freedom of speech.

Last week Maduro met with the representatives from the country's union of opposition parties, including opposition leader Henrique Capriles, for talks aimed at establishing a lasting dialogue between political factions in the country.

But hopes of a major breakthrough were largely dashed when Maduro signaled he was not going to negotiate with the opposition, but merely find a formula for peaceful coexistence and "mutual tolerance."

Maduro has accused the protesters of waging a United States-backed coup against him and his Socialist regime.

Although President Maduro's approval has slipped to 41 percent from 51 percent in the last year, according to a recent poll of Venezuelans, the opposition has not fared any better and the country remains deeply divided.

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