Barquisimeto shooting
Part of the Venezuelan presidential crisis
Barquisimeto 2020 Barquisimeto shooting (Venezuela)
Location	Juan de Villegas parish, Barquisimeto, Lara state, Venezuela
Date	29 February 2020; 3 years ago (2020-02-29)
Weapons	Firearms
Deaths	0
Injured	10
Perpetrators	Colectivos

The 2020 Barquisimeto shooting occurred on 29 February 2020, when pro-government colectivos shot at the Speaker of the National Assembly of Venezuela Juan Guaidó and his supporters in Barquisimeto, Lara state during a demonstration, leaving ten injured.^[1][2]

Background

A power struggle concerning who is the legitimate President of Venezuela began on 10 January 2019, when the opposition-majority National Assembly declared that incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 re-election was invalid; that the office of the President of Venezuela was therefore vacant; and declared its president, Juan Guaidó, to be acting president of the nation. As of February 2020, Guaidó had been recognized as the interim president of Venezuela by 54 countries,^[3] including the United States and most nations of Latin America and Europe.^[4]

Shooting

On 29 February Juan Guaidó mobilized a march against the government of Nicolás Maduro in the Juan de Villegas parish, Barquisimeto, Lara state. Guaidó was in a van at the time of the shooting, which was fired upon by pro-government colectivos. Bolivarian National Intelligence Service agents were also reported of having participated in the attack.^[1] The shooting left a total of ten wounded, including a 16-year-old boy.^{[5][non-primary source needed]} Guaidó's vehicle received nine gunshots.^[1]

According to opposition deputy Alfonso Marquina [es], in addition to the wounded, one person was kidnapped.^[6]

Reactions

Domestic

• Venezuelan government: Diosdado Cabello, president of the Constituent Assembly, said that the shooting was a false flag attack.^[7]

• Venezuelan opposition: Juan Guaidó, after the shooting, said that "the dictatorship tried to assassinate me today. They aimed at me. Our only limit is the physical limit".^[8] Guaidó accused Diosdado Cabello of being the intellectual author of the shooting.^[9]

International

The European Union, Spain, and the Organization of American States condemned the attack against the demonstration.^[1]

•  European Union: The EU issued a statement saying: "Acts of this nature against the opposition and the democratically elected National Assembly and its members are unacceptable and further hinder efforts towards a political solution to the crisis. The right of all political forces and civil society to demonstrate peacefully must be respected."^[1]
•  Spain: The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the shooting and rejected the harassment against Juan Guaidó.^[1]