[18][19] His government failed to save funds earned while oil prices were high and soon after his death, Venezuela's economy became dilapidated.

Moderate opposition leaders Henrique Capriles and Henri Falcón argued for 'unity' and dialogue with the government, and attended meetings held by the President to discuss cooperation among the country's mayors and governors.

[26][27][28] Other opposition leaders, such as Leopoldo López and Marina Corina Machado, opposed dialogue[29] and called for a new strategy to force an immediate change in the government.

Demonstrations against violence in Venezuela began in January 2014 following the murder of actress and former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear,[34][35] and continued, when former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles shook the hand of President Maduro;[35] this "gesture... cost him support and helped propel" opposition leader Leopoldo López Mendoza to the forefront.

[35] According to the Associated Press, well before protests began in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas, the attempted rape of a young student on a university campus in San Cristóbal, in the western border state of Táchira, led to protests from students "outraged" at "long-standing complaints about deteriorating security under President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez.

But what really set them off was the harsh police response to their initial protest, in which several students were detained and allegedly abused, as well as follow-up demonstrations to call for their release".

[36] During events surrounding the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Lopez "orchestrated the public protests against Chávez and he played a central role in the citizen's arrest of Chavez's interior minister", Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, though he later tried to distance himself from the event,[37] López, alongside María Corina Machado launch a campaign on 23 January 2014, named La Salida (The Exit), with an intent to have President Maduro resign through protests.

[48] Judge Ralenys Tovar Guillén accepts the Public Ministry's petition to detain Leopoldo López in connection with the unrest that resulted in the death of the colectivo leader and two students.

[53][54][55][56] Miss Tourism Venezuela Génesis Carmona is killed by colectivo gunfire on 19 February after being shot in the head while supporting an opposition protest.

According to CBC, Vivas "rose to prominence in 2007 when he resigned as head of the Defence Ministry's engineering department rather than order his subalterns to swear to the Cuban-inspired oath 'Socialist Fatherland or death'.

[72] On 29 February, Sukhoi fighter jets of the Venezuelan Air Force were seen flying over San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela on 20 February and President Nicolás Maduro ordered paratroopers of the 41st Airborne Brigade, 4th Armored Division, Venezuelan Army on standby on recommendations from the Minister of Interior and Justice, Lieutenant General Miguel Rodríguez Torres.

[9] According to a correspondent from Televen, armed groups attempted to kidnap and rape individuals in an apartment complex in Maracaibo on 27 March without intervention from the National Guard.

[79] In early May, armed colectivos allegedly attacked and burnt down Universidad Fermín Toro after intimidating student protesters and shooting one.

"[82] El Universal has claimed that Melvin Collazos of SEBIN, and Jonathan Rodríquez, a bodyguard of the Minister of the Interior and Justice Miguel Rodríguez Torres, are in custody after shooting unarmed, fleeing, protesters several times in violation of protocol.

[86] Venezuelan-American Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Center for International Development at Harvard, declared that this gas caused protesters to vomit.

[93] A study by Mónica Kräuter, a chemist and professor, involved the collection of thousands of tear gas canisters fired by Venezuelan authorities in 2014.

She stated that the majority of canisters used the main component CS gas, supplied by Cóndor of Brazil, which meets Geneva Convention requirements.

Many of the detentions were carried out by SEBIN agents, who targeted political activists that later became Deputies before the National Assembly, like Rosmit Mantilla and Renzo Prieto, retired members of the Armed Forces, like Lt. Col. José Gustavo Arocha, and human rights activists, like Rodrigo Diamanti, detained after a raid to the premises of the NGO that he directed, Un Mundo Sin Mordaza, to whom is attributed the creation of the campaign SOS Venezuela [95][96] According to Alfredo Romero, the director of Foro Penal, the detainees often suffered cruel and unusual treatment, often rising to torture.

[103] A cameraman who resigned from Globovisión shared images that were censored by the news agency showing National Guard troops and colectivos working together during the protests.

[111] In another incident, a photojournalist from La Patilla was assaulted by National Police who tried to take his camera and hit him in the head with the butt of a shotgun while he covering protests in Las Mercedes.

[118] On 3 July 2014, during a protest near the Catholic University of Táchira, an NTN24 reporter said he was arrested, beaten and had his passport and ID taken by National Police officers.