GUASIPATI, Venezuela (Reuters) - Soldiers clashed with illegal miners in southern Venezuela on the weekend, killing 18 people in a region notorious for violence and gang rivalries, a lawmaker and local media said.
Bolivar state Governor Justo Noguera said a military unit had fought off an attack, but gave no more details. “An investigation is under way,” he told reporters.
Echoing that number, a local opposition lawmaker, Americo De Grazia‏, said relatives had described the victims as having bullets in the head. “Massacres are the narco-dictatorship’s state policy,” he said, accusing the security forces.
The government did not respond to requests for comment.
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