Students give Easter twist to dwindling Venezuela protests

By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan students are marching barefoot, building crucifixes and planning to burn effigies of President Nicolas Maduro to try and breathe new life into their protest movement over Easter. The religious-themed demonstrations are the latest tactics in anti-government protests since early February that have convulsed the South American OPEC nation and led to 41 deaths. But enthusiasm among opposition supporters for the street protests appears to be waning, with numbers dropping from previous months and Maduro’s position seemingly safe despite his constant references to coup plots against him. “We may be fewer, but we are staying on the street!” vowed law student Nicole Gonzalez, marching without shoes alongside several hundred others through Caracas late on Wednesday.