Foes begin drive to recall Venezuela leader amid unrest

Venezuelan opposition leader and Governor of Miranda state Henrique Capriles shows a copy of the form to collect signatures to begin the process of seeking a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/Marco Bello

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition launched a signature drive on Wednesday seeking a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro as sporadic looting and protests over the economic crisis were reported.

The Democratic Unity coalition gathered supporters in public spaces around the country to start collecting the 1 percent of voters' signatures, nearly 200,000, needed to trigger the next phase towards a possible recall referendum.