Venezuela's students reclaim the streets after years of oppression


A man waves a Venezuelan flag as university students and relatives of detainees mark Youth Day with a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners, highlighting continued demands for political reforms in the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026. REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno

March 14 (Reuters) - In mid-February, hundreds of students from Venezuela’s most prestigious university did the once unthinkable: their protest left the ⁠campus of the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas and spilled out into a nearby street.

Before the U.S. military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro on January 3, student activism was a risky proposition in Venezuela.Remaining on campus had historically offered some protection; student protesters who took to the streets risked being beaten, ⁠detained, or worse. Bodies like the United Nations have denounced torture against detainees in Venezuela, including electric shocks, asphyxiation and sleep deprivation.

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