VENEZUELA 243 arrested in raid on protest camps

Security forces broke up four makeshift camps maintained by student protesters in Caracas, arresting 243 people Thursday in a pre-dawn raid.

The tent cities were installed more than a month ago in front of the offices of the United Nations and in better-off neighborhoods in the capital to protest against President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Interior Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres presented homemade mortars, guns and molotov cocktails that he said were seized at the camps and used to carry out “terrorist” acts against security forces.

The clashes came as the U.S. Congress began debate on economic sanctions against top Venezuelan officials.

Venezuela has been roiled since February by protests that have killed dozens and injured hundreds.