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Tag: Venezuela beauty queen

  • Venezuela Beauty Queen Killed During Protests

    It was in her name. Genesis Carmona.

    A new beginning.

    A promising start.

    The 22-year-old was a college student studying marketing and a locally famous beauty queen in her home state of Carabobo, Venezuela. She had looks, brains, and a world of promise.

    Then with a cowardly sniper’s bullet, it was all gone, and Carmona’s short life was over.

    Having been shot on February 18th, Carmona becomes the latest of several people who have been killed so far amid violent clashes occurring in Venezuela. The ongoing protests are a challenge to almost a decade and a half of a socialist government rule. Much of the anger has arisen over astronomical inflation, shortage of goods, and government corruption. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

    The animosity within the troubled nation became even more intense following the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. The 42-year-old former mayor has been accused by Maduro of attempting a coup. He could be charged with homicide and causing grievous bodily harm. Lopez surrendered to authorities amid thousands of cheering supporters.

    This matter is a world away from the grieving friends and family of Genesis Carmona. It is not known what Carmona was doing prior to being caught up in the turmoil on Tuesday. It is known that without warning, a sniper shot Carmona in the head. She was described as immediately “slumping to the ground”. In a desperate attempt to save her life, Carmona was rushed to a hospital via motorcycle.

    The effort would prove to be in vain as she would be pronounced dead the next day.

    Carmona’s death is not merely tragic because she was beautiful in a country that prizes beauty queens.

    It’s also terrible that perhaps this poor young woman, by her promise and by her very name, represented a new, hopeful beginning for citizens of Venezuela. Rather than hopeful beginnings, it may be a signal of the downward spiral facing the deeply divided nation as the struggle to control the fate of Venezuela continues.

    Image via Youtube

  • Venezuelan Beauty Queen Killed During Protest

    Venezuelan beauty queen Genesis Carmona, 22, has become one of the latest victims in the continued unrest in the troubled country. The young college student was shot in the head at a protest Tuesday and died later in the hospital.

    “How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?” a relative of Carmona’s said. He asked not to be named, but added, “She only needed one more semester to graduate.”

    The beauty won the Miss Tourism competition in 2013 and was actually studying tourism in school, according to Reuters.

    A total of five have died since an opposition rally last week wherein opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez turned himself in to authorities, but urged his supporters to keep fighting through a pre-recorded video that was to be released if he were to be arrested.

    “Today, more than ever, our cause has to be the exit of this government,” he said of current President Nicolas Maduro’s administration. “Let’s fight. I will be doing so.”

    Three people were shot at an opposition rally in Caracas last week and one was run over by a car at a rally in the coastal town of Carupano. Many protesters have been injured and scores have been arrested.

    “We cannot underestimate those fascist groups whose boss is behind bars,” Maduro said in his televised speech late on Wednesday. “I’m not playing with democracy. I do not accept that they challenge the Venezuelan people and our Constitution.”

    U.S. President Barack Obama has other ideas about their spiraling situation. He said Maduro should release protesters and focus on the “legitimate grievances” of his people. He also said that both parties had a responsibility to work together fix what is tearing their country apart.

    Demonstrators say that they are calling for the ouster of Maduro over essential issues such as inflation, crime, corruption, and unfair distribution of goods.

    Image via YouTube