Venezuela has had major protests before, but this moment is different

Since he took office in 2013 when his mentor Hugo Chavez died, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has withstood many anti-government protests, which have resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests in clashes with police.

There have been more than 48,900 anti-government protests since 2013, mostly consisting of large groups of neighbors, public workers and university students, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict. The human rights group reports that protests in 2018 surpassed the two previous largest waves, in 2014 and 2017.

In 2014, demonstrations against rising crime and shortages of basic goods in the South American nation ended in the deaths of more than 40 people and the jailing of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. Venezuelans took to the streets