Mobs looted shops and fought security forces overnight in Venezuela's restive western region, where three soldiers were being charged on Thursday with the shooting death of a man who was buying diapers for his baby, witnesses said.
Six weeks of anti-government unrest have resulted in at least 44 deaths, as well as hundreds of injuries and arrests in the worst turmoil of President Nicolas Maduro's four-year rule of the South American OPEC nation.
Protesters are demanding elections to kick out the socialist government which they accuse of wrecking the economy and turning Venezuela into a dictatorship. Maduro, 54, the successor to late leader Hugo Chavez, says his foes are seeking a violent coup.
One of Maduro's main opponents, local governor Henrique Capriles, said on Thursday his passport was annulled when he was at the airport outside Caracas about to embark on a trip to denounce human rights violations at the United Nations in New York.
"My passport is valid until 2020, what they want to do here is avoid us going to the United Nations," he said in a video posted on Twitter. "I won't be able to travel," Capriles added.
The move comes a month after the two-time presidential candidate, who was seen by many as the opposition's best chance in the presidential election scheduled for 2018, was banned from holding political office for 15 years.
Capriles, a sports-loving lawyer who has tried to shake the opposition's reputation of elitism by focusing on grassroots efforts with poor Venezuelans, narrowly lost the 2013 vote against Maduro and the two frequently lock horns.
Unrest in the west
Across the country near the border with Colombia, clashes and lootings raged overnight, despite the government sending 2,000 troops to Tachira state.
Security forces fired teargas at stone-throwing gangs, and crowds smashed their way into shops and offices in state capital San Cristobal and elsewhere.
Forty-six-year old Manuel Castellanos was shot in the neck on Wednesday when caught in a melee walking home with diapers he had bought for his son, witnesses said.
Diapers have become prized products in Venezuela due to widespread shortages of basic domestic items.
The State Prosecutor's Office said three National Guard sergeants would be charged later on Thursday for their "presumed responsibility" in his killing.
Earlier in the week, a 15-year-old was shot dead when out buying flour for his family's dinner.
Most shops in San Cristobal, a traditional hotbed of anti-government militancy, were closed on Thursday, with long lines at the few establishments open.
International disquiet at the Venezuelan crisis is growing.
France became the latest country calling for mediation amid the worsening situation. Britain warned its citizens against "all but essential travel" to Venezuela.
