 While protests occurred in January, after the murder of actress and former Miss Venezuela Mónica Spear, the 2014 protests began in earnest that February following the attempted rape of a student on a university campus in San Cristóbal.Subsequent arrests and killings of student protesters spurred their expansion to neighboring cities and the involvement of opposition leaders.The year's early months were characterized by large demonstrations and violent clashes between protesters and government forces that resulted in nearly 4,000 arrests and 43 deaths, including both supporters and opponents of the government.