It 's been a month since violent clashes between opposition demonstrators and government forces in Venezuela first grabbed global attention . Protests rage on , and demonstrators show no sign of backing down . Medical sources at a hospital in Venezuela 's Carabobo state said a student protester and a 42-year-old man were killed in clashes there Wednesday . State media accused violent right-wing groups of attacking a worker 's march there . In a Twitter post , state Gov . Francisco Ameliach said a national guard captain had been killed in fighting , which he described as `` terrorism . '' A government tally released Tuesday said at least 23 people had been killed nationwide and more than 200 others have been injured since protests started . The tally did not specify whether the casualties occurred among demonstrators or government forces , or both . Student protesters on both sides packed streets in Caracas Wednesday . State-run VTV showed pro-government demonstrators waving flags with the face of former President Hugo Chavez as they marched . Opposition student protesters also marched in the country 's capital , CNN affiliate Globovision reported , calling for the resignation of the government 's ombudsman . Violence surged this week in Tachira state , which borders Colombia . Government forces shot tear gas at opposition barricades there , and a well-known student leader was gunned down Monday . Daniel Tinoco , 24 , was a university student studying mechanical engineering . He died after he was shot in the chest . Witnesses told CNN en Español that they were at a peaceful vigil with Tinoco in the city of San Cristobal when two white trucks with 10 armed passengers ambushed the protesters and open fire . The witnesses accused government intelligence services of being complicit in the shooting . Authorities have said they 're investigating and denied reports that a government vehicle was involved in the shooting . The weeks of protests across Venezuela mark the biggest threat President Nicolas Maduro has faced since his election last year . Demonstrators say they have taken to the streets to protest shortages of goods , high inflation and high crime . Opposition protesters and government officials have traded blame for the violence for weeks . In an exclusive interview with CNN 's Christiane Amanpour last week , Maduro was unapologetic about his government 's response to opposition protesters . Think about what the U.S. government would do if a political group laid out a road map for overthrowing President Barack Obama , Maduro said . `` What would happen in the United States if a group said they were going to start something in the United States so that President Obama leaves , resigns , to change the constitutional government of the United States ? '' Maduro said . `` Surely , the state would react , would use all the force that the law gives it to re-establish order and to put those who are against the Constitution where they belong . '' An opposition leader who encouraged protests , Leopoldo Lopez , remains behind bars , facing charges of arson and conspiracy . `` He created a road map to topple the legitimate government , '' Maduro told CNN last week . `` So now he 's in jail and he has to go through justice . '' But opposition demonstrators have argued that the government 's approach of tamping down dissent is anything but just . `` No one accepts a monologue nor impositions from a government that has wanted to resolve the crisis with deaths , injuries , tortures , detentions and prisoners , '' opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski said in a Twitter post Wednesday . After a meeting in Santiago , Chile , to discuss the crisis in Venezuela , foreign ministers from the Union of South American Nations said they would send a special commission to support and advise a process of peaceful political dialogue in Venezuela . The group will have its first meeting by the first week in April , the statement said . The foreign ministers from Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Paraguay , Peru , Suriname and Uruguay condemned the recent violence in Venezuela and expressed their solidarity `` with the families of the victims , with the people and with the democratically elected government of this sister nation . '' In remarks broadcast on state-run VTV Tuesday night , Maduro said he would welcome a delegation from the regional body to help encourage dialogue in Venezuela . At a U.S. House hearing Wednesday , Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. government is prepared to sanction Venezuela if the situation worsens , but he also cautioned that the country 's economy is already fragile . While the United States has voiced its concerns , other countries in the region are `` not listening to us , particularly , obviously , '' Kerry said . The Venezuelan government has continued efforts to blame the United States for problems there , he said , which makes it hard for `` us to be able to have the impact we 'd like to have . '' But still , Kerry said he hoped peer pressure from other South American nations could help resolve the crisis . `` I think the best hope right now is that the efforts of the neighboring countries , who are deeply concerned about what is happening and its impact on the region , may , may be able to encourage the kind of dialogue that could actually pave a way forward , '' he said . `` We 've become an excuse . We 're a card they play . '' Venezuela cuts ties with Panama , calling country a 'lackey ' for the U.S .
Three people are killed in clashes in Washington State . South American foreign ministers say they 're sending a commission to Venezuela . Venezuela 's government says 23 people have been killed in a month of demonstrations . Angry protesters on both sides pack the streets in Caracas .