LATE-STAGE SOCIALISM: Death toll jumps to 20 in Venezuela protests.

The death toll in three weeks of violence at anti-government protests in Venezuela jumped to 20 people after a night of clashes and pillaging left 12 people dead in Caracas.

Riot police and pro-government vigilantes fought running battles with protesters demanding the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro on the capital’s east, west and south sides, witnesses said.

“It was like a war,” said 33-year-old construction worker Carlos Yanez, a resident of the southwestern district of El Valle.

“The police were firing tear gas, armed civilians were shooting guns at buildings. My family and I threw ourselves to the floor. It was horrible,” he told AFP.

Eleven people were killed in the neighborhood, according to officials.

Socialist governments “for the people” always seem to end up with a lot of dead people.