Venezuela judge who jailed opposition leader is shot dead

A Venezuelan judge who was on a panel that approved the jailing a high-profile opposition leader last year has been shot dead in what the government suggested on Thursday could have been a contract hit.

Nelson Moncada, 37, was killed late on Wednesday when he tried to drive around a makeshift roadblock set up on an avenue in the El Paraiso district of western Caracas, prosecutors said.

Gunmen “shot him and robbed him of his belongings,” they said in a statement.

His death was not for the moment added to a toll kept by prosecutors of fatalities in violent street protests and a crackdown by authorities since April 1. That tally currently stands at 60 deaths.

Source: Venezuela judge who jailed opposition leader is shot dead | SBS News