AKIPRESS.COM - Three people, including a National Guard captain, were shot to death in separate incidents Wednesday as anti-government protests roiled the central Venezuelan city of Valencia. Three National Guardsmen and several protesters were wounded.

Two of the deaths came in the opposition-dominated Isabelica neighborhood, where residents protests against rising unemployment from the closure of some businesses in the area by blocking streets and throwing rocks at police.

Valencia Mayor Miguel Cocchiola said a man was killed and six people wounded in Isabelica.

A month of student-led demonstrations in a number of Venezuelan cities has left at least 25 people dead, according to the government. Venezuelans fed up with inflation that reached 56% last year.

Wednesday’s death toll matched the highest single day total exactly one month after that mark was set February 12.

Meanwhile, the President of Venezuela accuses the opposition of trying to instigate his overthrow.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left open the possibility of sanctions, but said there was concern that in Venezuela’s fragile economic state that sanctions might not be appropriate. He said Maduro’s frequent accusations that the U.S. is participating in a conspiracy against his government have made it difficult for the U.S. to influence the situation.