AKIPRESS.COM - Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas at protesters in Caracas on Wednesday amid nationwide rallies demanding a recall referendum to end President Nicolas Maduro's socialist rule, Reuters reports.

In the third day of opposition rallies in the past week, several thousand protesters descended on downtown Caracas for a march to the national election board, witnesses said.

But National Guard soldiers and police cordoned off the square where they planned to meet, so protesters instead milled in nearby streets waving flags, chanting "the government will fall" and pressing up against lines.

Authorities shot tear gas to disperse them several times, sending hundreds of panicked people running down streets. A few demonstrators were arrested and one young man was carried off unconscious, according to Reuters witnesses.

Opposition leaders have warned that Venezuela is a "time bomb" and have said blocking democratic avenues for Maduro's removal means people will increasingly take to the streets. Spontaneous demonstrations and looting are becoming more common amid worsening food shortages, frequent power and water cuts, and inflation that is the highest in the world.

"They're scared," Alfredo Gonzalez, 76, from the 23 de Enero slum, said at the Caracas demonstration as he wore a scarf over his mouth.

"Venezuelans are tired, hungry," said Gonzalez, who added that he had been sprayed with pepper gas.

Both protesters and security forces appeared more numerous than in other rallies this year, although the demonstration was still smaller than anti-government protests that turned violent and shook the OPEC country for three months in 2014.

While Venezuelans are now much angrier at their deepening economic crisis, many are too busy queuing up for scarce food or too fearful of violence to join marches. Others are pessimistic about the chances of a recall referendum.