Venezuela’s Innovative Protesters

In a country where finding even a Tylenol can be a weekslong ordeal, protesters are employing every scrap of material they can find as makeshift weaponry or to protect themselves while confronting police and national guardsmen who fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse marchers.

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In this May 10, 2017 photo, anti-government protesters work together to aim a giant slingshot holding a glass bottle filled with feces, at security forces blocking their march from reaching the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela. Protesters write messages like "For the political prisoners!" and "Sent with love" on the containers. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this May 3, 2017 photo, demonstrators covers their faces with homemade tear gas masks made from plastic bottles, during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela. The opposition is vowing to remain on the streets even as the death toll mounts after six weeks of unrest, arming themselves with makeshift armor and weapons for what could be a protracted conflict. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

In this May 10, 2017 photo, Bolivarian National Guards shield themselves from a jar filled with fecal matter, thrown by anti-government protesters in Caracas, Venezuela. The government has denounced use of the feces-filled bombs, equating them to a type of biochemical weapon that could spread illnesses. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

In this May 8, 2017 photo, a woman protects herself with a helmet, sunglasses, clothing and a plastic bottle stuffed with cotton balls during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. In a country where finding even a Tylenol can be a weeks-long ordeal, protesters are employing every scrap of material they can to protect themselves while confronting police and national guardsmen who fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse marchers. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this April 6, 2017 photo, demonstrators use a metal cabinet as a shield as they take cover from a police water cannon during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. "We are using these devices to protect ourselves, to prevent there from being more injuries than there have already been," Juan Andres Mejia, an opposition lawmaker, said this week as a friend held a wooden shield above his head. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

In this May 8, 2017 photo, anti-government protesters use handmade shields as they face off with security forces blocking a student march from reaching the Education Ministry in Caracas, Venezuela. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to castigate President Nicolas Maduro's administration, which they claim has become a dictatorship responsible for triple-digit inflation, skyrocketing crime and crippling food shortages. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this May 8, 2017 photo, an anti-government demonstrator carries a homemade shield depicting Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro burning the country's constitution, and with a message that reads in Spanish: "Freedom" in Caracas, Venezuela. Protesters mass behind wooden shields bearing medieval decorations or images of the South American nation's blue constitution book, which Maduro wants to rewrite. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this May 8, 2017 photo, a demonstrator wears a baseball glove to catch tear gas canisters launched by Bolivarian National Guards during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. Some of the canisters land close to protesters, and the opposition contends several demonstrators have died after being struck, though official causes of death have not been released. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

In this April 8, 2017 photo, an anti-government demonstrator shields himself with a cooking pan during clashes with Bolivarian National Guards in Caracas, Venezuela. At least 38 people have been killed and hundreds injured in protests that erupted after the Supreme Court issued a ruling March 29 nullifying the opposition-controlled National Assembly, a decision it later reversed amid a storm of international criticism and outrage among Venezuelans. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this May 10, 2017 photo, a demonstrator, right center, holds a glass bottle filled with feces, known as a "puputov," to throw at Bolivarian National Guards during clashes with security forces at an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. In front of the protesters stands a line of officers equipped with bulletproof vests, visored helmets and plastic shields to protect themselves from the rocks and "puputovs" that some demonstrators throw their way. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

In this May 10, 2017 photo, amid a cloud of tear gas, an anti-government protester wearing a helmet, googles, gas mask and gloves holds a shield with the Spanish word "Freedom," to protect himself from a water cannon fired by security forces in Caracas, Venezuela. The government's response to the demonstrations has drawn international condemnation, with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressing concern in April that Maduro is "not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard." (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this April 13, 2017 photo, an anti-government demonstrator wears a homemade teddy bear gas mask during a march in Caracas, Venezuela. Drawing rail-thin teenagers, elderly grandmothers and all ages in between, Venezuela's protests have taken on an almost ritual-like progression: Demonstrators begin marching toward their chosen destination and are blocked by police or national guardsmen in armored trucks launching plumes of tear gas. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this April 6, 2017 photo, an anti-government demonstrator deflects a tear gas canister with his skateboard during clashes with Bolivarian National Guards in Caracas, Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro blames the opposition for the violence, claiming its leaders are instigating the unrest and working with gangs to remove him from power. At least two law enforcement officers have been killed, while 36 civilians have died during the protests. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

In this May 1, 2017 photo, a masked and helmeted anti-government demonstrator takes cover behind a sheet metal shield during clashes with security forces on May Day in Caracas, Venezuela. Behind the front line of security forces stands another group protected with gas masks firing tear gas and rubber bullets to push protesters back. Other officers on motorcycles emerge from the periphery to make arrests. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

In this May 8, 2017 photo, a woman protects her head with a box during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela. Some protesters wear swimming goggles to protest their eyes from the stinging gas. Others use gas masks fashioned from soda bottles. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Photos by Ariana Cubillos and Fernando Llano

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