President Maduro warns Caracas protesters to clear square
President Maduro threatens force against anti-government camp in centre of Caracas
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro warned protesters in Caracas to clear a square they have made their stronghold, or face eviction by security forces.
Plaza Altamira, in upscale east Caracas, has been a focus of anti-government protests and violence during six weeks of unrest around Venezuela that has killed 28 people.
"I'm giving the Chuckys, the killers, just a few hours," Maduro said on Saturday, using the name of a murderous child-doll in a horror film to describe anti-government demonstrators who have made the normally genteel 1940s square a base.
"If they don't retreat, I'm going to liberate those spaces with the security forces."
As dusk fell on Saturday, there were only a handful of protesters in Altamira Square, but some demonstrators were starting to put up barricades of rubbish on other streets in the zone.
Students and other protesters have been using the square, in the pro-opposition Chacao district of Caracas, as a rallying point since a wave of protests started to gather steam in mid-February.