Fuelled by anger and adrenaline, Venezuela’s urban warriors won’t stop fighting until Maduro is gone

Early in the morning, Maria and her comrades-in-arms creep out from the storm drains under the Caracas streets.

They put on their helmets and black masks and take up their wooden shields.

“The ruckus is starting,” Maria, 30, tells her companions. And off they go to look for the riot police.

Venezuela’s political opposition insists that demonstrations must be peaceful if they are to achieve political change in a country wracked by hunger and violence.

But unlike some, these young people are not willing to march patiently to express their frustration with the government.

“The adrenaline drives us against them,” says one of the group, Alejandro, 19. “Every day it gets harder. But we are ready to do anything.”