Venezuela seeks protest leader’s arrest after unrest kills three

By Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) – A Venezuelan court ordered the arrest on Thursday of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on charges including murder and terrorism linked to street protests that resulted in the deaths of three people the day before. Using a slogan “The Exit,” the U.S.-educated Lopez has for two weeks helped organize sporadic demonstrations around the country to denounce President Nicolas Maduro for failing to control inflation, crime and product shortages. The president accuses him of sowing violence to try to stage a coup similar to the one 12 years ago that briefly ousted late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, though there is little indication that the protests could topple Maduro. “There you have the face of fascism!” Maduro said in a speech to the nation on Thursday night, showing photos and video of Lopez at Wednesday’s protest in the capital Caracas, some of the footage set to doom-laden music.