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Members of the security forces intervene as alleged supporters of President Maduro throw stones at members of the opposition and hospital staff in Barquisimeto on 17 March. Nestor VIVAS / AFP

In Venezuela, clashes erupted Sunday, March 17 between pro and anti-Maduro, in a hospital in Barquisimeto. This occurred as the establishment of this northwestern city awaited the UN mission mandated by Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner for Human Rights. A mission that unleashes all the passions in Venezuela because many opponents fear that the government of Nicolas Maduro tries to hide the extent of the crisis the country is going through.

With our correspondent in Caracas , Benjamin Delille

For nearly a week, the United Nations technical mission has traveled through Venezuela with a busy agenda. And at each of its stages, many opponents gather to try to show the members of the mission the extent of the Venezuelan crisis.

Several of them, including doctors, were targeted on Sunday by a group of people who threw stones at them as they waited in front of a hospital in Barquisimeto. According to Jaime Lorenzo of the NGO Medicos Unidos, the attackers were supporters of Nicolas Maduro.

Despite this incident, the visit of the UN representatives was able to proceed smoothly. But this testifies to the tension that reigns around this mission. Many NGOs accuse Nicolas Maduro of trying to "hide" what is really happening in the country, especially in hospitals.

The purpose of the mission is to prepare a possible visit by Michelle Bachelet , invited last November. But for several weeks, the High Commissioner for Human Rights is the subject of many critics of the Venezuelan opposition, which accuses him of not strongly condemning the government of Nicolas Maduro.