Venezuela president pushes back, using bellicose words and brute force

By Emilia Diaz-Struck, Nick Miroff, March 18, 2014

CARACAS, Venezuela —With fresh swagger and volleys of tear gas, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has moved forcefully in recent days to extinguish the month-long protests against his government, sending security forces to clear barricaded streets while he taunts his opponents with new, lurid insults.