With many Caracas residents staying at home on Thursday (February 13), there were sporadic student protests around the city. Some students blocked streets and burned tires.

Thousands more protested peacefully in the later part of the day calling on everyone to join them until the government is ousted.

Students were also in the streets in western Andean regions, where there have been violent clashes in recent days.

Coming almost a year after the death of Chavez, the unrest has been the latest demonstration of the OPEC nation's polarization and the mutual mistrust between both political camps.

Wednesday's (February 12) fatalities included two students and a community activist from a militantly pro-government neighborhood in the poor west end of Caracas.

Each side blamed the other in often virulent exchanges via Twitter, the country's preferred social network.