Opposition leader Juan Andres Mejia, gas mask propped up on his head, spoke to fellow protesters in Caracas on May 10 denouncing violent protest suppression from Venezuelan security forces and pledging to press on “to defend democracy.”

Mejia has been a regular figure in the ongoing protests against President Nicolas Maduro and the violent suppression tactics used by the National Guard and police.

Leaders of the opposition party Voluntad Popular have denounced Maduro as a dictator for his attempts to overhaul the constitution and refusal to hold elections despite the country’s deepening economic crisis.