POPE Francis called yesterday for an end to violence in Venezuela and a return to Vatican-mediated talks. Delivering his Sunday sermon in St Peter’s Square, the pontiff appealed to “the government and all the components of Venezuelan society so that every further form of violence is avoided, human rights are respected and negotiated solutions are sought.”

He said Venezuelans had been worn out by the grave “humanitarian, social, political and economic crises” afflicting their country. The Pope prayed for “peace, reconciliation and democracy” for that “beloved” nation.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) coalition walked out of talks with President Nicolas Maduro’s United Socialist Party government in January.

Over the past month, Mud has pursued a campaign of putschist rioting that has left some 30 people dead in the worst political violence since 2014’s “Guarimba” protests that killed 43.

On Saturday, Information and Communication Minister Ernesto Villegas sounded a sceptical note after the Reuters news agency apologised for falsely claiming that riot police had arrested a photographer covering the unrest.

The photo in fact showed members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) helping the man after he had been injured by opposition militants.

“Reuters apologises for its ‘error’ in its use of a photo that portrays the GNB aiding a photographer as ‘arbitrary detention.’

What do you think?” Mr Villegas tweeted.

The minister also said police suspected that 20-year-old Juan Pablo Pernalete, who was killed during opposition violence in Miranda state last Wednesday, may have been murdered with a captive bolt pistol, a device used to stun cattle and other livestock before slaughter.