ONE police officer was shot dead and two were wounded during violent protests demanding regime change in Venezuela — as opposition leaders upped the stakes in their bid to seize power.

The right-wing Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) opposition coalition held marches in cities across the country calling on President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government to quit.

At the main protest in the capital Caracas, Mud leaders called a general strike for today and a march on the presidential palace for next Thursday.

Those dates correspond to a coup plan discovered on the phone of a Mud councillor who was arrested by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service for arms possession last week — with the overthrow of the government set for the following week.

Interior and Justice Minister Nestor Reverol said the Mud was responsible for the shooting in San Antonio de los Altos, just south of Caracas, on Wednesday night.

Officer Jose Molina died in hospital, while his colleagues Medouza Daniel and Davis Laya were also wounded.

The three were hit by gunfire from nearby business premises as they tried to clear protesters from the Pan-American Highway. Another officer was injured when he was struck in the face with a blunt object.

“There are two people detained for questioning and an order will be issued to begin investigations to clarify this murder,” Mr Reverol said.

He said four more officers had been injured by Mud protesters in Zulia state.

In Tachira state, a National Electoral Council office was vandalised in the second such attack in three days.

Addressing a counter-demonstration by government supporters, Mr Maduro urged Mud to join a dialogue for peace — with former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and the Vatican offering to mediate.

But he said the Mud-controlled National Assembly, which exceeded its powers on Tuesday by voting to try him for violating the constitution, had “taken the road of contempt.”

The president insisted: “They did not want to have a dialogue. I’m not afraid of dialogue, I am a fighter for peace.”

The foreign ministries of a dozen Latin American countries issued a joint statement echoing Mr Maduro’s call for talks.

Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz insisted Mud’s coup plans would come to nothing.

“They don’t have the capacity to mobilise the people and that’s why they want to use force to barricade the avenues,” he said.

The Caracas demonstration attracted tens of thousands of people — far fewer than the hundreds of thousands who took part in a march on September 1.

Some protesters expressed frustration at being repeatedly called out onto the streets to no effect.