Genesis Carmona Dead: Beauty Queen Shot During Deadly Political Protest In Venezuela

A Venezuelan beauty queen and student demonstrator Genesis Carmona, 22, was fatally shot in the head during a political protest, Reuters reported. The young model, who was the country’s 2013 Miss Turismo, died Wednesday afternoon, making her the fifth person to die amid Venezuela’s ongoing political turmoil.

Carmona was photographed lying limp in an unidentified man’s arms after gunfire broke out at Tuesday’s protest in Valencia. She was rushed by motorcycle to Centro Medico Guerra Mendez in Valencia, where she was operated on and subsequently kept in intensive care -- but her wounds proved to be fatal, Reuters noted.

"How long are we going to live like this? How long do we have to tolerate this pressure, with them killing us?" said a relative, who asked not to be named, according to Reuters. "She only needed one more semester to graduate."

Carmona was studying tourism before her untimely death, the relative said. According to her Twitter account, the former beauty queen described herself as “friendly, but not stupid!” and “passionate about life.”

The rally was led by Leopoldo Lopez, who has been demonstrating against President Nicolas Maduro’s government for three weeks. Since the political strife started, three people have been shot dead in Caracas and another person was run over by a vehicle in Carupano.

Lopez surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, but he urged his supporters to continue the fight to break away from the Venezuelan government. "Today more than ever, our cause has to be the exit of this government," Lopez said in a pre-recorded video, intended to be played if he were arrested. "The exit from this disaster, the exit of this group of people who have kidnapped the future of Venezuelans is in your hands. Let's fight. I will be doing so."

There have been scores of arrests and injuries in the embattled country during the protests.

Sadly, Carmona isn’t the first Venezuelan beauty queen to die this year. Former 2004 Miss Venezuela Monica Spear and her husband, Thomas Henry Berry, were killed in a highway robbery. Their 5-year-old daughter, Maya, miraculously only suffered a leg wound that she has since recovered from.

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