Two young men have lost their lives within several hours in anti-government protests that have gripped the northwestern Venezuelan state of Lara, an opposition lawmaker was quoted by Sputnik news agency as saying.

"Ruben Morillo received a gunshot wound to the chest which ended his life… A young man was brought to the central hospital [in Barquisimeto] with no signs of life. We have been informed his name is Fernando Rojas," Luis Florido, a National Assembly legislator for the Lara state, tweeted.

Separately, Venezuela's Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said Lt. Colonel Gustavo Bustos of the National Guard was shot during protests in Barquisimeto when troops moved in to disperse a violent mob.

Almost 80 people have died in Venezuela over three months of demonstrations against the nation’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro.

Sopurce: MENA