Negotiators for the Venezuelan government and the opposition have agreed to broaden membership in a truth commission that is to investigate the 41 deaths linked to weeks of political unrest in the country.
The Colombian foreign minister, María Ángela Holguín, who is one of the outside facilitators in the talks, on Wednesday called the step a sign of "progress" in the effort to calm Venezuela's political unrest.
But opposition leaders criticised the government for not accepting a proposal for amnesty to be granted to people arrested during the protests. Hundreds of university students staged another anti-government demonstration late on Wednesday, marching barefoot in what they said was penance for the country's economic and crime problems.
The agreement on the truth commission was announced following hours of negotiations on Tuesday night behind closed doors. Both sides described those talks as a much-needed if torturous attempt at dialogue in a country that has become increasingly polarised.
Heading into the meeting the government of President Nicolás Maduro had insisted that any investigation of the protests be led by the Venezuelan parliament, which it dominates. But the government partially met the opposition's demands for an independent commission by agreeing to include national figures trusted by both sides.
The talks, which began last week, are being sponsored by the Vatican as well as Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.
