Venezuela continues to be engulfed in protests. To commemorate the International Women's Day, a new protest was planned for Saturday March 8 in which protestors marched to object the failures of the Maduro administration and the dire situation in Venezuela. The past week has seen diplomatic developments that complicate the situation for both the opposition and the government of President Maduro.

The protests, which have been called the March of the Empty Pots, was called forth by opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost the presidential election to Maduro by a sliver of the vote. According to the AFP, the protests, comprised of mostly women, marched through the streets of various Venezuelan cities carrying empty pots and pans to symbolize the food shortages in the country.

"We are marching over shortages that this government has left us with," Capriles told AFP during the protests. "They are turning their backs on the problems."

In an attempt to bring the issues to the government, the protest's destination was the Food Ministry. However, they did not make it there.

According to the AP, a wall of riot police prevented protesters from reaching their destination. Caracas' mayor, who sides with the government, had denied the protesters' request for permission. Capriles accused them of trying to "criminalize" peaceful protests. Yet, the Maduro administration may claim a victory.

After 15 hours of debate over two days, the member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS) with the exception of Panama, Canada and the United States, agreed on a declaration that rejected violence and called for justice for the 21 killed during protests. What the three opposition nations disagreed with was a government peace initiative that was also opposed by anti-government protesters.

"The OAS cannot sanction a dialogue in which much of the opposition has no voice and no faith," according to the U.S. objection. "Only Venezuelans can find the solutions to Venezuela's problems, but the situation in Venezuela today makes it imperative that a trusted third party facilitate the conversation as Venezuelans search for those solutions."

The Venezuelan government sees it as a victory.

"The meddling minority against Venezuela in the OAS, Panama, Canada and the U.S., is defeated in a historic decision that respects our sovereignty," tweeted Venezuelan government spokeswoman Deicy Rodriguez.

While Venezuela claims victory, a problem may be looming in its future. Before the OAS debate, Venezuela broke off diplomatic ties with Panama for calling the debate. Aljazeera now reports that Panamanian President Martinelli has called on Venezuela to pay its one billion dollar debt to Panamanian creditors. Matinelli added that Venezuela should not use the excuse of breaking diplomatic ties to avoid making payments.

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