By Vivian Sequera and Mircely Guanipa CARACAS/MARACAY (Reuters) -Venezuelan opposition parties and their supporters were holding protests around the country on Thursday in an eleventh-hour effort to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro,

Tensions have been growing in Venezuela ahead of Thursday's rallies in which opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has promised to end months of hiding to meet her supporters on the street. (AP/ Andr