A union leader at Toyota’s Venezuelan unit was shot dead by gunmen on Tuesday, a few weeks after the Japanese automaker said it might leave the country because of chronic labor problems, news agency reports said.

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Argenis Valasquez was gunned down outside his home as he was leaving for work at a Toyota plant in eastern Venezuela, reports said.


Labor disputes and strikes have become frequent in Venezuela. In January, two workers were shot to death as police broke up a protest at a plant that assembles Mitsubishi and Hyundai models.

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