The Venezuelan government ordered paratroopers Thursday to a border city where growing student protests began over two weeks ago, with President Nicolas Maduro angrily rejecting U.S. calls for dialogue.

The nationwide demonstrations, led by students and the opposition, have left at least four people dead and dozens hurt in the biggest challenge to Maduro since he took power from the late Hugo Chavez last year.

Venezuela's government said Thursday it "emphatically repudiates" U.S. President Barack Obama's condemnation of the violent unrest in the South American country.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Obama's remarks on Wednesday in Mexico "constitute a new and crude interference in the internal affairs of our country."

The archbishop of Caracas on Thursday called on the government of Nicolas Maduro to rein in armed groups who he said have attacked peaceful demonstrations with impunity.

Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino spoke out in an interview with Globovision television after a violent night in which police and national guard troops dispersed protesters with tear gas and buckshot.

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Venezuela Wednesday to release protesters detained in anti-government demonstrations that turned violent and address the "legitimate grievances" of its people.

Obama condemned violence that has marred two weeks of protests in the oil-rich country against the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro, with four people killed so far.

Venezuela braced for another day of protests Wednesday with jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez expected to appear in court to hear charges blaming him for a deadly episode of street violence.

Heavy security surrounded the Palace of Justice where about 100 supporters awaited the arrival of the Harvard-educated economist, who spent the night in jail after his dramatic surrender to national guard troops at a protest rally Tuesday.

A crowd of anti-government activists wrested free an opposition politician as he was being hauled away in handcuffs by security forces following a raid on the party headquarters of President Nicolas Maduro's biggest foe.

Dario Ramirez, a city councilman, shouted "I'm an elected official" as national guardsmen, surrounded by journalists and party activists, frantically looked for an escape route from the Caracas shopping mall where they took him into custody. Once outside, dozens of activists banging pots and pans in protest attacked the squad, freeing Ramirez by force and speeding him away on a motorcycle.

The United States on Monday rejected as "baseless and false" accusations by Venezuela that it was aiding anti-government protests.

"We support human rights and fundamental freedoms -- including freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly -- in Venezuela as we do in countries around the world," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday accused Washington of plotting with anti-government protesters and expelled three U.S. diplomats in retaliation.

Maduro's order came on the same day that fugitive opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez re-appeared and called for a mass rally on Tuesday and challenged the government to arrest him at the event.

Two Catholic priests were stabbed to death and a third wounded by assailants who broke into a school residence in Venezuela during an apparent robbery, the school said Sunday.

A school spokesman said the assailants climbed a wall to enter the Don Bosco school in the central city of Valencia late Saturday, and entered an area where the priests' rooms were located.

Supporters and opponents of Venezuela's leftist government staged rival rallies Saturday in Caracas that took place amid protests and spiraling discontent at the country's stubborn inflation and basic goods shortages.

About 3,000 opponents dressed in white and carrying red, blue and yellow Venezuelan flags gathered in an affluent area of the capital, fanning out into nearby streets, just days after demonstrations left three people dead.