Venezuelan politician German Mavare, leader of the opposition UNT party, died Friday after being shot in the head, an assassination that occurred in the western state of Lara, his organization said.

“The board of the UNT expresses its deepest sorrow for the slaying of colleague German Mavare. We demand justice and an end to violence,” was the message posted on the Twitter account of the UNT party, headed by jailed ex-presidential candidate and former governor of Zulia state, Manuel Rosales.

The mayor of Iribarren in Lara state, Alfredo Ramos, said on his Twitter account minutes after the incident occurred before dawn Friday: “German Mavare, of the popular urbanization of Carucieña, a tireless fighter for social causes, has just been hit by a bullet in the head.”

For his part, Luis Florido, an opposition lawmaker of the Voluntad Popular party, said on Twitter: “German Mavare died. A red bullet ended his life. Politics today is high risk. We demand an investigation of the case #NoMoreViolence #Lara”.

The authorities have not yet issued a statement about the matter.