CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Venezuelan military planned to send additional troops to a border region where unrest has been particularly fierce, officials said Thursday, as the government faced growing criticism for its heavy-handed attempt to subdue a protest movement with nighttime sweeps that have turned many parts of the country into dangerous free-fire zones.

Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres said a battalion of paratroopers would be dispatched to the state of Tachira, on the western border with Colombia, where protesters have clashed with police and National Guard units, bringing the capital city, San Cristobal, to a halt.