On May 10, frustrated Venezuelans protesters will take to the streets armed with rocks, sticks, petrol bombs...and excrement. “The Shit March,” as Wednesday’s protest has been advertised, may be the messiest in what has become a six-week wave of upheaval against the highly-unpopular ruling government of president Nicolás Maduro.

A flyer released by the opposition reads: “Let’s arm ourselves! They have gas; we have excrement.”

They’re calling the improvised devices “poopootov” — a play on words off the Molotov cocktail. Following precise instructions from Whatsapp groups, protesters are filling glass bottles with human and animal feces and  hurling them at security forces.

The protest is expected to take place outside the Supreme Court in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas but “poopootovs” were reportedly already being used in the cities of San Cristobal, Merida, and Valencia as early as Monday.

A Supreme Court decision in late March that stripped the opposition-led congress of its power sparked the nationwide protests. But government corruption, extremely high inflation, food scarcity, and shortages of basic supplies lie at the heart of the uprising.

In all, 37 people have died in the past month, and hundreds more have been injured, reported El Pais.

The ferocity and violence displayed by security forces have forced protesters to come up with all sorts of creative, new ways of self defense. Those exposed and vulnerable to tear gas have learned to make shields using chipboard, following instructions available on social media.

Before the dung bombs started to fly, paint bombs were used to block the view of oncoming riot police vehicles.

“The kids go out with just stones. That’s their weapon. Now they have another weapon: excrement,” a 51-year-old Venezuelan dentist told the Guardian.

Preparing containers of feces in her home for protesters to launch at authorities, she added that one of her patients was collecting excrement from her child.

But many are concerned that throwing feces could only worsen health conditions in a country already struggling with infectious diseases and a lack of soaps and disinfectants. And according to the Pharmaceutical Federation of Venezuela, the country lacks at least 80% of basic medical supplies.

Regardless of the risk, however, opposition leaders support the stinky strategy.

Venezuelan lawyer and politician, Rafael Guzman, who was seen throwing a canister of tear gas back at security forces during a protest on Monday, told the Guardian: “They use their weapons against us, so people are using what they have.”

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