Venezuela’s embattled government has endured weeks of violent street protests, criticism from its neighbours, and sustained diplomatic pressure – including the announcement on Thursday of fresh US sanctions against eight supreme court judges.

This week, however, Nicolás Maduro’s administration was targeted by a very different strategy: a shamanic curse.

The ritual was performed by Liborio Guarulla, the former governor of Amazonas state, who earlier this month became the second opposition politician to be banned from political office this year after former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles.

On Wednesday, Guarulla, a member of the Baniwa indigenous community, took his revenge, by enacting a “Dabukuri” rite, which can serve either to summon prosperity and abundance – or as a curse that brings suffering and loss.

With his face painted and head crowned with bird feathers, Guarulla blew handfuls of dust into the wind at a ceremony in the city of Puerto Ayacucho, while around him, men from various different indigenous groups stamped their feet and rattled maracas.

“[The government] feel they have the power to accuse us and to eliminate our political power. But I want to tell them that I, too, have power, and today I am invoking the power of my ancestors and my shamans so that the curse of the Dabukuri falls upon those who have tried to do us evil,” he said.

Las danzas multietnica también sirvieron para invocar el Dabukuri en las marchas de Shamanes y maracas en las calles de Pto Ayacucho. pic.twitter.com/pQmL37C7Vh — Liborio Guarulla (@LiborioGuarulla) May 17, 2017

Guarulla had earlier warned his opponents of what the curse entails: “I assure you that you won’t die without torment. I assure you that before you die you will begin to suffer and that your soul will wander through the darkest and most pestilent places before you can close your eyes.”

#17May Con el rito de las cenizas Shamanes venezolanos junto a @LiborioGuarulla rechazaron "la dictadura de Maduro", hoy en Puerto Ayacucho. pic.twitter.com/Hvh9gLxrGI — TVVenezuela Noticias (@TVVnoticias) May 18, 2017

The cursing ceremony marked the final act of the “march of the shamans,” a series of indigenous demonstrations against the government. It came amid near daily and often violent unrest, which on Thursday claimed its 45th death.

Venezuela has 38 different indigenous groups, who make up nearly 2% of the population. Unlike neighboring Brazil or Colombia, however, the country’s indigenous peoples have lacked political representation.

Indigenous rights were not enshrined until the 1999 constitution introduced by Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez. At that time, Venezuela’s indigenous people were also promised land rights and guaranteed representation at the national, state and local levels.

But last year, three Amazonian legislators were prevented from being sworn into office after the government claimed they had won under fraudulent conditions.

At that time, the electoral council vowed to investigate the claims and hold new elections promptly. But authorities, largely viewed as partial to the government, have made no further statements and the legislators remain in legal limbo.

Banning Guarulla from office leaves the state of Amazonas with virtually no political representation.

But his decision to use indigenous ritual as a form of political protest was criticized by anthropologist Daisy Barreto, who said that Venezuela has never seen a concerted push for to protect the country’s indigenous groups

“Appropriating these cultural symbols for political gains is shameful,” said Barreto, of the Central University in Caracas. “No indigenous politician has truly emerged from within the real indigenous leadership. They are mostly political figures who parachute into government banking on indigenous identity.”

Amazonian tribes, often living far from urban centres, have been among the hardest hit by the country’s dire social and economic crisis.

Earlier this month, authorities in the Brazil city of Manaus declared a state of emergency after the arrival of around 355 Venezuelans – mostly members of the Indigenous Warao group – who were fleeing political unrest and severe shortages of food and medicine.

The Warao, natives of the shore around the Orinoco river delta, made the 1,000 km bus journey to the Amazon city, where many are living in makeshift shelters.

“Everything is gone in Venezuela,” Abel Calderon told Reuters. “We are here looking for a better life.