Caracas, June 28 Armed civilian groups have attacked the Venezuelan Parliament building after a clash between lawmakers and the military police of the Bolivarian National Guard , opposition legislator Julio Borges has said. "Different lawmakers and Assembly personnel saw officers entering with boxes from the National Election Council and a clash occurred there between the GNB officers and the lawmakers," Borges said.

Start the conversation, or Read more at India.com. </s> CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan security forces prevented opposition lawmakers from entering the parliament building for a session on Tuesday, a week after the top court stripped several lawmakers of their immunity amid a political crisis in the South American country.

Members of the Sebin intelligence service, wearing masks and carrying long guns, together with members of the national police and the military blocked the entrance and were investigating the possible presence of an explosive device inside the National Assembly building, lawmakers said.

Last week, one opposition lawmaker was arrested and several took refuge in foreign embassies in Caracas or fled the country as President Nicolas Maduro cracked down on allies of opposition leader Juan Guaido, following a failed effort to convince members of the military to rise up against Maduro in late April.

Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled Assembly, in January invoked Venezuela’s constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate. More than 50 countries have recognised him as the country’s rightful leader, and say the assembly is its last remaining democratic institution.

“This is all part of a show to prevent the National Assembly from functioning,” lawmaker Juan Pablo Guanipa told Reuters. “This is a dictatorship that goes after dissidents, and we are fighting for a political change.”

Venezuela’s information ministry, which handles media inquiries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Maduro, a socialist, calls Guaido a puppet of the United States seeking to oust him in a coup.

The government stripped the assembly of most of its powers after the opposition won a majority in 2015 elections. Lawmakers loyal to Maduro generally do not attend the sessions, but go to meetings of the constituent assembly, a legislative “superbody” created in 2017 that meets in the same building on Wednesdays.

The “superbody” is an all-powerful legislature controlled by the ruling Socialist Party and whose powers supersede those of the National Assembly.

Tuesday’s session was scheduled for 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), but never began. The lawmakers were set to discuss the Supreme Court’s stripping of several of their colleagues’ parliamentary immunity and the arrest of Edgar Zambrano, the Assembly’s vice president and an outspoken critic of Maduro.

Opposition lawmaker Jorge Millan told reporters the report of “bombs” in the building was false.

“It is a trick to prevent the parliament from functioning today,” he said. “If we do not have a session today, we will do it tomorrow.”

(Reporting by Mayela Armas and Corina Pons; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) </s> Caracas: Armed civilian groups have attacked the Venezuelan Parliament building after a clash between lawmakers and the military police of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), opposition legislator Julio Borges has said.

The clash on Tuesday left at least two female members of parliament injured, Efe news quoted Borges as saying.

According to the National Assembly's Twitter account, opposition lawmaker Delsa Solorzano and several reporters were also injured. "Different lawmakers and Assembly personnel saw (GNB) officers entering (the building) with boxes from the National Election Council... and a clash occurred there between the GNB officers and the lawmakers," Borges said.

As a result, the parliamentary session was interrupted. Borges then proceeded to talk with the officer responsible for the institution's security in order to resolve the conflict.

However, immediately groups of civilians entered through the doors of the National Assembly building, he said. These people launched fireworks rockets and other materials inside the House, according to some videos published on social media. The civilian groups have attacked the front of the building and threatened to enter "by force", the opposition said.

Lawmakers and workers currently remain locked inside the Parliament, the Chamber's press chief Alicia de La Rosa told Efe.

Borges has blamed President Nicolas Maduro for the attack. He said: "Nicolas Maduro... said on Tuesday that if the ballots are no use, then the violence will be, that if the ballots are no use, then the bullets will be."

Borges, however, said that the attack would give "more strength" to parliamentarians to continue fighting for "a democratic and free country". Regarding the boxes from the National Election Council, he indicated that the lawmakers went to see what happened with them, since it was "irregular" to keep such contents in the Legislative building. However, the GNB forces did not allow the parliamentarians to have access to the boxes, Borges said, adding that the troops claimed that the boxes contain data on the validation of political parties.

Venezuela has been facing socio-political upheavals which have been exacerbated by waves of demonstrations, both against and in favour of the government, for three months. Some of these demonstrations have become violent, leaving so far at least 75 people dead and about 1,500 injured, according to data from Venezuela's Prosecutor General's Office. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s top court opened a criminal investigation against six opposition lawmakers Tuesday following last week’s failed attempt to spark a military uprising against President Nicolás Maduro.

The lawmakers are suspected of “betraying the homeland” and “instigating an insurrection,” among other charges, the pro-government Supreme Court said. Those facing accusations include prominent figures in the Venezuelan opposition such as Henry Ramos Allup and Luis Germán Florido.

The court initially had said seven faced investigation, but later in the day lowered the number to six without explanation.

The action came one week after opposition leader Juan Guaidó urged soldiers to oust Maduro, who has taken steps to reassert his authority in the aftermath of the failed uprising.

Additionally, the government announced that it was taking control of three private airports. Interior Minister Nestor Reverol described it as a necessary measure to “guarantee efficiency” and crack down on illegal activity.

Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress, meanwhile, met to discuss a proposal for the country’s return to a regional defense agreement that dates from the Cold War — a move that could provide political cover for greater international involvement in the nation’s crisis. The matter was referred to an assembly committee.

Years ago, Venezuela and other left-governed nations pulled out of the U.S.-led defense pact, the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said they are considering military “options” in the Venezuelan crisis, in addition to diplomatic and economic pressure that has been intensifying for months against Maduro.

Military police prevented journalists from entering the National Assembly, and some reporters were harassed by government supporters outside the building.

Venezuela’s state-run internet provider restricted access to YouTube, some Google services and other streaming platforms during the assembly session, according to NetBlocks, an online censorship-monitoring group based in Europe.

The lights in the chamber went out temporarily as a senior assembly member, Edgar Zambrano, was speaking. The cause of the power cut was unclear.

Last week, Venezuela’s top court opened a treason investigation of Zambrano, who had joined Guaidó outside a military base in Caracas during a failed call on the armed forces to overthrow Maduro. The appeal to the military was followed by deadly clashes between police and protesters.

The United States and dozens of other nations have recognized Guaidó, head of the National Assembly, as Venezuela’s interim president, saying Maduro’s re-election last year was rigged.

Guaidó earlier Tuesday met with top diplomats from some of the more than 50 countries that support his campaign to seize power from Maduro, whose allies include Russia, China and Cuba.

A group of mostly European nations is looking to send a high-level delegation to Caracas in the coming days. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini made the announcement in Costa Rica after a meeting of the countries. The International Contact Group wants to facilitate free presidential elections in Venezuela as soon as possible, a goal that it shares with Guaidó.

Maduro says he is the target of a U.S.-engineered coup plot and has denounced the Guaidó-led assembly, instead recognizing a rival assembly packed with government loyalists that was set up in 2017.

In early April, the government-backed National Constituent Assembly voted to strip Guaidó of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution, and it did the same Tuesday for the opposition lawmakers placed under criminal investigation by the Supreme Court.

Maduro, however, has not moved to detain Guaidó, possibly reflecting wariness over a likely backlash from the United States and its allies.

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Venezuelan security forces surround the Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas, preventing opposition National Assembly lawmakers from entering the building to discuss a response to the recent arrest of National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano.