Venezuela’s political violence took an ugly turn Wednesday – the country’s independence day. Pro-government militants stormed the National Assembly and beat opposition lawmakers. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s rebel helicopter cop has reappeared.

Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami appeared inside the National Assembly and urged supporters of President Nicolás Maduro to come to the chamber. Shortly after, government street enforcers known as colectivos burst into the congress and injured more than a dozen people.

Video shows legislators with bloodied faces and blood splattered on the walls of the Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition.

That sort of brutality has made the socialist regime widely reviled as Venezuela’s economy collapses. Polls show more than 80 percent of Venezuelans want Maduro out. That’s provoked massive anti-government protests this year in which 90 people have been killed.

Last week a Venezuelan police officer, Oscar Pérez, flew a police helicopter over the presidential palace and urged Venezuelans to overthrow the regime. Pérez, who is still at large, has now reappeared in a new video – but it’s still uncertain if his rebellion is genuine.

Also Wednesday, Florida Governor Rick Scott said he wants to make sure the state does no business with the Maduro regime.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Injured opposition members left the building with bloodied heads

About 100 government supporters have burst into Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, where they beat up several lawmakers.

Witnesses said the confrontation came after an assembly session to mark the country's Independence Day.

Military police guarding the site stood by as intruders brandishing sticks and pipes broke through the gate, AFP news agency said.

The government has vowed to investigate.

"I will not be complicit in acts of violence," said President Nicolás Maduro.

About 350 people were besieged for hours, including journalists, students and visitors, according to the assembly's speaker Julio Borges.

Mr Borges also named five of the lawmakers injured. Some were taken away for medical treatment, including Deputy Américo De Grazia, who was carried out on a stretcher.

Venezuela has been shaken by often violent protests in recent months and is in economic crisis.

"This does not hurt as much as seeing every day how we are losing our country," deputy Armando Armas told reporters as he got into an ambulance, his head swathed in bloody bandages.

The US state department condemned the violence, calling it "an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela's independence 206 years ago today".

AFP, whose journalists were at the scene, said reporters were ordered to leave by the attackers, one of whom had a gun.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The assembly was holding a session to mark the country's Independence Day

Before the intruders rushed the building, Vice-President Tareck El Aissami made an impromptu appearance in the congress with the head of the armed forces, Vladimir Padrino López, and ministers.

Mr El Aissami gave a speech urging the president's supporters to come to the legislature to show support for him.

A crowd had been rallying outside the building for several hours before breaking into the grounds.

A statement from the the ministry of communication said, the government had ordered an investigation "to establish the whole truth, and on that basis, to apply sanctions to those responsible".

What's happening in Venezuela?

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Your video guide to the crisis gripping Venezuela

The country is in a deep economic crisis, made worse by the falling price of oil, which accounts for about 95% of its export revenues and was used to finance some of the government's generous social programmes. Forced to make cuts, Mr Maduro has seen his support fall among core backers

Also, as a result of the crisis, parts of Venezuela face severe shortages of basic supplies such as medicine and food

The opposition accuses Mr Maduro of not only mismanaging the economy but also eroding the country's democratic institutions

In March, the Supreme Court decided it would take over the National Assembly. The decision was reversed, but Mr Maduro was accused by opponents of trying to stage a coup. That sparked almost daily protests calling for his resignation

Meanwhile, Mr Maduro says the opposition is trying to overthrow his government illegally, and blames the country's problems on an "economic war" being waged against him

Just hours before, the attorney general was facing suspension for refusing to appear in court.

Luisa Ortega Díaz has been accused of committing errors in her job, but critics believe she is being targeted after speaking out against the president's reform plans.

Last week, she also criticised Mr Maduro after an incident in which a stolen police helicopter flew over Caracas, dropping grenades and firing shots.

The president called it a "terrorist attack" but Ms Ortega said the country was suffering from "state terrorism".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The helicopter circles buildings before gunshots and a bang are heard

While Venezuelan security forces later found the abandoned helicopter near the coast, parliamentary speaker Julio Borges said there was a possibility that the incident was a hoax.

On Tuesday, the fugitive policeman who piloted the helicopter, Oscar Pérez, posted a video online saying he was still in Caracas.

He urged Venezuelans to stand firm in the streets in protests against the president.</s>About a hundred government supporters stormed into Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, where they beat up several lawmakers. Witnesses said the confrontation came after an assembly session to mark the country's Independence Day, Wednesday July 5th.

Allegedly military police guarding the site stood by as intruders brandishing sticks and pipes broke through the gate. The government vowed to investigate. About 350 people were besieged for hours, the assembly's speaker said.

Julio Borges said on Twitter that 108 journalists, as well as students and visitors, were among those stuck inside. Borges also named five of the lawmakers injured. Some were taken away for medical treatment.

Venezuela has been shaken by often violent protests in recent months and is in economic crisis.

This does not hurt as much as seeing every day how we are losing our country, deputy Armando Armas told reporters as he got into an ambulance, his head swathed in bloody bandages.

Mercosur members in a joint communiqué strongly rejected violence against the Venezuelan Legislative and called on the government to end immediately all speech and actions that polarize public opinion, and to respect human rights, the rule of the law and government branches. It also reiterated its willingness to help the Venezuelan people find a way out to the current serious situation.

The US state department condemned the violence, calling it an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela's independence 206 years ago today.

Witnesses said several journalists and two assembly staff were also hurt.

Venezuelan newspaper Tal Cual blamed the attack on militias known as colectivos, and said the group had fired rockets and bangers as they forced their way in. Its report said some of the deputies attacked fell to the ground and were kicked.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed victims of the assault with bleeding head wounds. At least one, believed to be Deputy Americo De Grazia, was carried out on a stretcher. Journalists at the scene, said reporters were ordered to leave by the attackers, one of whom had a gun.

The violence unfolded while President Nicolás Maduro was giving a speech at a government-planned Independence Day military parade elsewhere in the capital.

Before the intruders rushed the building, Vice-President Tareck El Aissami made an impromptu appearance in the congress with the head of the armed forces, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, and ministers. El Aissami gave a speech urging the president's supporters to come to the legislature to show support for him.

A crowd had been rallying outside the building for several hours before breaking into the grounds.

In a statement via the ministry of communication, the government said it condemns the alleged acts of violence in the gardens of the Federal Legislative Palace.

The national government has ordered the investigation of the aforementioned acts of violence to establish the whole truth, and on that basis, to apply sanctions to those responsible, it said.

Just hours before the scenes at the National Assembly, Venezuela's attorney general was facing suspension for refusing to appear in court.

The charges filed against Luisa Ortega Díaz came after she challenged President Maduro's reform plans.

She says she is being legally pursued for defying the president, but the Supreme Court, which is dominated by government loyalists, says Ms Ortega has committed serious errors.</s>About 100 government supporters have burst into Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly, where they beat up several lawmakers.

Witnesses said the confrontation came after an assembly session to mark the country’s Independence Day.

Military police guarding the site stood by as intruders brandishing sticks and pipes broke through the gate, AFP said. The government vowed to investigate.

About 350 people were besieged for hours, the assembly’s speaker said.

Julio Borges said on Twitter that 108 journalists, as well as students and visitors, were among those stuck inside.

Mr Borges also named five of the lawmakers injured. Some were taken away for medical treatment.

Venezuela has been shaken by often violent protests in recent months and is in economic crisis.

“This does not hurt as much as seeing every day how we are losing our country,” deputy Armando Armas told reporters as he got into an ambulance, his head swathed in bloody bandages.

The US state department condemned the violence, calling it “an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela’s independence 206 years ago today”.

Witnesses said several journalists and two assembly staff were also hurt.

Venezuelan newspaper Tal Cual blamed the attack on militias known as “colectivos”, and said the group had fired rockets and bangers as they forced their way in.

Its report said some of the deputies attacked “fell to the ground and were kicked”.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed victims of the assault with bleeding head wounds. At least one, believed to be deputy Americo De Grazia, was carried out on a stretcher.

AFP, whose journalists were at the scene, said reporters were ordered to leave by the attackers, one of whom had a gun.

 The violence unfolded while President Nicolás Maduro was giving a speech at a government-planned Independence Day military parade elsewhere in the capital.

Before the intruders rushed the building, Vice-President Tareck El Aissami made an impromptu appearance in the congress with the head of the armed forces, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, and ministers.

Mr El Aissami gave a speech urging the president’s supporters to come to the legislature to show support for him.

 A crowd had been rallying outside the building for several hours before breaking into the grounds.

In a statement via the ministry of communication, the government said it “condemns the alleged acts of violence in the gardens of the Federal Legislative Palace”.

“The national government has ordered the investigation of the aforementioned acts of violence to establish the whole truth, and on that basis, to apply sanctions to those responsible,” it said.

Venezuela’s National Assembly has been led by the opposition since elections in December 2015, and has become a focal point for critics of the president.

Anti-Maduro protesters have staged nationwide street protests against the government over the past three months which have seen violent clashes between demonstrators and the security forces.

At least 90 people have died in the bloodshed, with both political factions blaming each other.

Just hours before the scenes at the National Assembly, Venezuela’s attorney general was facing suspension for refusing to appear in court.

The charges filed against Luisa Ortega Díaz came after she challenged President Maduro’s reform plans.

She says she is being legally pursued for defying the president, but the Supreme Court, which is dominated by government loyalists, says Ms Ortega has committed serious errors.

Last week, Ms Ortega strongly criticised President Maduro after an incident in which a stolen police helicopter flew over Caracas, dropping grenades and firing shots.

The president called it a “terrorist attack” but Ms Ortega said the country was suffering from “state terrorism”.

While Venezuelan security forces later found the abandoned helicopter near the coast, opposition politician and parliamentary speaker Julio Borges said there was a possibility that the incident was a hoax.

On Tuesday, the fugitive policeman who piloted the helicopter, Oscar Pérez, posted a video online saying he was still in Caracas.

He urged Venezuelans to stand firm in the streets in protests against President Maduro.</s>CARACAS—Government supporters armed with pipes and sticks burst into Venezuela’s congress on Wednesday and severely beat several opposition lawmakers, as the nation’s political crisis grows more inflamed ahead of a contested effort to redraft the constitution.

The violence started after dozens of backers of the president stormed the opposition-controlled National Assembly in downtown Caracas ahead of a legislative session to mark Venezuela’s independence day.

Some 300 congressional workers and journalists sought protection by barricading themselves for several hours inside the assembly, where lawmakers also were organizing an unofficial July 16 ballot to counter President Nicolás Maduro’s plan to rewrite the constitution, which his critics say is a last-ditch effort by the unpopular leader to forgo elections.

“The dictatorship’s attack cannot go against a people decided on regaining freedom,” opposition lawmaker Armando Armas said in a post on social media after he was left bloodied by protesters, according to witnesses.

The attack drew swift international censure. “My absolute condemnation of the violent assault on Venezuelan parliament,” Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in a message posted on his Twitter profile.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

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Volvo plans to go electric, to abandon conventional car engine by 2019</s>Seven opposition politicians were injured Wednesday during a violent attack on Venezuela’s democratically-elected National Assembly. The attacks, led by supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, took place as the rest of the country celebrated their nation’s annual Independence Day. The assembly’s president, Julio Borges, said around 350 politicians, journalists, and guests were trapped inside by protesters, who attacked from dawn to dusk. Opposition lawmaker Americo De Grazia suffered the most severe injury after being knocked unconscious. He was initially said to be in critical condition, but his family later reported that his health had improved. After gathering outside the National Assembly in downtown Caracas, a group of several dozen protesters stormed inside the building, carrying pipes, sticks, and stones. In addition to bloody attacks on lawmakers, several journalists were assaulted and robbed. Later in the day, a crowd of around 100 protesters gathered at the scene, shouting “Long live the revolution!” Some of them carried pistols, while others threw fireworks into the assembly building. At one point, protesters played an audio recording of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saying, “Tremble, oligarchy!” Borges described the scene as full of bullets, blood stains, and damaged cars, including his own. He added: “The violence in Venezuela has a name and surname: Nicolas Maduro.”

Maduro has indeed been at the heart of Venezuela’s recent string of violent protests, which have killed at least 90 people and injured thousands since April. On the one hand, opposition protesters accuse Maduro of jailing opposition leaders, censoring news outlets, and delaying the nation’s democratic elections. Many also hold Maduro responsible for Venezuela’s economic and humanitarian crisis, which has resulted in triple-digit inflation and dire shortages of food and medicine. On the other hand, Maduro has accused protesters of waging a U.S.-backed coup against his government. In response to Wednesday’s attack, the U.S. State Department released a statement calling it “an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela’s independence 206 years ago today.” The department added that the Venezuelan government must “immediately provide for the protection of the National Assembly, ensure those injured in today’s attack are able to receive medical attention, and bring the attackers to justice.” At a Wednesday military parade, Maduro called for an investigation into the “strange” violence. “I want peace for Venezuela,” he told the crowd. “I don’t accept violence from anyone.” The statement seemed to contradict his comments last week, when he declared his willingness to take up arms against opposition protesters. “If Venezuela was plunged into chaos and violence and the Bolivarian Revolution destroyed, we would go to combat,” Maduro said at the time. “We would never give up, and what couldn’t be done with votes, we would do with weapons.”

Last week, the Venezuelan government was a victim of their own attack when a rogue police officer-slash-actor dropped grenades and opened fire on the nation’s Interior Ministry and Supreme Court. While no one was injured, Maduro immediately condemned the attack as “an act of terrorism” and a conspiracy to overthrow his government. Around the time of the attack, the perpetrator—36-year-old Oscar Pérez—appeared in an internet video, announcing his mission to resist the “impunity” and “tyranny” of the Venezuelan government. On Wednesday, Pérez appeared in a second online video, where he argued that his attack was “perfectly achieved.” While Pérez was initially being hunted down by Venezuelan special forces, he claimed in the video to have made his way back to Caracas after landing on the Caribbean coast. His attack on the Supreme Court did not result in any casualties, he said, “because it was planned, because we are not murderers like you, Mr. Nicolas Maduro.” Before violence ensued on Wednesday, opposition lawmakers gathered to discuss a July 16 plebiscite that will allow Venezuelans to express their level of confidence in Maduro’s governance. Citizens will also be given the chance to comment on Maduro’s call to rewrite the nation’s constitution, which opposition members see as a ploy for Maduro to retain control of Venezuela following the end of his term in 2019. Despite Wednesday’s attack, the vice president of the National Assembly, Freddy Guevara, told a local TV station that lawmakers would resume their discussion as planned.</s>(CARACAS) — Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed congress on Wednesday, attacking opposition lawmakers during a special session coinciding with Venezuela's independence day.

Four lawmakers were injured and blood was splattered on the neoclassical legislature's white walls. One of them, Americo de Grazia, had to be removed in a stretcher while suffering from convulsions.

"This doesn't hurt as much as watching how every day how we lose a little bit more of our country," Armando Arias said from inside an ambulance as he was being treated for head wounds that spilled blood across his clothes.

The unprecedented attack, in plain view of national guardsmen assigned to protect the legislature, comes amid three months of often-violent confrontations between security forces and protesters who accuse the government of trying to establish a dictatorship by jailing foes, pushing aside the opposition-controlled legislature and rewriting the constitution to avoid fair elections.

Tensions were already high after Vice President Tareck El Aissami made an unannounced morning visit to the National Assembly, accompanied by top government and military officials, for an event celebrating independence day. The short appearance at the congress by top officials who have repeatedly dismissed the legislators as a band of U.S.-backed conspirators was seen by many as a provocation.

Standing next to a display case holding the founding charter, El Aissami said global powers are once again trying to subjugate Venezuela.

Read More: State of Ruin: Tales From Venezuela's Collapse

"We still haven't finished definitively breaking the chains of the empire," he said, adding that President Nicolas Maduro's plans to rewrite the constitution — a move the opposition sees as a power-grab — offers Venezuela the best chance to be truly independent.

After he left, dozens of government supporters set up a picket outside the building, heckling lawmakers with menacing chants and eventually invading the legislature themselves. The siege only lifted after seven nerve-wracking hours when police set up a corridor to allow the hundreds of people trapped inside the legislature, including lawmakers and journalists, to leave.

The brazen attack on one of the symbols of Venezuela's already limping democracy drew widespread international rebuke.

"This violence, perpetrated during the celebration of Venezuela's independence, is an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela's independence 206 years ago today," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Despite the violence, lawmakers approved a plan by the opposition to hold a symbolic referendum on July 16 that would give voters the chance to reject Maduro's plans to draft a new political charter.

Later Maduro condemned the violence, but complained that the opposition doesn't do enough to control "terrorist attacks" committed against security forces by anti-government protesters.

"I will never be an accomplice to acts of violence," said Maduro during a speech at a military parade.

The clash followed Tuesday's appearance of two short videos by a former police inspector who allegedly stole a helicopter and fired on two government buildings last week.

Oscar Perez, repeating a call for rebellion among the security forces, said that he was in Caracas after abandoning the helicopter along the Caribbean coast and was ready for the "second phase" of his campaign to free his homeland from what he called the corrupt rule of Maduro and his "assassin" allies.

Perez gave no other details but pledged to join youth who have been protesting on the streets the past three months against Maduro.

"Stop talking. Get on the streets. Take action. Fight," he said in the video, sitting before a Venezuelan flag and with what looks like an assault rifle by his side. He also denounced Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution.

"If this constitutional assembly goes through, Venezuela will cease to exist because we'll have given away the country to the Cubans," he said.

Hours later, another video appeared in which he urged Venezuelans to march on a Caracas military base, not the presidential palace, to locate and remove Maduro along with the ruling elite.

Read More: Venezuela's President Promises a Referendum as the Death Toll From Unrest Reaches 62

The bold though largely harmless June 27 attack shocked Venezuelans who had grown accustomed to almost-daily clashes since April between often-violent youth protesters and security forces that have left more than 90 people dead and hundreds injured.

Perez apparently piloted the stolen police helicopter that sprayed 15 bullets toward the Interior Ministry and dropped at least two grenades over the supreme court building.

While Maduro claimed Perez had stolen the helicopter on a U.S.-backed mission to oust him from power, many in the opposition questioned whether the incident was a staged by the government to distract attention from the president's increasingly authoritarian rule.

Adding to the intrigue is Perez's colorful past.

In 2015, he produced and starred in a film called "Suspended Death," and several photos show him in fatigues, scuba diving while toting an assault rifle, skydiving and standing in action poses with a German shepherd by his side. In his political debut, he read a manifesto in which he claimed to be part of a group of disgruntled members of Venezuela's security forces determined to save the country's democracy.

Perez said in the video that the strike produced no casualties because he had taken care to avoid them. Neither of the buildings he attacked suffered damage. The helicopter he stole was found 24 hours later, abandoned in a verdant valley near the Caribbean coastline outside Caracas.</s>(CARACAS) — Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed congress on Wednesday, attacking opposition lawmakers during a special session coinciding with Venezuela's independence day.

Four lawmakers were injured and blood was splattered on the neoclassical legislature's white walls. One of them, Americo de Grazia, had to be removed in a stretcher while suffering from convulsions.

"This doesn't hurt as much as watching how every day how we lose a little bit more of our country," Armando Arias said from inside an ambulance as he was being treated for head wounds that spilled blood across his clothes.

The unprecedented attack, in plain view of national guardsmen assigned to protect the legislature, comes amid three months of often-violent confrontations between security forces and protesters who accuse the government of trying to establish a dictatorship by jailing foes, pushing aside the opposition-controlled legislature and rewriting the constitution to avoid fair elections.

Tensions were already high after Vice President Tareck El Aissami made an unannounced morning visit to the National Assembly, accompanied by top government and military officials, for an event celebrating independence day. The short appearance at the congress by top officials who have repeatedly dismissed the legislators as a band of U.S.-backed conspirators was seen by many as a provocation.

Standing next to a display case holding the founding charter, El Aissami said global powers are once again trying to subjugate Venezuela.

Read More: State of Ruin: Tales From Venezuela's Collapse

"We still haven't finished definitively breaking the chains of the empire," he said, adding that President Nicolas Maduro's plans to rewrite the constitution — a move the opposition sees as a power-grab — offers Venezuela the best chance to be truly independent.

After he left, dozens of government supporters set up a picket outside the building, heckling lawmakers with menacing chants and eventually invading the legislature themselves. The siege only lifted after seven nerve-wracking hours when police set up a corridor to allow the hundreds of people trapped inside the legislature, including lawmakers and journalists, to leave.

The brazen attack on one of the symbols of Venezuela's already limping democracy drew widespread international rebuke.

"This violence, perpetrated during the celebration of Venezuela's independence, is an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela's independence 206 years ago today," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Despite the violence, lawmakers approved a plan by the opposition to hold a symbolic referendum on July 16 that would give voters the chance to reject Maduro's plans to draft a new political charter.

Later Maduro condemned the violence, but complained that the opposition doesn't do enough to control "terrorist attacks" committed against security forces by anti-government protesters.

"I will never be an accomplice to acts of violence," said Maduro during a speech at a military parade.

The clash followed Tuesday's appearance of two short videos by a former police inspector who allegedly stole a helicopter and fired on two government buildings last week.

Oscar Perez, repeating a call for rebellion among the security forces, said that he was in Caracas after abandoning the helicopter along the Caribbean coast and was ready for the "second phase" of his campaign to free his homeland from what he called the corrupt rule of Maduro and his "assassin" allies.

Perez gave no other details but pledged to join youth who have been protesting on the streets the past three months against Maduro.

"Stop talking. Get on the streets. Take action. Fight," he said in the video, sitting before a Venezuelan flag and with what looks like an assault rifle by his side. He also denounced Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution.

"If this constitutional assembly goes through, Venezuela will cease to exist because we'll have given away the country to the Cubans," he said.

Hours later, another video appeared in which he urged Venezuelans to march on a Caracas military base, not the presidential palace, to locate and remove Maduro along with the ruling elite.

Read More: Venezuela's President Promises a Referendum as the Death Toll From Unrest Reaches 62

The bold though largely harmless June 27 attack shocked Venezuelans who had grown accustomed to almost-daily clashes since April between often-violent youth protesters and security forces that have left more than 90 people dead and hundreds injured.

Perez apparently piloted the stolen police helicopter that sprayed 15 bullets toward the Interior Ministry and dropped at least two grenades over the supreme court building.

While Maduro claimed Perez had stolen the helicopter on a U.S.-backed mission to oust him from power, many in the opposition questioned whether the incident was a staged by the government to distract attention from the president's increasingly authoritarian rule.

Adding to the intrigue is Perez's colorful past.

In 2015, he produced and starred in a film called "Suspended Death," and several photos show him in fatigues, scuba diving while toting an assault rifle, skydiving and standing in action poses with a German shepherd by his side. In his political debut, he read a manifesto in which he claimed to be part of a group of disgruntled members of Venezuela's security forces determined to save the country's democracy.

Perez said in the video that the strike produced no casualties because he had taken care to avoid them. Neither of the buildings he attacked suffered damage. The helicopter he stole was found 24 hours later, abandoned in a verdant valley near the Caribbean coastline outside Caracas.</s>Protesters supporting President Nicolás Maduro stormed Venezuela’s National Assembly in Caracas on Wednesday. Wielding pipes and wooden clubs, the attackers assaulted those inside, injuring five politicians and seven staffers.

One politician was in critical condition but has since been stabilized. For the next nine hours, protesters trapped around 350 people inside the building. The military initially stood back during the attack, but they eventually escorted everyone from the building.



The attack, which took place on the country’s Independence Day, was likely in response to the Venezuelan congress leading efforts to remove Maduro and his administration from power.

At an Independence Day parade, President Maduro denounced the attack and also called on opposition leaders to condemn violence by their supporters.</s>MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Venezuela was supposed to be celebrating its independence from Spain on Wednesday. Instead pro- and anti-government are combating each other on the streets of Caracas.

Clashes erupted outside Venezuela’s National Assembly between supporters of President Nicolas Maduro and opposition lawmakers.

The Independence Day clashes are the latest outbreak of violence in a country struggling with a deepening economic crisis and sometimes bloody street protests demanding a change of government.

Freddy Guevara, the National Assembly vice president and opposition leader, told CNN Espanol that lawmakers Armando Armas and Americo de Grazia were injured in the confrontation with Maduro loyalists.

“Five were injured and transported, plus six employees of the National Assembly,” lawmaker Juan Gauido said.

Gauido spoke to reporters as explosions went off in the background and smoke enveloped the area.

“What you just heard are explosions, but we’re still here firm and we’ll continue to be firm to defend the morale of the people who will not give up,” he said.

CNN reported opposition lawmakers were physically pushed around last week at the National Assembly by the National Guard, which is controlled by Maduro.

Venezuela’s civil unrest and a humanitarian crisis in the wake of President Maduro’s austerity program has left it on the brink of collapse and lacking 80 percent of basic medical supplies.

Meanwhile, across the border in Cucuta, tens of thousands of Venezuelans are crossing a bridge desperate for medicine and food.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro storm the opposition-controlled National Assembly and injure several lawmakers, including the President of the National Assembly, Julio Borges. Several journalists were also injured in the assault.