CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of a prominent opposition leader in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.

In addition to seeking the arrest of Julio Borges, the court also called for the prosecution of another opposition lawmaker, Juan Requesens, who police detained a day earlier.

The moves threaten to deepen the country's political crisis as opposition lawmakers accuse the government's ruling part of using the alleged attack to clamp down on the opposition.

Video circulating Tuesday on social media showed Venezuela's political police arresting Requesens, a 29-year-old deputy in the opposition-controlled National Assembly. Supporters say he was kidnapped from his apartment.

On Wednesday, the supreme court ordered the arrest of Borges, accusing him of "flagrant crimes," including public incitement, treason to the fatherland and the attempted homicide against Maduro.

The head of Venezuela's pro-government constitutional assembly said he would have the body take up a proposal to strip both lawmakers of their immunity protections, drawing cries from anti-government lawmakers that such a move would be unconstitutional.

During a national television broadcast Tuesday, Maduro accused Requesens and Borges of complicity in weekend drone explosions that he contends were an attempt on his life. Borges, a former president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, has been living in self-imposed exile in the Colombian capital, Bogota.

Maduro said statements from some of the six suspects arrested earlier have implicated the two lawmakers, as well as key financiers.

"Several of the declarations indicated Julio Borges. The investigations point to him," Maduro said during Tuesday's broadcast, though he provided no details of Borges' alleged role.

Borges, who has rejected the accusations, met Wednesday with top lawmakers in Colombia, which has blamed Maduro's government for causing the crisis that has led to masses of Venezuelans fleeing across the border into the neighbouring country.

"We want to see you out of power, imprisoned for the violation of human rights, imprisoned for the destruction of democracy," Borges said. "The only promoter of violence is a man named Nicolas Maduro."

Two drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro as he spoke during a military celebration Saturday evening. Images on live television showed Maduro and his wife looking up at the sky as the first drone exploded, sending hundreds of soldiers scrambling for safety.

The six suspects arrested earlier face charges of treason, attempted murder and terrorism. Investigators have linked a total of 19 people to the attack, Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab said Wednesday.

Critics of Maduro's socialist government said immediately after the drone explosions that they feared the unpopular leader would use the incident as an excuse to round up opponents as he seeks to dampen spreading discontent over Venezuela's devastating economic collapse.

As elected lawmakers, Borges and Requesens enjoy immunity from prosecution under Venezuelan law. But Diosdado Cabello, the powerful leader of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and president of the National constitutional Assembly, said in a tweet that he planned to introduce legislation stripping them and any other lawmakers accused in the alleged attack of this protection.

The move brought an immediate outcry from the opposition.

Antonio Ledezma, an opposition leader and exiled mayor of Caracas who now lives in Spain, spoke with Borges from Bogota.

"Neither the deputy Borges, nor the deputy Requesens -- no Venezuelan parliamentarians are involved in this type of scheme cooked up by the regime," Ledezma said. "This is another parody of Maduro."

The events come as Venezuela's economy continues to hemorrhage and thousands flee to neighbouring nations seeking food and medical care. Maduro has grown increasingly isolated, with the United States and other foreign powers slapping economic sanctions on a growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials and criticizing his government of being an autocratic regime.

The International Monetary Fund projects inflation could top 1 million per cent by year's end.

During Maduro's two-hour speech, videos were displayed showing alleged suspects and images of the drones exploding. One video included a purported confession by a handcuffed suspect, whose face was blurred out.

The president also displayed wanted posters with names and pictures of other suspects who he said are living in the United States and Colombia.

Maduro said he would provide evidence to authorities in both countries and ask for their co-operation in handing over suspects who helped orchestrate and finance the attack.

"I want to explain to the government of the United States and the government of Colombia in detail all the evidence that leads us to accomplices ... living in the state of Florida," Maduro said. "I trust in the good faith of Donald Trump."

State television on Wednesday showed Venezuela's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, and Saab, the attorney general, meeting with James Story, the top U.S. diplomat in Caracas.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday for comment on whether Venezuela had made any extradition request.</s>Image copyright AFP Image caption President Maduro said opposition politicians Julio Borges and Juan Requesens were behind an attack on his life

A Venezuelan opposition lawmaker has been arrested and a warrant issued for another living in exile, amid a crackdown after an alleged drone attack against President Nicolás Maduro.

The government has blamed Juan Requesens and Julio Borges for what it calls a bid to kill the president.

The moves came as a powerful government official revealed plans to strip the pair of their immunity.

But some government critics denounced the alleged attack as a "farce".

Who are the lawmakers?

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Juan Requesens was beaten up during an anti-government protest in April

Both Mr Requesens and Mr Borges are members of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, and of the Primero Justicia (Justice First) party.

Mr Borges, 48, founded the party and led the National Assembly before going into exile.

Mr Requesens, 29, is one of President Maduro's most outspoken critics, and has taken part in many anti-government demonstrations.

According to Mr Requesens' party, he and his sister Rafaela - an opposition student activist - were taken from their apartment in the capital Caracas by members of the secret police, Sebin.

Primero Justicia tweeted a video which appears to show CCTV footage of the two siblings getting out of the lift before being apparently pushed back by armed masked men in uniform, one of whom turns the camera to the wall.

Rafaela Requesens was later released but Juan Requesens has not been heard of since he was taken away.

It is not clear if official charges have so far been brought against Mr Requesens, however, the government is preparing to put him on trial.

The government later issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Borges.

President Maduro accused the pair on television of plotting Saturday's alleged drone attack on him.

He said those already detained in connection with the incident had implicated the two men, saying Mr Borges had the "cowardice" to carry out the attack. He called Mr Requesens "one of the craziest and psychopathic ones".

In a post in Spanish on Twitter, Mr Borges dismissed the accusations as a "farce".

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Julio Borges received the Sakharov prize on behalf of the Venezuelan opposition last year

Some in the opposition, like Mr Borges, think the attack was staged by the government to justify a further crackdown on the opposition.

They say the fact that the president of the powerful National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, has called for a session later on Wednesday to strip the two lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity proves their point.

Venezuela's attorney general said Mr Requesens would go on trial once his immunity had been stripped.

National Constituent Assembly

Convened by President Maduro in 2017 ostensibly to rewrite Venezuela's constitution

Entirely made up of government supporters

Most decisions are approved unanimously by a mere show of hands

Government critics say it was created to bypass the National Assembly

The opposition says the government launched two drones, one of which exploded near the podium where President Maduro was giving a speech on Saturday, to back its theory that the opposition are coup-plotters conspiring to bring the leader down with the help of Colombia and the US.

What happened in the attack?

TV footage of the event shows President Maduro's wife looking up startled. Then an explosion is heard and the president's bodyguard is seen rushing to shield him.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage showed dozens of soldiers running away before the transmission was cut off

A second, more muffled explosion can be heard and Mr Maduro leaves the stage.

The footage does not show any drones or explosions, only the startled expressions of those on the stage. This led many to speculate that there were no drones.

However, two videos have since emerged apparently showing two drones. One, published by Caracas News 24, shows a drone exploding:

An analysis carried out by website Bellingcat, which uses open-source information to investigate the incident, suggests that the video was taken on Bolívar Avenue, where President Maduro was speaking.

The second video reportedly taken by a cameraman for Telemundo and tweeted by journalist Adriana Núñez Rabascall appears to show a drone crashing against the wall of a building.

The building seems to be the same one where firefighters reported a fire shortly after President Maduro had left the stage.

However, three firefighters told the Associated Press news agency on Saturday that it had been caused by an exploding gas tank, casting doubt on the government's version of events.

Bellingcat concludes that there were two drones which "likely carried some form of explosive device" and which "attempted to attack a parade at which President Maduro was speaking".

Why would the attack be staged?

Those who believe it was staged say it allows the government to further tighten the screws on the opposition.

However, Venezuela analyst David Smilde of the Washington Office on Latin America told the BBC he was sure it was not an event staged by the government because it looked "terrible".

"Maduro being interrupted in mid-set and one of his military officials fainting behind him and then the National Guard breaking rank and scattering, running for cover, I think the optics were absolutely terrible for him.

"This made him look highly vulnerable and it could spark the imagination of more people," Mr Smilde said.</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s opposition said that lawmaker Juan Requesens and his sister Rafaela Requesens, a student leader, were arrested in their Caracas apartment on Tuesday night, after President Nicolas Maduro’s vowed to crack down on adversaries following drone explosions at a weekend rally.

“Fourteen men of the SEBIN forcefully kidnapped lawmaker Juan Requesens and the president of the Federation of University Centers, Rafaela Requesens,” the Justice First party, to which Juan Requesens belongs, tweeted.

“All we know is that the SEBIN came to get him in his apartment in Caracas,” a source close to Juan Requesens said, requesting anonymity. Juan Requesens, 29, represents the Andean state of Tachira.

The Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Soldiers in T-shirts, a group that has said it was formed to unite the ‘Resistance’ to Maduro, claimed responsibility for the drone attack on Saturday night.

The ‘Resistance’ is usually used to describe demonstrators who were at the forefront of street protests that rocked Venezuela in 2017. The Requesens siblings were among young politicians who helped lead the protests. In a televised speech on Tuesday, Maduro showed a video of a young man detained over the drone incident saying that Requesens had been involved.

“Another leader of the opposition is mentioned, one of the craziest ones, a psychopath, his last name is Requesens,” Maduro said. He did not say if Requesens had been detained.</s>President Nicolas Maduro went on television Tuesday night to accuse one of Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leaders of being linked to a weekend attack with drones that the government called an attempt to assassinate Maduro.

Maduro said statements from some of the six suspects already arrested pointed to involvement by Julio Borges, an opposition leader living in exile in Colombia.

“Several of the declarations indicated Julio Borges. The investigations point to him,” Maduro said, though he provided no details on Borges’ alleged role.

Borges did not immediately comment on Maduro’s accusation.

Critics of Maduro’s socialist government had said immediately following Saturday evening’s attack that they feared the unpopular leader would use the incident as an excuse to round up opposition politicians as he seeks to dampen spreading discontent over Venezuela’s devastating economic collapse.

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In the attack, two drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro as he spoke outdoors during a military celebration.

Images on live television showed Maduro and his wife looking up at the sky at one blast and then hundreds of soldiers scrambling.

Prosecutors have arrested six people who face charges of treason, attempted murder and terrorism.

The president also named opposition lawmaker Juan Requesens, seen in a video widely circulating on social media being arrested by Venezuela’s political police force.

As elected lawmakers, Borges and Requesens enjoy immunity from prosecution under Venezuelan law. But Diosdado Cabello, the powerful socialist party leader and president of the National Constitutional Assembly, said in a tweet Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation stripping lawmakers of this protection.

Maduro spoke for two hours from the Miraflores Presidential Palace in a presentation using polished videos showing suspects and images of the drones exploding.

One video included a purported confession by one handcuffed suspect, whose face was blurred out as explained the plot.

Maduro also held up military hats worn by soldiers with holes in them from debris from the explosion.

Several soldiers seated in the audience had white bandages on their heads, apparently injured in the assassination attempt.

RELATED: Military Rushes In To Protect Venezuelan President After Televised ‘Assassination Attempt’

Maduro said he would provide evidence to officials in the United States and Colombia and ask for their cooperation handing over suspects who helped orchestrate and finance the attack.

“I want to explain to the government of the United States and the government of Colombia in detail all the evidence that leads us to accomplices and direct responsible living in the state of Florida,” Maduro said. “I trust in the good faith of Donald Trump.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers' newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.</s>Ex-police chief claims role in Maduro’s assassination attempt as evidence points to opposition

Venezuela's supreme court is ordering the arrest of prominent opposition leader Julio Borges in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.

The court on Wednesday also called for the prosecution of a second congressman, Juan Requesense, who already had been detained.

The actions follow what the government says is a thwarted assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro using drones loaded with explosives. Maduro was speaking at an outdoor military ceremony when they detonated nearby, but was unharmed.

Borges is the former president of congress. He lives in exile in Colombia.

Police detained Requesense at his apartment on Tuesday.

Both deny any role in the drone attacks.</s>"Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. local time [15:00 GMT] [on Wednesday] the sovereign session of the National Constituent Assembly will take place, the only agenda item is lifting of parliamentary immunity for lawmakers involved in the failed assassination attempt of President Maduro," Cabello said on Twitter.

READ MORE: Thousands Rally in Caracas in Support for Maduro After Assassination Attempt

The Venezuelan National Movement of Soldiers in T-shirts claimed the responsibility for the attack. Maduro blamed the alleged attack on Venezuelan opposition, Colombia and financiers living in the United States.</s>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s opposition said that lawmaker Juan Requesens and his sister Rafaela Requesens, a student leader, were arrested in their Caracas apartment on Tuesday night, after President Nicolas Maduro ordered a crackdown following drone explosions at a weekend rally.

“Fourteen men of the SEBIN (intelligence agency) forcefully kidnapped lawmaker Juan Requesens and the president of the Federation of University Centers, Rafaela Requesens,” the Justice First party, to which Requesens belongs, tweeted.

Requesens’ sister was later released and “was in a safe place,” her father said in a video broadcast on social media that was live-streamed from in front of a Caracas jail.

Another video circulating on social media appeared to show the Requesens siblings briskly walking out of an elevator. Seconds later, they seemed to be chased back and arrested by armed security agents, some of whom had their faces covered in balaclavas. Reuters was unable to authenticate the video.

“All we know is that the SEBIN came to get him in his apartment in Caracas.

In a televised address later on Tuesday, Maduro showed a video of an alleged National Guard official, whose face was blurred, saying Juan Requesens had been involved in the drone attack.

“Another leader of the opposition is mentioned, one of the craziest ones, a psychopath, his last name is Requesens,” Maduro said during the two-hour speech, in which he also accused opposition leader Julio Borges of plotting to assassinate him.

Maduro did not say if Juan Requesens, a 29-year old lawmaker from the Andean state of Tachira, had been detained. The Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

But the powerful president of the Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, said that the pro-government body would on Wednesday discuss lifting immunity for lawmakers involved in the “failed magnicide attempt.”

Soldiers in T-shirts, a group that has said it was formed to unite the ‘resistance’ to Maduro, has claimed responsibility for the drone attack.

The ‘resistance’ is usually used to describe demonstrators who were at the forefront of massive street protests that rocked Venezuela in 2014 and 2017. The Requesens siblings were among young politicians who helped lead last year’s demonstrations, during which hundreds of activists were jailed for leading what Maduro says was a veiled coup attempt.

Maduro’s critics said he was using the drone explosions as an excuse to jail more opponents and consolidate his power in the OPEC nation reeling from food shortages, salary-destroying hyperinflation and frequent power cuts.

“These shows from Maduro seek to distract the country from the problems afflicting us: hyperinflation and hunger,” tweeted opposition lawmaker Angel Alvarado.</s>The latest on the apparent drone attack on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (all times local):

Venezuela's pro-government constitutional assembly has stripped two opposition lawmakers of their immunity from prosecution, accusing them of having roles in a drone attack that authorities say was an attempt to kill socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The National Constituent Assembly voted unanimously Wednesday to lift the protection. They singled out two opposition leaders who have seats in the opposition-controlled legislature — Julio Borges and Juan Requesens. Borges is in exile in Colombia's capital, but Requesens was arrested Tuesday.

Maduro has accused the two of being tied to a weekend incident in which two drones loaded with explosives exploded while he spoke at an outdoor military celebration.

The opposition rejects the charges, saying Maduro is using the attack to crack down on anti-government politicians.

Constituent Assembly leader Diosdado Cabello says Borges and Requesens are just the first lawmakers to be identified in the investigation of the incident.

Venezuela's supreme court is ordering the arrest of prominent opposition leader Julio Borges in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.

The court on Wednesday also called for the prosecution of a second congressman, Juan Requesens, who already had been detained.

The actions follow what the government says is a thwarted assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro using drones loaded with explosives. Maduro was speaking at an outdoor military ceremony when they detonated nearby, but was unharmed.

Borges is the former president of congress. He lives in exile in Colombia.

Police detained Requesens at his apartment on Tuesday.

Both deny any role in the drone attacks.</s>The Latest on the apparent drone attack on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (all times local):

Venezuela's supreme court is ordering the arrest of prominent opposition leader Julio Borges in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.

The court on Wednesday also called for the prosecution of a second congressman, Juan Requesense, who already had been detained.

The actions follow what the government says is a thwarted assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro using drones loaded with explosives. Maduro was speaking at an outdoor military ceremony when they detonated nearby, but was unharmed.

Borges is the former president of congress. He lives in exile in Colombia.

Police detained Requesense at his apartment on Tuesday.

Both deny any role in the drone attacks.</s>The pro-government legislature voted unanimously for the move, the local AVN news agency said. Borges responded by calling the decision a "farce" and accused authorities of kidnapping Requesens.

READ MORE: Venezuelan Opposition Lawmakers May Lose Immunity Over Links to Attack on Maduro

Maduro initially blamed Colombia for organizing an assassination attempt on him during a public speech last week when two explosives-laden drones went off next to his stand. Several people were injured but the president escaped unhurt.
Venezuelan politician Juan Requesens is arrested for alleged crimes related to the supposed Maduro assassination attempt, despite having political immunity.