CARACAS: President Nicolas Maduro said a helicopter fired on Venezuela 's Supreme Court in a confusing incident that he claimed was part of a conspiracy to destabilize his socialist government.An Associated Press reporter heard gunfire as a blue helicopter buzzed through downtown but was unable to confirm where the shots were being fired from.The gunfire took place as Maduro was speaking live on state television to pro-government journalists gathered at the presidential palace. The confusing exchange, which is bound to ratchet up tensions in a country already paralyzed by months of deadly anti-government protests, took place as Maduro was speaking live on state television Tuesday. He later said the helicopter had fired on the pro-government court with grenades, one of which didn’t go off, helping avoid any loss of life. "It could've caused a tragedy with several dozen dead and injured,'' said Maduro.But many opponents on social media accused the president himself of trying to spread fear to help justify a crackdown against Venezuelan seeking to block his plans to rewrite the constitution.Adding to the intrigue, pictures of a blue police helicopter carrying an anti-government banner appeared on social media around the same time as a video in which a pilot for the police squad, identified as Oscar Perez, called for a rebellion against the Maduro's "tyranny'' as part of a coalition of members of the security forces. “We have two choices: be judged tomorrow by our conscience and the people or begin today to free ourselves from this corrupt government,” the man said while reading from a statement with four people dressed in military fatigues, ski masks and carrying what looked like assault rifles standing behind him. "It could've caused a tragedy with several dozen dead and injured," said Maduro. The 54-year-old socialist leader has faced three months of protests from opposition leaders who decry him as a dictator who has wrecked a once-prosperous economy.
A police helicopter strafes the Supreme Court and the Interior Ministry in what President Nicolás Maduro calls "an attack by terrorists seeking a coup". There are no reports of injuries.