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. 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. “Five were injured and transported, plus six employees of the National Assembly,” lawmaker Juan Gauido said. 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. 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. The violence unfolded while President Nicolás Maduro was giving a speech at a government-planned Independence Day military parade elsewhere in the capital. 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. 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.
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.