World

Venezuela opposition convoy attacked outside parliament

January 16, 2020 6:41 am

Pro-government groups in Venezuela have attacked a convoy of opposition lawmakers outside the parliament building in central Caracas.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó said the violence had forced him to transfer a planned meeting to a building on the outskirts of the city.

Video footage from inside one car showed supporters of President Nicolás Maduro throwing a traffic cone and a stone that broke one of the windows.

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Local media reported shots being fired.

During his state of the nation address on Tuesday, Mr Maduro accused Mr Guaidó – the Speaker of the National Assembly, of helping the US to wage an economic war on Venezuela.

The attack on the convoy comes eight days after Mr Guaidó and 100 fellow opposition lawmakers pushed past police to enter the National Assembly.

It is the latest escalation in Venezuela’s political crisis.