| Photo Credit: AFPmore-inA Venezuelan police helicopter strafed the Supreme Court and a government Ministry on June 27, 2017, escalating the OPEC nation's political crisis in what President Nicolas Maduro called an attack by “terrorists” seeking a coup. “Sooner rather than later, we are going to capture the helicopter and those behind this armed terrorist attack against the institutions of the country,” Mr. Maduro said. Venezuela's government said in a communique the helicopter was stolen by an investigative police pilot called Oscar Perez, who declared himself in rebellion against Mr. Maduro. Opponents to Mr. Maduro view the Interior Ministry as a bastion of repression and also hate the Supreme Court for its string of rulings bolstering the president's power and undermining the opposition-controlled legislature. Opposition leaders call Mr. Maduro a tyrant who has wrecked a once-prosperous economy, while he calls them violent coup leaders following U.S. orders.

Source: The Hindu June 28, 2017 03:47 UTC