Venezuelan authorities continued to search for a helicopter pilot accused of commanding a terrorist attack on the headquarters of the highest court in Caracas, amid the mystery and also skepticism of some Venezuelans.
Two days after the aircraft launched four grenades against the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), security forces inspected the device found on Wednesday in the coastal town of Osma, near Caracas, but have not found the pilot, Óscar Pérez.
The Interior Ministry issued an international arrest warrant through Interpol against Pérez, a 36-year-old police and amateur actor, who is accused of being linked to the United States Central Intelligence Agency.
Although the Socialist government links the attack with its opponents, the coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) said they had nothing to do with it and continued with protests on Thursday.
Dozens of young people were arrested by police during a protest aimed at arriving at the headquarters of the electoral power in Caracas on Thursday, which was dispersed with gas and gunfire.
The mobilization repudiated Maduro’s call for a Constituent Assembly -whose members will be elected on July 30th- as they argue that it is a “fraud” to perpetuate themselves in power.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles sees this incident as a deepening of the fractures in the government.
This is story made up by the government to blame the opposition and say they are being attacked. I think the government paid that guy and hid him,”
said a female domestic worker from Antímano, western Caracas.
Others believe that the government staged the attack to divert attention from the TSJ’s protests and rulings issued Tuesday, which weakened the powers of the prosecution, or justify a greater use of force to contain the protests.
The TSJ, which has dismissed all appeals filed by the Attorney General, set a hearing to assess whether it authorizes the prosecution of the prosecutor, who was banned from leaving the country and got her assets frozen.
In a new chapter of this confrontation, the prosecution accused General Antonio Benavides on Thursday of alleged “serious” human rights violations during the protests, in which 23 people allegedly died at the hands of police and military personnel. Benavides was relieved of the command of the National Guard on June 20th.
The helicopter case
seems to have an individual motivation rather than a government conspiracy or a coordinated attempt with other security or military actors,”
said consultant Eurasia Group.
However, they stressed that it happens amid protests that are becoming more violent and test the loyalty of security devices. Head of the Armed Forces, General Vladimir Padrino López, has repeatedly declared loyalty to Maduro, but analysts do not rule out discontent in the troop.