MOSCOW (Sputnik) – After the helicopter attack carried out on June 28, Perez, a former officer of the police investigative agency, known as CICPC, and his supporters, who he called nationalists and patriots, demanded an immediate resignation of Maduro and general elections in a video address. Maduro labeled the attack as an act of terrorism and pledged to catch the perpetrators.
"Again, we are here in Caracas, ready and willing to continue our fierce fight for the liberation of our homeland," Perez said in a video address published on the internet and quoted by the El Carabobeno newspaper.
In addition, Perez specified that the helicopter attack did not cause any casualties, as it was planned this way.
The attack came ahead of the July 30 voting to elect the Constitutional Assembly, set to rewrite the constitution as a way out of the political turmoil that started in January 2016, when a new opposition-controlled legislature was elected and relations between Maduro and the parliament became strained. Communication and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said the attack would not interfere with the election.
In March, the Venezuelan Supreme Court decided to restrict the power of the state’s National Assembly. The decision was immediately reversed amid a backlash, but supporters of the opposition-controlled parliament, who strive for the dismissal of the court members, took to the streets on April 4, marking the start of protests that have claimed at least 75 lives.