Venezuela prez warns of war

DRAMATIC ESCALATION Maduro’s comments came after grenades were thrown at supreme court from helicopter

Venezuela’s army has been put on alert after four grenades were hurled at the Supreme Court from a helicopter, President Nicolas Maduro has said, in a potentially dramatic escalation of the violence gripping the oil-rich South American country.

The helicopter assault on Tuesday came a day after Maduro announced the arrests of five opponents he had accused of plotting against him to clear the way for a US invasion. The beleaguered president, who for weeks has been thundering about alleged coup attempts against him, said the helicopter was flown by a pilot who worked for a former minister.

Around 15 shots were fired at the interior ministry, Maduro added.

“I have activated the entire armed forces to defend the peace,” he said in remarks from the Miraflores presidential palace. “Sooner or later, we are going to capture that helicopter and those that carried out this terror attack.”

No one was hurt in the incident, he said. The government identified the helicopter pilot as a former member of Venezuela’s main police force, known as the CICPC.

Maduro called on the opposition MUD alliance to denounce the attack but one of its leaders, Freddy Guevara, tweeted there was not yet enough information to comment.

Guevara urged people to take part in anti-government rallies Wednesday -- the latest in nearly three months of daily streets protests that have left 76 people dead.

Photos circulating on social media showed a helicopter flying over Caracas with a banner that read “350 Freedom” -- alluding to a constitutional clause recently invoked by the opposition to assert the Maduro government’s lack of legitimacy.

The photos showed two people