Venezuela’s Supreme Court has been attacked by grenades dropped from a helicopter in what President Nicolás Maduro called a “terrorist attack”.

The helicopter was apparently stolen and piloted by an officer in the country’s investigative police force, Oscar Perez. As it strafed the court building and the Interior Ministry in Caracas, the attackers fired gunshots and lobbed grenades, officials said.

The police officer said to have piloted the stolen aircraft issued a statement denouncing the “criminal government”.

The attack came after months of protests against Maduro’s regime and ahead of a vote on July 30 to elect members of a controversial new body that could make changes to the country’s constitution.

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