Three Venezuelan opposition deputies were injured Thursday in clashes with violent groups tied to the government at the country's National Electoral Council (CNE), deputies said, according to dpa. Julio Borges, leader of the opposition bloc in the National Assembly, said he was hit in the face with a pipe in an attack outside the elections authority. Borges spoke to media with a bloodied nose and shirt. Two others were also wounded. The three were among 60 opposition lawmakers who attempted an unannounced visit to the CNE to demand answers about scheduling next steps in the process toward a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro. Borges said authorities refused to meet them, and accused government security forces of removing them to an area where government-linked gangs attacked them with pipes and explosives.
