Caracas to Strip Lawmakers Partaking in Coup Attempt of Immunity - Parliament

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Caracas will remove immunity from lawmakers who took part in the recent coup attempt in the country, the leader of Venezuela's Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello said.

"The Prosecutor's office has opened the case. All requests on the stripping of parliamentary immunity come to the Constituent Assembly, and… we will certainly take measures to remove parliamentary immunity from all those who actively participated in this [coup attempt]", Cabello said, as quoted by the broadcaster NTN on Sunday.

READ MORE: Russian, Venezuelan Foreign Ministers Discuss Coup Attempt in Venezuela (VIDEO)

The statement comes after on 30 April, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido urged Venezuelan civilians and servicemen to take to the streets to help depose President Nicolas Maduro.

In response, Maduro said that the commanders of all regions and zones of integral defence had reiterated their full loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the homeland. The coup attempt turned violent and resulted in some 240 people being injured, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mass protests began in Venezuela back in January, when Guaido proclaimed himself interim president of the country. A number of Western countries, including the US, backed his claim. Maduro, for his part, has accused Washington of attempting to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet. Russia, China, and a number of other countries have voiced their support for Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela.