Updated on
Summary Venezuelan National Assembly deputies came to blows on Thursday as tensions remain high between the opposition and ruling parties two months after President Hugo Chavez sidelined the opposition's election gains by giving himself decree powers.
During the days session, opposition deputy Alfonso Marquina marched up to the podium to protest the presence of a boisterous group of Chavez supporters in the audience. A ruling party deputy, identified by local media as Henry Ventura, then argued with Marquina and the two came to blows.Opposition party legislator Miguel Pizarro claimed that the two exchanged words and then Ventura grabbed Marquinas shirt and pushed him down the stairs. Legislators flooded the scene in a pushing match until soldiers intervened.
