CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered the arrest of a prominent Opposition leader in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro.

In addition to seeking the arrest of Julio Borges, the court also called for the prosecution of another Opposition lawmaker, Juan Requesens, who police detained a day earlier.

The moves threaten to deepen the country’s political crisis as Opposition lawmakers accuse the Government’s ruling part of using the alleged attack to clamp down on the Opposition.

Video circulating Tuesday on social media showed Venezuela’s political police arresting Requesens, a 29-year-old deputy in the Opposition-controlled National Assembly. Supporters say he was kidnapped from his apartment.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Borges, accusing him of “flagrant crimes”, including public incitement, treason to the fatherland and the attempted homicide against Maduro.

During a national television broadcast Tuesday, Maduro accused Requesens and Borges of complicity in weekend drone explosions that he contends were an attempt on his life. Borges has been living in exile in Colombia.

The head of Venezuela’s pro-Government constitutional assembly said he would have the body take up a proposal to strip both lawmakers of their immunity protections, drawing cries from anti-government lawmakers that such a move would be unconstitutional.

Maduro said statements from some of the six suspects arrested earlier have implicated the two lawmakers, as well as key financiers.

“Several of the declarations indicated Julio Borges. The investigations point to him,” Maduro said during Tuesday’s broadcast, though he provided no details of Borges’ alleged role.

Borges, who lives in exile in the Colombian capital, Bogota, rejected the accusations on Twitter, saying Maduro was trying to cast blame for Venezuela’s economic crisis that has included cash shortages, hyperinflation and rampant unemployment. “You’re not fooling anybody,” Borges said, calling the drone attack a “farce” staged to justify the persecution of opponents.

Two drones armed with explosives detonated near Maduro as he spoke during a military celebration Saturday evening. Images on live television showed Maduro and his wife looking up at the sky as the first drone exploded, sending hundreds of soldiers scrambling for safety.

The six suspects arrested earlier face charges of treason, attempted murder and terrorism. Investigators have linked a total of 19 people to the attack, Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab said yesterday.