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Maduro v Trump: Venezuela Supreme Court Rubberstamps Leopoldo Lopez 14 Year Imprisonment



By Carlos Camacho



Venezuela’s Supreme Court dismissed Thursday a writ of appeal by the defense team of Leopoldo Lopez, ratifying a 14-year sentence for "subliminally" inciting the bloody 2014 riots, one day after US President Donald J. Trump asked the political prisoner “be freed immediately” and met with Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori in the White House.



Tintori also met Wednesday with Republican lawmaker Senator Marco Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence. Trump tweeted a picture of the encounter.



The Venezuelan Supreme Court, however, was not impressed by Trump’s request or his meeting with Tintori. Come Thursday morning, the plenum of the Court’s “Sala de Casacion Penal”, an appeal instance for criminal cases, chose to disregard the defense’s resources and reaffirmed the previous sentence, imposed by a lower court, against Lopez and co-defendants Demian Martin (4 years and six months), Angel Gonzalez (also four years and six months) and Christian Holdak (10 years), according to local and social media reports.



That is in spite of the fact that the original prosecutor, Franklin Nieves, fled to the United States seeking asylum after the trial and denounced the Lopez trial as a sham. Nieves is still in the U.S. seeking asylum.



Lopez has now been in prison for 3 years.





Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner & husband of @liliantintori (just met w/ @marcorubio) out of prison immediately. pic.twitter.com/bt8Xhdo7al — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017 Glad to meet today with Lilian Tintori & Mitzy Capriles De Ledezma – wives of political prisoners in #Venezuela & champions of human rights! pic.twitter.com/pPsFoZvTAG — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 14, 2017





By Carlos CamachoVenezuela’s Supreme Court dismissed Thursday a writ of appeal by the defense team of Leopoldo Lopez, ratifying a 14-year sentence for "subliminally" inciting the bloody 2014 riots, one day after US President Donald J. Trump asked the political prisoner “be freed immediately” and met with Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori in the White House.Tintori also met Wednesday with Republican lawmaker Senator Marco Rubio and Vice President Mike Pence. Trump tweeted a picture of the encounter.The Venezuelan Supreme Court, however, was not impressed by Trump’s request or his meeting with Tintori. Come Thursday morning, the plenum of the Court’s “Sala de Casacion Penal”, an appeal instance for criminal cases, chose to disregard the defense’s resources and reaffirmed the previous sentence, imposed by a lower court, against Lopez and co-defendants Demian Martin (4 years and six months), Angel Gonzalez (also four years and six months) and Christian Holdak (10 years), according to local and social media reports.That is in spite of the fact that the original prosecutor, Franklin Nieves, fled to the United States seeking asylum after the trial and denounced the Lopez trial as a sham. Nieves is still in the U.S. seeking asylum.Lopez has now been in prison for 3 years. Enter your email address to subscribe to free headlines (and great cartoons so every email has a happy ending!) from the Latin American Herald Tribune: </s> Venezuela's Supreme Court has upheld the 14-year prison sentence of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Thursday (16 February). The 45-year-old was found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014 in which 43 people were killed. He was sentenced in September 2015.

Lopez has claimed that his sentence was politically motivated. The court's ruling on an appeal has made the decision final, officials said.

The court's decision comes a day after US President Donald Trump met with Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori in Washington and sought the former leader's release.

Shortly after meeting with Tintori, Trump tweeted a picture of himself standing with Tintori and wrote: "Venezuela should allow Leopoldo Lopez, a political prisoner and husband of @liliantintori out of prison immediately."

After Tintori arrived in Venezuela following her meeting with Trump, she told BBC: "Under this dictatorship, every sentence is null. Trump is with the people of Venezuela."

Trump's comment reportedly ramped up tensions as Venezuela's Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez accused the US president of interfering in the country's domestic matters.

She tweeted saying that she rejected "the meddling and aggression of US President @realDonaldTrump who tries to give orders in our fatherland." She added that Trump "sided with the boss behind violent acts".

Lopez had previously said through his defence team that there were some irregularities in the trial. The judge had reportedly only heard 50 witnesses from the defence while he heard 138 witnesses from prosecution, the pointed out. </s> Venezuelan Supreme Court closes Legislative gives all power to Maduro: world condemnation

The Venezuelan Supreme Court's decision late Wednesday to take control of the opposition-controlled legislature has set off a wave of outrage, with some hemispheric neighbors, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Argentina, denouncing the measure as a threat to democracy.

The Organization of American States' secretary general, Luis Almagro, accused the government led by socialist Nicolas Maduro of attempting a self-inflicted coup d'etat against its parliament. He called for an emergency meeting of the organization's Permanent Council, just two days after presiding at an extraordinary meeting in Washington about Venezuela.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department condemned the court for its decision to usurp the powers of the democratically elected National Assembly. … We consider it a serious setback for democracy.

Peru pulled its ambassador Thursday in protest, and countries including Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile also denounced Venezuela's high court.

In a wide-ranging ruling, the court criticized the National Assembly for what it called disrespect and invalidity of its proceedings. It said as long as that persisted, this Constitutional Chamber will ensure that the parliamentary powers are exercised directly by this chamber or by the body it has in place to ensure the rule of law.

Maduro is now the National Assembly,'' assembly leader Julio Borges said. It's one thing to try to build a dictatorship and another to complete the circuit.

The court decision followed Tuesday's rare meeting of the OAS, which brought diplomats to Washington to debate how to resolve the South American country's years-long political and humanitarian crisis.

Almagro — who detailed the country's problems in a 74-page report issued in mid-March — had recommended suspending Venezuela's membership in the group unless it quickly released political prisoners and scheduled long-delayed elections, but the United States urged giving the country another chance to cooperate on re-establishing democratic norms. The U.S. was one of 20 member states that committed to taking as-yet-uncertain steps in guiding Venezuela toward that goal.

A constitutional expert said Wednesday's ruling enables the government to suspend elections, detain deputies and withdraw Venezuela from the OAS.

This is not an ordinary sentence, said Luis Salamanca, a political scientist at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas. He told El Nacional newspaper that the ruling gives Maduro the power to practically handle everything without any respect for the rules set out in the charter.

The National Mesa Bureau, an opposition group, condemned the court's decision as a flagrant violation of the constitution.

The bureau said in a statement that the government had resorted to desperate measures. It said that through legal aberration, the Constitutional Chamber urges the president to review criminal and even military laws under the state of emergency,” allowing him to more directly attack the democratically elected National Assembly and its leaders. </s> CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington imposed sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials on Wednesday for their role in creating an all-powerful legislative body loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, while a mayor-turned-fugitive called for more anti-government protests.

Demonstrators block a street at a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello

The new U.S. sanctions targeted politicians and security figures but stopped short of actions against Venezuela’s vital oil industry. Energy sector sanctions, which could cripple Venezuela’s already ailing economy, are still being considered, U.S. officials said.

The sanctions followed Friday’s installation of a legislative superbody known as the constituent assembly, made up entirely of allies of the ruling Socialist Party and armed with the power to re-write the constitution.

The assembly’s first action was to fire Venezuela’s chief prosecutor, who had accused Maduro of human rights abuses, confirming opposition fears that the assembly would purge the government of dissenting voices.

Maduro’s loyalist Supreme Court has, meanwhile, stepped up the prosecution of opposition politicians including Ramon Muchacho, mayor of the wealthy Chacao district of capital city Caracas.

Muchacho appeared in a video shot from a secret location after the court removed him from office and sentenced him to 15 months in prison on Tuesday for failing to halt anti-government protests in his district.

“To all Venezuelans, the message is to continue in this struggle,” said a bearded Muchacho, clad in a white T-shirt emblazoned with the Venezuelan flag and appearing before a plain white backdrop. The video was circulated on social media.

Chacao has been the epicenter of demonstrations against Maduro and Muchacho’s video could help breathe new life into the protest movement. The massive street protests seen before the election of the assembly have lost steam while anti-Maduro activists try to draw up a strategy for the future.

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday via Facebook that it had sentenced David Smolansky of the El Hatillo district of Caracas to 15 months in prison, fired him from his post and ordered his arrest. Smolansky, the fifth mayor to face such sanctions this year, was also accused of defying an order to prevent opposition protests from blocking streets.

FROZEN ASSETS

The sanctions unveiled Wednesday will freeze U.S. assets of the officials targeted, ban them from travel to the United States and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Among those named was constituent assembly member Adan Chavez, brother of the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.

“We absolutely reject this act of aggression by the North American empire, by the government of Washington, and we do not recognize any sanction against the people of Venezuela,” said Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in a televised broadcast.”

“Venezuela cannot be sanctioned by anything or anyone.”

Washington clamped sanctions on Maduro himself last week following actions against 13 Venezuelan figures last month.

Experts say individual sanctions have had little or no impact on Maduro’s policies and that broader oil-sector and financial sanctions may be the only way to make the Venezuelan government feel economic pain.

More than 125 people have died in violence since the opposition began a sustained wave of protests in April. Met by rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas fired by the National Guard, the protesters say the crisis demands an early presidential election that they are sure Maduro would lose.

His popularity has been pounded lower by triple-digit inflation and acute food and medicine shortages which Maduro blames right-wing conspirators in league with the U.S. “empire”.

The opposition, which gained control of Venezuela’s congress in 2015 only to see its decisions nullified by the Supreme Court, boycotted the July 30 election of the legislative superbody known as the constituent assembly.

Slideshow (5 Images)

Maduro says the 545-member assembly will bring peace and prosperity to Venezuela. Laws passed by the new body will not need approval from Venezuela’s traditional congress, which met on Wednesday to discuss the region’s response to the new body.

In a joint declaration released on Tuesday, countries including Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Colombia condemned the “breakdown of democratic order” in Venezuela and said they would not recognize any action taken by its “illegitimate” new constituent assembly. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Venezuelan opposition deputy Amelia Belisario argues with national guard outside the Supreme Court in Caracas

There have been demonstrations in Venezuela after the Supreme Court took over legislative powers from the National Assembly.

Critics say the development takes the country closer to one-man rule under President Nicolas Maduro.

Luis Almagro, the secretary general of the Organisation of American States (OAS), described the move as the "final blow to democracy in the country".

The ruling effectively dissolves the elected legislature which has been dominated by the president's opponents.

Mr Almagro also described the move as a "self-inflicted coup" by Mr Maduro's government.

It comes after months of consolidation of power by the country's president, who is locked in a political struggle with the centre-right opposition.

Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption The president's supporters took part in a demonstration on Tuesday against the OAS

What has happened?

On Thursday the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the opposition-led legislature, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself.

The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly's lawmakers were "in a situation of contempt" after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.

It did not indicate if or when it might hand power back.

The court had previously backed the leftist president in his struggles with the legislature - on Tuesday removing parliamentary immunity from the Assembly's members.

The move is the latest example of the socialist President Maduro tightening his grip on power, which critics say he has been doing for months, amid a deepening economic crisis in the country.

The National Assembly's lawmakers were pictured scuffling with members of the National Guard while protesting outside the court on Thursday.

The Speaker of Venezuela's National Assembly, Julio Borges, addressed the media outside the legislative palace in Caracas.

He urged the army, which has so far supported the president, to take a stand against him.

In a tweet, jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez called on people to take to the streets in order to "reject dictatorship and rescue democracy".

Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption The Assembly's Speaker, Julio Borges, tore up a copy of the judgement by the Supreme Court

What has the reaction been?

The crisis has raised international alarm about the stability of Venezuela, which has undergone three attempted military coups since 1992.

The US state department called the court's move "a serious setback for democracy."

Most regional powers including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile have warned that the action is a threat to Venezuelan democracy.

Leftist-led Bolivia defended President Maduro, who has yet to comment publicly.

Venezuela's foreign ministry accused critics of the government of forming a right-wing regional pact against President Maduro.

Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez described the OAS is a pawn of US "imperialism".

Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption A student protesting against President Maduro on a protest on Caracas's main highway

Why is Venezuela in crisis?

Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed by a severe economic crisis.

It has the world's highest inflation rate, and the International Monetary Fund predicts it could reach 1,660% next year.

The government and opposition blame each other for the country's economic problems.

President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular, and the opposition has called for his removal from office and fresh elections. </s> Venezuela's chief prosecutor, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, has said the decision by the Supreme Court to take over legislative powers from the National Assembly violates the law.

Luisa Ortega is the first high-ranking official to criticise the measure. She has expressed "great concern".

The ruling effectively dissolves the elected legislature, which has been dominated by the president's opponents.

Critics say the "coup" takes the country closer to one-man rule.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) described the development as the "final blow to democracy in the country".

In her annual report, Ms Ortega said: "[The measure] constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order. It's my obligation to express my great concern to the country."

The statement is a surprising break with the official line for someone close to the government, correspondents say.
• What is behind the turmoil?

On Thursday the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the opposition-led legislature, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself.

The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly's lawmakers were "in a situation of contempt" after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.

It did not indicate if or when it might hand power back.

The court had previously backed the leftist president in his struggles with the legislature - on Tuesday removing parliamentary immunity from the assembly's members.

The move is the latest example of the socialist President Maduro tightening his grip on power, which critics say he has been doing for months, amid a deepening economic crisis in the country.

What has the reaction been?

The crisis has raised international alarm about the stability of Venezuelan democracy, which has undergone three attempted military coups since 1992.

The US state department called the court's move a "serious setback for democracy."

Most regional powers including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile have warned that the action is a threat to Venezuelan democracy. The regional bloc Mercosur will discuss the situation at an emergency meeting on Saturday.

Leftist-led Bolivia defended President Maduro, who has yet to comment publicly.

Venezuela's foreign ministry accused critics of the government of forming a right-wing regional pact against President Maduro.

Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez described the OAS is a pawn of US "imperialism". </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption The court's original ruling had sparked new protests against the government

The Venezuelan Supreme Court has reversed its ruling to strip congress of its legislative powers.

It made the decision after the government of President Nicolas Maduro urged it to review the ruling "to maintain institutional stability".

The initial decision - announced on Wednesday - had been denounced as a "coup" by the opposition, which dominates the National Assembly.

Anti-government protesters have staged daily protests against the move.

The supreme court announced the reversal on its website.

A day earlier, chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, became the first high-ranking official to criticise the judges.

Speaking live on TV, she expressed "great concern" about a measure which, she said, violated the constitution.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The opposition says Mr Maduro is turning Venezuela into a dictatorship

Promising dialogue to end the crisis, Mr Maduro had convened a late-night meeting of the state security council.

Afterwards Vice-President Tareck El Aissami said: "We urge the supreme court to review the decisions... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers."

Mr Maduro said: "This controversy has been overcome, showing the power of dialogue."

How did the dispute start?

In its original ruling, the supreme court had annulled the powers of the assembly, allowing the judges to write laws.

The court had accused lawmakers of "contempt" after allegations of irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.

The court has backed the leftist president in his ongoing struggles with the legislature. On Tuesday it removed parliamentary immunity from the assembly's members.

There has been widespread international condemnation, with the Organisation of American States talking of the "final blow to democracy" in Venezuela.

Why the reversal? By Will Grant, BBC News, Havana

It seems that a combination of internal and external pressures forced President Maduro's hand.

Inside Venezuela, the opposition's outcry was to be expected. However the sight of the normally loyal Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, openly criticising the move as unconstitutional was for many observers a turning point, and perhaps evidence of a wider split within "Chavismo".

Externally too, the response was very robust. Cuba, arguably Venezuela's staunchest ally, has been unwavering in its support. The Organization of American States held a special meeting in which other allies of Venezuela also lent their support to Mr Maduro. However, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and others called for cooler heads to prevail and for a return to the democratic order.

In the end, it seems President Maduro may have decided that the supreme court's move was a step too far politically and hoped to avoid a repeat of the massive street protests which have led to violence in the past.

Perhaps even the election this weekend in Ecuador played a role. The race in the Andean nation is very tight and it can't have helped President Rafael Correa, as a close friend to Venezuela, to have to support a move that was being billed by some as a "self-coup" in the days before a presidential election.

Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed in a severe economic crisis.

It has the world's highest inflation rate, which the International Monetary Fund predicts could reach 1,660% next year. Long queues, power cuts and shortages of basic goods are common.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Maduro blames the difficulties on an "economic war" waged by his rivals

The government and opposition blame each other for the country's problems, made worse by the falling price of oil, Venezuela's main export product.

President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular and the opposition has called for his removal.

Correction 25 April 2017: This article has been amended to clarify that the OAS held a special, rather than an emergency, meeting and that Cuba's support was unrelated to that meeting. </s> Venezuela’s chavista-friendly Supreme Court issued a ruling Wednesday declaring itself the legislative body of the federal government, annulling the opposition-ruled National Assembly for showing “contempt” towards the socialist government.

Latin American media have labeled the move an autogolpe (“self-coup”), recalling the dissolution of Congress by Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori in 1992. With the notable exception of Russia, the international community has demanded President Nicolás Maduro and the Supreme Court undo the unconstitutional power grab and return lawmaking authority to the popularly-elected legislature.

Late Wednesday night, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling stating that the National Assembly was in “contempt” of the socialist government. “While the contempt scenario persists and the National Assembly remains invalid, this institution will guarantee that the parliamentary duties be executed directly by this institution or whatever institution it wishes,” the statement read.

The Supreme Court had previously ruled that the National Assembly did not have lawmaking powers, claiming that three anti-socialist legislators elected in December 2015 – the election that turned the Venezuelan Socialist Party (PSUV) into the minority in the legislature for the first time in the Chávez era – had committed fraud. “Legally, the National Assembly does not exist,” then-vice-president Aristobulo Isturiz said last year. The Assembly persisted, however, continued to be internationally recognized as the lawmaking body of Venezuela.

Maduro himself had also tried to usurp the Assembly’s power by creating a “Communal Parliament,” but this move was rapidly dismissed as unconstitutional and, by the lawmakers it attempted to silence, as “nonsense.”

Previous attempts to silence the legislature did not account for the power vacuum that dissolving the lawmaking body would leave. Now, however, the Supreme Court has granted itself all legislative powers, solving that issue for Maduro.

While consistently dismissing the legislature as invalid, Maduro himself has disregarded his own unconstitutional presence in the presidential palace. The legislature organized a recall vote against Maduro, as permitted by the Venezuelan constitution, and submitted a legal recall petition to the government in late 2016. Maduro’s electoral commission rejected the recall bid unconstitutionally, eliminating Maduro’s authority as president.

On Thursday, the leadership of the anti-Maduro opposition in the Assembly responded to the decree. National Assembly President Julio Borges tore the Supreme Court ruling up and tossed it on the floor of the steps of the assembly.

“This ruling is garbage,” he told reporters. “We do not recognize it. It is a coup d’etat.”

“This ruling gives Maduro all the power to make whatever laws he wants, sign whatever contracts he wants, indebt the country however he wants, and persecute Venezuelans however he wants. It is a coup d’etat in its pure form, it is a dctatorship and the world needs to help Venezuela in its decision to change this dictatorship with a vote,” Borges added.

Much of the world has responded. “The United States condemns the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s March 29 decision to usurp the power of the democratically elected National Assembly,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement Thursday. “We call for the government of Venezuela to permit the democratically-elected National Assembly to perform its constitutional functions, hold elections as soon as possible and to release all political prisoners.”

“The continued restrictions on freedom of movement, association, expression, and peaceful protest are not only profoundly concerning, but counterproductive in an extremely polarized country that suffers an economic and social crisis,” UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement. “I firmly encourage the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision.”

“Unfortunately, what we had warned has now come to pass,” Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro said in response to the ruling. “The Secretary General of the OAS denounces the self-inflicted coup d’état perpetrated by the Venezuelan regime against the National Assembly, the last branch of government to be legitimized by the will of the people of Venezuela,” the organization said in a statement.

Even the Liberal Party government of Canada – run by a family friend of longtime Venezuelan allies, the Castro family – condemned the move. “Canada is deeply concerned by Venezuela Supreme Court’s decision to suspend legislative powers of democratically elected National Assembly,” the government said on Twitter.

With the exception of longtime Maduro allies – the propaganda outlet Telesur, the government of Cuba – only one major international player abstained from criticizing the Venezuelan Supreme Court: Russia.

“External forces should not add fuel to the fire to the conflict inside Venezuela,” the Russian government asserted in a statement Friday. “We are confident in the principle of non-interference in internal affairs.” </s> Venezuela's opposition has called a fresh 48-hour general strike against embattled President Nicolas Maduro's plans to have the constitution rewritten giving him broader powers.

The walk-out comes as violent and sometimes deadly protests continue amid a political and economic crisis that has led to shortages of basic goods and soaring inflation.

"We are calling out the entire people, all groups in society, for a 48-hour strike" Wednesday and Thursday, lawmaker Simon Calzadilla said.

Calzadilla said that the strike would be capped on Friday with a march demanding that Maduro officially scrap his Constituent Assembly vote scheduled for July 30.

Earlier on Saturday, police on motorcycles fired tear gas to break up an opposition march on the Supreme Court to press demands that elected socialist Maduro leave office.

That rally was also meant as a show of support for a slate of 33 magistrates -- a so-called shadow supreme court -- whose names were put forward Friday by the opposition to replace Venezuela's current high court, which is closely allied with Maduro and frequently rules in his favor.

Emboldened by a nationwide strike on Thursday that paralyzed parts of the capital Caracas and other Venezuelan cities, opposition leaders held a mock swearing-in ceremony Friday for the shadow court's new "judges."

Many of the actual court's justices were hastily appointed shortly before Maduro's ruling party lost its majority in congress.

"Everyone has given their backing to the new Supreme Court," tweeted Freddy Guevara, a leader of the opposition-led congress.

"We support the new judges because they will restore independence to the Supreme Court," said 43-year-old demonstrator Luis Torrealba, marching with his wife and teenage son.

Their swearing in was condemned by the government as "incitement to subversion" and an act of "treason," and officials threatened to throw the dissidents into prison.

One of the judges was arrested by intelligence services, the National Assembly said on Twitter.

Maduro said the opposition's bid to derail the constitutional assembly would fail.

"We are going to be implacable if they try to use violence to stop what cannot be stopped," the president warned on television.

In Saturday's march, hundreds of people took to a key Caracas motorway to head downtown toward the court building. But uniformed National Guard troops riding motorcycles fired tear gas to disperse them.

Wuilly Arteaga, a violinist who has gained celebrity for playing at many marches, was injured and taken to a clinic.

The 23-year-old was seen with blood pouring from cuts on the left side of his face. He said later he had been struck with buckshot.

"They are not going to frighten me," Arteaga said in a video he posted on Twitter.

The musician became an icon of the protest movement when he was pictured calmly weaving through tear gas with his violin on his shoulder, playing the classic Venezuelan folk song "Alma Llanera."

Immortalized in photographs from that performance during a demonstration on May 8, he said he meant it as a "message of peace."

With the situation already inflamed, the stakes have risen further, after the United States threatened economic sanctions if Maduro proceeds with his controversial vote for a body to rewrite the constitution.

The president has vowed to maintain the election of 545 members to the Constitutional Assembly.

Saturday's demonstrations, like many others since April, were organized by the Democratic Unity Roundtable, a coalition of political opposition groups.

The number of deaths in protests across the country since April has reached 103 -- about one fatality per day.

Datanalisis surveys have shown that more than 70 percent of Venezuelans reject Maduro's leadership.

But the president has brushed aside moves to oust him because he can count on the loyalty of the Venezuelan military, which has been given control of swaths of the economy.
The Venezuelan National Assembly supports and enforces a ruling made by exiled members of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, sentencing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to 18 years and 3 months in prison for a litany of charges largely related to corruption. The Maduro government calls the court "illegitimate".