Late Wednesday evening, Venezuela’s Supreme Court effectively took over its Congress.

The court contends that legislators are operating extrajudicially and says it will assume all of Congress’s functions. But the court is widely seen as being controlled by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, while Congress is viewed by many as the last stronghold of the opposition.

Some opposition members are vowing to continue carrying out their legislative duties. And members of opposition Voluntad Popular party are decrying the move as “a clear coup against our constitution and the National Assembly, which was elected by more than 15 million Venezuelans.”

The international community is registering its disapproval. Peru cut ties with Venezuela on Thursday.

That comes after the United States signalled recently it would be taking a harder line on Venezuela. In February of this year, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Venezuela’s vice president for drug trafficking while President Donald Trump called for the immediate release of political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez.

On Tuesday, Michael Fitzpatrick, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, at a special meeting of a council of the Organization of American States permanent council, referenced a decision the supreme court made to limit the immunity of National Assembly members.

That ruling was made while Venezuela’s foreign minister was at the OAS meeting, and so, Fitzpatrick said, “the timing and content are a clear signal” that attempts by OAS to discuss Venezuela “may carry local repercussions for opposition lawmakers.” </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> Opposition leaders branded Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro a “dictator” on Thursday after the Supreme Court took over the functions of Congress and pushed a lengthy political standoff to new heights.

There was swift and widespread international condemnation of the de facto annulment of the National Assembly, where the opposition won a majority in late 2015 amid an unprecedented economic crisis that has seen Maduro’s popularity plummet.

The head of the 34-nation Organization of International States (OAS), Luis Almagro, said the Venezuelan court had dealt the final blows to democracy and accused Maduro’s “regime” of carrying out a “coup.”

Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala and Panama expressed strong concerns while Peru withdrew its envoy after what it termed a rupture of democracy.

The United States described the move as a “serious setback for democracy in Venezuela” while the European Union called for a “clear electoral calendar” going forward.

Venezuela’s top court had already overturned most National Assembly decisions since the opposition win. Then late on Wednesday, it explicitly stated it was assuming Congress’ role in a ruling authorizing Maduro to create oil joint ventures without the previously mandated congressional approval.

“As long as the situation of contempt in the National Assembly continues, this constitutional chamber guarantees congressional functions will be exercised by this chamber or another chosen organ,” the court said in its ruling.

The contempt charge stems from vote-buying accusations against three lawmakers from southern Amazonas state. Even though they no longer sit in Congress, the court said parliamentary leaders had not handled their case legally.

 

 Critics of Maduro say it is an excuse for him to consolidate power and muzzle the opposition amid a severe recession, soaring inflation and acute shortages of food and medicine.

Maduro, a 54-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, was narrowly elected in 2013 to replace late leftist President Hugo Chavez. He has accused Washington of leading a push to topple him as part of a wider offensive against leftist governments.

Stung by the rebukes around Latin America, Maduro’s government condemned what it described as a “right-wing regional pact” against it on Thursday.

“We reject the Peruvian government’s rude support for the violent and extremist sectors in Venezuela,” Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said in a series of tweets.

Leaders of Venezuela’s Democratic Unity opposition coalition renewed their demand for early presidential elections and accused Maduro of duplicating Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori’s notorious 1992 closure of Congress.

“Nicolas Maduro has carried out a ‘coup d’etat’ … this is a dictatorship,” said National Assembly President Julio Borges, before tearing up a copy of the Supreme Court ruling at a news conference in the gardens of the legislature.

“This is trash from people who have kidnapped the constitution, rights and freedom of Venezuelans … The National Assembly does not recognize the Supreme Court.”

The opposition promised new street protests starting from Saturday – but that tactic has failed in the past despite marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of protesters.

Last year, the opposition pushed for a referendum to recall Maduro and force a new presidential election, but authorities thwarted them and also postponed local electoral races that were supposed to have been held in 2016.

Around a dozen opposition lawmakers trying to march to the Supreme Court on Thursday clashed with National Guard soldiers and pro-government supporters lined up to stop them.

Pockets of youths took to the streets in parts of Caracas and attempted to block a major highway. They held flags and banners saying, “No to dictatorship.”

However, numbers were small and they quickly dispersed.

In 2014, a wave of unrest swept the country, leaving more than 40 dead, though now many opposed to the government say they feel protesting is pointless.

“If the international community stays firm, demanding elections, we are sure the government will have to turn back,” another opposition leader and two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said.

Spooked by the opposition’s warning that investment deals bypassing Congress would not be valid, foreign oil companies were closely following the political showdown.

As Venezuela tries to raise funds for bond payments and a reeling economy, it has sought to sell stakes in oil fields. State oil company PDVSA recently offered Russia’s Rosneft a stake in the Petropiar oil joint venture, sources with knowledge of the proposal told Reuters.

“We want to make perfectly clear to all the oil companies that any strategic alliance (that did not go through Congress) is null,” Borges said on Thursday.

While some investors could see the Supreme Court sentence as giving them the green light to invest, others are increasingly worried about Venezuela’s murky legal framework.

“There is reasonable doubt about the legality of all this,” said a source at a foreign oil company. </s> Venezuela's Supreme Court announced Saturday it is handing back legislative powers to the National Assembly. The court said it has removed certain parts of a judgment issued Wednesday that took over the assembly's legislative powers.

Venezuelan government leaders on Saturday urged the country's Supreme Court to review its decision to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers, a much-decried move that opposition members have called a coup.

President Nicolas Maduro, flanked by other top officials, appeared on national television early Saturday, hours after Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz decried the court's ruling.

Observers of the nation's politics believe Maduro's government was attempting to assure Venezuelans it was addressing the controversy ahead of another day of protests.

"We've reached an important agreement to solve this controversy," said Maduro, who didn't elaborate. Vice President Tareck El Aissami read a six-point communique that included the request for the court to re-examine its finding.

The argument behind the ruling was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid.

The court's move means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party.

The protests erupted on the street and in the halls of government.

National Assembly President Julio Borges called the court decision a coup staged by Maduro. The ruling spurred anti-government protests on Friday and clashes between demonstrators and the National Guard outside the Supreme Court building.

Ortega, long perceived as a Maduro loyalist, said the decision "constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order."

The point in the communique that calls for a court review of its decision also stresses that the move was made with the intention "to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers."
• an affirmation of the court's authority to determine the constitutionality of any actions by the other branches of government;
• a call for national dialogue to be mediated by statesmen such as former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, former Latin American leaders and Pope Francis;.
• an emphasis on Maduro's efforts in the search for solutions to resolve constitutional conflicts; and
• a repudiation of any intervention that attacks the nation's sovereignty.

There has been no word yet from opposition politicians upset by the court's move, including Borges. He snubbed a late-night meeting to draw up the communique. </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> In a move critics are calling the point of no return toward a dictatorship, Venezuela's Supreme Court took over the opposition-controlled Congress. The court ruled Congress "in contempt' and said it would take over all "parliamentary capacities."

In Venezuela, the supreme court has effectively shut down the congress, and the congress was the only branch of government not controlled by the ruling Socialist Party. Critics are calling this a major blow to democracy. Reporter John Otis has more.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: In a ruling late Wednesday night, the supreme court declared that the National Assembly, the name for Venezuela's congress, was in contempt and that the court would assume legislative functions. That decision puts even more power in the hands of Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, because, according to many analysts, the supreme court answers to him. Opposition lawmakers were quick to react.

OTIS: In front of TV cameras, Julia Borges, president of the National Assembly, ripped up a copy of the supreme court's decision and called it garbage. Critics decried the court's move as the latest sign of Maduro's authoritarian shift. His government is holding more than 100 political prisoners. It has canceled elections and cracked down on the media.

The opposition won control of the National Assembly in elections in 2015, but the supreme court has annulled nearly every decision it has taken. The court's ruling to take over legislative functions stems from accusations of voter fraud in the election of three opposition lawmakers. Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch, says that's just an excuse for Maduro to seize even more power.

JOSE MIGUEL VIVANCO: That's why we are facing a turning point, and Venezuela cannot be called any longer a democratic government. And it's a - in plain language, a dictatorship.

OTIS: This political crisis, as well as the country's ongoing economic meltdown, prompted the Organization of American States, known as the OAS, to hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss Venezuela. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said that elections are the democratic solution for Venezuela, but Diosdado Cabello, a top Venezuelan official, disagreed.

OTIS: He accused the OAS of paving the way for a foreign invasion. For NPR News, I'm John Otis. </s> DORAL (CBSMiami) – Dozens gathered in Doral Friday night to rally against Venezuela’s president and the supreme court’s decision to seize power from the legislature.

Venezuelans protested in front of the country’s supreme court building, making sure their government knows they are not happy.

Venezuelans in South Florida did the same.

They held a rally in Doral – dozens gathering in united anger after Thursday night’s decision.

Venezuela’s supreme court awarded itself legislative powers, stripping the national assembly of them.

The decision effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party under President Nicolas Maduro.

There is fear growing that Maduro is turning into a dictator.

“Nicolas Maduro is using all the power that he can to keep himself ruling in Venezuela,” said Pedro Vazquez. “And the last thing he did was utilizing the justice department to take over what would be here like the Congress or the Senate.”

After the ruling, Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted an article about the decision and wrote, “Venezuela now officially a dictatorship after supreme court assumes powers of opposition-controlled congress.”

That kind of reaction is what the people at Friday’s rally were hoping for, that leaders within the U.S. would get behind them and against Maduro.

Venezuela is already in economic despair, which has led to shortages of food and medicine.

“We have food, we have everything. They don’t have anything. They don’t have medicine. My mother is 94 – I have to send her medicine from here,” said Ernesto Ackerman.

The tensions are high in the country.

A journalist reporting on Venezuela’s political crisis for a Colombian radio station was roughed up by that country’s national guard soldier. The video has gone viral.

Venezuelans in South Florida are hoping their cries are heard around the world.

“For us, it is very hard even though we know what are responsibilities are – which is to take it to international community with what is happening in Vevenzuela,” said Vazquez.

“Do you think Presdient Maduro is a dictator?” CBS4’s Vanessa Borge asked him.

In response to these rallies, Maduro said dialogue between the government and the opposition is the only way to resolve the crisis. </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> (CNN) Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz on Friday strongly criticized a ruling by the country's Supreme Court to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers , essentially dissolving it.

"It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the attorney general said, raising a pocket-size copy of the Venezuelan Constitution in her left hand and standing in front of the Venezuelan flag.

Ortega made the statement during her annual State of the Attorney General's Office address in Caracas. The statement is significant because it breaks with the government's official position.

Venezuelan's opposition has long perceived the attorney general as being loyal to the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro

"It is my obligation to express in front of the country my deep concern about this event (the ruling)" Ortega added.

In a surprising move late Wednesday, the Venezuela's high court stripped the National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists.

The argument behind the rule was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid.

The court's move effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture.

Maduro spoke about the ruling in a message broadcast live Thursday on the government's TV network.

"They're giving me and authorizing me, enabling special powers that stem out of the state of emergency clauses in our constitution. This is an order by the Supreme Court. It's a historic ruling," Maduro said.

Opposition leaders said the ruling amounts to a coup, and they are already calling the Maduro government "a dictatorship."

"Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans."

CNN contributor and Latin American analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner said the attorney general's statement is not only significant but also revealing.

"I think this is a breakup of the (Venezuelan) top leadership, and it's centered precisely within the judicial power," Montaner said. "This step taken by Luisa Ortega is crucial because she represents one of the most powerful families in the country. She's not an isolated person but has relations and connections and has been the attorney general for a long time."

Also Friday, a group of anti-government protesters, mainly college students, clashed with the Venezuelan National Guard during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court building. Images captured by CNN affiliate Vivo Play shows a member of the guard hitting one of the students in the head.

Three journalists were also attacked, including a Colombian reporter and two photographers whose cameras were destroyed, according to a report by CNN en Español.

There had been similar clashes Thursday afternoon when opposition legislators tried to storm the court's facilities and the guard blocked access.

The Venezuelan political crisis is being closely watched by the international community. The Russian government urged other nations Friday to avoid intervening in Venezuela.

"External forces should not stoke the fire by issuing statements and taking actions pertaining to the internal conflict in Venezuela," Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zajarova said.
In a ruling, Venezuela's Supreme Court says it "guarantees congressional functions will be exercised by" itself, authorizing president Nicolás Maduro to create oil joint ventures without the previously mandated congressional approval. Opposition leaders call it a "coup", while Peru recalls its ambassador.