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>CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition protests began and foreign pressure mounted on Friday over a court takeover of Congress that many viewed as a lurch into dictatorship by a leftist government grappling with a plunge in popularity.

"We will not accept usurpation by the Supreme Court," said a student group in Caracas marching to the nation's top tribunal which has assumed the functions of the opposition-led National Assembly .

"We mustn't give up or stop, we have to demand our rights," he said.

Having already shot down most of the National Assembly's measures since the opposition won control in 2015, the pro-Maduro court this week said it was assuming the legislature's functions because it was in "contempt" of the law.

Outraged foes of President Nicolas Maduro accused him of staging a "coup" against an elected body. Maduro, 54, a former bus driver and self-declared "son" of late leftist predecessor Hugo Chavez, was narrowly elected in 2013.

The court move also brought condemnations and concern from the United States, Organization of American States (OAS), European Union, major Latin American nations and the top U.N. human rights official.

Ally Russia, however, bucked the trend in a statement on Friday urging the world to leave Venezuela alone.

"External forces should not add fuel to the fire to the conflict inside Venezuela," it said. "We are confident in the principle of non-interference in internal affairs."

Maduro accuses Washington of leading a push to topple him as part of a wider offensive against leftist governments in Latin America. Brazil, Argentina and Peru have all moved to the right recently.

However, new U.S. President Donald Trump seems to have other priorities or has not yet fully formed policy on Venezuela.

OAS head Luis Almagro, whom the Venezuelan government views as a pawn of Washington, has been pushing for its suspension from the 34-nation regional bloc and wants an emergency meeting after the latest developments.

But suspension appears unlikely, diplomats say, given Venezuela's support from other leftist governments and small nations who have benefited from its oil largesse, and anyway it would only be a symbolic sanction, albeit a strong one.

"It's false there has been a coup d'etat in Venezuela," Venezuela's foreign ministry said, alleging a regional right-wing conspiracy against it.

"On the contrary, institutions have adopted legal correctives to stop the deviant and coup-seeking actions of opposition parliamentarians openly in contempt of decisions by the republic's maximum tribunal."

Venezuela's opposition Democratic Unity coalition, made up of about two dozen parties and groups, declared itself in "permanent session" and promised rolling street protests.

But the coalition is hobbled by disunity: leaders called at least four separate news conferences on Friday.

Opposition supporters are also acutely aware, however, that street tactics have failed on numerous occasions.

Vast rallies in 2002 helped briefly topple Chavez, but he was back about 36 hours later after his supporters poured onto the street and military factions came to his aid.

In 2014, hardline opposition activists led months of protests, but they turned violent and led to 43 deaths, their leader Leopoldo Lopez was jailed, and Maduro consolidated power.

Then last year, hundreds of thousands marched at various times, but still authorities thwarted the opposition's push for a referendum to recall Maduro and also postponed local elections.

The opposition is hoping the military - whose top ranks still pledge absolute loyalty to Maduro though there is believed to be dissent lower down - may nudge him into bringing forward a presidential election slated for the end of 2018.

But there is no public sign of that happening.

"Given that the government controls all the state's institutions, including the armed forces, the security apparatus is likely to strongly repress protesters with opposition leaders facing higher detention risks," said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a Venezuelan analyst with the IHS Markit consultancy.

The Supreme Court's 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.

Maduro came to power with around 50 percent popularity ratings but has seen that halved as Venezuelans struggle with a fourth year of recession, scarcities of basic food and medicines and the highest inflation in the world.

Critics blame a failing socialist system, whereas the government says foes are carrying out an "economic war" against Maduro. The fall in oil prices since mid-2014 has exacerbated the crisis.</s>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>President Nicolas Maduro urged Venezuela's Supreme Court early Saturday to review a decision stripping congress of its last powers, a ruling that set off a storm of criticism from the opposition and foreign governments.

The announcement came just hours before the opposition hoped to mount big protests against the socialist government, spurred by anger over the ruling.

In an address early after a Friday night meeting presided over by Maduro, the National Security Council announced that was supporting a review by the court "with the goal of maintaining institutional stability."

The announcement capped an extraordinary day in which Venezuela's chief prosecutor and long-time loyalist of the socialist government broke with the Maduro administration and denounced the court ruling. Luisa Ortega Diaz said it was her "unavoidable historical duty" as the nation's top judicial authority to decry the ruling against the opposition-controlled National Assembly as a "rupture" of the constitutional order.

"We call for reflection so that the democratic path can be retaken," she said to the loud applause of aides gathered around her.

Maduro called the meeting of the council seeking to calm the political uproar, though at least one key member refused to attend while criticism from other governments mounted.

Dressed in black and waving a small blue book containing the Venezuelan constitution early in the televised meeting, Maduro likened the international condemnation of this week's Supreme Court decision to a "political lynching."

About a dozen officials were present at the session, but among those notably absent was congress president Julio Borges, who said the meeting was no more than a circus act created for a convenient photo opportunity by the same person the opposition blames for the country's troubles.

"In Venezuela the only dialogue possible is the vote," Borges said.

On Friday, troops from the National Guard fired buckshot and swung batons at students protesting in front of the Supreme Court. A few people were arrested and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken. A few other, small protests popped up elsewhere in the capital.

Larger demonstrations were expected Saturday in what opposition leaders hoped would be a big turnout to denounce Maduro and call for elections.

"We all have to get out — for the dignity of our country, the dignity of our children and the dignity of Venezuela," Borges said in urging Venezuelans to join in protests Saturday.

The Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday that until lawmakers abided by previous rulings that nullified all legislation passed by congress, the high court could assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition since it won a landslide victory in elections in late 2015..

Friday brought a second day of condemnations of the ruling by the United States and governments across Latin America. The head of the Organization of American States likened the decision to a "self-inflicted coup" by the leftist Maduro, and the United Nations' top human rights official urged the high court to reverse its decision.

The OAS announced that it would hold an emergency meeting at its Washington headquarters Monday to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

Opposition leaders, who have been during 17 years of socialist rule, called on other public officials to follow Ortega Diaz's example in repudiating the court's ruling. Some urged the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, to defend the constitution drafted by late President Hugo Chavez.

"You have a new opportunity to show the country and international community if you are with the dictatorship or want your children and grandchildren to grow and live in a country where there's democracy and liberty," said David Smolansky, a Caracas area mayor.

The normally ever-present Maduro was conspicuously silent during much of the two days of turmoil, but then he went on state TV to argue that Venezuela's institutions are operating normally. Alluding to criticism of the court's ruling, he said it is the government's "right-wing, fascist" opponents who are attempting to break the constitutional order, but said his foes would be left with "their cold champagne, uncorked,"

Still, Maduro also called for renewed dialogue between the government and the opposition, saying that is the only path to resolving Venezuela's political crisis.

"I'm ready with whoever is willing," he said.

Colombia, Chile and Peru withdrew their ambassadors over the ruling. "This clearly destroys the most important pillar of any democracy, which is popular representation," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said.

The South American trade bloc Mercosur, which suspended Venezuela in December, called an emergency meeting for Saturday in Argentina to discuss the crisis.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said the organization would hold a special session Monday to assess the situation in Venezuela. The OAS already held two meetings this week on Venezuela that ended with 20 governments led by the U.S. and Mexico voicing deep concern but no concrete actions to hold Maduro accountable.

Maduro's government says the Supreme Court ruling isn't meant to supplant congress but rather to guarantee the rule of law as long as legislators obstruct efforts to adopt a budget and make decisions on Venezuela's slumping economy, which is beset with triple-digit inflation and food shortages.

"It's untrue that a coup has taken place in Venezuela," the government said in a statement. "On the contrary, the institutions have taken corrective legal action to stop the distractive, coup-like actions of an opposition that has declared itself openly in contempt of the decisions made by the republic's top court."</s>Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday he would resolve within hours controversy over the judiciary's annulment of congress which has sparked opposition protests and condemnation from around the world.

"I hope to have very good news this evening and clear up the controversy generated," Maduro said in a speech, calling a meeting of the state security council to discuss the attorney general's criticism of the Supreme Court's decision.

The court's ruling that it was assuming the functions of the opposition-led National Assembly was lambasted as a "coup" by critics who viewed it as a lurch into dictatorship by the Socialist Party that has ruled for the last 18 years.

Seeking to project himself as above a fray between independent powers and possibly presaging a U-turn by the Supreme Court, Maduro said he had known nothing in advance of its ruling but would immediately address the matter.

In a rare show of dissent from a senior official, Venezuela's powerful attorney general Luisa Ortega, long an ally of Maduro, rebuked the court earlier on Friday.

"It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the 59-year-old said in a speech on state television. "It's my obligation to express my great concern to the country."

Throughout Friday, pockets of protesters blocked roads, unfurled banners and chanted slogans against Maduro's unpopular government, including "Freedom!" and "No To Dictatorship!"

In volatile western Tachira state, several dozen demonstrators tore up copies of court sentences in front of local judicial buildings.

Having already shot down most of the National Assembly's measures since the opposition won control in 2015, the pro-Maduro Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was taking over the legislature's role because it was in "contempt" of the law.

The Supreme Court went into session from Friday afternoon, further fueling rumors of a row-back to diffuse the controversy.

New court president Maikel Moreno had called a news conference late afternoon, but it was swiftly cancelled, with Maduro taking to state airwaves instead to address a technology conference.

Venezuelan bonds fell sharply on the uncertainty, with the country's benchmark Global 2027 down around 7 percent.

The country's currency fell 9 percent on the black market against the dollar.

Maduro, 54, a former bus driver and self-declared "son" of late leftist predecessor Hugo Chavez, was narrowly elected in 2013 amid widespread support for the ruling Socialist Party's oil-fueled welfare programs.

But his ratings have plummeted to just over 20 percent as Venezuelans struggle with a fourth year of recession, scarcities of food and medicines and the highest inflation in the world.

Critics blame a failing socialist system, whereas the government says its enemies are waging an "economic war." The fall in oil prices since mid-2014 has exacerbated the crisis.

The court's move brought condemnations and concern from the United States, Organization of American States (OAS), European Union, United Nations and major Latin American nations.

Ally Russia bucked the trend in a statement on Friday, urging the world to leave Venezuela alone.

 

 "External forces should not add fuel to the fire," it said.

Maduro accuses Washington of leading a push to topple him as part of a wider offensive against leftists in Latin America.

Brazil, Argentina and Peru have all moved to the right recently.

However, new U.S. President Donald Trump seems to have other priorities or has not yet fully formed policy on Venezuela.

OAS head Luis Almagro, whom the Venezuelan government views as a pawn of Washington, has been pushing for its suspension from the 34-nation regional bloc and wants an emergency meeting after the latest developments.

But suspension appears unlikely, diplomats say, given Venezuela's support from other leftist governments and small nations who have benefited from its oil largesse.

"It's all a plan to intervene in Venezuela, provoke national chaos and impose a coup d'etat," Maduro added in his speech.

"Venezuela has a powerful democracy ... the constitution is fully intact," he added.

Venezuela's disparate opposition Democratic Unity coalition, made up of about two dozen parties and groups, declared itself in "permanent session" and promised rolling street protests to demand a new presidential election.

But the coalition is hobbled by disunity: leaders held four overlapping news conferences on Friday.

Opposition supporters are also acutely aware that street tactics have failed on numerous occasions.

Vast rallies in 2002 helped briefly topple Chavez, but he was back about 36 hours later after his supporters poured onto the street and military factions came to his aid.

In 2014, hardline opposition activists led months of protests, but they turned violent and led to 43 deaths, their leader Leopoldo Lopez was jailed, and Maduro consolidated power.

Then last year, hundreds of thousands marched, but still authorities thwarted the opposition's push for a referendum to recall Maduro and also postponed local elections.

The opposition is hoping the military - whose top ranks still pledge absolute loyalty to Maduro though there is believed to be dissent lower down - may nudge him into bringing forward a presidential election slated for the end of 2018.

But there is no public sign of that happening.

The Supreme Court's 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 legalized their exit.</s>Venezuela’s most senior prosecutor has added her voice to condemnation of a move by the government-stacked supreme court to gut congress of its last vestiges of power, as security forces violently repressed small protests against the power grab.

Luisa Ortega Díaz, normally a government loyalist, said that it was her “unavoidable historical duty” as a Venezuelan citizen and the nation’s top judicial authority to denounce what she called the supreme court’s “rupture” of the constitutional order.



“We call for reflection, so that the democratic path can be retaken,” she said to the loud applause of several aides gathered around her.

Governments across Latin America have condemned the power grab, with the head of the Organization of American States likening it to a “self-inflicted coup” by the socialist president Nicolás Maduro’s “regime” against the opposition-controlled congress. The top United Nations human rights official called on the supreme court to reconsider its decision and urged Maduro’s government to uphold rights to peaceful assembly.

“The separation of powers is essential for democracy to function, and keeping democratic spaces open is essential to ensure human rights are protected,” UN high commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement on Friday.

In Caracas, national guardsmen in riot gear fired buckshots and swung batons at a small group of students who gathered early outside the supreme court. A few arrests took place and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken before the group reassembled elsewhere in the capital.

The magistrates ruled late Wednesday that as long as lawmakers remain in contempt of past rulings, the high court, or an institution it designates, can assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition for nearly a year and a half.

The ruling and one earlier in the week limiting lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution capped a feud that began when the long-marginalized opposition won control of the legislature by a landslide in December 2015 and then mounted a campaign to force Maduro from office.

The leftist leader, who has seen his approval ratings plunge amid widespread food shortages and triple-digit inflation, responded by relying on the supreme court to unseat several lawmakers and then routinely nullify all legislation voted there.

“This isn’t any old sentence. It marks a point of no return on the road to dictatorship,” said Freddy Guevara, the No 2 leader in congress.

Peru’s government immediately recalled its ambassador in protest of what it called “a flagrant break in the democratic order”. Colombia called back its ambassador Friday for consultations. And Chile’s left-of-center president, who has been reluctant to openly criticize Maduro, said she was deeply worried by the ruling and also ordered her ambassador to return home for consultations.

The US state department reiterated its call for Maduro to free political prisoners and hold immediate elections to resolve the crisis, saying the court decision to “usurp” the National Assembly’s powers represented a “serious setback for democracy in Venezuela”.

OAS secretary general Luis Almagro called for an emergency meeting of the regional group, which held two angry sessions on Venezuela earlier this week. That meeting ended with 20 governments led by the US and Mexico voicing deep concern about the Venezuelan situation but no concrete actions to hold Maduro accountable.

The OAS appears unlikely to suspend Venezuela, however, given its support from other leftist governments and small nations who have benefited from its oil largesse.

“It’s false there has been a coup d’etat in Venezuela,” Venezuela’s foreign ministry said, alleging a regional right-wing conspiracy.

“On the contrary, institutions have adopted legal correctives to stop the deviant and coup-seeking actions of opposition parliamentarians openly in contempt of decisions by the republic’s maximum tribunal.”

Luis Vicente Leon, a Caracas-based pollster, said that while the ruling completely “pulverizes the separation of powers”, Venezuela long ago stopped operating like a normal democracy with a clear rule of law and independent institutions. He sees the government hardening its position in the face of mounting economic woes and international pressure, further dashing hopes for dialogue and an electoral solution.

“It’s perfectly predictable that the government is going to keep radicalizing,” he said.

The main opposition alliance said it was holding around-the-clock meetings to determine its next steps, but some leaders were already calling for protests as early as Saturday. Meanwhile, some hard-liners called for the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela and an important crutch for Maduro, to intervene.

“The 30 million Venezuelans need to take to the streets and confront the dictatorship,” said Daniela Tani, a coordinator for one of Venezuela’s opposition groups who joined about 50 people briefly blocking one of major roadways in Caracas. The protesters waved flags and stopped traffic until being surrounded by police trying to clear the street.

But it was not clear if critics of the government were in the mood for another street fight after past attempts fizzled or ended in bloodshed with little to show. Weeks of unrest in 2014 resulted in more than 40 deaths and dozens of arrests, while a mass protest last September was followed by authorities a few days later cancelling a recall petition campaign seeking to force Maduro from office before his term ends in 2019.

The Supreme Court’s ruling stemmed from congress’ refusal to authorize Venezuela’s state-run oil company to form joint ventures with private companies, including Russia’s Rosneft. State media said the ruling was not seeking to supplant congress but rather to guarantee the rule of law so long as legislators remains obstructionist by refusing to sign off on a budget and key economic decisions.</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>President Nicolas Maduro urged Venezuela's Supreme Court early Saturday to review a decision stripping congress of its last powers, a ruling that set off a storm of criticism from the opposition and foreign governments.

The announcement came just hours before the opposition hoped to mount big protests against the socialist government, spurred by anger over the ruling.

In an address early after a Friday night meeting presided over by Maduro, the National Security Council announced that was supporting a review by the court "with the goal of maintaining institutional stability."

The announcement capped an extraordinary day in which Venezuela's chief prosecutor and long-time loyalist of the socialist government broke with the Maduro administration and denounced the court ruling. Luisa Ortega Diaz said it was her "unavoidable historical duty" as the nation's top judicial authority to decry the ruling against the opposition-controlled National Assembly as a "rupture" of the constitutional order.

"We call for reflection so that the democratic path can be retaken," she said to the loud applause of aides gathered around her.

Maduro called the meeting of the council seeking to calm the political uproar, though at least one key member refused to attend while criticism from other governments mounted.

Dressed in black and waving a small blue book containing the Venezuelan constitution early in the televised meeting, Maduro likened the international condemnation of this week's Supreme Court decision to a "political lynching."

About a dozen officials were present at the session, but among those notably absent was congress president Julio Borges, who said the meeting was no more than a circus act created for a convenient photo opportunity by the same person the opposition blames for the country's troubles.

"In Venezuela the only dialogue possible is the vote," Borges said.

On Friday, troops from the National Guard fired buckshot and swung batons at students protesting in front of the Supreme Court. A few people were arrested and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken. A few other, small protests popped up elsewhere in the capital.

Larger demonstrations were expected Saturday in what opposition leaders hoped would be a big turnout to denounce Maduro and call for elections.

"We all have to get out — for the dignity of our country, the dignity of our children and the dignity of Venezuela," Borges said in urging Venezuelans to join in protests Saturday.

The Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday that until lawmakers abided by previous rulings that nullified all legislation passed by congress, the high court could assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition since it won a landslide victory in elections in late 2015..

Friday brought a second day of condemnations of the ruling by the United States and governments across Latin America. The head of the Organization of American States likened the decision to a "self-inflicted coup" by the leftist Maduro, and the United Nations' top human rights official urged the high court to reverse its decision.

The OAS announced that it would hold an emergency meeting at its Washington headquarters Monday to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

Opposition leaders, who have been during 17 years of socialist rule, called on other public officials to follow Ortega Diaz's example in repudiating the court's ruling. Some urged the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, to defend the constitution drafted by late President Hugo Chavez.

"You have a new opportunity to show the country and international community if you are with the dictatorship or want your children and grandchildren to grow and live in a country where there's democracy and liberty," said David Smolansky, a Caracas area mayor.

The normally ever-present Maduro was conspicuously silent during much of the two days of turmoil, but then he went on state TV to argue that Venezuela's institutions are operating normally. Alluding to criticism of the court's ruling, he said it is the government's "right-wing, fascist" opponents who are attempting to break the constitutional order, but said his foes would be left with "their cold champagne, uncorked,"

Still, Maduro also called for renewed dialogue between the government and the opposition, saying that is the only path to resolving Venezuela's political crisis.

"I'm ready with whoever is willing," he said.

Colombia, Chile and Peru withdrew their ambassadors over the ruling. "This clearly destroys the most important pillar of any democracy, which is popular representation," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said.

The South American trade bloc Mercosur, which suspended Venezuela in December, called an emergency meeting for Saturday in Argentina to discuss the crisis.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said the organization would hold a special session Monday to assess the situation in Venezuela. The OAS already held two meetings this week on Venezuela that ended with 20 governments led by the U.S. and Mexico voicing deep concern but no concrete actions to hold Maduro accountable.

Maduro's government says the Supreme Court ruling isn't meant to supplant congress but rather to guarantee the rule of law as long as legislators obstruct efforts to adopt a budget and make decisions on Venezuela's slumping economy, which is beset with triple-digit inflation and food shortages.

"It's untrue that a coup has taken place in Venezuela," the government said in a statement. "On the contrary, the institutions have taken corrective legal action to stop the distractive, coup-like actions of an opposition that has declared itself openly in contempt of the decisions made by the republic's top court."

Associated Press writer Jorge Rueda reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported from Bogota, Colombia.</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>Security forces violently repressed small protests that broke out in Venezuela's capital Friday after the government-stacked Supreme Court gutted congress of its last vestiges of power, drawing widespread condemnation from foreign countries and even from the government's top prosecutor.

Governments across Latin America condemned the power grab, with the head of the Organization of American States likening it to a "self-inflicted coup" by socialist President Nicolas Maduro's "regime" against the opposition-controlled congress. The United Nations' top human rights official called on the high court to reverse its decision.

In Caracas, national guardsmen in riot gear fired buckshot and swung batons at a small group of students who gathered early outside the Supreme Court. A few arrests took place and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken before the group reassembled elsewhere in the capital.

Larger demonstrations were expected later as residents of eastern Caracas, the site of weeks of anti-government unrest in 2014, awoke to an eerie calm.

The magistrates ruled late Wednesday that as long as lawmakers remain in contempt of past rulings, the high court, or an institution it designates, can assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition for nearly a year and a half.

Maduro has yet to comment on the decision but there are signs that at least some top officials are in disagreement.

In a surprise pronouncement Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz, normally a government loyalist, said that it was her "unavoidable historical duty" as a Venezuelan citizen and the nation's top judicial authority to denounce what she called the Supreme Court's "rupture" of the constitutional order.

"We call for reflection, so that the democratic path can be retaken," she said to the loud applause of several aides gathered around her.

The ruling and one earlier in the week limiting lawmakers' immunity from prosecution capped a feud that began when the long-marginalized opposition won control of the legislature by a landslide in December 2015 and then mounted a campaign to force Maduro from office. The leftist leader, who has seen his approval ratings plunge amid widespread food shortages and triple-digit inflation, responded by relying on the Supreme Court to unseat several lawmakers and then routinely nullify all legislation voted there.

"This isn't any old sentence. It marks a point of no return on the road to dictatorship," said Freddy Guevara, the No. 2 leader in congress.

Peru's government immediately recalled its ambassador in protest of what it called "a flagrant break in the democratic order." Colombia called back its ambassador Friday for consultations. And Chile's left-of-center president, who has been reluctant to openly criticize Maduro, said she was deeply worried by the ruling and also ordered her ambassador to return home for consultations.

The U.S. State Department reiterated its call for Maduro to free political prisoners and hold immediate elections to resolve the crisis, saying the court decision to "usurp" the National Assembly's powers represented a "serious setback for democracy in Venezuela."

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro called for an emergency meeting of the regional group, which held two angry sessions on Venezuela earlier this week. That meeting ended with 20 governments led by the U.S. and Mexico voicing deep concern about the Venezuelan situation but no concrete actions to hold Maduro accountable.

Luis Vicente Leon, a Caracas-based pollster, said that while the ruling completely "pulverizes the separation of powers," Venezuela long ago stopped operating like a normal democracy with a clear rule of law and independent institutions. He sees the government hardening its position in the face of growing economic woes and international pressure, further dashing hopes for dialogue and an electoral solution.

"It's perfectly predictable that the government is going to keep radicalizing," he said.

The main opposition alliance said it was holding around-the-clock meetings to determine its next steps, but some leaders were already calling for protests as early as Saturday. Meanwhile, some hard-liners called for the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela and an important crutch for Maduro, to intervene.

While the capital was generally quiet Thursday, as night fell a few people in wealthier eastern Caracas gathered on balconies and in front of homes banging pots and pans and shouting "Get out Maduro!"

"The 30 million Venezuelans need to take to the streets and confront the dictatorship," said Daniela Tani, a coordinator for one of Venezuela's opposition groups who joined about 50 people briefly blocking one of major roadways in Caracas. The protesters waved flags and stopped traffic until being surrounded by police trying to clear the street.

But it was not clear if critics of the government were in the mood for another street fight after past attempts fizzled or ended in bloodshed with little to show. Weeks of unrest in 2014 resulted in more than 40 deaths and dozens of arrests, while a mass protest last September was followed by authorities a few days later cancelling a recall petition campaign seeking to force Maduro from office before his term ends in 2019.

The Supreme Court's ruling stemmed from congress' refusal to authorize Venezuela's state-run oil company to form joint ventures with private companies, including Russia's Rosneft. State media said the ruling was not seeking to supplant congress but rather to guarantee the rule of law so long as legislators remains obstructionist by refusing to sign off on a budget and key economic decisions.

Maduro kept out of the debate, appearing twice Thursday on state TV but leaving to his aides to denounce his critics. He also received pledges from anti-American allies such as Russia, which urged external actors to refrain from interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs.

"We denounce the conspiracy by the region's right-wing to attack Venezuela's democratic system," Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez said on Twitter.

Associated Press writer Jorge Rueda reported this story in Caracas and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported from Bogota, Colombia. Associated Press photographer Fernando Llano in Caracas contributed to this report.
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.