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>(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.</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>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>(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.</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>(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.</s>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 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.

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.

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.

"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.

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 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.</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.
Venezuela's Supreme Court reverses their controversial ruling. The court restores legislative power to the National Assembly. However, the court's decision still allows President Nicolás Maduro to enter joint-venture deals.