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. 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. 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. 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 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.
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.