Supporters of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro marched in Caracas on Monday in support of a newly created constitutional assembly as hackers took down dozens of state websites to show their backing for a pre-dawn armed assault on a military base the day before.
Latin American foreign ministers are scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting this Tuesday in Lima to address the current state of affairs in Venezuela, Peruvian foreign minister Ricardo Luna announced.
President Nicolas Maduro vowed that a band of anti-government fighters who attacked a Venezuelan army base will get the maximum penalty as his administration roots out his enemies. Troops killed two of the 20 intruders who slipped into the Paramacay base in the central city of Valencia early Sunday, apparently intent on fomenting a military uprising, Maduro said in his weekly broadcast on state television.
The newly installed constitutional assembly ousted Venezuela's defiant chief prosecutor on Saturday, a sign that President Nicolas Maduro's embattled government intends to move swiftly against critics and consolidate power amid a fast-moving political crisis.
Mercosur foreign ministers are scheduled to meet this Saturday in Sao Paulo to decide on to how to address latest events in Venezuela, the fifth member of the group which remains suspended, and so far has not replied to calls to cancel the constituent assembly procedure and attempt some form of dialogue with the political opposition.
Labour MP close to Jeremy Corbyn has criticized the US's decision to impose sanctions on the Venezuelan president. Chris Williamson said it would be better to facilitate talks between the government and opposition amid ongoing political unrest and violence.
Venezuela's state-run PDVSA has reduced crude sales to its U.S. refining unit Citgo Petroleum while increasing supply to Russia's Rosneft, following a plan signed in May to catch up on overdue deliveries, according to PDVSA documents, sources from the company and its joint ventures.
Venezuela's close ally China said it believed voting in the country's Constituent Assembly election was generally held smoothly, brushing off widespread condemnation from the United States, Europe and others and evidence of voting irregularities.
Venezuela's military and cabinet expressed their continued support for President Nicolas Maduro, a day after the United States announced sanctions against the president. The sanctions were in retaliation for defying the White House by refusing to cancel elections for a National Constituent Assembly (ANC) to rewrite the Constitution.
Venezuela's election chief has denied a report that voter turnout numbers were manipulated and inflated by at least 1 million for this week's controversial election to choose an assembly to rewrite the national constitution.