Venezuela's newly established constituent assembly declared itself on Tuesday to be above all other branches of government, including the opposition-led congress. Assembly leaders Delcy Rodriguez and Diosdado Cabello said their laws and decisions trumped all others made by anyone else.
On Tuesday, August 8, thirteen foreign ministers from the Americas met in Lima, Peru, in order to discuss Venezuela’s social and political crisis. The result was a signed declaration in which the representatives declare that Nicolás Maduro’s constituent assembly is illegal and illegitimate, as are all decisions that result from it.
Highly concerned that recent developments in Venezuela could lead to further escalation of tensions and hamper a peaceful solution to the crisis, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres again on Tuesday urged the Government and the opposition to relaunch negotiations for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.
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.
Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the “violence done by all sides” in the Venezuela conflict but stopped short of criticising president, Nicolas Maduro.
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.
Mercosur foreign ministers meeting on Saturday in Brazil suspended Venezuela indefinitely for failing to uphold democratic norms amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent in the country. The bloc previously suspended Venezuela in December for failing to uphold commitments it made when it joined the group in 2012.
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.