Venezuela continues to be in turmoil, as dissenters who oppose the chavista government now appear to permeate party lines. Two influential members of the ruling party have denounced government decisions and have subsequently been removed.

The dissent began with a letter supposedly written by a stalwart of the Venezuelan Socialist Party (PSUV), now-former Planning Minister Jorge Giordani. In the letter, Giordani criticized the Maduro administration for failing to heed his warnings concerning the economy, as well as the government's handling of Chavez's memory. The letter, titled "Testimony and Accountability to History," has stirred controversy in the troubled country and is seen as dissent by the ruling party for its criticisms of government policy.

"In no event I can take part in any circumstances and decisions which were not in line with my consciousness and my deepest convictions," Giordani wrote.

"Seeing a presidency which fails to transmit leadership and seems to affirm it by repeating, without due coherence, Commander Chávez's statements, and granting funds in masse to whoever requesting it in default of a fiscal program within a socialist planning consistent with the requested activities is painful and alarming."

A day before the letter was released, Giordani was removed from office. According to Reuters, Giordani, who favored currency controls, blamed the administration for mishandling millions of dollars by doing away with his currency controls. However, he is not the only party member to see fault in the Maduro administration. One of the PSUV's directors, Hector Navarro, announced his support for a debate of Giordani's criticisms and was suspended in lieu of an investigation.

"I've been officially informed that the National Board (which has not met for a month) has decided to send me to the party's Disciplinary Tribunal," Navarro wrote in a message to university activists that was cited by local media.

Navarro had been electricity and education minister at different points during the Chavez administration, and he penned a letter Tuesday echoing his support for Giordani, who had been denounced as a traitor to the cause.

"Is Giordani a traitor because, for example, he denounced the distribution of dollars to shell companies and proposed a plan of action to prevent this from continuing?" he wrote.

Reuters reports that the administration acknowledges at least $20 billion was embezzled through fraud after Maduro decided to loosen control over the currency, a policy Chavez and Girodani instituted that had been in effect for about 14 years. However, according to Venezuelanalysis.com, American banks and international financial institutions had hailed Giordani's removal and the loosening of controls as progress -- an interesting turn, since the Maduro administration continues to argue it is the defender of a socialist revolution.

In a speech to international financiers in London, the vice president of economy, Rafael Ramirez, announced that the multitiered currency system will be discarded during upcoming economic reforms. However, this does not take away from the potential disruptions within the PSUV and could lead to a party split.