On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators had clashed with the security forces as they have tried to rally against the socialist President Nicolas Maduro. The opposition-controlled National Assembly called for a protest ahead of a vote by the lawmakers to diminish members of the country's top court.
Venezuela's opposition on Jan. 14 lost the supermajority it had won in the country's Dec. 6 legislative elections, deciding to cave to a Supreme Tribunal ruling preventing three of its lawmakers from being sworn in.
The opposition's new majority in Venezuela's National Assembly has led President Nicolás Maduro to double down on the socialist economic policies he has championed.
The opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 5 took control of the country's National Assembly, presumably initiating a period of heightened confrontation between the embattled socialist leader and those who have long fought the policies of Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
Venezuela's new National Assembly, in which the opposition against President Nicolás Maduro holds a majority for the first time, will be headed by Henry Ramos, the secretary general of the Democratic Action party. But, the new leader was prevented from entering the building.
The Venezuelan opposition coalition claims to have won at least 112 seats in the country's National Assembly, which would give forces opposing President Nicolás Maduro ample powers to challenge his government.
The Venezuelan government has barred a prominent opposition leader from running in the South American nation's Dec. 6 legislative elections hours before the wife of embattled President Nicolás Maduro announced she would seek a seat in the National Assembly.
