28 July, 2017
There are fears that the referendum on Sunday to elect members of a new Constituent Assembly tasked with rewriting the constitution could plunge the country into new depths of uncertainty.
A young Venezuelan famous for playing the violin at anti-government protests has been arrested by military personnel in Caracas, a human rights organization said Friday.
The order was issued ahead of a mass protest called for tomorrow by the opposition, which is trying to force Maduro to scrap the election which will select a body tasked with drafting a new constitution for the crisis-hit country. "We will fight", opposition leader and National Assembly Vice President Freddy Guevara told reporters Thursday.
Washington also advised its nationals against traveling to Venezuela.
Nor was it clear how many protesters would defy the government's ban and courageous what may be unwelcoming weather: It was rainy Friday morning in Caracas, the nation's capital and site of some of the major protests over the last few months.
The opposition has declined to put up candidates and encouraged citizens to boycott the election, arguing that the way the assembly has been set up is skewed in Maduro's favour.
Political upheaval intensified in late March when the Venezuelan Supreme Court dissolved Parliament and transferred all legislative powers to itself.
Despite this being quickly reversed, the decision ignited a protest movement against socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
Four months of protests against the unpopular leftist Maduro have already claimed 113 lives, according to prosecutors - eight of them during a two-day general strike that ended Thursday.
"It will be a biased and skewed instrument that will not resolve but rather aggravate the acute problems of the high cost of living and the lack of food and medicine that the people suffer and will worsen the political crisis we now suffer", the statement said.
But hundreds of Maduro's supporters filled some streets Thursday in Caracas for a rally that marked the last day for candidates to campaign.
Where does Maduro want to take the country?
Adding to Venezuela's growing worldwide problems, Colombian airline Avianca suddenly stopped operations in the country on Thursday due to "operational and security limitations".
The country's isolation increased as more airlines cut service to and from Venezuela.
United States airline Delta is also expected to suspend services from September.
