Venezuela opposition allege coup as supreme court seizes power

Venezuela has lurched further away from democracy – and closer to confrontation with its regional neighbours – after the pro-government supreme court assumed the legislative powers of the opposition-controlled congress. Judges ruled that lawmakers were in contempt of court because they were holding up efforts to revive the crisis-stricken economy. Opposition congressmen decried the move by the justices as a step towards dictatorship. In protest, Peru recalled its ambassador to Caracas and promised to step up efforts to eject Venezuela from the Organisation of American States for what it called a “flagrant breach of democratic order”. The United States condemned what it described as a move to “usurp the powers” of the national More…