Emboldened Venezuelan Opposition Plans Showdown With Maduro

Venezuela’s opposition-dominated National Assembly is making a concerted effort to unseat autocratic President Nicolas Maduro, invoking constitutional measures that would seat an acting chief executive and offering blanket amnesty to military and government officials who help in bringing down the regime. In a matter of a week, Venezuela’s beaten down and divided opposition has rallied around a 35-year-old lawmaker, Juan Guaido, who was sworn in as assembly president just two weeks ago. He has spoken publicly about the emergency line of succession under which he could become the constitutional leader of the crisis-weary nation, but has stopped short of claiming the title. More…