Venezuela goes on strike

NO TO MADURO: PROTESTERS SLAM HIS PLAN TO REWRITE CONSTITUTION

Opposition calls for work stoppage and Trump threatens ‘economic action’.

Anationwide strike in Venezuela is set to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, whose policies have put him on a collision course with the US.

The opposition called the stoppage after holding an unofficial plebiscite in which a third of Venezuela’s voters cast ballots rejecting Maduro and his policies.

Chief among them is the president’s plan to hold an election on July 30 to choose a 545-member citizens’ body, called a constituent assembly, to rewrite the constitution.

US President Donald Trump has threatened “swift economic actions” against Venezuela if that election happens.

The European Union, the United Nations, the Organisation of American States and the Catholic Church have all condemned Maduro’s plan.

They fear the move – seen by the opposition and Trump as a bid for dictatorship – will irretrievably worsen the political crisis in Venezuela and risk adding to a death toll that currently stands at 97 since anti-Maduro street protests turned violent in April.

But Maduro has vowed to forge ahead “now more than ever” and to punish “conspirators” who try to stop him.

The military reaffirmed its loyalty to Maduro, saying it would protect the polling. –