Venezuelan president defies critics by installing assembly

in abroad, VENEZUELA’Sthe protests nationalhis with controversialfrom opponents president parliament,critics new denouncingyesterdayat amid home assemblyfurious andinstalled it as Asa dictatorialthe newly power elected grab. members of the assembly made their way to the chamber yesterday, soldiers guarded the streets and government supporters streamed through on motorbikes.

Led by Delcy Rodriguez, President Nicolas Maduro’s former foreign minister and a member of his inner circle, the 545 members, who include Mr Maduro’s wife and son, took their seats in an oval chamber under a golden dome in the Legislative Palace.

“The international community should not make a mistake over Venezuela,” said Ms Rodriguez, opening the new assembly. “The message is clear, very clear: we Venezuelans will resolve our conflict, our crisis, without any form of foreign interference.”

Luisa Ortega Diaz, the attorney general who turned on Mr Maduro, was suspended by the Supreme Court last night, becoming the first victim of a promised purge of opposition figures.

Earlier, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protesters who had blockaded the streets.

Before the police had opened fire on the crowd, Evelyn Harrington, 61, told how she wanted the demonstrations – which have left over 100 people dead – to endure. “We have to continue in the streets,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

“If we don’t come, if we don’t participate any more, we’re letting the government know that it’s OK for them to do whatever they want with our country.”