Venezuela's controversial new assembly has voted to remove the country's dissident attorney general, Luisa Ortega, after security forces surrounded the entrance to her office in Caracas.

Saturday's dismissal came a day after the government inaugurated the new legislative body that Ortega - a one time loyalist turned vocal government critic - said was fraudulently elected.

The assembly has also ordered her to go on trial for alleged "irregularities" while in office.

Ortega told reporters she was attacked when she attempted to enter her headquarters and accused the government of attempting to hide evidence of wrongdoing.

"You didn't see how they manhandled me, how they attacked me with shields," she said.

Rechazo asedio al @MPvenezolano. Denuncio esta arbitrariedad ante la comunidad nacional e internacional #5Ag pic.twitter.com/un7QWGBGJ7 — Luisa Ortega Díaz (@lortegadiaz) August 5, 2017

"Do you know what they are trying to do? Hide the evidence of corruption and human rights violations in Venezuela. I will continue to denounce them and expose them."

Earlier, she denounced what she called a military "siege" on Twitter, publishing photos showing about 30 national guardsmen in riot gear standing outside her headquarters.

Against this backdrop, foreign ministers from several South American countries declared that Venezuela was indefinitely suspended from the South American trading bloc Mercosur for its "rupture of the democratic order".

The United States and the office of the head of the Organization of American states, Luis Almagro, endorsed the suspension.

Venezuela was temporarily suspended in December.

Foes targeted

In a statement she signed as chief prosecutor, Ortega refused to recognise the Constituent Assembly's decision and vowed to continue defending the rights of Venezuelans from Maduro's "coup" against the constitution "with my last breath".

Assembly delegates, meanwhile, swore in Ombudsman Tarek William Saab to replace her.

Saab was recently sanctioned by the US for failing to protect protesters from abuses in his role as the nation's top human rights official.

Al Jazeera's John Holman, reporting from Caracas, described Ortega as a "thorn" in President Nicolas Maduro's side and said her removal from office was not the end of her troubles.

READ MORE: Venezuela - What is a National Constituent Assembly?

"Now her bank accounts are frozen. She's not allowed to leave the country and she's been charged by the Supreme Court for breach of her public duties," he said.

Ortega had asked a local court to halt the inauguration of the 545-member Constitutional Assembly, citing allegations that the government manipulated the results of the vote that created it.

Her request was dismissed on procedural grounds and it was installed on Friday.

The new body supersedes Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly. It can rewrite the Constitution, rearrange state institutions and allow Maduro to rule by decree.

It said it planned to operate as Venezuela's supreme power for up to two years.

Members of the Constituent Assembly had announced they would fire Ortega and other opponents of Maduro the first chance they got.

Maduro himself said on Friday that "if we had an attorney general here that acted ... all these violent protesters would already be in jail".

After their meeting in Sao Paulo on Saturday, the foreign ministers of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil urged Maduro to dismantle the Constituent Assembly and immediately start a political transition.

"We are saying: Stop with this! Enough with the deaths, enough with the repression. It is not possible to inflict such torture to the people," Aloysio Ferreira, Brazil's foreign minister, said.

Several countries have condemned the election of the Constituent Assembly, calling it a bid to extend Maduro's rule indefinitely. His supporters say the move will pacify the country.

At least 120 people have died and hundreds more have been jailed in Venezuela's four-month crisis.

The opposition, meanwhile, is struggling to regain its footing in the face of the government's tactics.

In a sign of its apparent demoralised state, only a few hundred demonstrators showed up for a Friday protest against the assembly, one of the smallest turnouts in months. </s> Venezuela's chief prosecutor, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, has said the decision by the Supreme Court to take over legislative powers from the National Assembly violates the law.

Luisa Ortega is the first high-ranking official to criticise the measure. She has expressed "great concern".

The ruling effectively dissolves the elected legislature, which has been dominated by the president's opponents.

Critics say the "coup" takes the country closer to one-man rule.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) described the development as the "final blow to democracy in the country".

In her annual report, Ms Ortega said: "[The measure] constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order. It's my obligation to express my great concern to the country."

The statement is a surprising break with the official line for someone close to the government, correspondents say.
• What is behind the turmoil?

On Thursday the Venezuelan Supreme Court seized power from the opposition-led legislature, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself.

The court justified the move by saying the National Assembly's lawmakers were "in a situation of contempt" after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.

It did not indicate if or when it might hand power back.

The court had previously backed the leftist president in his struggles with the legislature - on Tuesday removing parliamentary immunity from the assembly's members.

The move is the latest example of the socialist President Maduro tightening his grip on power, which critics say he has been doing for months, amid a deepening economic crisis in the country.

What has the reaction been?

The crisis has raised international alarm about the stability of Venezuelan democracy, which has undergone three attempted military coups since 1992.

The US state department called the court's move a "serious setback for democracy."

Most regional powers including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Chile have warned that the action is a threat to Venezuelan democracy. The regional bloc Mercosur will discuss the situation at an emergency meeting on Saturday.

Leftist-led Bolivia defended President Maduro, who has yet to comment publicly.

Venezuela's foreign ministry accused critics of the government of forming a right-wing regional pact against President Maduro.

Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez described the OAS is a pawn of US "imperialism". </s> Caracas : A Venezuelan helicopter pilot who vanished after dropping grenades on the Supreme Court has reappeared in an online video, as justices on Wednesday considered whether to hold a trial that would remove the country’s defiant chief prosecutor.

Oscar Perez - who claims support from members of the military, police and public servants - urged Venezuelans in the video posted late Tuesday to “stand firm in the streets” in their protests against socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

At least 91 people have been killed in street protests that have rocked the socialist Maduro government over the past three months. On Tuesday anti-government protesters blocked streets in Caracas and elsewhere. Protesters blame Maduro for Venezuela’s desperate economic crisis. He blames the chaos on a US-backed conspiracy.

While Perez’s dramatic actions may be a sideshow in the country’s deadly political crisis, the possible destitution of chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega - the most senior figure to defy Maduro - suggests a split in the government that could tip the balance of power.

Ortega, 59, refused to appear in court Tuesday in a case she says was trumped up by the authorities after she defied Maduro.

“I am not going condone a circus that will stain our history with shame and pain and whose decision is foretold,” Ortega told reporters.

“I have committed no crime nor errors and I am not going to submit to this unconstitutional and illegitimate court,” she said. “We already know that today I will be removed from my post.”

Ortega accuses Maduro of violating the constitution with his plan to hold a special assembly to rewrite the document.

Opponents say this “constituent assembly” will be packed with allies that will allow him to cling to power.

She had earlier accused the pro-government Supreme Court of undermining democracy through a short-lived ruling that seized power from the opposition-led legislature.

That ruling helped spark the current wave of protests.

As violence swelled, Ortega accused police of killing protesters - comments that enraged Maduro, who branded her a traitor.

Pro-government lawmaker Pedro Carreno has filed charges against Ortega, alleging “serious errors in the carrying out of her functions.”

He also alleged she was suffering from “insanity” and should be fired.

The court held its hearing Tuesday in her absence and said afterwards it would decide within five days whether to send her to trial and suspend her from office. </s> (CNN) Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz on Friday strongly criticized a ruling by the country's Supreme Court to take over the National Assembly's legislative powers , essentially dissolving it.

"It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the attorney general said, raising a pocket-size copy of the Venezuelan Constitution in her left hand and standing in front of the Venezuelan flag.

Ortega made the statement during her annual State of the Attorney General's Office address in Caracas. The statement is significant because it breaks with the government's official position.

Venezuelan's opposition has long perceived the attorney general as being loyal to the socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro

"It is my obligation to express in front of the country my deep concern about this event (the ruling)" Ortega added.

In a surprising move late Wednesday, the Venezuela's high court stripped the National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists.

The argument behind the rule was that the assembly was in contempt of law for ignoring a court order preventing the swearing-in of three legislators from Amazonas state whose elections the court had deemed invalid.

The court's move effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture.

Maduro spoke about the ruling in a message broadcast live Thursday on the government's TV network.

"They're giving me and authorizing me, enabling special powers that stem out of the state of emergency clauses in our constitution. This is an order by the Supreme Court. It's a historic ruling," Maduro said.

Opposition leaders said the ruling amounts to a coup, and they are already calling the Maduro government "a dictatorship."

"Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans."

CNN contributor and Latin American analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner said the attorney general's statement is not only significant but also revealing.

"I think this is a breakup of the (Venezuelan) top leadership, and it's centered precisely within the judicial power," Montaner said. "This step taken by Luisa Ortega is crucial because she represents one of the most powerful families in the country. She's not an isolated person but has relations and connections and has been the attorney general for a long time."

Also Friday, a group of anti-government protesters, mainly college students, clashed with the Venezuelan National Guard during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court building. Images captured by CNN affiliate Vivo Play shows a member of the guard hitting one of the students in the head.

Three journalists were also attacked, including a Colombian reporter and two photographers whose cameras were destroyed, according to a report by CNN en Español.

There had been similar clashes Thursday afternoon when opposition legislators tried to storm the court's facilities and the guard blocked access.

The Venezuelan political crisis is being closely watched by the international community. The Russian government urged other nations Friday to avoid intervening in Venezuela.

"External forces should not stoke the fire by issuing statements and taking actions pertaining to the internal conflict in Venezuela," Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zajarova said. </s> Venezuela’s most senior prosecutor has added her voice to condemnation of a move by the government-stacked supreme court to gut congress of its last vestiges of power, as security forces violently repressed small protests against the power grab.

Luisa Ortega Díaz, normally a government loyalist, said that it was her “unavoidable historical duty” as a Venezuelan citizen and the nation’s top judicial authority to denounce what she called the supreme court’s “rupture” of the constitutional order.



“We call for reflection, so that the democratic path can be retaken,” she said to the loud applause of several aides gathered around her.

Governments across Latin America have condemned the power grab, with the head of the Organization of American States likening it to a “self-inflicted coup” by the socialist president Nicolás Maduro’s “regime” against the opposition-controlled congress. The top United Nations human rights official called on the supreme court to reconsider its decision and urged Maduro’s government to uphold rights to peaceful assembly.

“The separation of powers is essential for democracy to function, and keeping democratic spaces open is essential to ensure human rights are protected,” UN high commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement on Friday.

In Caracas, national guardsmen in riot gear fired buckshots and swung batons at a small group of students who gathered early outside the supreme court. A few arrests took place and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken before the group reassembled elsewhere in the capital.

The magistrates ruled late Wednesday that as long as lawmakers remain in contempt of past rulings, the high court, or an institution it designates, can assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition for nearly a year and a half.

The ruling and one earlier in the week limiting lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution capped a feud that began when the long-marginalized opposition won control of the legislature by a landslide in December 2015 and then mounted a campaign to force Maduro from office.

The leftist leader, who has seen his approval ratings plunge amid widespread food shortages and triple-digit inflation, responded by relying on the supreme court to unseat several lawmakers and then routinely nullify all legislation voted there.

“This isn’t any old sentence. It marks a point of no return on the road to dictatorship,” said Freddy Guevara, the No 2 leader in congress.

Peru’s government immediately recalled its ambassador in protest of what it called “a flagrant break in the democratic order”. Colombia called back its ambassador Friday for consultations. And Chile’s left-of-center president, who has been reluctant to openly criticize Maduro, said she was deeply worried by the ruling and also ordered her ambassador to return home for consultations.

The US state department reiterated its call for Maduro to free political prisoners and hold immediate elections to resolve the crisis, saying the court decision to “usurp” the National Assembly’s powers represented a “serious setback for democracy in Venezuela”.

OAS secretary general Luis Almagro called for an emergency meeting of the regional group, which held two angry sessions on Venezuela earlier this week. That meeting ended with 20 governments led by the US and Mexico voicing deep concern about the Venezuelan situation but no concrete actions to hold Maduro accountable.

The OAS appears unlikely to suspend Venezuela, however, given its support from other leftist governments and small nations who have benefited from its oil largesse.

“It’s false there has been a coup d’etat in Venezuela,” Venezuela’s foreign ministry said, alleging a regional right-wing conspiracy.

“On the contrary, institutions have adopted legal correctives to stop the deviant and coup-seeking actions of opposition parliamentarians openly in contempt of decisions by the republic’s maximum tribunal.”

Luis Vicente Leon, a Caracas-based pollster, said that while the ruling completely “pulverizes the separation of powers”, Venezuela long ago stopped operating like a normal democracy with a clear rule of law and independent institutions. He sees the government hardening its position in the face of mounting economic woes and international pressure, further dashing hopes for dialogue and an electoral solution.

“It’s perfectly predictable that the government is going to keep radicalizing,” he said.

The main opposition alliance said it was holding around-the-clock meetings to determine its next steps, but some leaders were already calling for protests as early as Saturday. Meanwhile, some hard-liners called for the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela and an important crutch for Maduro, to intervene.

“The 30 million Venezuelans need to take to the streets and confront the dictatorship,” said Daniela Tani, a coordinator for one of Venezuela’s opposition groups who joined about 50 people briefly blocking one of major roadways in Caracas. The protesters waved flags and stopped traffic until being surrounded by police trying to clear the street.

But it was not clear if critics of the government were in the mood for another street fight after past attempts fizzled or ended in bloodshed with little to show. Weeks of unrest in 2014 resulted in more than 40 deaths and dozens of arrests, while a mass protest last September was followed by authorities a few days later cancelling a recall petition campaign seeking to force Maduro from office before his term ends in 2019.

The Supreme Court’s ruling stemmed from congress’ refusal to authorize Venezuela’s state-run oil company to form joint ventures with private companies, including Russia’s Rosneft. State media said the ruling was not seeking to supplant congress but rather to guarantee the rule of law so long as legislators remains obstructionist by refusing to sign off on a budget and key economic decisions. </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption The court's original ruling had sparked new protests against the government

The Venezuelan Supreme Court has reversed its ruling to strip congress of its legislative powers.

It made the decision after the government of President Nicolas Maduro urged it to review the ruling "to maintain institutional stability".

The initial decision - announced on Wednesday - had been denounced as a "coup" by the opposition, which dominates the National Assembly.

Anti-government protesters have staged daily protests against the move.

The supreme court announced the reversal on its website.

A day earlier, chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, became the first high-ranking official to criticise the judges.

Speaking live on TV, she expressed "great concern" about a measure which, she said, violated the constitution.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The opposition says Mr Maduro is turning Venezuela into a dictatorship

Promising dialogue to end the crisis, Mr Maduro had convened a late-night meeting of the state security council.

Afterwards Vice-President Tareck El Aissami said: "We urge the supreme court to review the decisions... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers."

Mr Maduro said: "This controversy has been overcome, showing the power of dialogue."

How did the dispute start?

In its original ruling, the supreme court had annulled the powers of the assembly, allowing the judges to write laws.

The court had accused lawmakers of "contempt" after allegations of irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.

The court has backed the leftist president in his ongoing struggles with the legislature. On Tuesday it removed parliamentary immunity from the assembly's members.

There has been widespread international condemnation, with the Organisation of American States talking of the "final blow to democracy" in Venezuela.

Why the reversal? By Will Grant, BBC News, Havana

It seems that a combination of internal and external pressures forced President Maduro's hand.

Inside Venezuela, the opposition's outcry was to be expected. However the sight of the normally loyal Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, openly criticising the move as unconstitutional was for many observers a turning point, and perhaps evidence of a wider split within "Chavismo".

Externally too, the response was very robust. Cuba, arguably Venezuela's staunchest ally, has been unwavering in its support. The Organization of American States held a special meeting in which other allies of Venezuela also lent their support to Mr Maduro. However, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and others called for cooler heads to prevail and for a return to the democratic order.

In the end, it seems President Maduro may have decided that the supreme court's move was a step too far politically and hoped to avoid a repeat of the massive street protests which have led to violence in the past.

Perhaps even the election this weekend in Ecuador played a role. The race in the Andean nation is very tight and it can't have helped President Rafael Correa, as a close friend to Venezuela, to have to support a move that was being billed by some as a "self-coup" in the days before a presidential election.

Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed in a severe economic crisis.

It has the world's highest inflation rate, which the International Monetary Fund predicts could reach 1,660% next year. Long queues, power cuts and shortages of basic goods are common.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Maduro blames the difficulties on an "economic war" waged by his rivals

The government and opposition blame each other for the country's problems, made worse by the falling price of oil, Venezuela's main export product.

President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular and the opposition has called for his removal.

Correction 25 April 2017: This article has been amended to clarify that the OAS held a special, rather than an emergency, meeting and that Cuba's support was unrelated to that meeting. </s> A Venezuelan Supreme Court judge who once supported President Nicolás Maduro has fled to the United States and publicly denounced Maduro's re-election days before the inauguration.

Justice Christian Zerpa left Venezuela with his wife and two daughters, according to Miami broadcaster EVTV. Their destination in the U.S. was unclear.

Zerpa met a reporter in Orlando and told the outlet, "I think the president, Nicolás Maduro, does not deserve a second chance because the election he supposedly won was not a free election, was not a competitive election."

Maduro won the May 2018 race amid widespread accusations of fraud. He will begin his second term on Thursday.

Zerpa said he did not speak out against the election results months ago out of concerns for his family's safety.

Maduro's Socialist Party "gradually but steadily" co-opted the Supreme Court and "turned it into an appendage of the executive branch," according to the International Commission of Jurists.

In 2016, following a landslide electoral victory by the opposition, Zerpa helped Maduro consolidate power through a court decision that diminished the powers of Congress, according to Reuters.

"They chose me [for the court] because I was one of the loyal, disciplined members in the United Socialist Party of Venezuela," Zerpa told EVTV.

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice responded to Zerpa's decision to leave by noting he was being investigated for sexual harassment, lewd acts and psychological violence.

Zerpa "fled the country, exercising his constitutional right, to avoid justice and so his crimes remain unpunished," said Supreme Court President Maikel Moreno. He said the investigation began last November.

According to a Reuters investigation, Moreno himself was arrested in connection with the homicide of a teenager in 1989 and was defrocked as an appeals court in 2007 for improperly releasing two murder suspects. "Under Moreno as chief justice, the court proceeded to dismiss every legal challenge to Maduro's authority that has reached the bench," the report stated.

Zerpa is not the first Venezuelan justice to flee to the United States. Former Supreme Court Judge Eladio Aponte Aponte fled in 2012 after accusing the government of corruption. Maduro, then the foreign minister, called him a fugitive who "sold his soul."

Under Maduro, who succeeded President Hugo Chávez in 2013, the once thriving country has seen hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine, and waves of fleeing citizens rushing the border out of desperation. Caracas has faced angry protests, U.S. sanctions and a slump in oil exports.

The government has also cracked down on dissent through the "arbitrary arrests and detentions" of thousands of people, according to human rights groups. Many detainees say they were tortured and sexually abused.

The new president of Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly, Juan Guaido, was sworn in last week. U.S. State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino called the body "the only legitimate and last remaining democratically elected institution that truly represents the will of the Venezuelan people." </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Latest on Venezuela’s political crisis over installation of a special assembly to rewrite the constitution (all times local):

President Nicolas Maduro is heralding security forces, portraying them as heroes fighting “terrorists” amid mounting criticism of their heavy-handed tactics quelling protests.

Speaking to the National Guard that have been on the front lines of four months of deadly protests, Maduro promised that more than 580 members of the force who he said had been attacked since the protest movement began would receive reparations as part of the work of the Constitutional assembly that convened for the first time Friday.

“I feel deeply the wounds of each one of you,” Maduro said addressing a small group of injured national guardsmen with burns, on crutches and wearing neck braces. “With your bodies as your shield, you have defended the right to peace.”

Several human rights groups and foreign government have denounced excessive use of force by members of the security forces and Venezuela’s chief prosecutor is investigating several uniformed officers for firing live ammunition on protesters in apparent violation of the constitution.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is calling on Venezuela to adopt measures for the protection of its chief prosecutor, who has broken with President Nicolas Maduro amid a protracted political crisis.

The commission urges the Venezuelan government to do whatever necessary “to guarantee the life and physical integrity” of prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz.

Ignacio J. Alvarez is Ortega’s representative to the proceedings in Washington. Alvarez said Friday that the court-dictated measures “are crucial to try to preserve the important role she is playing for human rights and what is left of democracy in Venezuela.”

On Thursday, Ortega filed an injunction seeking to block the installation of a newly elected constitutional assembly with the authority to rewrite the nation’s charter and trump all other branches of government. She also ordered an investigation into alleged election tampering in the vote to elect the assembly.

Maduro allies have said one of the body’s first tasks will be to target Ortega. She was a longtime supporter of the late President Hugo Chavez but has been critical of Maduro’s government and opposed some of its actions.

Former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez has delivered a stern warning to government opponents in her first remarks as head of the special assembly rewriting Venezuela’s constitution.

In her words, the “violent fascists, who are waging economic war on the people” will face justice. The country has been rocked by months of street protests against what the opposition sees as an increasingly authoritarian socialist government.

Her words were greeted with loud applause from the 545 pro-government delegates who had just begun meeting Friday for the first time.

Rodriguez said the all-powerful assembly will commence work Saturday.

She didn’t say what lies ahead, but some fellow delegates have been pledging to target opposition lawmakers and remove chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega from office as part of their first order of business.

Ortega is a former loyalist who recently broke with President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of breaking Venezuela’s democratic order.

The controversial assembly charged with rewriting Venezuela’s constitution has gotten to work, and its first act of business was selecting former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez to lead the body.

The nomination made by socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello was approved unanimously by the 545 delegates.

Rodriguez led a cadre of close allies of President Nicolas Maduro who resigned top posts to run for the constituent assembly, which will have sweeping powers to upend institutions and go after the government’s opponents.

Venezuela’s pro-government constitutional assembly has gathered for the first time, kicking off the session by singing the country’s national anthem.

Delegates marched to the neo-classical legislative palace accompanied by hundreds of red-shirted government supporters. Some were carrying roses and large portraits of the late Hugo Chavez, predecessor and mentor to President Nicolas Maduro.

Some shouted, “He’s returned,” as a jab at the opposition, which ordered images of Chavez removed from an adjacent building when it won control of congress in 2015.

Leading the procession was first lady Cilia Flores and socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello.

The assembly is charged with rewriting Chavez’s 1999 constitution and has been given sweeping powers over other branches of government.

Representatives of the South American trade bloc Mercosur will meet to discuss the deteriorating situation in Venezuela.

Mercosur suspended Venezuela late last year over what member nations said was its failure to comply with commitments on democracy and human rights.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the foreign ministers of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will meet Saturday. There’s speculation they will evict Venezuela for violating the group’s democratic norms.

Venezuela has increasingly cracked down on the opposition and many countries thoughout the region have denounced the allegedly tilted election of a pro-government assembly to rewrite the constitution.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called the president of Mexico a “coward” — and has gotten a swift response in the same terms from Mexico’s top diplomat.

Maduro says a transcript of a January phone call between Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U.S. President Donald Trump showed deference and weakness on the part of Pena Nieto.

In the conversation, Pena Nieto repeats courteously that Mexico won’t pay for Trump’s proposed border wall, and Trump urges him to stop saying that in public.

Maduro said that showed Trump “gave him a public order” and called it “shameful.”

Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray shot back in a tweet to Maduro Thursday, saying: “You’re the coward, for using the power of the government to dismantle democracy and attack your own people.”

The Vatican is urging Venezuela’s government to “avoid or suspend” the new assembly tasked with rewriting the constitution while holding near-absolute powers.

A statement issued Friday says steps such as the assembly “rather than favor reconciliation and peace, foment a climate of tension and confrontation.”

President Nicolas Maduro says the assembly is scheduled to start its meetings on Friday.

The Vatican message expresses “deep worry for the radicalization and worsening” of Venezuela’s political crisis and for the rising toll of casualties and prisoners from anti-government clashes.

Pope Francis invited the faithful worldwide to pray for the country and its people.

The message says Francis is closely following the crisis’ “humanitarian, social, political, economic and also spiritual” developments.

A prominent Venezuelan opposition leader has been returned to his home after spending several days jailed.

The wife of Antonio Ledezma says on social media that the former Caracas mayor arrived home before dawn Friday.

Security forces forcibly entered Ledesma’s apartment before dawn Tuesday and took him to a military prison. Officials accused him of violating the terms of his house arrest by posting anti-government messages on social media.

Also hauled back to jail for the same reason was opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez.

Foreign governments condemned the decision to jail both men, saying it could be the start of a new wave of repression against President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents following a vote Sunday to choose delegates to a special assembly to rewrite the nation’s constitution. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (CBSMiami) — Venezuela’s new national constituent assembly voted Saturday to permanently remove Luisa Ortega Diaz from her post as the country’s attorney general.

This was met by roaring applause at what is officially the first session of this assembly, broadcast live on the state-run TV channel.

Ortega Diaz previously had been a staunch supporter of the country’s former President Hugo Chavez and was a pro-regime figure, but in more recent times, she became critical of the current Nicolas Maduro government.

Now outed from her position, she has lost immunity and could be tried or arrested.

The national constituent assembly also declared that Ortega Diaz cannot leave the country and that her assets have been frozen.

“This is a dictatorship,” she said on camera outside the AG office. “The abuse that is being experienced in Venezuela, the repression, not only are they arbitrarily detaining people, they are prosecuting them with military justice.”

The constitutional assembly elections were held in Venezuela on July 30th, under Maduro’s decree, to retool Venezuela’s 1999 constitution.

Opponents say the assembly is packed with Maduro supporters and allows him to eliminate the few remaining checks on his power, creating a Cuba-style system dominated by his socialist party. </s> In an address early after a Friday night meeting presided over by Maduro, the National Security Council announced that was supporting a review by the court "with the goal of maintaining institutional stability."

The announcement capped an extraordinary day in which Venezuela's chief prosecutor and long-time loyalist of the socialist government broke with the Maduro administration and denounced the court ruling. Luisa Ortega Diaz said it was her "unavoidable historical duty" as the nation's top judicial authority to decry the ruling against the opposition-controlled National Assembly as a "rupture" of the order.

"We call for reflection so that the democratic path can be retaken," she said to the loud applause of aides gathered around her.

Maduro called the meeting of the council seeking to calm the political uproar, though at least one key member refused to attend while criticism from other governments mounted.

About a dozen officials were present at the session, but among those notably absent was congress president Julio Borges, who said the meeting was no more than a circus act created for a convenient photo opportunity by the same person the opposition blames for the country's troubles.

On Friday, troops from the National Guard fired buckshot and swung batons at students protesting in front of the Supreme Court. A few people were arrested and some journalists covering the demonstration had their cameras taken. A few other, small protests popped up elsewhere in the capital.

"We all have to get out — for the dignity of our country, the dignity of our children and the dignity of Venezuela," Borges said in urging Venezuelans to join in protests Saturday.

The Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday that until lawmakers abided by previous rulings that nullified all legislation passed by congress, the high court could assume the constitutionally assigned powers of the National Assembly, which has been controlled by the opposition since it won a landslide victory in elections in late 2015..

Friday brought a second day of condemnations of the ruling by the United States and governments across Latin America. The head of the Organization of American States likened the decision to a "self-inflicted coup" by the leftist Maduro, and the United Nations' top human rights official urged the high court to reverse its decision.

Opposition leaders, who have been during 17 years of socialist rule, called on other public officials to follow Ortega Diaz's example in repudiating the court's ruling. Some urged the military, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela, to defend the constitution drafted by late President Hugo Chavez.

"You have a new opportunity to show the country and international community if you are with the dictatorship or want your children and grandchildren to grow and live in a country where there's democracy and liberty," said David Smolansky, a Caracas area mayor.

The normally ever-present Maduro was conspicuously silent during much of the two days of turmoil, but then he went on state TV to argue that Venezuela's institutions are operating normally. Alluding to criticism of the court's ruling, he said it is the government's "right-wing, fascist" opponents who are attempting to break the order, but said his foes would be left with "their cold champagne, uncorked,"

Still, Maduro also called for renewed dialogue between the government and the opposition, saying that is the only path to resolving Venezuela's political crisis.
The Supreme Court of Venezuela bars Luisa Ortega Díaz, the chief prosecutor and outspoken critic of president Nicolás Maduro, from leaving the country and freezes her assets.