Venezuela's Supreme Court took over legislative powers Thursday March 30,2017 from the opposition-majority National Assembly, a dramatic tightening of leftist President Nicolas Maduro and his allies' grip amid a devastating economic crisis.
The opposition attacked what it called a "fraudulent court" packed with Maduro loyalists bent on keeping him in power in the South American oil giant, where a three-year recession has caused food shortages, riots and an epidemic of violent crime.
The high court, whose judges have staunchly backed Maduro in a power struggle with the legislature, made the decision late Wednesday night, citing an earlier ruling that the opposition majority was in contempt of court.
"As long as the National Assembly's contempt of court and invalidity persist, parliamentary powers shall be exercised directly by (the Supreme Court's) constitutional chamber or by the body it stipulates to safeguard the rule of law," it said.
The court ruled in August 2016 that the National Assembly leadership was in contempt for swearing in three lawmakers who were suspended over alleged electoral fraud. The opposition condemns the fraud charges as a trumped-up bid to curb its power.
The main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), won a landslide in legislative elections in December 2015 with a promise to oust Maduro.
That forced the president and his allies in the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) to share power for the first time since its founder, Hugo Chavez, surged to power in 1999.
But the Supreme Court scuttled the opposition's powerful two-thirds majority when it barred the three investigated lawmakers from taking their seats.
Since then, the court has overturned every law passed by the legislature
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