CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro branded US sanctions leveled at his regime on Wednesday as “insolent,” as pressure piled up on him abroad and at home over his controversial plan to elect a new body to rewrite the constitution. The US measures came as Venezuela’s opposition began a two-day nationwide strike aimed at ousting the president through early elections. The opposition and US moves are to force Maduro to give up his plan to have a 545-member “Constituent Assembly” elected on Sunday. Maduro called the US punishment “illegal, insolent and unprecedented.”“Who do these imperialists in the United States think they are? “To be safe, we prefer to cross.”Ordinary Venezuelans remaining in their country believe ousting Maduro is their only hope for survival.

Source: Manila Times July 27, 2017 02:03 UTC