Wednesday, July 20, 2016 Venezuela edges closer to constitutional crisisCARACAS — Venezuela could be heading toward a constitutional crisis, to add to its economic collapse, after the opposition-controlled National Assembly challenged the power of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice that backs President Nicolás Maduro. The National Assembly last week voted to strip 13 of 32 Supreme Tribunal of Justice judges of their powers and said any decisions the justices participated in would be invalid. Diosdado Cabello, a government lawmaker, said the three lawmakers would probably end up in jail if reinstated, adding weight to Maduro’s repeated threats to close down the National Assembly. Lawmakers are now studying the appointment of its own judges, according to the head of the National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup, of the opposition coalition, Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD). “The opposition appears to be taking a calculated risk,” Francisco Rodriguez, chief economist at Torino Capital in New York, said Monday.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald July 19, 2016 23:26 UTC