Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and his wife Lilian Tintori. The United States imposed sanctions on Maduro on Monday, calling him a "dictator" for Sunday's election of a constituent assembly that the opposition boycotted and denounced as illegitimate. The government sees him as an elitist coup-monger, and even some opposition sympathizers have criticized him for being hot-headed and authoritarian. Maduro accuses the opposition of continuing to seek a coup against him and says the constituent assembly is designed to bring peace back to the volatile nation. The opposition-controlled congress, whose days may now be numbered, condemned the creation of the constituent assembly in a session held on Tuesday.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 01, 2017 22:18 UTC