Venezuela's newly installed all-powerful assembly has voted unanimously to oust the chief prosecutor, one of President Nicolas Maduro's most vocal critics. She has been replaced with a staunch government loyalist.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Riera
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The controversial assembly used its first working session on Saturday to remove chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega from office and order her to go on trial.
Assembly delegates later on Saturday swore in the Human Rights Ombudsman, Tarek William Saab - who was recently attacked by the US for failing to protect protesters from abuses - as Ortega's replacement.
Ahead of the decision, Ortega posted photos to Twitter showing dozens of troops from the Venezuelan military surrounding her Caracas headquarters, preventing her from entering, in what she described as a military "siege."
"I denounce this arbitrary act before the national and international community," Ortega wrote.
"You didn't see how they manhandled me, how they attacked me with shields," she told reporters outside the building.
As the vote was taking place in the Legislative Palace in Caracas, pro-government delegates shouted "traitor" and "justice has arrived!" Ortega's sacking was widely expected, with members of the all-powerful body indicating it would be their first order of business.
The constituent assembly, which was officially installed on Friday, is tasked with rewriting the country's constitution. Maduro has said it will also strip opposition lawmakers of their constitutional immunity from prosecution. Government critics fear the Venezuelan leader is only seeking to use the assembly to tighten his grip on power and crack down on dissent.
Venezuela suspended from Mercosur
Meanwhile, the South American trade bloc Mercosur on Saturday decided to suspend Venezuela indefinitely in a bid to pressure Maduro to restore democracy and dissolve the newly created assembly.
"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," Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Ferreira said after the gathering in Sao Paulo.
Caracas was previously suspended in December for failing to uphold commitments it made when it joined the bloc in 2012.
National constituent assembly members, including the body's President Delcy Rodriguez (in red), meet in CaracasImage: Reuters/Miraflores Palace
Opposition calls for mobilization
The head of the opposition-controlled congress pleade for opponents of Maduro to stay mobilized on the streets. "What we're seeing in Venezuela is the complete abduction of all its institutions by a single hand, a single political party," Julio Borges, president of the opposition-controlled congress, told journalists after Ortega's firing.
The country's institutions have been "completely taken hostage" by Maduro and his party, the opposition said later on Saturday. "One hand, one political party" has taken total control through "an undemocratic mechanism that is utterly dictatorial," the leader of the opposition-controlled legislature, Julio Borges, told reporters.
International rejection
The constituent assembly has unlimited powers to dissolve the country's legislature, the National Assembly, and amend laws, in addition to its task of rewriting the 1999 constitution brought in under late President Hugo Chavez. Maduro says the new constitution will end Venezuela's political and economic crisis, though he gave no details on how these ends would be attained.
The opposition has refused to recognize the new body, which includes Maduro's wife and son among its more than 500 members and is composed largely of presidential loyalists.
Ex-prosecutor Ortega, a former government ally, has become one of Maduro's harshest critics. Earlier in the week, she announced she would open an investigation into irregularities in Sunday's controversial election to form the assembly. She also submitted a court claim seeking have the body suspended.
Venezuela on the brink
Venezuela is facing collapse amid multiple crises. DW takes a look at what has brought the oil-rich nation to its knees.
In March 2017, violent protests erupted across the country in response to a Supreme Court decision to strip the legislative branch of its powers. Amid an international outcry, President Nicolas Maduro reversed the decision, but it was too late. Thousands continued to take to the streets, calling for new elections. More than 100 people were killed in clashes with security forces.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Barreto
Hunger, a growing problem
The violence added to the ongoing economic and political crisis in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans spend more than 30 hours a week waiting in lines to shop, and are often confronted with empty shelves when they finally enter a store. President Maduro blames the crisis on US price speculation. The opposition, however, accuses the Socialist government of economic mismanagement.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/C. Becerra
Health care in crisis
The crisis has even affected health care in the oil-rich nation. Venezuelans often head to Colombia to collect medical supplies to send home, as seen in this picture. Hospitals across Venezuela have compared conditions to those seen only in war zones. As patient deaths rise, health officials have sounded the alarm on the rise of malaria and dengue fever.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M.Duenas Castaneda
Power grab
By July 2017, Venezuela's pro-government Constituent Assembly was established. For observers, it had all the hallmarks of a power grab. The new body adopted the authority to pass legislation on a range of issues, effectively taking away the powers of Venezuela's elected congress, which was under the opposition's control. The move drew wide international condemnation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Miraflores
The West sanctions
In response to the political crisis, the United States and European Union imposed a series of sanctions against ruling officials. The US blacklisted members of the Constituent Assembly and froze all of Maduro's assets that are subject to US jurisdiction. The EU banned arms sales to the country.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AFP/T. Schwarz
Government victorious in regional elections
In October 2017, Venezuela held two votes: regional elections and elections for governors, which were long overdue. The opposition boycotted the vote, but then split, as some candidates and small parties chose to participate. This caused a deep rift within Maduro's opponents. The government went on to sweep the vote, which detractors say was unfair and heavily favored the regime.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
Debt default
In November 2017, the oil-rich, cash-poor nation faced its day of reckoning. Credit ratings agencies declared Venezuela and its state-run oil company in "selective default." But Russia offered to restructure the South American country's debt to ensure Caracas pays its other creditors. US and EU sanctions, however, limited the chance of an agreement.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
Presidential elections scheduled
The National Assembly announced in January 2018 that it would grant Maduro's call for snap presidential elections. The electoral authority, CNE, held the elections on May 20. The EU, the US and 14 Latin American nations warned that they would not recognize the results. The mainstream MUD opposition alliance boycotted the vote, leaving only one possible outcome.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Parra
Maduro wins ...
Maduro was re-elected to a second six-year term with about 68 percent of the vote. Turnout was only 46 percent, according to electoral authorities. However, the MUD opposition alliance put turnout at less than 30 percent. The Organization of American States (OAS) called the elections neither free nor fair.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Cubillos
... Guaido assumes power
But weeks into the new year, the situation took a drastic turn. On January 23, 2019, parliament president Juan Guaido declared himself interim president of Venezuela — a move that was quickly recognized by US President Donald Trump. Maduro called it a US-backed "coup." Days later, the US sanctioned Venezuela's state oil firm, while Guaido staked his claim on the country's foreign assets.
