Venezuela’s already violent political crisis looks headed for a dangerous showdown in the streets, as the opposition called Thursday for nationwide protests against President Nicolas Maduro in outright defiance of a government ban on demonstrations ahead of a controversial weekend vote slammed internationally.
"The regime declared we can't demonstrate ... We will respond with the TAKING OF VENEZUELA" on Friday, the opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable, said on its Twitter account on the second day of a 48-hour general strike.
It followed a presidential decree read by Interior Minister Nestor Reverol warning that protesters risked five to 10 years in prison for anything that "could disturb or affect" Sunday's vote. The election is to choose a new body to rewrite the constitution.
Four months of violent protests have already left 107 people dead, according to prosecutors, four of them in protests during the strike.
The demonstrations have intensified in recent days as the opposition seeks to thwart the election of Maduro's "constituent assembly" and oust the leader through early elections.
Fears of open civil conflict have prompted an exodus of thousands of Venezuelans into neighbouring Colombia.
Maduro unbowed
International concern has mounted, with the United States, European Union, United Nations and most heavyweight Latin American nations urging Maduro to back down from his plan.
Some 70 per cent of Venezuelans oppose the constituent assembly, according to polling firm Datanalisis.
But the leftist leader says he is determined to go ahead.
The United States has responded by imposing sanctions of 13 current and former Venezuelan officials, freezing their US assets and putting a travel ban on Reverol, military brass, the president of the electoral council, and the finance chief of state oil company PDVSA.
Maduro called the US punishment "illegal, insolent and unprecedented."
The opposition, which controls the National Assembly, has urged civil disobedience against what it terms Maduro's "dictatorship."
It is pushing on with its own strategy of trying to force Maduro from power through early elections.
Skirmishes in the street between supporters of the opposition and the Maduro government have become commonplace. Volleys of tear gas, rubber bullets and homemade bombs arced through the air in the capital overnight.
Barricades made from debris littered the eastern part of the city, with signs reading "No more dictatorships!"
"What happens if they impose the constituent assembly? The crisis will worsen. Where does Maduro want to take the country? To a social explosion?" asked Henrique Capriles, an opposition leader.
Dire economy
With crippling shortages of basic goods and soaring inflation, protest organizers claimed 92 per cent of businesses and workers support the strike.
Maduro accuses Washington of fomenting unrest against him, aided by the conservative opposition. He has increasingly relied on the Venezuelan military, which has repeatedly declared loyalty to him, to hold onto power.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, announcing America's sanctions on Wednesday, warned that any of the 545 members to be elected to Maduro's constituent assembly could also face US punishment.
Venezuela’s opposition, bolstered by an unofficial vote on July 16 that saw a third of the electorate reject Maduro's plan, has called for a vote boycott.
At the same time, Maduro's administrations being squeezed by the long-running economic crisis.
The oil export-dependent economy will shrink 12 per cent this year, after a contraction of 18 per cent last year, the International Monetary Fund said.
Inflation is projected to top 720 per cent.
Venezuela’s currency reserves have dwindled to under $10 billion as the government keeps up debt repayments at the expense of imports to stave off a devastating default.
