Venezuela's chief prosecutor warns congress annulment broke law

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega has warned that the Supreme Court’s decision to take over legislative powers from the National Assembly violates the law.

In her annual report, Ortega – an ally of President Nicolas Maduro – said: “[The measure] constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order. It’s my obligation to express my great concern to the country”.

The pro-government Venezuelan Supreme Court on Thursday seized power from the opposition-led National Assembly, a move that could essentially allow it to write laws itself.

The court said that the National Assembly’s lawmakers were “in a situation of contempt” after allegations of electoral irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections.

The court had previously backed Maduro in his struggles with the legislature, and on Tuesday removed parliamentary immunity from the assembly’s members.

The crisis has raised international alarm about the stability of Venezuela’s democracy, which has undergone three attempted military coups since 1992.

The Organisation of American States (OAS) described the development as the “final blow to democracy in the country” and accused Maduro’s “regime” of carrying out a coup.

Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala and Panama expressed strong concerns while Peru withdrew its envoy after what it described as a rupture of democracy.

The US state department called the court’s move a “serious setback for democracy” while the European Union called for a “clear electoral calendar” going forward.