The former foreign minister Delcy Rodríguez, who was named the assembly’s president, declared that the body rejected “foreign interference” in Venezuela. In an us-against-them themed speech, Rodriguez said “violent fascists who are waging economic war on the people” would face justice. “President Maduro: we are not going to leave you alone,” Rodriguez said before the assembly members, some dressed in the colorful outfits of Venezuela’s indigenous tribes. Maduro was chosen by his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, to continue Chávez’s socialist policies after the former leader’s death in 2013. Spain has been pressing the EU to impose sanctions on Venezuela but the European bloc has so far held off, although it condemned the assembly election.

Source: The Guardian August 04, 2017 16:05 UTC