Venezuelan congress declares 'coup' by Maduro govt

Venezuela's opposition-majority legislature declared Sunday that President Nicolas Maduro's government had committed a coup d'etat by blocking a referendum on removing him from power, vowing mass protests and international pressure. In an emergency session on the economic and political crisis gripping the South American oil giant, lawmakers called on Venezuelans to "actively defend" the constitution and declared they would ask the international community to "activate mechanisms" to restore democracy. "A continual coup d'etat has been perpetrated in Venezuela, culminating in the decision to rob us of a recall referendum.

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