Venezuela to hold vote on constitutional changes despite Trump threats

Venezuela's government defiantly brushed aside US President Donald Trump's threat of economic sanctions on Tuesday by saying it will go ahead with the election of a controversial body to rewrite the country's constitution.

"Nothing and nobody can stop it. The constituent assembly is happening," Foreign Minister Samuel Moncada told a news conference.

"The Venezuelan people are free and will respond united to the insolent threat made by a xenophobic and racist empire."

The sharp words came a day after Trump warned of "strong and swift economic actions" against Venezuela if the July 30 election of the constituent assembly was held.

He did not specify what form those "actions" could take.

But Maduro showed he was taking the message seriously, convening officials for a defence meeting, "to respond to the imperial menace," he wrote on Twitter.

Venezuela, which is almost entirely reliant on its oil exports for revenues, ships a third of its crude production to the US.

Economy on the decline

The country is deep in the grip of an economic crisis, with food and medicine scarce and inflation soaring to triple digits.

That has fuelled public anger, feeding into an opposition campaign and deadly protests to force President Nicolas Maduro out through early elections.

Part of the downturn stems from relatively low global prices for oil.

But Venezuela's opposition also blames mismanagement by Maduro, who has stepped up the nationalisation of businesses, employed the military to control food distribution, and imposed currency controls.

Maduro in turn blames an economic "war" against him that he says is fomented by the right-wing opposition with the support of United States.

The president has portrayed his plan to have a constituent assembly rewrite the constitution as the only available path to "peace" and economic recovery.

The opposition, which controls the legislature, has resisted, buoyed by international condemnation of Maduro's plan. It sees the constituent assembly as a tool to sideline the lawmakers in the National Assembly.

A 24-hour nationwide strike has been called for Thursday, launching what the opposition calls a "final offensive" to push Maduro out of office.

Increasingly isolated

It follows an unofficial plebiscite held by the opposition last weekend in which 7.6 million voters – out of a total 19 million – cast ballots to reject the constituent assembly elections, and support early elections.

Trump gave vocal backing to the opposition Monday, calling Maduro "a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator."

"The United States will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles," he said.

That led Moncada to say that the opposition had "prompted President Trump to commit open aggression against a Latin American country."

He called on "the people of Latin America and the Caribbean and the free people of the world to hear the magnitude of this brutal threat."

Venezuela, however, is increasingly isolated internationally.

Maduro's plan for the constitutional rewrite has earned rebukes from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and other Latin American nations, as well as the Organization of American States, the United Nations and the European Union.

The United States and Venezuela have had decades of tense relations, dating back to the time of Hugo Chavez, Maduro's mentor and predecessor who died in 2013.