Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government on Tuesday vowed to proceed with plans for a controversial new congress despite what it called a "brutal interventionist" threat of U.S. economic sanctions.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he would take "strong and swift economic actions" if Maduro went ahead with the new body that would have power to rewrite Venezuela's constitution and supersede other institutions.
Polls show a majority of Venezuelans oppose the assembly, which critics call tantamount to enshrining dictatorship in the South American OPEC nation. Maduro insists it is the only way to bring peace after months of anti-government unrest that has killed 100 people and further hurt a crippled economy.