International News

CARACAS, Oct 25 (APP/AFP): Venezuela’s opposition-majority legislature voted on Tuesday to open a political trial against President Nicolas Maduro, who is resisting efforts to remove him from power in a volatile political crisis. A majority of lawmakers in the National Assembly voted in favor of a motion to launch a “political and criminal trial” against Maduro after he blocked their drive for a referendum on removing him. They voted to summon Maduro to appear before the assembly on November 1 to answer charges of “criminal and political responsibility and of abandoning his post.” It is unclear what impact the vote will have. The Supreme Court — which the opposition claims Maduro controls — has ruled the National Assembly’s decisions invalid. The center right-dominated opposition blames Maduro for a dire economic crisis in the oil-rich nation. Hit by the fall of global oil prices, Venezuela’s economy has crashed, sparking protests and looting driven by shortages of food, medicine and basic goods. Maduro calls the economic crisis a capitalist conspiracy. The opposition called for the political trial after courts and electoral authorities last week annulled their bid to hold a recall referendum against him.