U.S. President Donald Trump called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a "bad liar" and threatened "strong and swift economic actions" if he follows through with his plan to rewrite his country's Constitution.
Maduro plans to replace Venezuela's National Assembly, which is controlled by his opponents, with a Constituent Assembly that could rewrite the Constitution. A referendum on the issue is scheduled for the end of the month, although last Sunday 7.2 million rejected the proposal in an unofficial, non-binding referendum.
"Yesterday, the Venezuelan people again made clear that they stand for democracy, freedom, and rule of law," Trump said in a statement on Monday, CNN reports.
"Yet their strong and courageous actions continue to be ignored by a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator. The United States will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles. If the Maduro regime imposes its Constituent Assembly on July 30, the United States will take strong and swift economic actions," he added.
"The United States once again calls for free and fair elections and stands with the people of Venezuela in their quest to restore their country to a full and prosperous democracy."
On Monday, Venezuelan opposition leaders began a call for a 24-hour nationwide strike in protest of Maduro's plan.
"We call on the whole country to launch a 24-hour national strike this Thursday, a massive, nonviolent protest, as a way to pressure the government and to prepare for the final steps, which will be next week, to confront this fraud ... and to restore constitutional order," said opposition leader Freddy Guevara, according to The Washington Post.
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