Venezuela's opposition leader calls for nationwide strike

Leopoldo Lopez, the top figure of Venezuela’s opposition movement, has called for a general strike in the country to protest against government plans for carrying out reforms in the constitution.

Lopez issued a video message on Wednesday, calling on all Venezuelans to contribute to the strike, which began overnight.

The former Caracas-area mayor, who has recently been released from prison, also urged Venezuela’s army to refrain from deploying troops to a controversial constituent assembly meeting on Sunday, which is expected to finalize changes to the constitution.

“We are on the brink of their trying to annihilate the republic that you swore to defend ... I ask you not to be accomplices in the annihilation of the republic,” Lopez said in the 15-minute video message.

Many residents in the capital Caracas heeded the call on Wednesday and stayed home. Streets were mostly empty and shops were closed.

Lopez was sentenced to 14 years in 2015 for inciting violence on the streets. He was freed in early July after authorities said his case had irregularities. He is currently monitored at his home with an electronic bracelet.

In his message, Lopez urged Venezuelans to take to the streets for protests planned in the run-up to the Sunday vote, saying he would attend and lead the “takeover of Caracas” protest on Friday if he could.

"And you all know that if I could, I would physically be at the front," Lopez said, adding, “I want to tell the Venezuelan people that in mind, spirit and conviction, I have accompanied you in this fight on the streets.”

President Nicolas Maduro has touted changes in Venezuela’s constitution as necessary for resolving the widening political crisis in the country. He says the rewrite would also help the nation to weather an economic crisis that many say was the main reason behind the current standoff.

Maduro has repeatedly blamed the crisis on foreign governments, mainly the United States, saying Washington has supported and funded an opposition, which has consistently capitalized on economic woes of Venezuela as the oil-rich country keeps struggling with a slump in global prices.

The US government on Wednesday imposed a fresh round of sanctions on individuals in Venezuela's government, military and state oil company PDVSA, in an apparent bid to increase pressure on Maduro and allies in the government.

The list of 13 persons included army and police chiefs, the national director of elections and a PDVSA vice president.

Sources in the White House said the US government had avoided, at least for now, to impose broader financial or "sectoral" sanctions against Venezuela’s vital oil industry, although the source said such measures are still under consideration.

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