What's next? New Venezuela assembly has vast powers

Bogota (Colombia): The newly elected assembly that will rewrite Venezuela's constitution will have nearly unlimited legal power to install an even more staunchly socialist state, but its very creation has spawned opposition at home and abroad that threatens to deepen the country's political and economic crisis.

Meet the Assembly: The 545 delegates elected Sunday are expected to convene within 72 hours after the official results are announced, which could come early this week. Because the opposition boycotted what it considered a rigged election, virtually all the delegates are government loyalists. 

Many speculate they will choose Diosdado Cabello, the hard-line leader of the ruling socialist party, as their chairman. President Nicolas Maduro made clear in a televised address Saturday that he intends to use the assembly not just to rewrite the country's charter but to govern as "a power that's above and beyond every other." He said he wants the assembly to strip opposition lawmakers and governors of constitutional immunity from prosecution one of the few remaining checks on ruling party power.

Declaring the opposition "already has its prison cell waiting," Maduro added: "All the criminals will go to prison for the crimes they've committed."

Critics say they fear it will lead to a Cuban-style single-party state. Maduro fed some of those fears this month, appearing on television in front of a portrait of Soviet communist leader Vladimir Lenin.

Backlash and sanctions from Abroad: Many nations across the hemisphere announced they would not accept the election of the assembly and European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said Monday that an assembly "elected under doubtful and often violent circumstances cannot be part of the solution."

The biggest threat for Maduro and his allies is the imposition of US sanctions over the election. On Monday, US officials slapped sanctions on Maduro himself, freezing any US assets he might have and barring Americans from doing business with him.

The Trump administration already levied sanctions on two dozen current and former government officials since taking office, but the strategy so far has failed to alter Maduro's iron-fisted rule. Still, US sanctions against Venezuela's head of state could be a powerful symbolic measure that other nations might duplicate.

The US holds another potentially potent card in its pocket: sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil sector, which is the engine of the country's economy and the chief source of hard currency.

American officials had hinted initial US sanctions could affect Venezuela's oil industry, but later they said the Trump administration was holding off due to possible complications, including some involving subsidiaries. Sanctions also could mean higher global oil prices, hurting US drivers at the pump.

Backlash At Home: Independent analysts dispute the report by Venezuela's electoral authority that more than 40 percent of voters cast ballots for the assembly. 

Recent polls suggested 85 percent of Venezuelans opposed holding the assembly and similar numbers disapprove of Maduro's performance at a time the economy is cratering and food and medicine are so short that malnutrition is becoming a serious problem.

Many analysts believe the vote will catalyze yet more disturbances in a country that has seen four months of street protests in which at least 125 people have died.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles urged Venezuelans to protest on the streets of Caracas on Monday and organizers are calling on Venezuelans to uphold Article 350 of the current constitution, which says citizens should "disown any regime, legislation or authority that violates democratic values, principles and guarantees upon human rights."

In a speech to supporters Saturday, opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara warned Venezuelans to prepare for tough times ahead. "After Sunday, it won't be easy for us," he said.

Maduro's Risks: The local and international outcry has cast a shadow over the assembly's election, and some believe it opens a door for dissent within the ruling party created by Maduro's mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.

The assembly's broad powers mean it could even cause Maduro's own ouster if members of his party came to see him as a liability.

"The national constituent assembly is a very risky bet for the president, even in terms of his own coalition," said Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuela analyst at Rice University.