Venezuela’s pro-government Constituent Assembly held an unscheduled session on Monday, while the opposition warned that it was preparing to announce the dissolution of the National Assembly.

About the Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly was created in 2017, in President Maduro’s bid to replace the National Assembly. The country’s parliament was stripped of its powers for allegedly swearing in legislators whose elections were not valid.

Much Ado About Parliament

According to Aljazeera, the warning was given by opposition leader and National Assembly president, Juan Guaidó, who said that President Nicolas Maduro‘s government was planning to call early elections and dissolve parliament. 

“If they do what they are planning to do, we shall have a phase of greater conflict.”

In a video published on Sunday, Guaidó also said that the government was preparing to strip legislators in the National Assembly by of their parliamentary immunity. On Monday, the Supreme Court asked the Constituent Assembly to lift the immunity of three more legislators on charges including treason.

An Attack Against Democracy

The US embassy in Venezuela, which withdrew its staff after Caracas severed diplomatic relations with Washington in January, also issued a warning against dissolving the National Assembly. 

“Any attack against the Assembly is an attack against democracy,” the embassy tweeted.

‘Stop Being So Nervous’

Responding to Guaido’s alarm, the Constituent Assembly President tweeted: “The vermin little Juan and his gang are very anxious, they can’t stand pressure, they worry about whether we are going to dissolve parliament, about whether we are going to call early elections, about whether we are going to strip 25 lawmakers of their immunity, stop being so nervous.”

Maduro won a second term in an election that was boycotted by most of the opposition in 2018. He has been engaged in a power struggle with Guaido, who has large support for his campaign to remove the president.