Venezuelan SC declares state of emergency constitutional

The opposition-controlled congress had rejected President Nicolas Maduro's decree giving sweeping powers to the security forces

A state of emergency decreed in Venezuela this week by President Nicolas Maduro is constitutional, the Supreme Court has ruled.

As the opposition pushed for a referendum to remove him from office, Maduro issued the decree giving sweeping powers to the security forces to impose public order and help distribute food. The opposition-controlled congress rejected the decree.

But the Supreme Court yesterday upheld it as constitutional "given the extraordinary social, economic, political, natural and ecological circumstances that are gravely affecting the national economy".