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AFP
CARACAS
VENEZUELA'S Supreme Court on Saturday abandoned measures to tighten President Maduro's grip on power, which had drawn international condemnation and raised pressure on him as he clings to office.
In a rare climb-down by the president's allies, the pro-Maduro court retreated from the rulings that had prompted opposition calls for mass protest marches in a volatile country stricken by an economic and political crisis.
The court said in a ruling published on its website that it was revoking a March 29 decision to take over legislative powers from the National Assembly, a move opponents had branded a"coup d'etat."
It also revoked an earlier ruling that stripped lawmakers of their immunity from prosecution. And it ended special powers it had conferred on Maduro over security legislation in the crisis.
Maduro had earlier hinted at the coming announcement in a televised address, hours after his own attorney general broke ranks to condemn the court rulings.
"We have reached an important agreement to solve this controversy,"he said.
However, opposition assembly speaker Julio Borges dismissed the court's gesture.
"Nothing has changed. The coup d'etat continues,"he said.
