Over 2.3m Venezuelans, hit by hyperinflation and shortages, have already fled to neighboring states.

The U.S. had imposed new sanctions on Venezuela following Nicolas Maduro’s disputed win.

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected for another term on Sunday even as opposition leaders boycotted the polls and dismissed the results claiming widespread irregularities in the electoral process.

The crisis-ridden country seeks to raise cash to repay $150 billion of foreign debt.

Venezuela has launched an operation to hunt down a group of rebels, who on Sunday, carried out a deadly strike at an army base in the north-western city of Valencia and managed to escape with weapons.

Amid global concerns over Venezuela’s shift towards authoritarianism, the country’s security agencies detained two of the most prominent opposition leaders as it seeks to muzzle growing voices of dissent.

Venezuela’s opposition accused the country’s government of “mega fraud” and called for fresh protests after a controversial election for a constituent assembly was marred by violence that claimed at least 10 lives on Sunday.

Violent clashes between police and demonstrators left at least three people dead after millions of Venezuelans took to streets to join a nationwide strike against President Nicolás Maduro’s bid to rewrite the country’s constitution.

Calls for a nationwide strike to thwart President Nicolas Maduro's bid to rewrite the country's constitution.

A police helicopter unleashed a volley of gunshots and a grenade assault on Venezuela’s Supreme Court building on Tuesday, prompting President Nicolás Maduro to place the defense forces on alert.