CARACAS: Opponents of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro rallied in the streets Wednesday and he convened a crisis security meeting as the leftist leader resisted their efforts to drive him from power.
Thousands of opposition supporters began to gather at seven points around Caracas in the morning and said they planned to march and join up in the east of the capital.
It is a key test of strength in a mounting political and economic crisis that is destabilizing the South American oil producer.
The socialist president and center-right-dominated opposition accuse each other of mounting a "coup" in a volatile country rich in oil but short of food.
- Pope's role -
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The opposition is furious at the authorities' decision last week to halt their bid for a referendum on removing Maduro from power.
"Today we Venezuelans are mobilizing in defense of our constitutional rights and against the coup," leading opposition figure Henrique Capriles said on Twitter.
Maduro for his part called a meeting on Wednesday of his National Defense Council. It includes top officials including the defense and security ministers.
The crisis prompted Pope Francis to intervene on Monday, granting a private audience to Maduro. The president said he had launched a "national dialogue" to settle the crisis, with the Vatican's backing.
Leaders in the broad opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), denied they had reached any agreement with the government on the terms of any talks.
Analysts have warned of a risk of violent unrest in Venezuela. Clashes at anti-government protests in 2014 left 43 people dead.
The head of the armed forces Vladimir Padrino, who is also Maduro's defense minister, declared "unconditional loyalty" to the president on Tuesday.
- Economic chaos -
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Slammed by a fall in global oil prices, Venezuela's economy has crashed. Protests and looting have broken out, sparked by shortages of food, medicine and basic goods.
Maduro calls the economic crisis a capitalist conspiracy. The opposition blames his economic management.
A recent poll found that more than 75 percent of Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro. But he has vowed to resist efforts to sack him before his term ends in 2019.
Maduro blasted the opposition-majority legislature on Tuesday after lawmakers voted to stage a "political and criminal trial" against him.
"We will not permit a parliamentary coup of any kind," he told cheering supporters.
It was however unclear what impact Tuesday's legislative vote will have.
The Supreme Court has overruled the National Assembly's decisions since the opposition majority took over in January.
Maduro's opponents say he controls the court and the electoral authorities and has used them to block the referendum.
"The MUD has the political capital, but the government has the power," political scientist Luis Salamanca told AFP.
- Tricky talks -
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Maduro urged his opponents to join him in talks on the Caribbean island of Margarita from next Sunday.
He vowed he would go to Margarita. But it was unclear who from the opposition, if anyone, he would have to talk to.
The offer appeared to sow divisions in the MUD. The coalition is united mainly by its members' shared hatred of Maduro.
The MUD said it would only agree to talks if the government respected the constitutional right to a referendum and freed its imprisoned activists and leaders, among other demands.
They insisted any talks be held in Caracas for greater transparency.
- Risk of bloodshed -
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On Monday, a students' group said 27 people were injured in clashes with police at a protest in the western city of San Cristobal.
The blocking of the referendum "has brought the political conflict to a critical point," Salamanca said.
"It is vital to avoid the conflict escalating into bloodshed. If the dialogue can serve any purpose, it is to avoid that."
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