Venezuela’s government came under renewed pressure on Tuesday when regional body Organization of American States called for an emergency meeting.
Venezuelan opposition politicians had urged the OAS to call the meeting.
The move could lead to Venezuela being suspended from the OAS.
“The secretary general considers that the institutional crisis in Venezuela demands immediate changes to the Executive power,” a statement by Mr Almagro read.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro reacted angrily, accusing the OAS of “foreign intervention” and ordering it to leave Venezuela and the Americas.
He also said he would bring charges against the leaders of Congress who had requested the OAS to intervene, saying they had betrayed the nation.
OAS head Luis Almagro wants members to evaluate whether Venezuela has suffered an “unconstitutional alteration of the constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order”.
The government of President Nicolas Maduro has been coming under increasing pressure to work with the opposition-controlled National Assembly to ease the political and economic tension in the South American country.
