CARACAS: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday sought to outflank his opponents in their bid to drive him from power, vowing to crush a threatened general strike.
The socialist leader is resisting growing pressure from the opposition, which blames him for the oil-rich South American country’s plunge into economic chaos.
He said authorities would seize control of companies that join a general strike called for Friday by the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD).
“If a company stops, it will be taken over,” he said in a televised speech.
At the same time, he moved to placate hard-up citizens by promising to raise the minimum wage by 40 percent.
