Maduro began the week by signing a decree to begin the process of rewriting Venezuela's constitution, which was pushed through in 1999 by his predecessor and mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.
A woman holds a Venezuelan flag on her chest as she joins a roadblock in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
A third person was killed during looting at a shop in the industrial city of Valencia and a motorcyclist died after being struck by a vehicle trying to swerve away from a protest, the chief prosecutor's office said.
And the death toll from violence at the rallies rose to 29 Tuesday with word from the government that a young man it said had been looting was shot by a shopkeeper in the northern city of Valencia.
Senate aides said the bill sought to react to the crisis by working with countries across the Americas and global organizations, rather than unilaterally, while targeting some of the root causes of the crisis and supporting human rights. Hundreds more have been injured.
Opposition lawmakers have said Maduro's call for a new constitution is evidence that Chavez's ideals no longer work in Venezuela.
Demonstrators set up barricades on the Francisco Fajardo highway, disrupting the traffic flow and stopping the National Guard from advancing.
The president accuses his opponents of trying to overthrow him and says the protests, with their accompanying violence, require him to shake up the Venezuelan government.
Lucena is a longtime supporter of the Maduro government, accused in 2013 of committing fraud during the presidential election that year to ensure Maduro's victory over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, the current governor of Miranda state. They protected themselves with homemade shields, painted in bright colors and decorated with slogans like "Liberty!" and "Murderer Maduro!"
Alex Vasquez is a freelance reporter living in Caracas, Venezuela.
"A constituent assembly without democratic elections will unify the opposition, isolate the government and strengthen street protests".
"The repression has started", said Miguel Pizarro, an opposition congressman, as clouds of white tear gas swirled near him.
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Venezuela's congress, which has an opposition majority, ignored that Tuesday, officially rejecting the idea of holding a constitutional assembly.
"It's a tool to avoid free elections".
Opposition leaders called for a "mega protest" for Wednesday. Back then, however, the opposition was splintered, protests failed to spread to poor areas and the economy was in better shape.
The Venezuelan leader invoked article 347 of the Bolivarian Constitution, which allows for the convening of a national constituent assembly with the goal of "transforming the state".
The warning comes as pressure is building on the Trump administration from the U.S. Congress to act more forcefully to rein in Maduro.
Nonetheless, the government has confirmed that the assembly will be made up of some 500 directly elected delegates, 250 of whom will be elected from among the country's social movements. "A message to Chavismo: It's time to unite to save Venezuela from Maduro".
Protesters were enraged by the socialist president's launching of procedures by the electoral council to draw up a new constitution.
"The Republic must defend itself from terrorism", he added, joining supporters in a rally downtown after presenting his plans to the national election board, which backed the move.
For example, opposition representatives argue that the regional elections due to be held this year, and the presidential polls scheduled for December 2018, would be delayed, according to the BBC.
The most recent protests in Venezuela began on March 30 after Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice, or TSJ, said it would assume the National Assembly's duties - a ruling it later reversed.
The United States condemned Maduro's announcement, while Brazil's foreign minister, Aloysio Nunes, branded it a "coup".
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