Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Granted Power to Rule by Decree

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was given the power Sunday to rule by decree through the end of the year in response to U.S. President Barack Obama's executive order imposing sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials for alleged human rights violations.

Parliament approved Maduro's request for emergency powers in the second of two votes Sunday, the president's office and the national news service Ultimas Noticias said.

Obama issued the executive order last Monday to address "the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by" the South American country. Maduro has sparked protests for locking up opposition leaders and recently drew U.S. anger for saying his government had captured Americans — including a pilot — involved in espionage activities.

• Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro Asks for Decree Powers to Counter U.S.
• U.S. Sanctions Venezuela Officials, Calls Country a Threat
• U.S. Venezuelans Opposed To Maduro Weigh In on Recent U.S. Sanctions

— M. Alex Johnson