A pedestrian walks next to a message on a wall formed with Venezuelan currency that reads in Spanish: “The Constituent Assembly is a fraud”, in Caraca...
A pedestrian walks next to a message on a wall formed with Venezuelan currency that reads in Spanish: “The Constituent Assembly is a fraud”, in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 31, 2017. Electoral authorities said more than 8 million people voted Sunday to create a constitutional assembly endowing President Nicolas Maduro's ruling party with virtually unlimited powers - a figure widely disputed by independent analysts. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
An anti-government demonstrator waves a flag against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a vigil in honor of those who have been killed during...
An anti-government demonstrator waves a flag against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a vigil in honor of those who have been killed during clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 31, 2017. Many analysts believe Sunday's vote for a newly elected assembly that will rewrite Venezuela’s constitution will catalyze yet more disturbances in a country that has seen four months of street protests in which at least 125 people have died. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Anti-government demonstrators attend a vigil in honor of those who have been killed during clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Caraca...
Anti-government demonstrators attend a vigil in honor of those who have been killed during clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, July 31, 2017. Many analysts believe Sunday's vote for a newly elected assembly that will rewrite Venezuela’s constitution will catalyze yet more disturbances in a country that has seen four months of street protests in which at least 125 people have died. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
In this Monday, July 31, 2017 photo, anti-government demonstrators attend a candle light vigil in honor of those who have been killed during clashes b...
In this Monday, July 31, 2017 photo, anti-government demonstrators attend a candle light vigil in honor of those who have been killed during clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela. Many analysts believe Sunday's vote for a newly elected assembly that will rewrite Venezuela’s constitution will catalyze yet more disturbances in a country that has seen four months of street protests in which at least 125 people have died. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Latest on the political situation in Venezuela (all times local):
4:05 a.m.
Allies of two Venezuelan opposition leaders say Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma have been taken by authorities from the homes where they were under house arrest.
Video posted on the Twitter account of Lopez's wife early Tuesday shows a man being taken away from a Caracas home by state security agents. Wife Lilian Tintori says in a tweet that "they've just taken Leopoldo from the house. We don't know where he is."
Lopez was detained three years after protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government and sentenced to more than a decade in prison on charges that include inciting protesters to violence. He was released last month to serve the rest of his term under house arrest. Ledezma, a former Caracas mayor, was also detained in 2015 and has been under house arrest.
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12 a.m.
President Nicolas Maduro brushed off new U.S. sanctions on him and condemnation at home and abroad of the newly chosen constitutional assembly, saying the vote has given him a popular mandate to radically overhaul Venezuela's political system.
Maduro said Monday evening he had no intention of deviating from his plans to rewrite the constitution and go after a string of enemies, from independent Venezuelan news channels to gunmen he claimed were sent by neighboring Colombia to disrupt the vote as part of an international conspiracy led by the man he calls "Emperor Donald Trump."
"They don't intimidate me. The threats and sanctions of the empire don't intimidate me for a moment," Maduro said on national television. "I don't listen to orders from the empire, not now or ever ... Bring on more sanctions, Donald Trump."
