Venezuela's national assembly condemns violence

CARACAS - Venezuela's National Assembly on Tuesday condemned the violence that occurred in the last hours in the country, which so far has left seven people dead and 61 others injured.

Announcing the decision, the Assembly's second vice president Blanca Eekhout said that the strategy of the opposition "was not to achieve electoral victory in the elections but to provoke war and take power to impose a dictatorship."

Protests erupted in parts of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities on Monday after Acting President Nicolas Maduro was declared winner of Sunday's presidential election. As Maduro only held a narrow lead, the opposition rejected the results and demanded a vote recount.

According to official figures, Maduro obtained 50.75 percent of the votes, while Henrique Capriles, the opposition candidate, garnered 48.97 percent.

"The right's strategy is war, this is what they want. They wanted to take the power to impose a dictatorship like Pinochet," said Eekhout, blaming opposition leader Capriles was behind the violence.

Meanwhile, President Diosdado Cabello of the National Assembly also urged the opposition to recognize the Venezuelan government institutions under newly-elected President Maduro.