Venezuela: Decree May Ban Opposition Groups From 2018 Presidential Elections

Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly issued a decree Dec. 20 saying that the parties that boycotted the mayoral elections in December lost legitimacy, likely eliminating the country's opposition groups from the 2018 presidential elections, Reuters reported. The Justice First, Democratic Action and Popular Will parties refused to run candidates in the December elections to protest what they called a biased election system. The controversial decree received wide criticism from the United States and from Venezuela's opposition.