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Nicolas Maduro has sent Venezuela into a chaotic spiral after a vicious crackdown on dissent and opposition parties. Yesterday, the leading opposition leader Henrique Capriles was barred from public office for 15 years. This comes after days of massive protests against the dictator's grip on power.

GETTY Venezuela dictator hurls country into chaos

Protesters were demonstrating against a decision by the Venezuelan Supreme Court to assume control of the opposition-led congress. The police have responded with tear gas and water cannons, prompting chaos among highways where 10,000 pro­testers marched. One of the biggest opposition protests yet is expected to take place later today in the country that has once lauded as a "socialist paradise". However, experts believe the government-led crackdown could galvanise protests against the leftist government and upend a presidential election next year.

GETTY Maduro's government says a U.S.-backed business elite is responsible for Venezuela's economic fall

GETTY Venezuala has seen nearly daily protests

This is not one person's struggle, This is the Venezuelan people's struggle Henrique Capriles

Mr Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate, was seen as the opposition's best hope to defeat President Nicolas Maduro. He called for an uprising after the ban was announced, adding: "You can shove your disqualification where the sun doesn't shine. "This is not one person's struggle. This is the Venezuelan people's struggle." Protesters believe that Maduro, who was handpicked by the late Hugo Chavez, is leading the country to a dictatorship.

AP Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate, was seen as the opposition's best hope

GETTY Maduro still retains the support of the armed forces