Story highlights Decision effectively means the three branches of government will be controlled by ruling party

Venezuela is facing a deep humanitarian crisis sparked by an economic meltdown

(CNN) In a surprising move the Venezuelan opposition is calling a coup, the Venezuelan Supreme Court has stripped the country's National Assembly of its powers. The court ruled that all powers vested under the legislative body will be transferred to the Supreme Court, which is stacked with government loyalists.

The ruling effectively means the three branches of the Venezuelan government will be controlled by the ruling United Socialist Party. The opposition has been taken out of the picture.

Prominent opposition leaders are already calling the government of President Nicolás Maduro "a dictatorship."

"Nicolás Maduro has staged a coup d'état," National Assembly President Julio Borges said Thursday. "What this ruling means is that, for the first time, Nicolás Maduro has all the power to enact laws, assign contracts, incur foreign debt and persecute fellow Venezuelans."

Maduro spoke about the ruling in a message broadcast live Thursday on the government's TV network.

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