members have been a bedrock of support for leftist President Nicolas Maduro.
While widely
seen as symbolic, the move raises the specter of the development of a parallel
state. The top court has warned that the naming of the alternate judges is
illegal, and they could be jailed.
Undeterred,
opposition lawmakers swore in the 13 new judges and 20 substitute judges in a
public plaza to combat what they say is oil-rich Venezuela's slide into
dictatorship under Maduro.
"We're
not backing down, Venezuela will have a Supreme Court of Justice and
institutions at the service of the people and not at the service of whatever
government is in power," said opposition legislator Carlos Berrizbeitia
during the ceremony, where the appointed justices were applauded and cheered on
with shouts of "Bravo!"
Critics hold
that the current Supreme Court justices were named illegally by the ruling
Socialist Party and rushed in before the opposition took over the legislature
in January 2016.
"They're
pirate magistrates named on the fly," said opposition legislator Juan
Requesens in a video streamed live on the Periscope service, which the
opposition often uses given limited coverage of their activities on local
television channels.
In a
statement broadcast on state television later on Friday, the Supreme Court
blasted the alternative judges who were named by the legislature.
"They're
undertaking crimes against the independence and security of the nation, in
particular, in terms of crimes of treason and against the powers of the nation
and states," said Juan Jose Mendoza, the president of the top court's
constitutional chamber.
Opposition
Campaign
Even so, the
government will not allow the congressionally appointed judges to unseat those
already sitting on the Supreme Court.
Rather, the
move is part of the opposition coalition campaign to ramp up pressure on
unpopular Maduro after nearly four months of violent street protests, an
unofficial plebiscite against him last weekend and a national strike on
Thursday.
Slideshow (8
Images)
Apart from
appointing new judges, the opposition held an unofficial referendum on Sunday
in which the opposition said some 7.5 million people voted against the
government.
Two young
men and one teenage boy died in unrest related to the Thursday's strike,
according to authorities. Around 100 people have died in unrest that kicked off
in early April, thousands have been arrested, and hundreds injured.
Over 360
people were arrested across the country on Thursday, according to the rights
group Penal Forum.
Venezuela's
second-largest city, Maracaibo, suffered looting and fires during the stoppage,
according to local reports that have not been confirmed by authorities.
The opposition
is vying to stop Maduro's plan to on July 30 create a controversial
super-legislature with powers to rewrite the constitution and supersede other
institutions.
Maduro also
faces widespread pressure from abroad to abort the assembly, including from U.S.
President Donald Trump who said on Monday he would take "strong and swift
economic actions" if the Venezuelan leader went ahead with his plans.
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