Venezuela leader urges court to review ruling on congress

A woman wears a banner over her mouth with a message that reads in Spanish: "Venezuela lives in a dictatorship" during a protest, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, March 31, 2017. Venezuelans have been thrust into a new round of political turbulence after the government-stacked Supreme Court gutted congress of its last vestiges of power, drawing widespread condemnation from foreign governments and sparking protests in the capital. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) (The Associated Press)

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Opposition Congresswoman Dinorah Figuera, center, is is helped away after pro-government groups fired pepper gas against demonstrators during a protest outside of Venezuela's General Prosecutor's office in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, March 31, 2017. Venezuelans have been thrust into a new round of political turbulence after the government-stacked Supreme Court gutted congress of its last vestiges of power, drawing widespread condemnation from foreign governments and sparking protests in the capital. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

An opposition member, center, argues with a supporter of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a protest outside of Venezuela's General Prosecutor's office in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, March 31, 2017. Venezuelans have been thrust into a new round of political turbulence after the government-stacked Supreme Court gutted congress of its last vestiges of power, drawing widespread condemnation from foreign governments and sparking protests in the capital. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is urging the country's Supreme Court to review its decision stripping congress of its last powers, a ruling that set off a storm of criticism from the opposition and foreign governments.

In an address early Saturday after a meeting presided over by Maduro, the National Security Council has announced that is supporting a review by the court "with the goal of maintaining institutional stability."

The announcement capped an extraordinary day in which Venezuela's chief prosecutor and long-time loyalist of the socialist government broke with the Maduro administration and denounced the court ruling. Luisa Ortega Diaz said it was her "unavoidable historical duty" as the nation's top judicial authority to decry the ruling against the opposition-controlled National Assembly as a "rupture" of the constitutional order.