Venezuelan truth commission to probe deadly protests

The ANC, whose members were elected on July 30, convened for the first time on Saturday, aiming to identify those responsible for the deaths and to make conpensations to the families of the victims.

"The Constituent Assembly got off on the right foot," said Maduro, speaking on his weekly program. "Yesterday, they made a magnificent decision, because they created (the commission) by constituent decree."

Commission members are looking into the latest wave of violent anti-government protests sparked in April, as well as mass rallies during the first months of 2014 protesting the country's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies.

The commission will have the power to summon "the perpetrators so that the court trials can begin in order to establish the truth (and) the foundations for a process of justice and pardon," said Maduro.

ANC President Delcy Rodriguez will preside over the commission.

Maduro also welcomed the ANC's decision to remove the sitting prosecutor general, Luisa Ortega Diaz, a vocal government critic, and name former ombudsman Tarek William Saab as a temporary replacement.

The government said the removal was necessary because Ortega herself is under investigation for fanning the political violence.