Venezuela saga: ANC bigwigs meet for a response to Maduro’s capture

The African National Congress (ANC)'s highest decision-making body, the national executive committee (NEC), between conferences, is meeting on Monday to discuss the unfolding situation in Venezuela.

The issue has been added to the NEC's agenda following reports that the United States Army invaded the South American country over the weekend and kidnapped its head of state, Nicolas Maduro.

The development has sent shockwaves around the world and is expected to dominate discussions as the NEC meets in the North West.

The ANC’s NEC is meeting for the first time this year.

Its meeting was initially scheduled to focus on the party’s January 8 statement, marking its 113th anniversary of the liberation movement.

However, a late addition was made to the agenda following developments in Venezuela.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said: “We are going to adopt a formal message of the ANC on the matter of Venezuela, and we wanted to wait for this national executive committee, given the gravity of what has happened there, so that we can have a political discussion first, so we don’t just issue an occasional statement.”

Bhengu added that the state of local government will also be discussed, with a focus on municipalities in the North West.