Maduro's hold on Venezuela tightens as coronavirus surges

FILE - In this June 17, 2020 file photo, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guiado, sitting left, listens as Henry Ramos Allup, president of the Democratic Action political party, gives a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, the day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered the party's takeover ahead of parliamentary elections expected this year. Some wear masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

FILE - In this June 17, 2020 file photo, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guiado greets a supporter after a visit to the headquarters of Democratic Action political party in Caracas, Venezuela, the day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered its takeover ahead of parliamentary elections expected this year. More than a year after the U.S.-backed politician rose up to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the socialist leader holds a yet stronger grip on power, thanks partly to the novel coronavirus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

A store employee measures the temperature of a woman before allowing her to enter the shop amid the new coronavirus pandemic in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, July 25, 2020. The Venezuelan opposition hoped that 2020 could bring new momentum after several failed pushes to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, but then came the coronavirus, which analysts say has helped suck away the opposition’s scanty momentum and bolster Maduro’s already strong hand. AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Doctors disinfect a protective suit after checking on asymptomatic COVID-19 patients quarantining at a hotel, as they remove their gear in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, July 24, 2020. The government is offering residents this eight-floor hotel, among other hotels, to quarantine if they are asymptomatic with COVID-19, where doctors check on them and they are fed three free meals every day. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A woman places her thumb on a handheld fingerprint scanner at a validation center to certify the authenticity of voter data in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, July 25, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The legislative election is scheduled for Dec. 6 and thus far the opposition has indicated it will not participate. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A man wearing a face mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic passes a mural of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Analysts say that in recent months the pandemic has helped suck away the opposition’s scanty momentum and bolster Maduro’s already strong hand. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

People, wearing protective face masks as a precaution against the spread of the new coronavirus, wait in a line near the entrance to an Electoral Council headquarters set up as a validation center to certify the authenticity of voter data in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, July 25, 2020. In a series of recent moves, the Supreme Court — loyal to President Nicolas Maduro — appointed a new elections commission, including three members who have been sanctioned by the U.S. and Canada, without the participation of the opposition-led congress, as the law requires. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Members of the Venezuelan Electoral Council, sitting, wear face masks and shields amid the spread of the new coronavirus at a validation center, featuring a drawing of late President Hugo Chavez, to certify the authenticity of voter data in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, July 25, 2020. The legislative election is scheduled for Dec. 6 and thus far the opposition has indicated it will not participate. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

An asymptomatic COVID-19 patient peers from the door of her hotel room as doctors do their daily rounds to check on patients like her quarantining here in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, July 24, 2020. The government is offering residents this eight-floor hotel, among other hotels, to quarantine if they are asymptomatic with COVID-19, where doctors check on them and they are fed three free meals every day. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)