A tyrant becomes most dangerous when he reaches the end of his rope. This is where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro now finds himself. On Monday, he placed Venezuela under a “State of Exception and Economic Emergency” due to “international and national threats against our fatherland.” Specifically, he warned of a coup against himself orchestrated by the United States government.

On Tuesday, a state-funded news service reported his threat to dissolve the national legislature, which the opposition party won in a landslide election last December. “The National Assembly has lost political validity,” Maduro told reporters. “It’s a matter of time before it disappears.”