Opinion: Venezuela, a dictatorship headed for civil war.

Those who still had doubts about democracy in Venezuela need fret no longer. The last little bit of democracy was thrown overboard the sinking ship yesterday. While the world watches and slaps Maduro's regime around with sanctions and requests for dialogue, Venezuelans are fleeing the country en masse. Those who remain behind are getting ready for an increasingly violent struggle.

Maduro's regime had called an election for last Sunday whose results were known in advance. Yesterday Venezuelans were allowed to go to the polls to elect the 545 members for a "Constituent Assembly. The 5,500 candidate members were all affiliated with Maduro's party. The goal of the new parliament is to rewrite the constitution, with Maduro taking even more power to himself. The opposition, which has held two-thirds of parliamentary seats since 2015, denounced the elections from day one and boycotted them. In a self-organized plebiscite earlier this month, it called for new presidential elections.

It was not only the opposition in Venezuela that went head-to-head. Countries like America and Colombia saw nothing in this "sham" election. Colombia indicated it would not recognize the result and America announced it would come up with new sanctions. The European Union also had an opinion and called on Venezuela to reach a solution through "dialogue, political will and courage.

Meanwhile, violence in the streets is increasing. For months, members of the opposition have been taking to the streets to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in the ravaged country and to protest Maduro's policies. The atmosphere is getting grimmer by the day. Whereas when I was there last month I was still shocked to see the Guardia National gas canisters firing directly at protesters and the press, today my Whatsapp floods with images of large explosions and soldiers armed to the teeth.

But anyone who is honest sees that there has actually been a dictatorship in Venezuela for a long time. Maduro has ruled by decree for years. The parliament where the opposition has held the majority since 2015 has been out of power since day one. Opposition members are usually locked up and elections that should have already been held have not taken place. Government employees have been pressured for years to support government policies. If not, you lose your job, house or both; that threat was no different in last Sunday's election.

Until recently, the world seemed to look the other way with closed eyes, and comparatively almost no attention was paid to developments in the country. Now the world is watching. Naively and from the sidelines, this while a major humanitarian crisis is unfolding before our eyes.

The opposition's diplomatic paths that were full of holes all turned out to be dead ends. As it stands, the Venezuelan does not have to expect much from the international community either, beyond some sanctions and "well-meaning advice.

The hungry Venezuelan has no choice but to try to stay on his feet and fight for change. Claiming victory in last weekend's election, it is clear that Maduro has no intention of throwing in the towel anytime soon. However, Maduro no longer had very many friends, and there will be even fewer once he will lose total control over the people who keep him in power, his friends armed to the teeth in the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.