The late President Hugo Chavez's dream of leveraging Venezuela's oil wealth to spread revolution across Latin America is crumbling under the weight of an economic crisis that is forcing his hand-picked successor to cut back on generous foreign aid.

Signs of the country's waning influence are becoming more apparent. In early November, Guatemala withdrew from the Petrocaribe oil alliance launched by Chavez, saying it didn't receive the ultra-low financing rates it had been promised by Venezuela when it first sought to join the 18-nation pact in 2008. Also in recent weeks, representatives of Brazil and Colombia have held meetings with their Venezuelan counterparts to collect overdue payment for food, manufactured goods and other imports.

Attackers on a motorcycle shot dead a member of the Venezuelan opposition coalition who was a candidate in upcoming municipal elections, officials said Wednesday.

Jose Chirinos, 34, was killed Tuesday night as he was leaving a radio interview ahead of the December 8 vote, the Democratic Unity opposition group said.

Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro announced Wednesday he will unveil a second package of economic measures under an emergency decree to counter what he calls an economic war by the business sector.

He said the measures to be announced Friday will regulate imports, on which the oil-rich nation is highly dependent for basic goods.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife Maxima were to meet Saturday with President Nicolas Maduro, a visit coinciding with anti-government protests by Venezuela's opposition.

"We welcome them with great affection and appreciation," Maduro told reporters.

Venezuela accused the United States of "interference" in its internal affairs Thursday after Washington expressed concern that President Nicolas Maduro had been granted powers to rule by decree.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry declared its "most profound, categorical and energetic rejection" of Wednesday's comments by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

The United States on Wednesday voiced concern after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was given emergency powers to rule by decree for the coming months.

"We are concerned that the Venezuelan National Assembly has granted decree powers to President Maduro for the next 12 months," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Venezuela's National Assembly on Tuesday gave President Nicolas Maduro wide-ranging special powers to rule by decree for one year.

The socialist president of the OPEC member state says he needs the greater personal power as his government struggles with soaring inflation and shortages of basic goods.

Venezuela's congress has voted in favor of granting President Nicolas Madurothe emergency decree powers he's seeking to help fight corruption and stabilize the inflation-plagued economy.

The pro-government majority on Thursday approved the request in the first of two required debates. The second will be held next week.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was a step closer to getting the votes he needs to govern by decree after his ruling party ousted an opposition lawmaker from parliament on Tuesday.

Opposition deputy Maria Mercedes Aranguren walked out of the unicameral National Assembly after lawmakers voted to expel her and remove her parliamentary immunity.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Sunday that Venezuela's economy appears stressed and that the country likely will face "difficult policy choices" soon.

"I don't think that the economy is doing well at the moment and we certainly understand that they are using reserves in a very significant amount," the IMF managing director said in an interview with CNN's Spanish-language network.