Anti-Maduro recall will be halted if violence erupts: Venezuela officials

Venezuelan authorities set a timeline Friday for the next stage in the opposition's push to call a referendum to sack President Nicolas Maduro, but warned they would halt the process if violence erupts.

Electoral authorities will take fingerprint scans from June 20 to 24 to confirm the identity of people who signed a petition for a referendum, said the head of the National Electoral Board, Tibisay Lucena -- a small victory for the opposition as it races against the clock.

But Lucena warned the entire process would be halted if it turned violent.

"We want to say very emphatically (that) any aggression, disturbance or violence will lead to the immediate suspension of the process until order, peace and respect are reestablished," she told a press conference.

The leftist president's opponents are scrambling to finish the lengthy process of calling a referendum by the end of the year.

After January 10, four years into Maduro's six-year term, a successful recall vote would simply hand power to his vice president, rather than trigger new elections.

The opposition blames Maduro for driving Venezuela to the brink of economic collapse.

A sharp plunge in the price of oil, Venezuela's top export, has sent the economy deep into recession, with severe shortages of food, medicine and electricity.