Venezuela's former opposition lawmaker Juan Requesens has been sentenced to eight years in prison for involvement in the 2018 assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has lashed out at the opposition for its attempt to push for a recall referendum against him, denouncing the move as "childish" and a "major fail" after the country's National Electoral Council declared his opponents had not collected enough signatures for the vote.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro decries US attempts to impose a “puppet” on his country, insisting that he has emerged victorious in face of such plots.

Venezuela has rejected calls for dialog with the US-backed opposition as hypocritical as long as Washington maintains pressure on Caracas, including in the form of foreign asset freezes.

Maduro’s leftist ruling party wins 20 of the 23 gubernatorial offices and the mayorship of the capital Caracas, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced on Monday.

Venezuelans go the polls in regional and local elections, which include the main opposition parties that have participated for the first time in four years.

The Venezuelan government and the US-backed opposition began negotiations in August; however, after a member of the governments negotiating team was arrested and extradited to the US, the talks have stalled.