CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) 鈥� Venezuelan President was for a third six-year term Friday despite international condemnation of his , as his administration grows increasingly brazen in cracking down on opponents.
The country's legislative palace, where he was sworn in, was heavily guarded by police, military and intelligence officers. Crowds of people, many sporting pro-Maduro T-shirts, gathered in adjacent streets and a nearby plaza.
While Maduro's supporters were rallying, his opponents were expected to head to the streets after aides to a key opposition leader said that she was briefly detained Thursday following an anti-government demonstration in the capital, Caracas.
Here's the latest:
Opposition leader Machado accuses Maduro of staging a coup
Venezuelan opposition leader , called Maduro's inauguration a 鈥渃oup鈥� and said she has asked former presidential candidate Edmundo 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 not travel to Venezuela until 鈥渢he moment was right.鈥�
The announcement walks back previous promises by Venezuela鈥檚 opposition that 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 would travel to the country on Friday to take control from Maduro.
In a video message posted to her 8.7 million followers on Instagram, Machado said she was in constant contact with regional leaders and that she 鈥渂elieved freedom was close.鈥� She didn鈥檛 say, however, what the opposition鈥檚 plan was to continue to push back against Maduro.
鈥淲e all know that as of today the pressure will increase even more until Maduro understands that this is over,鈥� she said.
"Today Maduro didn鈥檛 put the sash on his chest. He put it on is ankle as a shackle, which will tighten more every day."
As Maduro's reaffirms control of military, opposition leader 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 is nowhere to be seen
As Maduro gave a speech to the Venezuelan military forces largely credited with keeping him in power, the country's opposition leader, Edmundo 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄, was nowhere to be seen Friday in the Dominican Republic, where he arrived on Wednesday. He on Thursday before disappearing from the public eye.
While his wife was spotted at the hotel on Friday, 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 had not appeared.
On Friday morning, former Mexican President Felipe Calder贸n, who had traveled to the Dominican Republic in support of 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 along with other Latin American dignitaries, announced they would hold a press conference about Venezuela鈥檚 opposition leader.
But as of Friday afternoon, no press conference had been held yet.
Earlier on Friday, Maduro made fun of 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄, saying in a mocking tone: 鈥淚'm waiting for him to arrive, I'm nervous.鈥�
Biden administration extends temporary protections for 600,000 Venezuelans
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it is who fled the country for another 18 months. It cited 鈥渢he extraordinary conditions that prevent eligible Venezuelan nationals from safely returning.鈥�
The announcement came just minutes after Maduro was and marks the Biden administration鈥檚 latest in support of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which faces an uncertain future under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to sharply curtail its use during his first term as president.
Britain and sa国际传媒 slap sanctions against Venezuelan officials
The U.K. imposed sanctions on 15 senior top Venezuelan officials, including senior officials with the electoral service and the commander of the armed forces, and called Maduro鈥檚 claim to the presidency illegitimate. The sanctions include a travel ban and a freezing of assets.
鈥淣icol谩s Maduro鈥檚 claim to power is fraudulent,鈥� Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 sanctions send a clear message. The U.K. will not stand by as Maduro continues to oppress, undermine democracy, and commit appalling human rights violations.鈥�
sa国际传媒 also said it has imposed sanctions on 14 current and former senior officials that the government said 鈥渉ave engaged in activities that have directly or indirectly supported human rights violations in Venezuela."
Inauguration marred by lack of regional support
Few regional leaders 鈥� other than those facing their own human rights criticisms 鈥� traveled to Venezuela to attend Maduro's inauguration.
While countries like Peru said they recognized opposition leader Edmundo 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄, not Maduro, as Venezuela's rightful leader, other regional allies like Colombian leftist leader Gustavo Petro and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum were notably absent.
Venezuelan Opposition: 鈥楢 coup d鈥櫭﹖at has been consummated against the rights of the people鈥�
A coalition of Venezuelan opposition parties condemned Maduro鈥檚 inauguration, calling it a 鈥渃oup d鈥櫭﹖at鈥� against the democratic will of the people. It said in a statement that Maduro landed his third term through 鈥渂rute force and by ignoring鈥� the popular vote.
It maintained that was the rightful president who won the July presidential election.
鈥淲e begin today a new stage in the struggle for the freedom of Venezuela," the coalition wrote. 鈥淲e must make them feel our permanent and active democratic resistance, until the national constitution and especially the popular will is respected.鈥�
US doles out new sanctions, boosts reward for information leading to capture of Maduro and top officials
As Maduro rails on foreign critics, the U.S. Treasury Department slapped a new round of sanctions on Venezuelan officials.
The U.S. sanctions were placed on the president of Venezuela鈥檚 state-owned oil company, Maduro鈥檚 transportation minister and state-owned airline, and high-level military and police officials which the Treasury said had 鈥渞oles in carrying out Maduro鈥檚 repression and human rights abuses against democratic actors.鈥�
The U.S. State Department also boosted its offer for information leading to the arrest of Maduro and his interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, to $25 million each, and placed a new bounty of $15 million for information about Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
In 2020, the department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information on Maduro. It also imposed new travel restrictions on an undisclosed number of Maduro-aligned government officials who the U.S. believes undermined the electoral process and were complicit in repression.
Maduro claims compliance with constitution, criticizes US
In a fiery speech following his swearing in, Maduro claimed that his government has 鈥渃omplied with the constitution鈥� despite little evidence that he won the election and international claims of fraud.
Maduro accused external powers of 鈥渁ttacking鈥� Venezuela, taking digs at the U.S. government and foreign critics, and he promised to guarantee 鈥減eace and national sovereignty.鈥�
鈥淭oday more than ever I feel the weight of commitment, the power that I represent, the power that the constitution grants me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have not been made president by the government of the United States, nor by the pro-imperialist governments of Latin America.鈥�
Maduro accused the opposition of trying to turn the inauguration into a 鈥渨orld war,鈥� but said they failed.
In the crowd celebrating Maduro鈥檚 inauguration was Presidents Miguel D铆az-Canel of Cuba and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua 鈥� countries also facing international sanctions for democratic crackdowns. Top Russian and Chinese officials were also in attendance.
Maduro is sworn in inside the legislative palace
Standing before officials, Maduro was sworn in at Venezuela's legislative palace.
鈥淚 swear by Bolivar, by Sucre, by Urdaneta, by Manuela Saez, by the eternal memory of our eternal commander Hugo Chavez ... I swear by history, I swear by my life,鈥� Maduro said.
As he did, followers erupted into cheers.
Maduro arrives to heavily guarded palace before inauguration
Authorities announced the arrival of Maduro and other leaders to Venezuela's legislative palace, where he is set to be sworn in shortly.
The building is being heavily guarded by police, military and intelligence officers. In adjacent streets and a nearby plaza, people, many sporting pro-Maduro T-shirts, are already gathering. Maduro walked by crowds as some outside the palace roared 鈥淰amos Nico!", 鈥渙r Let's go, Nico!鈥�
鈥淭oday we've come to support our constitutional President Nicol谩s Maduro with tons of joy and excitement,鈥� said supporter Sabrina Sucre, who traveled from the Venezuelan coast with a fellow fisherwoman to witness the inauguration.
EU imposes sanctions on 15 Venezuelan officials
The European Union imposed sanctions on 15 top Venezuelan officials who had a role in the South American country鈥檚 2024 election.
Among those sanctioned are the president and vice president of Venezuela鈥檚 Supreme Court, electoral agency and others, which the 27-nation bloc said have put the nation鈥檚 democracy at risk.
Flights suspended, border closed between Venezuela and Colombia
Venezuelan authorities have announced the suspension of commercial flights and the closure of borders between Venezuela and Colombia, a country with which it shares a 2,200-kilometer (1,367-mile) border.
The measure, which came into effect at 5 a.m. Friday local time and will last 72 hours, came after former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 promised to return to the country to be sworn in as president.
骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄, who returned to Latin America last weekend from his self-exile in Madrid, is recognized as president-elect by the United States, several countries in the region and international organizations such as the Organization of American States. He hasn't offered details of how he intends to enter the country to appear at the inauguration and strip Maduro of power.
Costa Rica's former President Laura Chinchilla 鈥� part of the delegation of former leaders accompanying 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 鈥� said Thursday he was still intending to enter Venezuela on Friday, without providing details. She spoke at the hotel in the Dominican Republic where they were staying.
Maduro has weathered condemnation before
is facing more international rebuke than at any time in his nearly 12 years in power. The self-declared socialist has clung to power despite credible evidence that he . That sparked criticism by the United States and others that the vote was .
But this . Dozens of countries led by the U.S. condemned his 2018 re-election as a sham and recognized Juan Guaid贸, the then-head of the National Assembly, as Venezuela鈥檚 legitimate .
Maduro, who took power in 2013 following Hugo Ch谩vez鈥檚 death from cancer, has seen the entirety of his time in office marked by the crisis. Without 鈥淓l Comandante鈥� in charge, the economy entered a death spiral 鈥� shrinking 71% from 2012 to 2020, with inflation topping 130,000%.
Ahead of last year's election, voters across the country repeatedly said they or their loved ones would emigrate if Maduro remained in power. Under his watch, more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have already left their homeland in search of better living conditions.
Kidnapping and arrests ahead of Maduro's swearing-in
This week alone, masked gunmen arrested a former presidential candidate, a prominent free speech activist and the son-in-law of self-exiled .
, who handily won last year's election according to tally sheets activists collected from electronic voting machines, said his son-in-law was kidnapped Tuesday in Caracas while en route to drop off his children at school.
On Thursday, the eve of Maduro's inauguration, aides to opposition leader Mar铆a Corina Machado said she was detained, followed moments later by official denials, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests. She was freed after she was coerced into recording various videos, according to her aides.
Sharing cells in the country鈥檚 packed prisons with the hundreds of government opponents arrested since are . Most have not had access to a lawyer and only limited contact with family members, who worry they could be , as past American detainees have alleged.
None has been declared wrongfully detained by the State Department, a designation that would give their cases more attention. Because the U.S. has no , their families can face a long process pushing for their release. The Americans鈥� detentions add another complication to the many Venezuela challenges that await when he returns to the White House on Jan. 20.
Evidence of election fraud
Electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party hours after polls closed on July 28, but unlike in previous presidential elections, they did not provide detailed vote counts.
At the same time, the from 85% of electronic voting machines, posted them online and said they showed that 骋辞苍锄谩濒别锄 thrashed Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin. Experts from the Atlanta-based Carter Center, invited by Maduro鈥檚 government to observe the election, have said .
over the prompted Maduro to ask the country鈥檚 high court 鈥� also filled with allies of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela 鈥� to audit the election results. The court without providing thorough evidence and encouraged the electoral council to release the vote counts. But neither the council nor the ruling party produced any evidence.
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