x1bet Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in as opposition decries ‘coup’
This handout picture released by the Venezuelan Presidency press office shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) taking the oath during the presidential inauguration at the Capitolio — home of the National Assembly- in Caracas on January 10, 2025. Maduro, in power since 2013, took the oath of office for a third term despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony’s eve. (Photo by ZURIMAR CAMPOS / Venezuelan Presidency / AFP)
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday for a third six-year term rejected by the opposition as a “coup d’etat” achieved through election fraud and a campaign of repression.
The opposition accuses Maduro, 62, of stealing the election of July 28 last year, and the United States, European Union, and several Latin American countries have recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as Venezuela’s legitimate president-elect.
Article continues after this advertisementMaduro took the oath before parliament, vowing his next term would be a “period of peace,” a day after thousands took to the streets to protest his alleged power grab.
FEATURED STORIES GLOBALNATION A surreal finish to Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial GLOBALNATION Ukraine says questioning POWs it claims are North Koreans GLOBALNATION PH to open 4 foreign missions in N. America, Asia Pacific in 2025“With the usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro… supported by brute force and ignoring the popular sovereignty expressed… on July 28, a coup d’etat has been accomplished,” the Democratic Unitary Platform coalition said in a statement.
While Maduro claimed his investiture was a “victory of democracy,” the United States and Britain immediately announced fresh sanctions on several senior Venezuelan officials.
Article continues after this advertisementCritics have denounced a fresh crackdown on opponents and critics in the lead-up to Friday’s ceremony, with several activists and opposition figures arrested in recent days.
“The delay was caused by force majeure,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said, pointing out that several storms and weather disturbances, including recent typhoons, stalled the release of imported agricultural goods.
During the latter part of Tuesday’s session, HB No. 10926 was brought to the floor, with House committee on ways and means chairperson and Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, and committee on legislative franchises chairperson and Parañaque 2nd District Rep. Gus Tambunting sponsoring the proposed measure.
Article continues after this advertisementOpposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who had come out of hiding to lead Thursday’s anti-Maduro rallies, was briefly held by security forces, according to her team.
Article continues after this advertisementAt least 17 protesters were also detained, according to a post on X by Gonzalo Himiob of the NGO Foro Penal.
Maduro ordered the deployment of thousands of police and soldiers recently.
Article continues after this advertisementSecurity forces cast a menacing pall over Thursday’s demonstrations and kept a watchful eye over the capital Caracas for the swearing-in, closing off streets and setting up roadblocks.
Caracas confirmed the presence of President Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba — one of Maduro’s few allies — at Friday’s ceremony, which started more than an hour earlier than scheduled.
‘We are not afraid’
agen878 slotGonzalez Urrutia, 75, had vowed to return to Venezuela to take power Friday, but those plans appear to have floundered with Caracas gripped by a wave of fear.
“Wanted” posters offering a $100,000 government reward for his capture have been plastered all over the capital.
More than 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed, and about 200 injured in protests following Maduro’s claim of election victory last year.
The president has since maintained a fragile peace with the help of the security forces and paramilitary “colectivos” — armed civilian volunteers accused of quelling protest through a reign of neighborhood terror.
Venezuela’s CNE electoral council, loyal to the regime, had announced victory for Maduro within hours of polls closing last July. It has yet to provide a detailed vote breakdown.
The opposition, for its part, released a tally of polling station results showing Gonzalez Urrutia winning at least two-thirds of the vote.
Gonzalez Urrutia had replaced the wildly popular Machado, 57, on the ballot after she was barred from running by authorities.
On Thursday, Machado defiantly addressed protesters in Caracas, vowing: “We are not afraid.”
Her team reported that Machado was “violently intercepted” as she left the rally and knocked off the motorcycle she was on as shots were fired in the vicinity.
She was then detained and forced to record a number of videos before being let go, it said.
‘International conspiracy’
News of Machado’s detention sparked a flurry of condemnation, including from neighbor Colombia, which hosts most of the estimated seven million Venezuelans to have fled their country’s economic collapse under Maduro’s 12-year rule.
Citing “an international conspiracy to disturb Venezuelans’ peace,” Freddy Bernal, governor of the frontier state of Tachira, subsequently announced Friday that the border with Colombia was closed for the weekend.
US President-elect Donald Trump insisted Thursday that Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia “should not be harmed.”
During his first term in office, Trump had tightened punitive measures against the Maduro government for anti-democratic actions.
The sanctions were partly lifted, then reimposed, by his successor Joe Biden and may well be hardened in Trump’s next term.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Maduro’s previous re-electionx1bet, in 2018, was also widely rejected as fraudulent but he managed to cling to power through a mix of populism and repression, even as the economy imploded.
READ NEXT Gay men can train as priests but don’t flaunt it – Ita... US unveils sweeping sanctions against Russia’s energy se... EDITORS' PICK Sinulog 2025: 305 vessels set to join Fluvial Procession Firefighters race to beat LA blazes as winds grow, death toll hits 16 More villages affected by floods in Bicol Alexie Mae Brooks relinquishes Miss Iloilo title to pageant veteran Fil-Ams grapple with devastating LA fires: ‘It’s like an apocalypse’ Pepsi Paloma script handed by intermediary to Vic Sotto’s ‘sibling who is a senator’ MOST READ Greenhills Shopping Center stays on US watch list 'Pepsi Paloma' script handed by emissary to Vic Sotto's 'sibling who's a senator' Rep. Castro says INC rally a move to shield VP Sara Duterte UAAP: Casiey Dongallo, Jelai Gajero leave UE, transfer to UP Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments