Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in for a third presidential term despite the protests of the country’s opposition movement, capping more than five months of dispute over last summer’s contested election.
The ceremony took place on Friday in a small room of the National Assembly, a marked difference from previous ceremonies held in the building’s main hall.
Maduro was proclaimed winner of the country’s presidential election on July 28, by electoral authorities under the tight control of the ruling Socialist Party.
But Venezuela’s opposition published thousands of voting tallies claiming that their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had actually won the vote with 67% against Maduro’s 30%.
González, who has been in exile since September with a bounty on his head by Venezuelan authorities, had pledged to return to Caracas this week in a potential last challenge to Maduro’s inauguration. His last known location on Friday was the Dominican Republic, where he had recently met with regional leaders.
Ahead of the inauguration, Venezuela closed its land border and suspended flights to Colombia – a move that Freddie Bernal, the governor of the Venezuelan border state of Tachira claimed was in reaction to a “international conspiracy” against Venezuela in an Instagram post. He did not provide proof for his claim.
The border closure came just hours after Colombia broke its silence on the issue and announced it would not recognize the results of last summer’s elections, stating they were not free.
Protests erupted in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities on Thursday ahead of the inauguration, with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado emerging from hiding to speak at one event.
Machado was later “violently intercepted” at the event, according to her team, which said that “during the period of her kidnapping she was forced to record several videos and was later released.” The Venezuelan government has denied detaining Machado.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
