Maduro sworn in for third term in Venezuela

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday for a third six-year term, in what the opposition called a “coup”.

“I swear that this new presidential term will be one of peace, prosperity, equality and new democracy,” he told the National Assembly, after which Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez declared him constitutional president.

After placing the presidential sash around his neck, and the key to Simon Bolivar’s coffin, Maduro added, “Say what you want, but this constitutional inauguration took place despite everything and it’s a great victory for Venezuelan democracy”.

The ceremony was brought forward by an hour and a half without warning.

Maduro arrived at the National Assembly Palace at around 10:30 am local time (1430 GMT), passing through a line of uniformed soldiers before entering the building where he held a long handshake with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, one of the few heads of state present along with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart on his inauguration for a third term, while State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin attended the inauguration ceremony in Caracas.

The ceremony was also attended by most of the Venezuelan government figures, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the two main figures in the suppression of the post-election protests.

In contrast, Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who claims to have won the presidential election in July, said Maduro had crowned himself dictator at his inauguration on Friday.

“Today in Caracas, Maduro violated the Constitution and the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people expressed on July 28… He is carrying out a coup and crowning himself dictator,” González Urrutia said in a video.

The Venezuelan opposition leader stressed that he was the “elected president,” calling on the army to disobey illegal orders issued by the current government.

For her part, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado ruled out on Friday any immediate return to Venezuela for González Urrutia.

She said González Urrutia will come to Venezuela to take the oath as constitutional president of Venezuela at the appropriate time, when the circumstances are right, and this isn’t the time for Edmundo to return to Venezuela.

Machado added that “the regime has activated its entire air defense system,” and that she had asked González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela because his personal safety is essential to the final defeat of the regime and the transition to democracy, which is very close”.

In turn, the main opposition coalition, “Platforma Unitaria,” said in a statement, “A coup has been carried out,” denouncing “the usurpation of power by Nicolás Maduro, supported by brute force, ignoring the popular sovereignty that was forcefully expressed on July 28”.

He added that González Urrutia “is the one who should be installed today or tomorrow”.

Security forces closed off the area around the National Assembly headquarters in central Caracas, while state television broadcast images of hundreds of Maduro supporters demonstrating in the streets.

The government also closed the border with Colombia early Friday, citing an international plot to destabilize the peace of Venezuelans.

The United States has denounced the “farce” of Maduro’s inauguration, imposed new sanctions on Caracas and raised to $25 million the reward for information leading to the Venezuelan president’s trial.

London described Nicolas Maduro as illegitimate and imposed sanctions on 15 senior figures in his administration.

In turn, the European Union’s foreign policy official, Kaya Kallas, considered that Maduro “doesn’t enjoy any democratic legitimacy”.

“The European Union stands with those who defend democratic values ​​in Venezuela,” Kallas added in a statement on behalf of the 27-nation bloc.

The inauguration came a day after opposition protests against the 62-year-old socialist leader’s July 28 election victory, which were followed by deadly unrest and thousands of arrests.

For their part, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Maduro to resuming dialogue with the opposition.

“France and Brazil are ready to facilitate the resumption of communication to enable the return of democracy and stability to Venezuela,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement on a phone call between the French and Brazilian presidents.

The Venezuelan government called for a march in support of Maduro in the capital on Thursday, while the opposition held a protest in which its leader, Maria Corina Machado, appeared in public for the first time since August.

“We’re not afraid,” chanted thousands of protesters who gathered at the opposition’s call.

There was some confusion at the end of the day, after the opposition announced that its leader, Maria Corina Machado, had been violently arrested and then released.

However, the government denied this version of events, and Attorney General Tarek William Saab denounced “a psychological operation aimed at inciting violence in Venezuela”.

The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner with 52% of the vote, but without publishing the election minutes, saying he had been hacked, a hypothesis that many observers considered implausible.

The announcement by the National Electoral Council sparked a wave of protests across Venezuela that were violently suppressed, leaving 28 dead, more than 200 injured and 2,400 arrested on charges of terrorism.

As happened during the protests of 2014, 2017 and 2019 that left more than 200 dead, Maduro enjoyed the support of the military, a pillar of his power, as well as the judicial system.

In this regard, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Venezuela to release all arbitrarily detained persons, stressing that he is following the situation in Venezuela with great concern.