Venezuela’s Maduro sworn into office as opposition, U.S. denounce ‘coup d’etat’

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Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (C) delivers a speech during his inauguration as president in Caracas on Friday. Maduro was sworn into office for a third term as the country's president despite allegations of electoral fraud by the majority opposition bloc. Photo by Presidency of Cuba/EPA-EFE

Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as president of Venezuela for a new six-year term on Friday, consolidating his dictatorship amid protests from opposition parties and the United States that his election win was illegitimate.

Maduro took the oath of the office with his hand on the Constitution in front of Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez in the elliptical hall of the National Assembly in Caracas.

After the inauguration ceremony, he received the presidential sash and other symbols of office, then signed an act of law confirming his swearing-in.

"I swear by the historic, noble and courageous people of Venezuela and before this Constitution, that I will fulfill all its mandates. I inaugurate the new period of peace, prosperity and the new democracy," he said.

Should Maduro complete his third term in office in 2031, it would give him 18 years in power, more than former President Hugo Chavez, who spent 14 in the presidential palace from 1999 to 2013.

Only the early 20th century dictator Juan Vicente Gómez held the office longer, ruling Venezuela for 27 years from 1908 to 1935.

Most of the presidents of South America were absent from the ceremony, registering their objections over the opaque manner in which Venezuela's National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the nation's July 28 presidential poll.

Opposition parties, the Organization of American States, the United States and many others have accused Maduro of employing repressive strategies and human rights abuses to illegitimately perpetuate himself in power. They maintain that opponent Edmundo González Urrutia, in fact, had garnered far more votes.

In the months following the election, hundreds of peaceful protests broke out across the country but were "violently suppressed" by state security forces and pro-regime civilian groups, according to international observers. Dubbed "Operation Tun Tun," the repression resulted in at least 25 deaths, more than 2,000 arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, acts of torture, and other grave human rights violations, they claim.

On Thursday, opposition political leader María Corina Machado was arrested and subsequently released after leading a demonstration in Caracas on the eve of the inauguration.

Venezuelan opposition figures called Friday's ceremony a "coup d'etat."

"With the usurpation of power by Nicolás Maduro ... supported by brute force and ignoring the popular sovereignty forcefully expressed on July 28, a coup d'état has been consummated," the Democratic Unitary Platform of Venezuela said in a posted statement, vowing that "a new phase of struggle for democracy and freedom in Venezuela" has begun.

Washington, meanwhile, similarly denounced the inauguration.

"Today, Nicolás Maduro held an illegitimate presidential inauguration in Venezuela in a desperate attempt to seize power," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. "The Venezuelan people and world know the truth -- Maduro clearly lost the 2024 presidential election and has no right to claim the presidency."

Blinken called the Electoral Council's declaration of Maduro as the winner "fraudulent."

"President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia should be sworn in, and the democratic transition should begin," he said. "We stand ready to support a return to democracy in Venezuela."

The European Union also condemned Maduro's inauguration.

The EU "stands in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, who voted peacefully on [July 28] to determine the future of their country," foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement. "Millions of Venezuelans voted for democratic change by supporting Edmundo González Urrutia by a significant majority, according to publicly available copies of electoral records."

Election authorities have refused to publish official records from polling stations, she noted, meaning the results remain "unverified and cannot be recognized as representative of the will of the people."

Venezuela "missed a key opportunity to respect the people's will and ensure a transparent democratic transition with guarantees for all. Nicolás Maduro therefore lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected president," Kallas said.

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