By Latin America Reports | Created at 2025-01-10 17:58:18 | Updated at 2025-01-10 22:03:24
4 hours ago
Nicolás Maduro on Friday was sworn in for a third term in office, which will extend his repressive tenure until 2031.
After a speedy ceremony at Venezuela’s National Assembly, Maduro began another six-year term in office, despite failing to publish precinct-level electoral results to prove his victory in the July 2024 elections.
Maduro has been in power since 2013 and his presidency has been characterized by severe economic and social crisis and human rights abuses, contributing to over 7.7 Venezuelans fleeing the country to date.
The ceremony took place over an hour ahead of schedule and comes amidst internal political turbulence in the country. In the six months following the election, opposition supporters have been persecuted by security forces, leading opposition leader María Corina Machado to go into hiding and Edmundo González Urrutia to flee to Spain.
Maduro was sworn in by the leader of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. The 62 year-old leader took his oath in the name of his predecessor and political benefactor, Hugo Chavez, as well as 16th century Indigenous leader Guaicaipuro.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
Opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia – recognized by the United States, the European Union, and other Latin American countries as the winner of the July election – had vowed to return to Venezuela today accompanied by nine former Latin American presidents. He has yet to appear as of the time of publication. This morning, Venezuela closed its borders and airspace with Colombia for 72-hours starting at 5:00AM local time, according to a statement by the Colombian foreign ministry.
