OAN Staff Sophia Flores
10:54 AM – Friday, January 10, 2025
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been sworn in to his third six-year term, despite credible evidence indicating that he lost the election and widespread protests from the country’s citizens.
On Friday, Maduro was sworn in at Venezuela’s legislative palace.
“I swear by Bolivar, by Sucre, by Urdaneta, by Manuela Saez, by the eternal memory of our eternal commander Hugo Chavez … I swear by history, I swear by my life,” Maduro stated.
Maduro will now stay in power until 2031.
He was proclaimed the winner of the country’s presidential election on July 28th by electoral authorities under the tight control of the ruling Socialist Party. However, Venezuela’s opposition reportedly tallied the votes themselves and discovered that their candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had actually won the election with 67% against Maduro’s 30%.
Since the election, Gonzalez has been placed in exile and he now has a bounty on his head.
The United States recognizes Gonzalez as the true winner of the election.
Soon after Maduro’s inauguration, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Maduro “has once again demonstrated a complete disregard for democratic norms and is proceeding with an illegitimate inauguration today.”
Additionally, after he was sworn in, the United States announced that it will implement an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for eligible Venezuelan nationals.
The U.S. is also offering a $25 million reward for Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, one of Maduro’s closest allies and officials. $25 million is the maximum reward allowed under the State Department’s narcotics reward program.
On Thursday, the day before the inauguration, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado emerged from hiding to speak at a pro-government protest. However, according to her team, she was “violently intercepted” at the event.
“During the period of her kidnapping she was forced to record several videos and was later released,” her team stated.
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