MIAMI, United States. – Nicolás Maduro was sworn in this Friday for a third term as president of Venezuela before the National Assembly, without exhibiting the minutes that prove his questioned electoral victory last July.
Meanwhile, the opposition, which did present 85% of the electoral records, gave proof that the true winner of the elections was Edmundo González Urrutia.
In a ceremony held in the Elliptical Hall of Parliament, controlled by Chavismo, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, imposed the presidential sash on Maduro at 10:53, Caracas time. “I swear by the historic, noble and brave people of Venezuela and before this Constitution, which I will enforce all its mandates, I inaugurate the new period of peace, prosperity and the new democracy,” Maduro pronounced. At another point in the event, he was heard exclaiming: “I swear on my life.”
This investiture occurs just one day after an opposition march that culminated in reports of a brief arrest of the leader María Corina Machado, something that the regime called an “invention.”
For his part, Edmundo González Urrutia, who is considered president-elect by the United States, the European Union, Canada and numerous Latin American governments, remains in the Dominican Republic, where he has participated in activities to denounce Chavismo’s electoral fraud.
According to his statements, he would return to Venezuela on January 10, although no details of his trip have been confirmed.
Maduro, through his Telegram channel, had anticipated his inauguration by writing: “We are ready! On January 10, the presidential candidate, elected and proclaimed by the electoral authorities, will be sworn in before the National Assembly.”
However, the opposition and international organizations continue to demand the publication of the minutes that support the official result, something that has not happened so far.
The “solemn” session took place under strong security measures around Parliament. Blocked streets, police checkpoints and an increase in military presence characterized the center of Caracas during the morning, a measure also extended to other public powers. The political tension is combined with the temporary closure of the land border and airspace with Colombia, which the government justifies by referring to an alleged “international conspiracy.”
At the international level, numerous countries maintain their distrust of Maduro’s proclamation, while a small group of allies, including diplomatic delegations, attended the inauguration.
The only president who attended the controversial inauguration It was Miguel Díaz-Canel. The president was accompanied by the chancellor of his regime, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the head of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the PCC, Emilio Lozada, and other officials who were not identified.
In addition, the dictator of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, was present; the Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Bucharaya Hamudi Beyun, and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne.
