Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a controversial third term on Friday, despite unresolved disputes over the July presidential election and international pressure for him to step down.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in Friday to serve a third six-year term, extending his increasingly repressive rule until 2031 despite protests and credible evidence that his opponent won the election.

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in for a third presidential term in what the country’s opposition movement has decried as “coup d’etat”, capping<a class="excerpt-read-more" href=" More

Self-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González is rallying regional support for the opposition's claims that he won the July election against President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro began a third term as president on Friday, cementing his increasingly authoritarian rule.

Maduro, president since 2013, was declared the winner of July's election by both Venezuela's electoral authority and top court, though detailed tallies confirming his victory have never been published.

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.