MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela: Maduro sworn in for presidential term “of peace”

“I swear that this new presidential term will be the term of peace,” Maduro stressed

Nicolás Maduro was sworn in Friday for the 2025-2031 term after being declared the winner of the controversial July 28, 2024, elections. During a ceremony at the Elliptical Hall of the Federal Legislative Palace, Maduro took his oath upon a copy of the Venezuelan Constitution signed by the late Bolivarian leader Hugo Chávez.

Maduro arrived at the Legislative Palace alongside First Lady and Congresswoman Cilia Flores, Executive Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez, and her brother and Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez.

Once inside, Maduro was greeted by the high-ranking authorities summoned for the occasion, including 13 foreign heads of State or Governments, such as Cuba's Miguel Díaz Canel and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. Also attending the ceremony was Bolivia's Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa.

“I swear that this new presidential term will be the term of peace,” Maduro stressed upon accepting Venezuela's presidency for the third consecutive time.

The ceremony went ahead undisturbed despite claims from opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia of the Unitarian Democratic Platform (PUD) who insisted he had won on July 28 and was therefore entitled to his inauguration Friday. He has been in exile since September and the Chavista regime had announced he would be arrested should he set foot in Venezuela.

Hours before the ceremony, Venezuela closed its land border with Colombia and banned all flights to and from that country, citing an international conspiracy against the Bolivarian Revolution, according to Freddy Bernal, governor of the bordering State of Táchira.

The measure, which in principle will be in force until Jan. 13, is expected to affect traders and transporters who depend on the commercial exchange between both countries while restricting the access of thousands of people to medicines and food, in addition to further increasing tensions with Colombia's leftwing government, which has already denounced Maduro's illegitimacy.

Also among those disputing the transparency in Maduro's alleged electoral win was Chile's leftwing President Gabriel Boric Font, not to mention other administrations already recognizing González Urrutia as President-elect such as Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

In this scenario, the United States upped the reward for Maduro's capture to US$ 25 million.