Maduro sworn-in as Venezuela president while U.S. and other nations recognize González as leader

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro was sworn-in for a third term on Friday while the U.S. and other major countries recognize his opponent, opposition candidate Edmundo González, as the winner of the presidential election.

Protestors gathered to oppose Maduro's term ahead of the inauguration on Friday.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was involved in the demonstrations on Thursday in Caracas, was detained briefly. 

Maduro has claimed to have won the July election despite evidence to the contrary presented by the opposition.

According to PBS, an opposition group collected "tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines and posted them online."

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is controlled by Maduro's regime, declared Maduro the winner just hours after the polls closed and it did not provide detailed vote results.

“We deeply appreciate the recognition of the sovereign will of all Venezuelans,” González said in a post on X after the U.S. formally recognized him as the winner of the election. “This gesture honors the desire for change of our people and the civic feat that we carried out together on July 28.”

González reportedly fleed Venezuela in September for exile in Spain when a warrant was issued for his arrest for his involvement in releasing the full vote tally documents.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other U.S. lawmakers met with González this week.

“Maduro props up criminal drug cartels, provides oil and outposts to adversaries in Iran, China, and Russia, and has partnered with terrorist groups like Hezbollah," Johnson said after the meeting. "Joe Biden’s four-year-long policy of placating the socialist dictatorship in Caracas has only hurt the United States’ security interests and undermined regional democracy.”