Venezuela’s government has unleashed a fresh wave of repression as the opposition plans nationwide protests to denounce Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration as president this week.

On Friday, Nicolás Maduro is set to be sworn in for a third six-year term despite multiple countries recognising opposition rival Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president-elect following elections in July 2024.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro looks on during a meeting of leaders of the member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America and the Treaty of Commerce and Promotion (ALBA-TCP),

The democratic opposition, led by María Corina Machado, has led a courageous and peaceful campaign against Maduro’s fraud, providing evidence via copies of official tally sheets from polling stations to show that opposition candidate Edmundo González won the election by a margin of more than two to one.

Venezuela is on tenterhooks as it braces for pro- and anti-government protests Thursday -- the eve of President Nicolas Maduro's swearing-in for a third term rejected by the opposition and much of the international community as illegitimate.