Edmundo González Urrutia: 'Maduro crowns himself dictator'

Dictator Nicolás Maduro arrived at the National Assembly to assume a third term in office despite the fact that he is not recognized by most of the international community. At his inauguration, he was accompanied by the leaders of Cuba and Nicaragua.

Maduro carried out the inauguration ceremony despite the fact that the electoral body has not shown the records of the election results, while the Venezuelan opposition has provided evidence that Edmundo González Urrutia won with more than 60% of the votes.

Meanwhile, President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia and opposition leader María Corina Machado described the event as a coup d'état and assured that Venezuelans will continue to push for a political change in the country.

In this regard, González Urrutia explained that he could not return to Venezuela because there were threats that the regime would do the same to him as they did to Machado when she was kidnapped for a few hours and they shot one of the motorcycles that was transporting her.

González Urrutia sent a message to the Venezuelan Military High Command and asked it to guarantee security conditions for her return to Venezuela:

"As commander in chief, he ordered the military high command to disregard illegal orders from those who confiscate power and prepare the security conditions to assume the presidency entrusted to me by the people. To the soldiers of the FANB and police forces: cease repression against the people. Obey your true commander, democratically elected. For the peace of the Republic, disown the illegitimate regime," he stressed.

From a distance, from his exile, Gonzalez Urrutia insisted the military "to disown the illegal orders given by those who confiscate power."

"Maduro has completed a coup d'état, he crowned himself dictator," the opposition leader said in a video he posted on social media.

The reaction of the international community

After Maduro completed the electoral fraud and assumed his third term, the international community reacted with a series of sanctions. The United States, the European Union, Canada and the United Kingdom published these measures almost simultaneously after the dictator was sworn in.

In the case of the United States, the Treasury Department announced a package of sanctions against eight Venezuelan officials who head key economic and security agencies that facilitate Nicolás Maduro's repression and subversion of democracy in Venezuela.

Among those sanctioned are the president of Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PdVSA), Venezuela's state-owned oil company, and Maduro's transport minister and president of Consorcio Venezolano de Industrias Aeronáuticas y Servicios Aéreos (CONVIASA), the state-owned airline.

"In addition, OFAC sanctioned high-level Venezuelan officials in the Army and Police who lead entities with roles in the execution of Maduro's repression and human rights abuses against democratic actors," the Treasury detailed.

Likewise, U.S. authorities announced the increase of the reward for the capture of Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello to $25 million each. They also indicated that they are now offering a reward of $15 million for the capture of Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.

Trump's support

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also reaffirmed his commitment to freedom and democracy in Venezuela. He maintained that both Machado and González must remain safe and alive. He highlighted that Venezuelans in the United States overwhelmingly backed him in the presidential race.

"The great Venezuelan American community in the United States overwhelmingly support a free Venezuela, and strongly supported me," Trump said on Truth Social.

Venezuelans take to the streets

A day before the event in which Maduro took office for a third term, more than 170 demonstrations by Venezuelans against the regime were recorded. The streets of Venezuela were filled with protesters in spite of the heavy police deployment that took place.

In Caracas, María Corina Machado came out of hiding to meet with Venezuelans. She was subsequently kidnapped for a few hours and later released. The opposition leader described the event as a demonstration of the internal rifts within the regime.