President-elect Donald Trump issued a warning as Nicolás Maduro began a third term as Venezuelan president on Friday.
Despite widespread international condemnation of the July election, which Maduro won without verifiable evidence, he will remain in power until 2031. The Venezuelan leader, labeled a “dictator” by U.S. lawmakers, assumes his new term amidst significant domestic opposition.
On Thursday, opposition leader María Corina Machado, after months in hiding, joined large anti-Maduro protests in Caracas, demanding the inauguration of opposition candidate Edmundo González.
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Machado was briefly detained by security forces after her convoy was forcefully stopped while leaving the protests, according to the Associated Press.
Trump used social media to demand her safety, stating that Machado and President-elect González were peacefully representing the Venezuelan people’s will, and should not be harmed.
Machado was reportedly forced to record videos before her release. Maduro’s supporters denied her arrest.
On Friday, the Biden administration endorsed the opposition, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating that President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia should be inaugurated, initiating a democratic transition. Blinken declared Maduro’s inauguration illegitimate, asserting that Maduro lost the 2024 election and lacks the right to the presidency. The U.S. rejects the election results and announced its continued support for Venezuelan democracy.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed new sanctions on the Maduro regime, targeting officials in key economic and security agencies responsible for repression.
Eight individuals were sanctioned, including the heads of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and the transportation ministry. OFAC also sanctioned high-ranking military and police officials involved in human rights abuses against democratic actors.
Maduro faced renewed U.S. sanctions, with the reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction increased to $25 million. A similar reward was offered for Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and a $15 million reward for Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino. Additional military and police personnel were also sanctioned.
Blinken confirmed that approximately 2,000 Maduro-aligned individuals now face U.S. visa restrictions.