Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in Friday for a third six-year term rejected by the opposition as a "coup d'etat" achieved through election fraud and a campaign of repression.

Maduro took the oath before parliament, vowing his next term would be a "period of peace," a day after thousands took to the streets to protest his alleged power grab.

"With the usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro... supported by brute force and ignoring the popular sovereignty expressed... on July 28, a coup d'etat has been accomplished," the Democratic Unitary Platform coalition said in a statement.

Critics have denounced a fresh wave of repression in the lead-up to Friday's ceremony, with several activists and opposition figures arrested in recent days -- prompting the UN to express alarm.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who had come out of hiding to lead Thursday's anti-Maduro rallies, was briefly held by security forces, according to her team.

At least 17 protesters were also detained, according to a post on X by Gonzalo Himiob of the NGO Foro Penal.

Shunned by much of the international........

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