Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro has been sworn in for a third presidential term in what the country’s opposition movement has decried as “coup d’etat”, capping more than five months of dispute over last summer’s contested election.

Almost no one outside Venezuela, and fewer people in the country, see him as a legitimate leader.

Nicolás Maduro took the oath before parliament, vowing his third six-year term in office would be a "period of peace".

Maduro and his aides have always rejected sanctions by the U.S. and others, saying they are illegitimate measures that amount to an "economic war" designed to cripple Venezuela. H

President-elect Donald Trump issued a warning to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who entered his third term Friday, that he better keep democracy activists 'safe and alive' after detaining Maria Machado.

The US has announced an increased $25m (£20.4m) re Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the day he was sworn in for a third six-year term in office. The inauguration ceremony was overshadowed by recrimination from the international community and Venezuelan opposition leaders.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term Friday despite international condemnation of his recent reelection as illegitimate, as his administration grows increasingly brazen in cracking down on opponents.