It is not viable for Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez to enter the country, his ally Maria Corina Machado said on Friday, shortly after President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a third term despite months of controversy over the country's contested July election.

Edmundo González has become a beacon of hope for millions of Venezuelans. They want to call him president. He believes he won that office at the ballot box last year.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to be sworn in for a third term on Friday amid protests and international calls for him to stand aside.

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.The opposition accuses Maduro,

Maduro’s inauguration seals an election outcome that opposition politicians and the US government say was stolen.

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on eight Venezuelan officials and increased to $25 million the reward it is offering for the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro on the day of his inauguration to a third term following a disputed election last year.

Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro began a third term as president on Friday, cementing his increasingly authoritarian rule.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, whose nearly 12 years in office have been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, was sworn in for his third term on Friday, remaining in power despite a six-month-long dispute over a contested July election and international calls for him to stand aside.

Edmundo González gains Panama's backing for his victory claim in Venezuela against Nicolas Maduro in July's presidential election.

Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as president of Venezuela for a new six-year term on Friday, consolidating his dictatorship amid protests from opposition parties and the United States that his election win was illegitimate.