Tensions mount in Venezuela ahead of Maduro swearing-in

by Javier TOVAR

Venezuela's embattled opposition on Monday vowed to overcome "fear" and thwart President Nicolas Maduro's plans to be sworn in for another term, with defiant leaders renewing calls for mass protests and visiting the White House to rally international support.

Maduro, 62, has ruled the oil-rich nation for over a decade since the death of his larger-than-life mentor Hugo Chavez, retaining an iron grip on power with the help of police, paramilitaries and the armed forces.

On Friday, Maduro is to be sworn in for a third six-year term, after swatting aside allegations he stole a July election from now-exiled opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims to have won in a landslide.

Ex-diplomat Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, visited the White House early Monday, meeting outgoing US President Joe Biden in a last-gasp effort to pressure Maduro into ceding power.

The White House said Biden and Gonzalez Urrutia agreed that his "campaign victory should be honored through a peaceful transfer back to democratic rule."

There was also a warning from Washington that Biden would be "closely" following Venezuelan authorities' response to protests planned on Thursday, the eve of Maduro's investiture.

"Venezuelans should be allowed to express their political opinions peacefully without fear of reprisal from the military and police," the White House said.

Caracas promptly labeled Biden's support for the opposition "grotesque", as it severed diplomatic ties with Paraguay for expressing similar support for the opposition.

- Call to 'overcome fear' -

With throngs of security forces now deployed across the Venezuelan capital Caracas -- a clear warning to would-be protesters -- there are growing fears that Thursday's demonstrations could bring violent reprisals.

But opposition figurehead Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Monday that Venezuelans must overcome their fear and go onto the streets to claim their freedom.

"All the regime has left is fear," Machado told AFP in a telephone interview while still in hiding inside Venezuela.

The "whole world knows" that the rightful president-elect is Gonzalez Urrutia, she said.

"If we all come out, millions, how can a few hundred or a few thousand armed people (prevail) against 30 million Venezuelans?"

"In the end, the only way to be free is to overcome fear."

But it is unclear whether Venezuelans, wearied by decades of economic crisis and fearful of government vengeance, can be persuaded again to demonstrate in large numbers.

More than 20 people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in rioting that followed Maduro's claim of election victory in July.

Another 2,400 people were arrested in the crackdown, with authorities saying this week that about 1,500 had since been freed.

The Maduro government has vowed to deal harshly with future protests and threatened to jail Gonzalez Urrutia if he makes good on a promise to return to Venezuela this week.

- 'Loyalty, obedience' to Maduro -

Gonzalez Urrutia first met leaders in Argentina and Uruguay before continuing his international tour to Washington.

In addition to his sit-down with Biden, Gonzalez Urrutia said he had spoken "at length" with Mike Waltz, a congressman tapped by US President-elect Donald Trump to be his national security advisor.

The two discussed the planned January 9 protests, Gonzalez Urrutia said on social media platform X, and Waltz "assured us that the United States, and the world, will be alert to what happens in our country."

Gonzalez Urrutia on Monday also held a video call with the president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, whose government has not recognized Maduro's claimed victory in the July election.

The Peruvian presidency wrote on X that Boluarte recognized Gonzalez Urrutia for "his leadership, courage and bravery."

On Sunday, the ex-diplomat called for the Venezuelan military to recognize him as commander-in-chief, seeking to undermine a key plank of Maduro's support.

But his appeal was "categorically" rejected a day later in a statement read on TV by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, who reiterated the armed forces' "loyalty, obedience and subordination" to Maduro.

Caracas recently passed a law punishing support for sanctions against the Maduro government with up to 30 years in prison.

More than seven million of once-wealthy Venezuela's 30 million citizens have emigrated since Maduro first came to power in 2013.

© Agence France-Presse