Venezuela’s government has unleashed a fresh wave of repression as the opposition plans nationwide protests to denounce Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration as president this week.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro looks on during a meeting of leaders of the member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America and the Treaty of Commerce and Promotion (ALBA-TCP),

As Venezuela’s strongman leader prepares to be sworn in as president, the country’s opposition vows to fight on.

Syria had experienced 13 years of civil war and splintered into religious and ethnic factions before the regime fell. While Venezuela’s situation differs in many respects from that of Syria, the repressive regime in Caracas shares allies with Assad’s ousted government and, like his, is loathed by most citizens.

Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia has urged the Venezuelan military to recognize him as their commander-in-chief and “put an end to the leadership” of President Nicolás Maduro,

The Venezuela opposition leader the US has recognized as president-elect met President Joe Biden just days before Donald Trump takes over in Washington and faces his own decision about how to handle relations with a country that’s a major source of undocumented immigrants.

"We had a long, fruitful and cordial conversation with President Biden and his team," Gonzalez told journalists after the meeting at the White House. "Our team is in contact with the team of President Trump.